Instant Pot Ham
Instant Pot Ham makes preparing a holiday dinner easy. Perfectly cooked ham with a sweet honey glaze in under an hour!
This easy pressure cooker ham recipe is all about simplifying the holidays. After our success with our Instant Pot Turkey Breast for Thanksgiving we were excited to make ham in the Instant Pot for Christmas. We based it off of our Honey Glazed Ham recipe, which is always a hit at Easter, and it turned out great!
I’m not one of those lucky people with double ovens so during the holidays I am constantly looking for ways to free up space in the oven and juggling bake times so that everything ends up on the table while it is still hot.
The Instant Pot is a fabulous tool to help with that! It effortlessly allows you to cook a perfectly seasoned, juicy ham and keeps it out of the oven until the very end of the cooking process. This gives you more real estate in the oven to finish baking that holiday pie, delicious pecan pie brownies, or a batch of homemade rolls.
Plus, this method allows you to lock to in moisture and flavor, creating tender meat without the worry of drying it out.
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Ingredients You’ll Need
The Instant Pot is a great tool to cook ham. We use a 6 quart Instant Pot for this recipe, which can typically handle a 4-to-6-pound ham. If you are cooking a 6-to-8 pound ham, you will need an 8-quart Instant Pot.
If you buy a ham that is larger than your Instant Pot can hold, you can cut it so that it fits into the pot and wrap any extra in a freezer safe container and use at a later time.
For making great tasting ham in an Instant Pot, you’ll need to get these ingredients:
- Ham – We used a boneless ham because that was what we could find in the 4–6-pound range but you can make this recipe using a bone-in ham as long as it fits in your pressure cooker. We do not recommend using canned hams as they don’t have as good a flavor.
- Sweeteners – To add sweetness to the glaze, all you need is honey and brown sugar.
- Flavoring – Ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and orange zest are all the spices you need for a great tasting ham.
- Water– Water allows the Instant Pot to properly come to pressure.
Instructions for Pressure Cooker Ham
Step 1 – Prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, combine honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and orange zest. Place the bowl in a microwave and cook for 15 to 30 seconds. This will vary based on the strength of your microwave.
When the honey glaze is ready to use when it reaches a pourable consistency.
Step 2 – Prep the ham. Place your ham on a piece of aluminum foil that is large enough to wrap up the entire ham. Use a basting brush to coat the ham with half of the glaze. Set the remaining glaze aside for the end.
Wrap the foil around the ham, making sure to seal it well so the juices don’t spill out as it cooks. This will lock in the flavors.
Step 3 – Set up the Instant Pot– Place a trivet or trivet sling in the Instant Pot’s inner pot. I highly recommend a trivet with handles to make it easy to remove your ham after it finishes cooking. Trivet slings can really help you avoid accident burns or dropping your food!
Pour 1.5 cups of water into the bottom of the inner pot and then place your ham on the trivet.
Step 4 – Cook it – Close and lock the lid in place and set the valve to SEALING.
Set to cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes or adjust your time based on the time table list.
When the timer goes off, let it naturally release pressure for 15 minutes and then carefully turn the valve to VENTING and release any remaining steam.
Remove the lid and use a thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the ham has reached 145 degrees F. If it has not reached this temperature, lock your lid back in place, turn the valve to SEALING and cook it on HIGH PRESSURE for another 3 to 5 minutes.
Step 5 – Broil and serve– When it’s is ready, carefully remove it from the pot and set it on a large platter. Remove it from the aluminum foil and dispose of any excess liquid.
If you want to bake on a glaze, set your oven to broil and brush the remaining glaze over the ham. It may have solidified some, so you may need to rewarm it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it back to a pourable consistency.
Cook the it under the broiler for 5 minutes at least 5 inches from the broiler. The glaze will caramelize and form a bit of a crispy shell.
Serve immediately after cooking with all your favorite holiday side dishes. You can check out this guide for some ideas of what you can serve with your ham at your next holiday gathering.
Making the Glaze
A good glaze is a must for ham. You will add some of the glaze as it cooks, but you’ll want to save a little bit to add at the end so you get a nice caramelized glaze on the outside of the ham.
Once the ham has finished cooking, remove it from the Instant Pot. Next, brush it with the reserved glaze and place in the oven under the broiler. Make sure to keep it at least 5 inches away from the heating element so you don’t burn the glaze!
Broil it for 5 minutes or until the glaze begins to caramelize on the outside. Keep a close eye on it! It can go from perfect to burned very quickly!
How Long Should I Cook a Ham in Instant Pot?
The Instant Pot is like the oven in that the length of time you need to cook a roast or ham varies based on the size of the ham you select. The ham we are using is a fully cooked ham, so you are really just using the Instant Pot to warm it up.
We find that about 2 minutes per pound plus 15 minutes of natural release is plenty of time. Keep in mind it will also warm up as the Instant Pot comes up to pressure.
Here is a break down of times based on the size of the ham you got:
- 3 pound ham: 6 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 4 pound ham: 8 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 5 pound: 10 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 6 pound ham: 12 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 7 pound ham: 14 minutes +15 minute natural release
- 8 pound ham: 16 minutes + 15 minute natural release
What Do I Do If My Ham is Too Big for Instant Pot?
If your ham is too big, that is no problem! You can cut it so that it fits into the pot and wrap any extra in a freezer safe container and use at a later time.
How to Store It
Refrigerator – Wrap you ham leftovers tightly in an airtight container, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil. You can store it in the fridge for up to three days.
Freezer – Wrap your ham in plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag or wrap the plastic wrapped ham in heavy-duty aluminum foil. You can store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What to Serve With Ham
Ham goes with everything but we have given you a selection of our personal favs!
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Not Your Mom’s Mashed Potatoes (stove top)
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
- Bacon Wrapped Green Beans
- Creamed Corn (stove top)
- Creamed Corn Casserole
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Cranberry Jello Salad
- Cranberry Fluff
- Apple Pecan Stuffing
- Green Bean Casserole
Way to Use Leftover Ham
Leftover ham is a lot like turkey. There is a lot you can do with it, you just need to decide what you’re in the mood for.
If you have a lot of family or friends visiting, you can use your leftover ham to make breakfast for a hungry crowd. Try our Low Carb Ham and Cheese Crustless Quiche, Ham Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sliders, or this easy Ham and Cheese Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole.
Also, if you use a bone-in ham don’t throw the ham bone away. Save it to make a big pot of Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup! You can wrap the bone, leaving any extra meat on it, and store it in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to six months. It’s a great way to make an easy weeknight dinner during the coming winter months.
And of course, you can always slice up the ham and make great tasting ham sandwiches that are ten times better than sliced deli ham. They are great to pack and take along for all the post holiday shopping.
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Instant Pot Ham
Ingredients
- 5 pound Ham, boneless or bone-in
- 1 cup Honey
- 1/2 cup Brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Orange zest
Instructions
- In a bowl combine honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and orange zest.
- Place bowl in microwave and cook for 15-30 seconds, depending on the strength of your microwave. When the honey glaze reaches a pourable consistency it is ready.
- Place your ham on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap up the entire ham.
- Using a basting brush coat the ham with half of the glaze. Set the remaining glaze aside.
- Wrap the foil around the ham making sure to seal it well so the juices don’t spill out as it cooks.
- Place a trivet in the Instant Pot inner pot. I highly recommend a trivet with handles to make it easy to remove your ham after it finishes cooking.
- Pour 1.5 cups of water into the bottom of the pot and then place your ham on the trivet.
- Lock the lid in place and set the veiled to SEALING.
- Set to cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes (see times listed in the notes section for the amount of time based on weight).
- When the timer goes off let it do a 15 minute natural release then carefully turn the valve to VENTING and release any remaining steam.
- Remove the lid and use a thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the ham has reached 145 degrees F. If it has not lock your lid back in place, turn the valve to sealing and cook it on high pressure for another 3-5 minutes.
- When the ham is ready carefully remove it from the pot and set it on a large platter. Remove it from the aluminum foil and dispose of the excess liquid.
- If you want to bake on a glaze set your oven to broil and brush the remaining glaze over the ham (you may need to rewarm it in the microwave to get it to a pourable consistency). Cook under the broiler for 5 minutes to let the glaze caramelize.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- 3 pound ham: 6 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 4 pound ham: 8 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 5 pound: 10 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 6 pound ham: 12 minutes + 15 minute natural release
- 7 pound ham: 14 minutes +15 minute natural release
- 8 pound ham: 16 minutes + 15 minute natural release
Nutrition
Yum yum yum Best ham I’ve ever had 🍖
Just made the recipe and it is delicious. But a 5lb ham took 20 minutes to bring it to 135 degrees.
I’m glad you liked it. Are you saying it took 20 minutes under pressure plus an additional 15 minutes during the natural release?
I had to pressure cook my 6 lb ham for 20 minutes as well and natural release 15 minutes. It turned out yummy though:)