Tender, juicy, (never dried out, never rubbery) extra delicious honey baked ham in HALF THE TIME of baking. You can cook a nice big spiral cut bone-in ham in a pressure cooker for 7 minutes! I'm showing you how and you'll never go back. Instant Pot Ham is the way to go!
Why you will love Instant Pot Ham?
Ham is an elegant meat to serve and one that everyone- kids to adults- love. You really cannot go wrong by serving ham. It also pairs well with ANY other meat! Make a turkey, grill up steaks, serve a roast plus the accompany side dishes ham will be a great match.
You'll love this pressure cooker ham recipe because
- It's done in half the time of oven baking
- It comes out full of juice and flavor never dried out
- We perfected the method of creating the perfect sticky glaze while still keeping ham moist and tender
- Ham is a great meat for feeding a crowd
What Do I Need To Make The Best Spiral Cut Ham?
You will need
- bone-in spiral cut ham,
- an electric pressure cooker (like instant pot) and the
- ingredients for a homemade glaze. TRUST ME, you want to make a homemade glaze, it makes a huge difference.
How To Make Homemade Spiral Ham Glaze
Step one is to make a homemade honey glaze for your ham. You will need
- brown sugar
- honey
- apple cider vinegar
- whole cloves
- one can of pineapple in 100% juice
Add ingredients to a large bowl and stir together. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and set aside.
PRO TIP: Once the ham is cooked it can be tricky to remove, to help remove the ham from the instant pot inner pot you can make foil handles. Take two long sheets of foil and fold them hotdog style in half, then half again. Place your steam rack in, and then the foil, with the ends coming up above the ham to help you remove it later from the instant pot. (tuck the handles in before you put the lid on.)
How To Make Pressure Cooker Ham
STEP 1: Place your ham in instant pot.
STEP 2: Set aside 1 cup of your glaze
STEP 3: Pour remaining glaze over ham and pineapple
STEP 4: Cook on High Presser 7 minutes
Do I Cook Any Size Ham For Only 7 Minutes?
You will need to cook your spiral cut ham for 7 minutes! yes, thats all! If the ham is larger it will cook longer simply becuase it will take longer for the pressure cooker to heat up and seal. If it is a smaller ham the process of heating up to pressure will take less time. That is why no matter what the size you pressure cook all hams for 7 minutes. Quickly release after.
How Big Can My Ham Be To Fit In the Pressure Cooker?
This is pretty important to know right? I have found that no bigger than a 7.5lb ham will fit in my 6 qt pressure cooker. For an 8 qt pressure cooker I had a ham just over 10 lbs that just about didn't fit. Also try to get one pretty uniform, if its extra wide it might not fit or fit very awkward.
- 6qt pressure cooker up to 7 lbs
- 8qt pressure cooker up to 10lbs
How To Make A Delicious Sticky Glaze Topping
Having the sticky sweet outer shell is the best part!! Its very quick to do! There are two simple ways to do this.
- place under broiler for a couple minutes
- Use an air fryer lid
- Set aside the ham drippings before air frying or broiling.
- Remove all the pineapple to the side
- Add the remaining glaze.
What is a Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid?
Pressure cookers now will come with an air fryer lid or you can buy one as a separate attachment. They work amazing! And are perfect for crisping up meats after cooking, or making all sorts of foods and snacks. You'll want to air fry your ham, after the glaze, for about 7 minutes or your desired crispiness.
How To Broil The Ham
Place the ham on a pan, cover in glaze and broil high for just a couple minutes. Keep an eye on it.
TIP! Do not broil or air fry too long or it will dry out the ham. It's best to put the ham near the broiler and after its preheated so you can caramelize the glaze and pull it out.
Remove ham from the oven and using juices from the instant pot, baste the ham to restore any lost moisture. Cover with foil to keep warm and keep moisture in until serving time.
Add Drippings Back To Ham
Ladle the juices you set aside back onto your ham to keep the meat nice and juicy.
If you prefer to serve your ham fresh out of the instant pot then instead of reserving the glaze for later pour the entire batch on the ham before pressure cooking.
If you have any leftovers keep them in an airtight container or bag for up to a week in the fridge.
YES! Just cook it for a bit longer. Cook it for 15 minutes instead of 7.
Yes! I dont have the time on how long to cook it, refer to your user manual and make sure the internal temp is 145 when finished cooking.
Looking for More Instant Pot Recipes? Try These
Did you make this recipe? Have questions?
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Instant Pot Ham
Ingredients
- 1 ham, spiral cut pre cooked ham for 6 qt pressure cooker stay around 7lbs
- ¾ cup honey
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 large can Dole pineapple tidbits with juice
- 1 Tablespoon whole cloves
- 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In separate bowl mix brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, whole cloves, and ¾ cup dole pineapple juice from the can. Set aside.In pressure cooker place fold two long sheets of foil together to form one skinny long piece that will make handles. Place with ends coming up to the top and folding over edge of instant pot. Place ham in pressure cooker and pour glaze on top, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Top ham with remaining pineapple tidbits and 1 cup water. Seal and cook high 7 minutes. Quick release.
For sticky caramelized glaze on top with air fryer
- If crispness is desired, remove liquid from the pressure cooker and set aside. Add remaining glaze and add air fryer lid. Air fry for about 7-10 minutes. Ladle some of the remaining juices back on to ham to keep moist.
For sticky caramelized glaze on top with broiler
- If crispness is desired, remove from pressure cooker to cookie sheet. broil for a few minutes until ends are caramelized and crispy. Ladle juices from pressure cooker on ham to restore any moisture. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Instant Pot Easter Recipes Blog Hop
I've teamed up with a talented group of food bloggers to give you more great Instant Pot Easter recipes:
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Linda Ethier says
Best ham ever!!!
Molly says
No trivet needed: Followed the directions exactly and it came out fantastic! The juice mix is a perfect complement to the ham. I struggled with whether or not to put a trivet down in the pressure cooker. The top part of this page says to use one, the bottom part of this page does not reference one. I finally decided not to use the trivet and it it gave me more room for the ham and came out perfect!
Molly says
No steam rack/trivet needed: Followed the directions exactly and it came out fantastic! The glaze is a perfect complement to the ham. I struggled with whether or not to put a steam rack/trivet in the pressure cooker. The top part of this page says to use one, the bottom part of this page does not reference one. I finally decided not to use it and it it gave me more room for the ham and came out perfect!
Darlene says
Ham won't fit the 8 qt insta pot because of its shape. What to do? Cut off some of it to make the shape com pliable to the insta pot?
Desarae says
yeah, if you cant bend part of the ham to the side or push it up or down then cut the section off and place it on top around the sides. They can come in such funny shapes! sorry this one didnt work as well!
Janet says
What if you are cooking a fresh (uncooked) ham? Not sure how much time to add?
Desarae says
I'm not sure how long to cook raw ham. Check the user manual and make sure the internal temp is 145 degrees when finished!
Brenda Frechette says
Is the ham thawed or cannot come straight from the freezer?
Desarae says
You can do a frozen ham with the instant pot! I would just add a few more minutes (or maybe double the time).
Carmen Hostetter says
Is a 14lb bone in ham too big for an 8qt pot?
Desarae says
I had a ham a little over 10 lbs and it fit, but it was tight! 14 is probably to big, but might work! Especially if it is more uniform all around.
Crystal Winchell says
If I only have a 3.5 lb. Spiral ham do reduce the time on the pressure cooker?
Desarae says
No it will naturally cook faster because of the smaller ham!
Nina says
I always thought the pressure cooker required some form of liquid. This recipe doesn't seem to have any liquid. Is it able to come up to pressure without it?
Desarae says
YES! You do need liquid for this recipe you add the whole can of pineapple tidbits including liquid plus one cup of water. If you would prefer to not have the juice added you could add water and only the tidbits :)
Heidi says
Yes it does. I says to pour in a cup of water. Read directions again.
Cris says
So.. rookie mistake.. make sure to tuck in the foil handles before sealing the lid! I never watched the video and thought the foil got left over the edge.. oops.
It doesn't seal like that, shocker, I know. Lol.
It still turned out delicious after a little adjusting.
Desarae says
Good point! I'll add that in the tips Cris!
Nikita M Henthorn says
Will it work with a regular ham not spiral ? Using a 8qt
Desarae says
yes! It will work with either one :)
Annie says
This worked out perfect!
Amy says
hI! Im so excited to try this, but are you sure the ham wont end up tough and rubbery if its pre-cooked? I havent made too much in my pressure cooker yet, but some of the meat has come out a little rubbery. Any tips?
Anne says
I have our ham ready to go...going to give this a try. The photo is fantastic. Thank you!
Anna says
I am so excited to make our Easter ham in the Instant Pot! It looks absolutely delicious!
D says
Was the ham the Pre-cooked variety?
Desarae says
yes! pre-cooked and spiral cut.