Sunday Supper is an Amazon Associate and may receive compensation for purchases made through affiliate links.
Make the juiciest, most delicious holiday dinner right in your Instant Pot! Our Instant Pot Ham Recipe with Brown Sugar Glaze is so flavorful and takes just 15 minutes to cook. It’s reverse seared in butter for a sticky, crispy skin and is so delectably moist!
This is our go-to holiday recipe for serving with everything from candied carrots to cheesy scalloped potatoes. You’ll never eat dried out ham again if you make it our way – it’s one of the best Instant Pot recipes ever!
Jump to:
Why make ham in the Instant Pot?
Ham is one of the best Sunday dinner ideas and holiday centerpieces. I love to serve it for everything from Thanksgiving, to Christmas, to Easter, or even just as a special meal during the week.
When I realized you can it in the pressure cooker, I knew I had to give it a try. And oh, boy… wow! It is even easier than I expected, and it turns out so juicy and tasty.
My favorite part about making it in the Instant Pot is that it takes less time than cooking it in the oven, and it saves you room, too! When I’m cooking for the holidays, I like to have as much room as possible for my side dishes in the oven, so the pressure cooker is a great solution.
What Kind of Glaze to Use
For this dish, I use my go-to maple brown sugar glaze. It gives the meat so much flavor and an irresistibly sticky, crispy skin!
A brown sugar glaze adds to the sweetness, while a little bit of orange juice gives it a tangy bite. Green onions tie it all off with a perfect little kick! It is SO flavorful!
You can try other glazes, too. What about giving my honey sriracha glaze from my Air Fryer Ham recipe a try?
Why reverse sear ham?
The reverse sear is what sets this recipe apart from other Instant Pot ham recipes and takes it to the next level. By adding a sear at the end of the cook time, you’re giving it a crispy, browned skin that adds so much flavor to every bite.
Just like our Reverse Sear Instant Pot Prime Rib, searing is a must!
⏱ How long is ham good for?
Leftovers will last 3 to 5 days in your refrigerator and are perfect for making new recipes with!
❄ Can you freeze ham?
Yes! It lasts 1 to 2 months in the freezer.
Freeze it by cutting it into slices, then portion it into freezer bags with the air pressed out. Label with the freezing date.
⭐ Family Foodie Tips
- Be careful when lifting it out of the pot. I use two large serving forks to lift it out from both ends.
- You can also use a foil sling by folding a long piece of aluminum foil and placing it under the trivet.
After cooking, add more glaze between each slice to maximize the flavor in every bite. And, your leftovers will taste incredible!
Do you use pre-cooked ham?
Yes. We use a pre-cooked boneless ham for this recipe. You can use bone-in, if you prefer.
Can you use spiral cut ham?
Yes! You can use spiral cut, just make sure it’s the right size to fit in your Instant Pot. We use a 5 lb. ham for a 6 qt. Instant Pot.
Do you pour the orange juice over top?
Pour the orange juice at the bottom of the Instant Pot, before adding the ham. Cooking it over the juice infuses it with so much flavor!
Should I thaw frozen ham before cooking it?
Yes. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator first, before cooking it in your Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Ham Cook Time
Cook for approximately 2 minutes per pound.
- 2 lb.: 4 minutes on high pressure
- 3 lb.: 6 minutes on high pressure
- 4 lb.: 8 minutes on high pressure
- 5 lb.: 10 minutes on high pressure
Leftover Ham Recipes
There are so many amazing sliced ham recipes you can make using the leftovers from this dish! Try these…
- Garlic Butter Ham and Cheese Sliders
- Leftover Ham Soup
- Breakfast Casserole with Crescent Rolls (dice and add to the casserole!)
- Split Pea Soup with Bacon
- Pink Pasta Recipe
🥗 What to Serve with Ham
We make ham all the time for the holidays in my household. Honestly, it is one of my favorite Instant Pot dinner ideas! Some of my favorite side dishes are Orange and Fennel Salad and Au Gratin Potatoes.
Try our best Easy Christmas Side Dishes and Thanksgiving Side Dishes, too!
What makes this the best recipe?
Not only does it taste amazing, but it really is the easiest way to make ham. It takes just 15 minutes to cook, and the reverse sear gives it the most incredible crispy skin. Not to mention how amazing the glaze is!
Take it from our readers! Here’s what they’re saying:
Super easy recipe. Will definitely be making this again!
Courtney
We did this ham for Easter. We were literally fighting over who got the last piece. It was to die for!
Joline
📌 Pin it for later!
Did you enjoy this page? Save it on Pinterest for later!Save the Video Pin
Did you try this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating below to let us know what you think! We love to hear from you!
📋 Recipe
Instant Pot Ham Recipe with Brown Sugar Ham Glaze
🍳 Equipment
🥘 Ingredients
- 5 lb. ham pre-cooked
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 green onions sliced
- 1 cup orange juice
- ½ stick butter
🔪 Instructions
- Combine 1 cup maple syrup, 1 cup brown sugar, and 3 sliced green onions to a mixing bowl. Mix well.
- Add trivet to the bottom of your 6 qt.+ Instant Pot. Pour in 1 cup of orange juice. Place a 5 pound ham on top of the trivet, and cover with ½ of the glaze mixture. Lock the lid in place and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- When 10 minutes is up, carefully release the pressure (use an oven mitt or dish cloth). Carefully lift out of the pot and set aside on a plate. Drain the liquid from the pot.
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and melt ½ stick butter.
- Once it melts, add the ham. Sear on each side until browned all over.
- Remove to a plate and slice. On top and in between each slice, evenly cover with the remaining ½ of your glaze mixture. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Serve with orange slices and arugula.
- Reserve some green onions to put on top for extra color and flavor.
- Try our Honey Sriracha Air Fryer Ham next!
Andrea Metlika says
This ham looks delicious. I am going to make this for my family on Easter.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
That glaze sounds absolutely incredible! I love making hams in the Instant Pot – always go down a treat in my house.
Veena Azmanov says
I am drooling with the looks of this delicious and mouth melting dish. So soft and juicy and presentation superb.
Anita says
That ham looks so good. And it is really unbelievable one can cook a great ham like that in 10 minutes! Thanks for this recipe. 🙂
Jacqueline Debono says
This ham looks fabulous! I’d love to make this for Easter lunch! If we celebrate Easter this year here in Italy as at the moment it’s looking doubtful!
Emily says
Definitely want to try this for Easter!! If I get a smaller ham, how would that affect the cooking time? Thank you in advance!
Em Beitel says
We’re so excited to hear you’re going to try it out! It’s really delicious, especially reverse seared. Cooking a smaller ham shouldn’t affect the cooking time – it will stay the same. Thank you so much for your lovely comment!
Rosa says
Is this a bone-in or boneless ham? I brought a boneless ham would I give it 10 minutes like in the recipe?
Em Beitel says
Hi there, Rosa! Thank you for your comment. Boneless is perfect – we used boneless for this recipe!
G. Olsen says
Should the second half of the glaze (which is put on top & between the slices after cooking & before serving) be cooked in order to melt the sugar? The glaze in the photo looks so thick, it seems like it would be very “granular”. Thank you!
Em Beitel says
Hi there! Thank you for your question! We actually found that adding the glaze to the hot ham melts it perfectly, and didn’t have an issue with it being granular. However, you could definitely heat it up before adding it to the ham if you prefer. It should work out deliciously either way!
Lynn says
I am assuming this is an already cooked, boneless ham, is that correct. Looks delicious.
Em Beitel says
Hi Lynn! Yes, that’s correct! Thank you so much. It really is so tasty!
Kristin says
I am curious about doing the quick release after the ham is finished cooking. I’ve read that doing a quick release will dry meat out?
Em Beitel says
Hi Kristin! We have no problem doing quick release for this ham recipe – it didn’t come out dry at all. In fact it was quite the opposite! I hope this helps.