These air-fried glazed ham steaks are quick and easy to make but totally delicious. The steaks are coated in a simple sweet glaze that caramelizes beautifully in the air fryer. They are perfect for a quick mid-week dinner but tasty enough to serve at Christmas.
Glazed ham steaks are ideal for small families, couples, or anyone who likes ham, but doesn’t want to deal with cooking (and eating) a whole one.
They are also ideal for a holiday celebration if you are only cooking for a handful of people. Rather than roasting and glazing an entire ham, simply cook each person their very own glazed ham steak in the air fryer!
Scroll down for the printable recipe card, or read on for all the details.
Ingredients notes
Ham steaks
You can buy pre-cut ham steaks, or cut steaks from a whole precooked ham.
You can also use frozen ham steaks for this recipe, however the cook times will be longer (see below for more details on air frying times for frozen ham steaks).
You can also use gammon steak, though because gammon is not fully pre-cooked it is essential to ensure that it reaches the safe temperature for pork of 145°F/ 63°C, rather than the temperature for reheating cooked ham (140°F/ 60°C). Check with an instant-read meat thermometer to be sure it has reached 145°F/ 63°C or higher all the way through.
Glaze
This recipe uses a simple homemade glaze, made from liquid honey, Dijon mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and oil. You can use a premade glaze, or any other seasoning you like with ham.
How to cook ham steaks in the air fryer
This recipe is very simple to prepare, but there are a few key steps getting it just right:
- Preheat the air fryer to 350°F/ 175°C. It is important to preheat the air fryer for this recipe because the cook time is short. This means you don’t want to waste precious minutes of cooking time while the air fryer is heating up.
- Make the glaze by whisking the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place the ham steaks in the air fryer basket and apply glaze to the top side. Brush the glaze on, or use a spoon and carefully spread the glaze over the ham slice.
- Cook the ham steak in the air fryer for 3 minutes, then flip it over and glaze the other side. Air fry the ham steak a final time for 3-4 minutes until it reaches 140°F/ 60°C (see section below for more on air fryer ham cooking times).
- Rest the ham steaks. Place the ham steaks on a plate, cover with foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. It is important to rest any meat after cooking so that the juices can reabsorb into the meat, keeping the ham steak juicy and succulent.
How long to cook ham steaks in the air fryer
The exact cooking times for ham steaks in the air fryer will depend on several factors, including the steaks’ exact size and thickness and the power of your air fryer.
The only way to know if your ham steak is heated enough is to test the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer:
- If you are air frying ham steaks that are fully pre-cooked, then they need to be cooked in the air fryer until the internal temperature reaches 140°F/ 60°C (as recommended by the USDA).
- If you are air frying ham steaks from frozen, the cook times will be around 2 minutes longer. Again, the internal temperature needs to reach 140°F/ 60°C as long as they are fully pre-cooked ham steaks.
- If you are air frying gammon steaks (or uncooked ham steaks), the cooking time will be around 2-3 minutes longer than for pre-cooked ham steaks. Ensure that they are cooked until the internal temperature reaches 145°F/ 63°C.
Use an instant read thermometer to measure the temperature in the center of the thickest part of the meat for an accurate temperature reading.
Serving ideas
- Serve with steamed vegetables and creamy mustard sauce.
- Top with grilled pineapple slices – you can cook pineapple in the air fryer too. Just cook the pineapple first for 15 minutes, then cook the ham steaks, and give the pineapple another 5 minutes in the air fryer while the ham steaks are resting.
- Slice the ham steaks and serve them in a sub with mustard, cheese, and sliced tomato for the most delicious hot ham sandwiches. (You can even pop the sandwiches in the air fryer for 2-3 minutes to melt the cheese, if you like!)
- Serve with hash browns and grilled tomatoes for a hearty brunch or breakfast.
Storage and reheating
Store any leftover ham steaks in an air tight container in the refrigerator, and use within five days.
If you want to reheat your ham steaks, you air fry them for 3-4 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 140°F/ 60°C. Alternatively, you can eat them cold. They are perfect for ham sandwiches.
Air Fryer Ham Steaks
Ingredients
- 1 lb / 450 g ham steaks (precooked [Note 1])
Glaze ingredients
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or liquid honey)
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or wholegrain or Dijon)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or apple juice)
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 350°F/ 175°C.
- Whisk the glaze ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Place ham steaks in air fryer basket, and brush tops of steaks with glaze.
- Air fry ham steaks for 3 minutes then flip them over and brush with the glaze. Air fry ham steaks for 2-3 minutes more, until the glaze is caramelized and the internal temperature reaches at least 140°F/ 60°C [Note 1].
- Remove steaks from the air fryer, cover with foil, and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- You can use uncooked ham steaks (gammon steaks), but they will need to be cooked until the internal temperature reaches 145°F/ 63°C.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.
