Short answer: if you want a good holiday ham without spending $100 or more, get a fully cooked boneless ham sized to your table, not the biggest ham you can find. For 12 to 15 people, our 6-pound Boneless Banquet Ham is $59.99, about $4 to $5 a person. For 6 to 8, the Banquet Ham Half is $34.99.
The rest of this guide is how to pick a holiday ham on a budget without ending up with a ham that tastes like a budget ham.
Where holiday ham money goes
Most of what you pay for in a holiday ham is size. A big bone-in or spiral ham looks great on the platter, but if you're feeding ten people, a lot of it ends up in the freezer. The cheapest ham is the one that fits your table.
The second thing you pay for is how the ham is made. Grocery store hams are often pumped with water and smoke flavoring, which is why they're cheap and why they taste like it. A ham that's been smoked over real wood costs more to make. The trick is to keep the real smoke and save on everything else.
Cost per person for every ham we sell
Here's what each of our holiday hams works out to per person, using the serving ranges on each product page. All of them are hickory smoked by Ossian Smoked Meats in Ossian, Indiana, a family smokehouse in business since 1946.
| Ham | Weight | Serves | Price | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boneless Banquet Ham | ~6 lb | 12–15 | $59.99 | $4.00–$5.00 |
| Boneless Banquet Ham Half | ~3 lb | 6–8 | $34.99 | $4.37–$5.83 |
| Spiral Sliced Whole Ham | ~17 lb | 20–25 | $119.99 | $4.80–$6.00 |
| Old Fashioned Bone-In Ham | 18–20 lb | 20–25 | $129.99 | $5.20–$6.50 |
| Old Fashioned Boneless Whole Ham | ~11 lb | 15–20 | $119.99 | $6.00–$8.00 |
| Spiral Sliced Half Ham | ~8 lb | 10–12 | $74.99 | $6.25–$7.50 |
| Old Fashioned Boneless Half Ham | ~5 lb | 8–10 | $64.99 | $6.50–$8.12 |
Two things stand out. The Banquet Ham is the lowest cost per person and the lowest price on the list. And if you're feeding 20 or more, the big bone-in and spiral hams come out cheaper per person than you might expect, because they spread a higher price over a lot of people.
What makes the Banquet Ham cost less
It's not a cheaper ham from somewhere else. It comes out of the same Ossian smokehouse, smoked over the same hickory, as our Old Fashioned hams. It costs less for two reasons:
- It's smaller. About 6 pounds instead of 11, so you're not paying for ham you won't eat.
- It's a simpler cut. It's made from the outer ham muscle only and shaped into a neat round, instead of a whole hand-trimmed ham. That makes it lean (97% fat free), even all the way through, and easy to slice.
What you give up is the big platter moment. An 11-pound Old Fashioned ham is more marbled and looks like a showpiece when you carve it. If that's what your family expects, it's worth the extra money. If you want good ham on the table and a reasonable grocery bill, the Banquet Ham does the job.
Four ways to spend less on holiday ham
1. Buy for the people you have
Plan on 1/3 to 1/2 pound of boneless ham per person. That's 4 to 5 pounds for ten people, not 11. Our ham serving chart has the full breakdown.
2. Go boneless if it's a small group
Bone-in hams carry the weight of the bone, so you need more pounds per person. Under about 15 people, boneless is usually the better buy. Over 20, a big bone-in ham can win on price per person. Not sure which way to go? Read Boneless vs. Bone-In vs. Spiral Ham.
3. Share the table with a turkey
If there's a turkey too, cut your ham estimate in half. The 3-pound Banquet Half covers a dozen people as the second meat for $34.99.
4. Plan the leftovers
A ham that turns into Friday sandwiches, Saturday breakfast, and a pot of bean soup is a ham that paid for itself. The Banquet Ham's round shape is sized to fit a slice of bread, so leftovers go straight onto sandwiches. Sliced ham freezes well for a month or more.
Getting it to the table
The Banquet Ham is fully cooked, so all it needs is warming. Heat it covered at 325°F with a cup of water in the pan, about 10 to 12 minutes per pound, until it reaches 140°F inside. For a 6-pound ham, that's about an hour and fifteen minutes. Glaze it uncovered for the last 15 minutes if you like. Full heating guide here.
It ships frozen with dry ice and arrives in 3 to 5 business days. Order early, keep it in the freezer, and move it to the refrigerator about two days before you serve it. Here's the thawing timeline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest good holiday ham?
A fully cooked boneless ham from a real smokehouse, sized to your group. Our Boneless Banquet Ham is $59.99 for about 6 pounds and serves 12 to 15, which works out to about $4 to $5 a person.
Is a banquet ham good for Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner?
Yes. It's hickory smoked and fully cooked, and it glazes and carves like any boneless ham. It's smaller and leaner than a traditional whole ham, so it's best for tables of 15 or fewer, or as a second meat next to a turkey.
How much ham do I need for 12 people?
About 4 to 6 pounds of boneless ham, or 6 to 9 pounds bone-in. The 6-pound Banquet Ham covers 12 with some leftovers.
Is boneless ham cheaper than bone-in?
Per pound, bone-in is usually cheaper. Per person, it depends on the size of your group. For small and mid-size tables, a boneless ham sized to fit usually costs less overall because you buy fewer pounds.