You will never make ham another way after making this Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham! Spiral sliced ham is steamed to perfection with a sweet honey sauce, keeping this ham full of flavor and moisture.
Serve this Instant Pot Ham with Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, and an Instant Pot Cheesecake for a show-stopping meal.
If you have lived long, you have probably experienced dried out ham.
My sweet mother in law cooks her ham every year for 6-10 hours, and the delicious honey baked ham she pays a small fortune for, ends up dry, tough, and chewy. Not exactly the ham you want for a Holiday centerpiece.
If you want to avoid dried-out ham and instead have a Honey Baked Ham that is full of flavor and moisture, this Instant Pot Ham recipe is for you!
Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham
Because the Instant Pot cooks by trapping all the steam and moisture inside the pressure cooker, it creates a perfect steamy environment to just warm the ham through without drying out the meat.
And this Honey Baked Ham is ready in less than an hour!!
That means you don't have to wake up early to prepare your holiday meal or rush home from church to get the ham in the oven. It also keeps the heat out of the kitchen--which in the south, I can attest to that is never a bad thing!
Ingredients for Honey Baked Ham
- Spiral cut ham
- as small as you like or as large as your Instant Pot will hold
- 6 quart Instant Pot will hold approximately a 5 to 6-pound ham.
- 8 quart Instant Pot will hold approximately a 7-8 pound ham.
- Pineapple Juice
- Pineapple juice will work to not only flavor the ham but keep the ham extra juicy.
- Honey
- Honey is essential for a honey baked ham.
- Brown Sugar
- Just a tiny bit of brown sugar helps to add depth to the ham.
- Feel free to omit if staying away from refined sugar.
- Optional Spices
- Honey Baked Ham typically have cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, I personally leave these out as I feel the overpower the ham, but feel free to add in if desired.
How to Cook Ham in the Instant Pot
The process for cooking a Honey Baked Ham in the Pressure Cooker is INCREDIBLY easy and FAST!!!!
Step One: Prepare Instant Pot
- Place trivet inside the inner pot of pressure cooker.
- Pour in 1 cup of water. Or 1.5 cups for an 8-quart Instant Pot.
- Place foil sling on trivet--this will help you remove ham after it has finished cooking.
Step Two: Prepare Ham Glaze
- Whisk together pineapple juice, honey, and brown sugar.
Step Three: Prepare Ham
- Place ham on a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Fold up sides of foil, to make a bowl-like shape around the ham.
- Gently separate slices of spiral ham, so glaze can penetrate the ham slices.
- Pour glaze over ham and securely wrap foil around ham.
Step Four: Pressure Cook Ham
- Place ham on the trivet.
- Secure foil sling around ham, if using.
- Pressure Cook on High for 2 minutes per pound. ADD 10 Minutes to the total time if the ham is wrapped in foil.
- Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes then do a quick release.
- Check internal temperature. You want your ham to be at 145 degrees for serving. Remember the ham has already been fully cooked, we are just warming!
Step Five: Reduce Glaze (optional)
I find that this ham is perfectly flavored and sweet enough to serve immediately. The ham is full of pineapple and honey flavor and is super delicious. If you would like that sticky glaze that Honey Baked Ham is known for, you can reduce the juices rendered from cooking right in the pressure cooker.
- After pressure is released, remove your ham from the Instant Pot and place it on a large platter or bowl, still sealed in the foil.
- Remove trivet from the inside pressure cooker and pour out the water used to cook the honey baked ham.
- Place the inner pot back inside the pressure cooker and turn the pressure cooker to Saute.
- Gently peel back the foil slightly from the cooked ham.
- Remove the Ham from the foil, leaving the liquid inside the foil packet.
- Pour the rendered cooking liquid into the pressure cooker.
- Mix together 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and whisk into cooking liquid.
- Whisk well, and cook until the glaze is reduced by half, about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour the thickened glaze over the ham.
How long do you cook a ham in the Instant Pot?
- Spiral Sliced ham is already precooked so you only need to warm the ham through.
- Cook your ham for 2 minutes per pound on high pressure plus 10 Minutes to the total time to account for foil. This will warm the ham through perfectly and keep the ham from drying out.
- Hit manual button and use +/- buttons to adjust the time. Be sure your pressure cooker is set to HIGH pressure.
- 3-pound ham: use 1 recipe for glaze and cook for 6 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 16 total minutes)
- 4-pound ham: use 1 recipe for glaze and cook for 8 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 18 minutes)
- 5-pound ham: use 1 recipe for glaze and cook for 10 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 20 minutes)
- 6-pound ham: double the recipe for the glaze and cook for 12 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 22 minutes)
- 7-pound ham: double the recipe for the glaze and cook for 14 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 24 minutes)
- 8-pound ham: double the recipe for the glaze and cook for 16 minutes+ 10 minutes to account for foil (or 26 minutes )
A Few Important Tips for Pressure Cooker Ham
- This Honey Glaze recipe is for a 3-5 pound ham. If making a larger ham, just double the recipe--extra glaze is NEVER a bad thing!
- If you would like to add spices to your Honey Ham Glaze, use ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon cloves.
- Feel free to omit brown sugar for refined sugar-free Honey Ham--and trust me, I have done this many times with great results in flavor.
- If you don't like Honey, use Maple Syrup--a Maple Glazed Ham is always delicious.
- It is important to seal the ham well in foil, parchment paper, or in a bowl to keep the ham flavored well and to prevent a burn warning.
- You can use bone-in or boneless spiral sliced ham for this recipe. I prefer boneless for easier serving, but either is fine!
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Instant Pot Turkey Breast
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut
Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham
Ingredients
- 3-5 pound spiral sliced ham
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch optional
Instructions
Instant Pot Honey Baked Ham
- Place trivet inside the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Pour in 1 and ½ cups cold water. Place foil sling on trivet–this will help you remove ham after it has finished cooking.
- Prepare glaze by whisking together pineapple juice, honey and brown sugar.
- Place ham on large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Fold up sides of foil, to make a bowl like shape around the ham. Gently separate slices of spiral ham, so glaze can penetrate the ham slices. Pour glaze over ham and securely wrap foil around ham. Place ham on trivet inside pressure cooker. Secure foil sling around ham, if using.
- Pressure Cook on High for 2 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes to account for the foil. (Only add 5 minutes if using thin foil.) Once cook time has elapsed, let rest for at least 15 minutes before releasing pressure. Check the internal temperature to be sure the ham is warmed to 135-150 degrees. If not, cook for an additional 3-5 minutes on high pressure.
Honey Ham Glaze Reduction (optional)
- After pressure is released, remove your ham from the Instant Pot and place on a large platter or bowl, still sealed in the foil. Remove trivet from inside pressure cooker and pour out the water used to cook the honey baked ham. Place the inner pot back inside the pressure cooker and turn the pressure cooker to Saute.
- Gently peel back the foil slightly from the cooked Ham. Remove the Ham from the foil, leaving the liquid inside the foil packet. Pour the rendered cooking liquid into the pressure cooker.
- Mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with ¼ cup water and whisk into cooking liquid. Whisk liquid constantly until thickened and reduced--about 3-5 minutes. Pour over sliced ham.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- This recipe has been updated to account for using heavy duty foil to cook the ham. To reach 145 degrees for serving, if your foil is not thin, you will need an additional 10 minutes added to the total cook time to account for the foil.
- If using thin foil, do not add the additional 10 minutes to the cook time, instead add 3-5 minutes.
- This Honey Glaze recipe is for a 4-5 pound ham. If making a larger ham, just double the recipe.
- If you would like to add spices to your Honey Ham Glaze, use ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ⅛ teaspoon cloves.
- Feel free to omit brown sugar for a refined sugar free Honey Ham or to use maple syrup in place of the honey.
- Sweet and Tangy Glaze Option: Instead of the honey glaze, mix together ⅓ cup pineapple juice, ¼ cup apricot preserves, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon prepared Horseradish, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon each of ground cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Pour over ham before wrapping in foil.
- It is important to seal the ham well in foil to keep the ham flavored well and to prevent a burn warning.
- This recipe is for a pre-sliced, pre-cooked ham that you purchase at your grocery store.
- Cooking Directions:
- 3 pound ham: use 1 recipe for glaze and cook for 6 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 16 total minutes)
- 4 pound ham: use 1 recipe for glaze and cook for 8 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 18 minutes)
- 5 pound ham: use 1 recipe for glaze and cook for 10 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 20 minutes)
- 6 pound ham: double the recipe for the glaze and cook for 12 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 22 minutes)
- 7 pound ham: double the recipe for the glaze and cook for 14 minutes + 10 minutes to account for foil (or 24 minutes)
- 8 pound ham: double the recipe for the glaze and cook for 16 minutes+ 10 minutes to account for foil (or 26 minutes)
Nutrition
GingerB
Told hubby I was making Ham for dinner and he says, "could you not overcook it? Sometimes it's a little to dry". That made me think of the Instapot and I found this recipe. OMG this was the best ham I've ever made and that glaze was perfect! Nothing overpowered the rest of the ingredients and the ham was sooo moist! The only thing I needed to substitute was OJ for the pineapple juice since I didn't have any pineapple juice. Super easy to make. THANK YOU!!!
Kristen Chidsey
I LOVE LOVE hearing this! Thanks for sharing Ginger!
Irene
Hi Kristen, love your infor on Instant Pot. I have a 4.2 lbs, Applewood smoked ham, that I brought from a farmer. Is your instant pot recipe a good way to cook it. If so how long?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Irene! So happy you find my information helpful. Is this ham pre-sliced? If so, it will work just as the directions state (2 minutes per pound + 10 minute if wrapped in foil, for a total of 18 minutes for a 4 pound ham).
Yevonne
Thanks so much for this recipe. I have an 8 qrt Instant pot. My 10 pound spiral cut bone in ham did not fit. I cut off the bottom by three inches then it fit and I put the slices that I cut off around the sides. I did not use a trivet. I used 1 1/2 cups of pineapple juice (from the sliced pineapple can) and that was enough liquid. I followed your advice and cooked it on hi pressure for 20 minutes and let it slowly release. After taking the ham out of the pot, I added maple syrup to the juices. That was so delicious! Next time I will buy a smaller ham so I can use the trivet to get the ham out. This ham kept falling apart when I took it out. Thanks so much for the recipe. Oh, and I poured the maple syrup sweetened juices over the pineapple slices and sprinkled some cinnamon over them and broiled for a few minutes. Yum!
Dane
What the point of tin foil of the ham in inside a sealed pressure cooker? Is it not silly to cover a ham with tin foil to keep the moisture in while cooking it inside a pressure cooker?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Dane! It helps contain the glaze over the ham and the moisture to not dilute the glaze 🙂
Linda Irwin
I just took my ham out of the freezer (came frozen in the store) and realized it won't fit in the Instant Pot as it's too big. I will have to use the oven and plan to wrap thoroughly with heavy duty foil in a roasting pan, probably at 350. Since it is just over 7 pounds, do you think an hour would be long enough? I will start with it thawed out.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Linda! I would follow my recipe for Baked Ham 🙂 Enjoy!
Nikoletta roberson
Hi! Can I use ham that isn’t precooked?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Nikoletta. It is quite difficult to purchase uncooked ham at most stores. If your ham is cured, smoked, or baked, it would be considered pre-cooked. If you do happen to have a fresh ham, this recipe will not work for that.
Joanna
What if I don’t have pineapple juice? Anything else I can use?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Joanna. You can use apple juice, orange juice, or even chicken stock. If using broth/stock you may want to increase the honey by a few tablespoons.
GingerB
I used orange juice because I went to the store to get pineapples and left without it. The orange juice worked great! LOL
Susan
Absolutely delicious! Recieved lots of compliments. Didn't have time to make the glaze reduction. Tried for 1st time on Thanksgiving because the oven was full. Gold Star! Highly recommend!: Ham not my favorite but I tasted and it was wonderful!
Debbie
Hi, this looks delicious. After I cook down the glaze, can I pour it into a measuring cup, put the ham in the instant pot, pour the glaze on top and leave it on keep warm for 45 minutes to one hour? If I do this will it get dried out or burn?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Debbie! I would recommend pouring the glaze over the ham wrapped in foil and then place on a trivet over warm water to hold warm--this will keep it from drying out.
Grace
Can I make this ahead of time and leave it in the pot on “keep warm” or will it overcook the ham?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Grace! Leaving on keep warm for a couple of hours will be fine. I wouldn't go much longer than 2-3 hours.
Katie
Looks Delish! Do you have to use a spiral cut ham or can I use a boneless ham? (And slice partially maybe?) does it impact the cooking time?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Katie! You can certainly use a boneless ham, but I would suggest cutting to get the glaze in between the slices. You will also want to increase the cooking time to 3 minutes per pound if unsliced.
Tanya
Can I use a precooked ham?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Tanya! This recipe is for a precooked ham, not a raw ham--so it will be perfect 🙂
Jerica
Did not use foil and this was still not cooked fully using the time frame on this recipe. Putting it in for another 15 minutes to see if that does the trick!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jerica! I would love to further troubleshoot this for you. Can you tell me what type of ham you used and if it was sliced, etc.
Caela Horn
Do you need to use the cooking stand?
Kristen Chidsey
I recommend it so that you can wrap the ham in foil, which keeps it super juicy. If it does not fit with the rack, use pineapple juice as the liquid and place the ham, unwrapped in the liquid. Carefully pour the glaze over top the ham and cook for 2 minutes per pound.
Kate
Hi, I tried this out and my 5 lb ham was not even close to the right temperature after 15 minutes + natural release. I didn't use a glaze but still separated the layers. Any idea what would be wrong?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kate! I am sorry for your experience. If wrapped in foil, you needed to account for an additional 10 minutes of cook time. It may have also been that your instant pot was on low heat instead of high heat or that you used warm, not cold water. When/if this happens, I suggest closing your instant pot and cooking for an additional 5-10 minutes.
Kate
Thanks! I used regular (not heavy duty) foil which says to add 3 minutes in your notes, but in any case, it still wasn't up to temperature until I cooked for a total of about 45 minutes on high pressure. I figure it must have been the foil, but am surprised the cook time was so off for me!
Julia
I also seem to have had the same thing happen. I think the foil is affecting how it cooks somehow. I’ve needed to put it back in on high pressure for another 15 minutes in hopes that it brings it up to temperature.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Julia! Can I ask if you used a double layer of foil or extra-heavy duty?
Tonya
This was so good! My family loved our Christmas dinner and I am thinking I actually do like ham now. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Tonya! Thank you for sharing!
Dayna
Can this be done from Frozen?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Dayna. Frozen ham does not tend to cook evenly, so it is the one meat I recommend fully defrosting first. If you want to try cooking from frozen I would cook for 4 minutes per pound, anticipating you may need to add time if not cooked through.
Emma
Merry Christmas!! I’m so excited to cook my FIRST HAM!! We’re a very butter loving family and my mom isn’t very good at cooking hams she said, but always put butter on it! Can I add butter to it in the foil at all or will it mess it up?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Emma! Butter is fine as long as it is in the foil. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Ashley Scibior
How much time would I do for a 8lb bone-in ham? I’m not sure if I’m missing is it says notes for bone-in lol
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Ashley. This timing is the same for bone-in or boneless. I would cook for 16 minutes for the ham + 10 minutes if using heavy-duty foil, for a total of 26 minutes. enjoy!
Ashley Scibior
Thank you!
Sheila Spencer
If my ham is too big to fit as is, can I cut it in half?
Kristen Chidsey
Yes absolutely, but only cook for the amount of time for half the weight. Enjoy