Name: Ham with Creamy Herb Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds fully-cooked smoked boneless ham; 2 tablespoons butter; 1 shallot (finely chopped); 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 cup chicken broth; ¾ cup milk; ⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley (or dill, or combination); Juice of 1/4 lemon; ½ teaspoon dry mustard; Salt and pepper

5 from 2 votes

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Ham with Creamy Herb Sauce – fully-cooked ham slices warmed and served with a traditional Irish creamy herb sauce. Great choice for your Easter menu.

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Have you planned your Easter menu yet? I’m still working on mine. It will likely be similar to the menus from years past. Fresh green beans, light fluffy yeast rolls, buttery homemade mashed potatoes, deviled eggs (of course!), and ham. Always ham for Easter.

I started to wonder lately why the tradition of serving ham at Easter. I read lots of ideas about that all over the internet but the one that made the most sense to me was this.

In the early days, animals were slaughtered in the fall once cold weather arrived. Since there was no refrigeration, the fresh pork that wasn’t consumed quickly was cured for preservation. The curing process takes quite a bit of time and the first hams were ready just about the time that Easter came around. Thus, ham was a natural choice for Easter dinner. Logical and practical.

How to Make Ham with Creamy Herb Sauce

Let’s Go Step-by-Step

I always like to show you the photos and step-by-step instructions for my recipes to help you picture how to make them in your own kitchen. If you just want to print out a copy, you can skip to the bottom of the post where you’ll find the recipe card.

One of the brands I always trust for ham of any kind is Smithfield. Their small cuts of ham are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I use the Hickory Smoked Boneless variety for this delicious Ham with Creamy Herb Sauce. We enjoy it with a side of mashed potatoes and roasted leeks. Just delicious!

Smithfield Anytime boneless ham packaged sitting on a cutting board.

These hams are fully cooked and only need reheating.

Heating the Ham

To heat the ham, preheat the oven to 325 F. The instructions say “remove the packaging from the ham, reserving the liquid. Pour reserved liquid over ham and wrap completely with foil. Place the wrapped ham into a 2” deep baking dish or pan and into the oven.”

Smithfield boneless ham being prepared for cooking; the ham is partially opened and sitting on aluminum foil in a baking pan.

Here’s how I manage that – I put a big piece of foil in my baking pan. Then I set the still wrapped ham on the foil and open the package. All the juices will run out and be caught in the foil with the ham. Remove the plastic packaging and toss it.

Ham completely wrapped in aluminum foil in a baking pan.

Wrap up the ham and juices with the foil. Easy-peasy.

Put the ham into the oven and heat for 18-20 minutes per pound. Be careful not to overheat. You can remove the ham from the oven and leave it wrapped for a good 30 to 45 minutes. It will still be warm and perfect for serving.

When the ham has about 30 minutes of warming time left, make the herb sauce.

Make the Creamy Herb Sauce

Collage of shallot being sauteed in a small skillet.

Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until softened taking care not to allow it to brown. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute.

Pouring milk into shallot and flour in a skillet to make a cream sauce.

Reduce the heat a bit and whisk in the broth and milk. Continue to whisk until the sauce starts to bubble.

Remaining ingredients of parsley, mustard, lemon, being added to cream sauce.

Stir in the parsley (or herb of your choice – dill is particularly good in this sauce as well), lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper. Let the sauce simmer gently, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes.

Serve the sauce over the warmed ham.