This is the most amazing Instant Pot ham done in just 20 minutes! If you want an easy honey ham recipe you’ve gotta’ try it in your pressure cooker.
I’m back with an addition to our long list of easy Instant Pot recipes! If it’s around Easter or Christmas you might be looking for an easy Instant Pot ham recipe but let me tell you that you shouldn’t wait for the holidays to make this!! My family says I can only make ham in the Instant Pot now. lol
A few years ago after Christmas they had smoked hams clearanced out at the grocery store and I couldn’t pass up a $5 hunk of amazing meat so I bought one…ever since then I’ve made ham throughout the year.
- Not only does it make an amazing dinner but I have a bunch of leftover ham recipes I use too so one piece of meat can last us a few night typically which saves a lot of money and the taste is amazing.
Here’s how easy it is to make a ham in your pressure cooker.
You just need 3 ingredients and with the time it takes to reach pressure and naturally release the pressure it is done in about 20 minutes flat!
This is what you’ll need to make this easy Instant Pot ham recipe
- Quarter of a ham – near the holidays they typically come in half hams but in my 6 qt Instant Pot that wouldn’t fit, a quarter fit perfect. If you can only buy a half then cut it in half and you’ll have 2 dinners to make…or you could ask your butcher if you can buy just a quarter ham, many times that is possible if you just ask.
- Brown sugar
- Pineapple tidbits and juice – I just used one of these snack packs you see above
- Honey – optional
- Tinfoil
- Trivet – I like this one with handles
- If you want to thicken the ham glaze then you’ll need some cornstarch too, that is up to you.
That is it!!
Why would you cook ham in an Instant Pot rather than the oven?
- Frees up your oven to be used for side dishes
- Doesn’t heat up your house (especially if it’s 100 degrees outside during the summertime I never turn on my oven)
- It cooks in a fraction of the time
- You only have to clean one pot, even ham glaze can be made right inside your pressure cooker
This is what it will look like before you lower it on to your trivet, the foil creates a sort of bowl to hold in the juices etc..
You’ll want to slice your ham if it isn’t already, ours wasn’t, and then put it in a large piece of foil that will kinda’ act like a bowl holding the pineapple, sugar and juices.
Ham almost always when bought in the store are already cooked, you’re just warming them up.
- Typically pre-cooked hams you buy in the store are smoked, like ours, so it will come with some of that flavor as is but adding the fruit, juices, and sugar gives it a sweetness that is great.
I made the glaze with the juices that were left over after I took the ham out, set to saute and added a bit more brown sugar and cornstarch to thicken it up while whisking it up as it bubbled.
What if you don’t want to use foil?
I had a few people ask how to make this pressure cooker ham without using foil. I have not done this myself but this is how I would make it minus the tinfoil.
- Put 1.5 c. of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot
- Put your trivet inside – I like this one with handles
- Place your ham on to your trivet directly
- Follow steps 9 for timing
- Remove ham when done, and take out trivet
- Add all the pineapple juice listed into pot on sauce function
- Sprinkle in brown sugar, allow to bubble and dissolve sugar
- Add a bit of cold pineapple juice or water with cornstarch and whisk together
- Empty contents into Instant Pot while bubbling and whisk in
- Once ham glaze begins to thicken then add your pineapple tidbits
- Turn off once it is the desired thickness and remove inner pot, pour into separate container so it doesn’t overcook/burn
- Pour over ham and serve!
So…you literally don’t need anything else and I will tell you it is so good!
My husband even said that he’d rather have it this way for Christmas rather than putting it in the oven.
It steams nicely leaving all the juices in tact and absorbing some of that sweetness while it cooks in your pressure cooker in just 10 minutes!
- If you have an 8 or 10 qt. Instant Pot you may be able to fit more than a quarter ham size and if so I might increase the time by 5 minutes or so.
If you’d like to make a crockpot ham recipe this time or next we have that as well as a dutch oven ham recipe, or if you prefer turkey here’s instructions on making a pressure cooker turkey for the holidays.
Here are a few Instant Pot side dishes you might like to serve with this:
- Instant Pot stuffing
- Instant Pot cranberry sauce is great drizzled over the top if you don’t like this pineapple glaze
- Instant Pot potatoes
- If you’re making this for the holidays because you’re not a turkey fan we have other Instant Pot Thanksgiving recipes here and many Christmas brunch menu ideas as well you can look at too.
- HUGE list of more Instant Pot holiday recipes below too
Once you’re enjoying this you probably won’t have any left but if you do then try our leftover ham recipe as well as putting some in these copycat Starbucks sous vide eggs for breakfast.
If you’re ready to try this Instant Pot ham here are the printable directions and an instructional video as well. 😉
Instant Pot Ham
Ingredients
- 1 quarter ham precooked/smoked, quartered ham
- 1/3 c brown sugar
- 1/4 c pineapple juice I used a snack pack with tidbits and juice, dumped whole thing in
- 1/3 c pineapple tidbits
- 4 cloves or pinch of ground cloves
- 1.5 c water
- Glaze
- 3 tbsp brown sugar heaping tbsp
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp honey optional
- 3-4 oz pineapple juice depending on how thin/thick you want it
Instructions
- Put trivet and water into Instant Pot.
- Slice your quartered ham if it isn't sliced already and put it in 1-2 large pieces of foil (large enough to wrap all the way around it - may need small piece for very top as well).
- Fold foil up so just the very top is open.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over top of ham and into slices.
- Pour pineapple juice over ham and sprinkle cloves or push whole cloves into ham.
- Sprinkle pineapple tidbits on top of ham. Drizzle honey on top if you want to add this as well (not totally necessary, sweet without)
- Put a small piece of foil over the very top if needed to enclose.
- Add 1.5 c. of water into your Instant Pot and add trivet to bottom. Lower ham into pressure cooker on to your trivet (make a sling to put on bottom to lift it back out if your trivet doesn't have handles).
- Close lid and steam valve. Set to high pressure for 10 minutes (for a quarter ham, I might do 15 min for a half ham if you can fit that into your IP). Do a natural release for 10 minutes when done.
- Release rest of pressure, lift ham out of foil and rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes.
- Take trivet out and drain water in pot, put pot back into your Instant Pot. Empty the juices that are inside your foil into the bottom of your pot, set pot to saute low.
- Add an additional 3 oz. of pineapple juice and 3 heaping tbsp of brown sugar into your pot and allow that to start bubbling.
- In a small bowl add maybe 2 oz. of pineapple juice and 2 tbsp of cornstarch and whisk together....add 1 tbsp at a time to avoid clumping. Dump this "thickener" into your Instant Pot and stir/whisk together consistently until it is the consistency you want. Add more pineapple juice or a bit more cornstarch mixture if desired but will thicken in no time.
- Finish slicing ham pieces all the way through, pour glaze over the top of each piece and serve!
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Ham was still cold and not heated though in 10 minutes. Less than 3 lb boneless precooked.
Did you slice it as directed? If not it wouldn’t heat through.
This version of ham reminds me of the one I grew up with. The glaze is just gorgeous! I’m excited to try it. Thanks for the recipe!
OMG I made this tonight for Thanksgiving. Ham was amazing. The glaze was to die for! Thank you for this recipe!! Going in my Holiday Cookbook!!
Yeah!!! I am so glad you loved it too!
So these directions are for a pre-cooked ham? I live in Ireland, and ham here is not pre-cooked.
Yes, I am unsure for precooked as anything you buy here would be. You may have to experiment but for a quartered ham I would probably cook for 30 minutes on high and then check the internal temp. to see how much more time to add.
Is this a bone in ham
Whay would conversion be for crock pot? Or oven?
There is a link in the post for crockpot ham.
This is awesome, except I do not like to cook in foil for fear of leaching aluminum into our food.
Can you cook this in parchment paper and get the same result?
Look forward to trying it!
My initial thought would be to put 1.5 c. liquid in the bottom with a trivet and set the ham directly on that. Then when done follow my directions on making the glaze in your pot on saute.
My initial thought would be to just put the ham by itself on a trivet with 1.5 c water in the bottom, then make glaze after that when ham is done and you take it out.
What can I use in place of the foil? I prefer to not cook my food in it.
My initial thought would be to put 1.5 c. liquid in the bottom with a trivet and set the ham directly on that. Then when done follow my directions on making the glaze in your pot on saute.
I love my IP, it makes cooking super easy and simple. This recipe is perfect for the holidays!
I could really fool my family and friends into thinking I slaved over dinner (but didn’t) with this recipe. This is a great recipe idea for going into the holidays!
You’re so awesome! I do not suppose I have read anything like this before.
So good to find someone with a few original thoughts on this subject matter.
Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This website is one
thing that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!