Easy Sweet and Savory Instant Pot Ham with Honey Glaze
Instant Pot ham with honey glaze is packed full of sweet and savory flavor to make the perfect main dish for just about any dinner. This recipes rivals popular Honey Baked hams but is ready in less than 45 minutes and much less expensive! You could make this any night of the week or serve it as main dish on Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
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The first time we had an Easter ham was visiting my aunt in Pittsburgh for the holiday.
She doesn’t cook at all, and we had an agreement.
She’d do the main dish if my husband and I did the sides.
While we whipped up mashed potatoes , some homemade macaroni and cheese and baked apples, she ordered a Honey Baked ham.
I’d never even known that was a thing you could do before.
When I went in with her to pick it up, I was shocked to find out how much those hams cost. Holy cow!
Why buy a premade one from a very busy store when it is so easy to make your own homemade honey baked ham right in your pressure cooker?
You can save yourself money and the hassle of dealing with a busy store.
Ingredients and supplies
To make this delicious Instant Pot ham, you’ll need:
- Spiral Sliced Ham – You’ll need about a 3 to 5 pound ham, too much bigger won’t fit in the inner pot.
- Pineapple juice – You should be able to find this in the juice section of your local store.
- Honey – If you want, you could use maple syrup instead.
- Ground Cloves – If you use whole cloves, you’ll need to pick them out.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar will help sweeten the ham and thicken the glaze.
For the glaze, you’ll need:
- Pineapple Juice – You should have plenty in the can or bottle you find at the store. If you prefer, you could substitute orange juice for pineapple juice, which is especially nice at Christmas with the cloves.
- Cooking Liquid – We’re making a reduction from the juices the ham makes.
- Cornstarch – The cornstarch is what thickens the glaze.
You’ll also need the following kitchen gadgets on hand:
- 6-Quart (or larger) Instant Pot – You could use an off brand, but why would you want to? Don’t try this in a smaller Instant Pot. The ham won’t fit.
- Aluminum Foil– Heavy duty works best to help ensure it does not tear while you work with it.
How to Make Instant Pot Ham
There are two sets of instructions for Instant Pot Ham: making the ham and creating the glaze.
To make ham in the Instant Pot, follow these steps:
1. Prepare the pot
Place your trivet in the inner pot and pour in 1 1/2 cups of cold water.
2. Prepare the marinade.
To make the marinade for the ham, whisk the pineapple juice, honey, ground cloves, and brown sugar until combined.
3. Prep and glaze the ham.
Unroll a large sheet of aluminum foil, enough to cover the ham. I recommend placing it over a large bowl and pushing it down gently to line the bowl. With the foil in place, gently place the ham into the aluminum foil and then rub in the glaze. Wrap the foil securely over the ham. If it is not quite covered, add another sheet on top. Remove the ham from the bowl and place it on the trivet.
4. Pressure cook the ham in the Instant Pot.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 2 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes. Once cook time has ended, allow it to do a natural release. Finally, check the internal temperature to be sure the ham is warmed to 135-150 degrees. If it has not yet reached the temp, allow it to cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes on high pressure.
To make the ham honey glaze , you’ll need to:
- Remove ham and pour out the water.
Carefully remove the ham and trivet from the inner pot and set aside. Next, pour out the water.
2. Make a reduction.
To make the reduction, return the inner pot to the Instant Pot and set it on saute mode.
Carefully drain any cooking liquids from the aluminum foil around the ham and pour them into the inner pot.
Next, whisk the pineapple juice and cornstarch in a small bowl and pour the mixture into the inner pot.
Whisk constantly until the mixture starts to boil and thicken. This should take about 2 to 3 minutes.
Storing Leftovers
Ham stores for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Before placing in the fridge, place the ham in an airtight container to help prevent it from spoiling.
To reheat, you can place it in the oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes or until it has warmed through. Or, for faster results, you can place it on a microwave safe dish and cover with a damp paper towel and nuke it for about 1 to 2 minutes.
FAQs
How do you heat up a fully cooked ham in the instant pot?
To ensure your ham fully cooks in the Instant Pot, you want to cook it for 2 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes. So if you have a 5 pound ham, you will want to cook it for a total of 20 minutes (2×5 = 10 + 10 = 20 minutes). At this time, the ham will warm through fully and stop it from drying out.
How do I keep my Instant Pot ham moist?
Unlike cooking ham in the oven, you don’t have to worry as much about this ham drying out because it is being cooked with moist heat.
Also, wrapping the ham tightly in foil locks in the juices to keep the ham nice and moist. And lastly, the honey glaze will add more moisture to the ham.The result is anything but dry!
What is the honey glaze made of on ham?
Recipes can differ a bit. My glaze uses pan drippings and pineapple juice for flavor as well as corn starch to thicken the glaze. Before cooking the ham in the Instant Pot, I rub on some brown sugar, honey, pineapple juice, and cloves. Other recipes use a combination of brown sugar, butter, and honey.
What to Serve With Instant Pot Ham
Instant Pot ham makes a great main dish for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas.
But don’t limit making it to just the holidays! It’s perfect for really any family dinner you are planning.
If you love potatoes, you could make it with these Garlic Roasted Potatoes and herb roasted carrots.
You could also go with something simple like Mashed Potatoes.
Or if you want something green, you could try making my favorite Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Air Fryer Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese or Garlic Roasted Green Beans.
For something sweet to balance out the savory, try easy fried apples!
For stuffing lovers, this Apple Stuffing would work great and so would this classic stuffing.
Tips and Tricks
- It is easiest to place the aluminum foil and ham in a bowl to help keep the liquid glaze from spilling out all over the place.
- When making the reduction, don’t forget to whisk the cornstarch and pineapple juice together before adding to the Instant Pot. This will help prevent lumps from forming.
- If you use whole cloves instead, you can use a strainer to remove them before making the glaze or reduction.
- Make sure you tightly wrap the ham in foil to prevent the juices from leaking out.
- For a Christmas variation, substitute maple syrup for the honey and orange juice for the pineapple juice. Keep everything else the same.
- For Easter, serve it along side some Garlic and Herb Roasted Carrots and Italian Easter Bread Wreath with Eggs
Other Instant Pot Main Dishes Perfect for Any Holiday
Looking to make a holiday worthy meal in your Instant Pot all year long? Try these:
- Instant Pot Roast Beef with Apple Cider Gravy– This yummy recipe creates melt in your mouth beef with a sweet and savory gravy you’ll love.
- Instant Pot Fettucine Alfredo– Rich, creamy and delicious, this would be lovely and special feeling enough to serve any time!
Have leftover ham? Use it up in this ham and cheese frittata, an Easy Ham and Cheese Panini, or these Ham and Cheese Biscuits
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Ingredients
- 3-5 pound spiral sliced ham
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- for the glaze
- 1/4 c pineapple juice
- cooking liquid
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
For the ham:
- Place your trivet in the inner pot and pour in 1 ½ cups of cold water.
- To make the glaze for the ham, whisk the pineapple juice, honey, ground cloves, and brown sugar until combined.
- Unroll a large sheet of aluminum foil, enough to cover the ham. I recommend placing it over a large bowl and pushing it down gently to line the bowl. With the foil in place, gently place the ham into the aluminum foil and then rub in the glaze. Wrap the foil securely over the ham. If it is not quite covered, add another sheet on top. Remove the ham from the bowl and place it on the trivet.
- Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and cook for 2 minutes per pound plus 10 minutes. Once cook time has ended, allow it to do a natural release. Finally, check the internal temperature to be sure the ham is warmed to 135-150 degrees. If it has not yet reached the temp, allow it to cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes on high pressure.
For the honey glaze:
- Carefully remove the ham and trivet from the inner pot and set aside. Next, pour out the water.
- To make the reduction, return the inner pot to the Instant Pot and set it on saute mode. Carefully drain any cooking liquids from the aluminum foil around the ham and pour them into the inner pot. Next, whisk the pineapple juice and cornstarch in a small bowl and pour the mixture into the inner pot. Whisk constantly until the mixture starts to boil and thicken. This should take about 2 to 3 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
