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This Instant Pot Ham is fall-apart tender and beyond simple. Thanks to the electric pressure cooker, you can free your oven up to cook all the delicious side dishes.

a side photo of a juicy spiral cut ham.
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Say goodbye to dry, tough, and over-cooked ham forever! Thanks to the magical pressure cooker, Instant Pot ham is fall-apart tender and ohhhh so juicy!

Even better? If you’re making this for the holidays, using the Instant Pot means that you can free up your oven for baking all the delicious side dishes like gluten-free scalloped potatoes and sausage stuffing.

I will note that this recipe is not for an overly-sweet ham. I want it to taste like ham and not meat candy.

I do have notes further on in the post to help you create more of a honey-baked ham flavor if that’s more of your preference. If your ham comes with a packet of glaze, you can absolutely also use that as well.

Instant Pot Sizing for Various Ham Sizes

The photos you see in this post are from an 8-quart Instant Pot. I was able to fit a 9 lb bone-in spiral-cut ham into my pressure cooker but it was a tight fit.

Pro Tip: Try to fit your ham into the Instant Pot before removing it from the package. It’s a lot less messy to test it out this way!

If your ham is too large to fit into your pressure cooker, you can trim it to fit…or it might be one of those situations where you’re better off using the oven.

If you’re serving a bone-in ham, estimate 1/2 lb per person. Boneless ham is 1/3 lb per person.

Can You Go Above the Max Fill Line While Cooking A Ham in the Instant Pot?

Yes! Since the ham is not liquid, it’s fine to go above the max fill line in your Instant Pot. This gives you a bit more wiggle room with fitting the ham into the pressure cooker.

You do not need to use the trivet (little wire rack) when cooking ham in a pressure cooker.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • If you run out of brown sugar, make your own! Related: How to Make Brown Sugar.
  • Frozen ham: if you’re in a pinch, cook the frozen ham for 5 minutes per pound of ham at high pressure. And allow for a full natural release. It can heat unevenly, but it is faster than baking it.
  • You can keep the ham warm in the Instant Pot for 1-2 hours if needed.
  • If your ham comes with a plastic cap on the bottom, remove that before placing the ham in the pressure cooker.
  • The cooking time is the same regardless if your precooked ham is boneless or bone-in.

Variation for a “Honey Baked Ham” in the Instant Pot

If you prefer a sweeter ham or one with a brown sugar glaze, I have your back! Once the ham has finished cooking, allow it to rest in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes before performing a quick release.

Gently remove it from the Instant Pot insert and transfer it to a 4-5 quart baking dish. In a small bowl combine an additional: 1/2 cup of pineapple juice, 3 tbsp honey, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Pour the brown sugar mixture over the top of the ham and place it under the broiler for 4-10 minutes. Keep the oven door slightly ajar so that you can keep an eye on it to prevent it from burning.

a note from sarah

Sustainability Tip

If you have leftover ham (lucky duck) after your meal, don’t let it go to waste! After 2-3 days, freeze leftovers for later use. I prefer to freeze about half of it in slices and dice the other half for quick additions to soups and frittatas.

Use it in ham and cheese pinwheels, ham fried rice, or ham and beans.

a spiral cut ham on a white platter with parsley and sliced oranges.
5 from 1 rating

Instant Pot Ham

Servings: 12
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 7 minutes
Pressurizing/Depressurizing: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour 2 minutes
a side photo of a juicy spiral cut ham.
This Instant Pot ham is fall-apart tender and beyond simple. Thanks to the electric pressure cooker, you can free your oven up to cook all the delicious side dishes.

Ingredients 

  • 6-8 lb spiral-cut bone-in ham, cooked {you can also use boneless}
  • 12 oz ginger ale
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup canned pineapple juice
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard {or stoneground}
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar

Instructions 

  • Pro tip: to make sure your ham fits, place it in the Instant Pot insert before removing it from the packaging.
  • Combine ginger ale and apple cider vinegar in the insert of the Instant Pot
    12 oz ginger ale, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • Place the ham in the insert, removing the plastic tab on the ham (if it comes with one).
    6-8 lb spiral-cut bone-in ham, cooked
  • In a small bowl combine: canned pineapple juice, brown sugar, dijon mustard.
    1/2 cup canned pineapple juice, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • Drizzle the pineapple juice mixture over the ham, getting it in-between the slices if your ham is spiral cut.
  • Secure the lid and set the vent to sealing. Press manual>high pressure>5 minutes. It may take up to 30 minutes to come up to pressure.
  • When the cooking time is up, do a natural release for 15 minutes and then flip the vent to venting and perform a quick release.
  • Optional: carefully remove ham from the Instant Pot insert and place it in a 4-5 quart baking dish. Place under the broiler for 2-5 minutes.

Notes

  • You can use different juices other than pineapple if needed. I recommend apple or orange juice.
  • If you’re using a whole ham that is not presliced: Cook the ham using the method listed above, but cook for 3 minutes per pound at manual high pressure.
  • 3 quart Instant Pot: 2-3 lb ham
  • 6 quart Instant Pot: 3-6 lb ham
  • 8 quart Instant Pot: 6-9 lb ham
  • If you’re serving a bone-in ham, estimate 1/2 lb per person. Boneless ham is 1/3 lb per person.

Nutrition

Serving: 8ozCalories: 592kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 49gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 14gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 2724mgPotassium: 677mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah Cook

I'm here to help you make easy, seasonal, and no-fuss recipes for yourself and your family.

Whether it's a quick one-pot dinner or if I am teaching you how to can and preserve local produce, you can consider me your elder millennial grandma

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2 Comments

  1. This recipe is so good. I put pineapple rings and a pinch of clover powder (pinch) on the outside of the ham, magnificent. This makes a great red gravy
    Yummy5 stars