Try this Instant Pot boneless ham recipe for a deceptively simple holiday meal, made with 3 ingredients and an easy homemade glaze. This is the ultimate in easy holiday recipes.
Why you’ll love this recipe
If you love a holiday baked ham, but don’t love cooking, then you’ll love this recipe! This Instant Pot ham recipe is your quick and easy way to delicious baked ham without spending hours in the kitchen.
Pressure cooker ham is one of my favorite holiday dinners. It is just so easy to cook, and at this time of year, I need all the help I can get!
And as a bonus, cooking ham in an Instant Pot is also a great way to save yourself some oven space when you’re cooking a holiday feast!
For some other easy holiday mains, you can make without using your oven, try air fryer roast pork, Instant Pot turkey tenderloin, or air fryer rack of lamb.
Scroll down for the printable card for this boneless ham Instant Pot recipe, or read on for all the details.
What do you need?
Precooked ham
I usually use uncut boneless ham for this recipe. Because this recipe is for warming the ham through rather than cooking it, you will need a fully cooked ham, not raw.
Buying a ham can sometimes be confusing because often farms and companies will call them different names. So, look for a boneless ham that is uncut, and will fit into your Instant Pot (about 4-6 pounds is ideal).
If you can’t get a boneless ham, or you bought your ham already and it is a spiral sliced ham, then all is not lost! You can still use this recipe for other types of hams with a slight adjustment; check the section below on Instant Pot ham cooking times for more details.
You can also use frozen ham for this recipe, but the cooking time will be longer, so again, check the section below for ham cooking times.
Brown sugar
I use brown sugar to make the glaze for this ham, but you could substitute some or all of the brown sugar for coconut sugar, maple syrup, or honey (to make a honey-baked ham).
Pineapple chunks
This recipe requires a large can of pineapple chunks in juice. The liquid in the can is used to pressure cook the ham. The pineapple chunks are placed in the bottom of the pressure cooker bowl to hold the ham up out of the liquid during cooking.
You could substitute another fruit juice (try apple juice or orange juice), but if you do I would recommend using the trivet to hold the ham up out of the liquid.
Optional other seasonings
If you like you can also include some other seasonings in the liquid to add other flavors to your ham. If I am cooking a holiday ham, I like to add mustard powder, whole cloves, and ground nutmeg.
How to cook boneless ham in an Instant Pot
This recipe is so simple you can’t really go wrong, but here are a few tips and key steps in the process:
- First, place the pineapple chunks in the bottom of the Instant Pot bowl and place the ham on top, cut side down.
- Then pour the pineapple juice from the can over the ham, and press the brown sugar onto the ham so that it sticks.
- Cook ham in the Instant Pot for around 2 minutes per pound. This recipe uses a 4-pound ham, so the pressure cooking time is 8 minutes. Adjust the time as required for the size of your ham. See section below for more details on how long to cook the ham for.
- Use quick release to release the remaining pressure and remove the ham as soon as the cooking time is up. If you leave it to naturally release it may end up overcooked.
- Rest ham. Remove the ham from the Instant Pot, cover it with foil and leave it to rest for 5-10 minutes. This allows the juices to reabsorb into the meat, stopping your ham from being dry.
- Meanwhile, make the brown sugar glaze: Scoop out the pineapple chunks with a slotted spoon, and switch the Instant Pot to sauté. Simmer the liquid remaining in the bowl, stirring as needed, until it reduces and forms a sweet glaze.
- Glaze the ham. Brush or drizzle the glaze over the ham for serving. You can caramelize the glaze under the broiler if you want a crispy crust to your ham.
Instant Pot ham cooking times
The cooking times below are estimates for how long it takes to heat each type of ham in an Instant Pot.
Boneless ham
To cook uncut boneless ham in the Instant Pot, cook for 2 minutes per pound and use quick release.
Bone-in ham
For bone-in uncut ham, you will need to pressure cook it for 3 minutes per pound.
Spiral ham
Cook spiral sliced ham in the Instant Pot for around 1½ minutes per pound. For a 4-pound ham, the cook time would be 6 minutes. Adjust the cooking time as required for the size of your ham.
Frozen ham
You can cook ham from frozen in the Instant Pot, but the cooking times will be approximately one-third longer than for a fresh ham.
Serving ideas
Serve ham with the cooked pineapple chunks on the side. Drizzle brown sugar glaze over the ham, or serve as a sauce for guests to help themselves.
Storage and reheating
Store any leftover ham in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use within 5 days.
Cooked ham is delicious cold, so I would recommend using it to make ham sandwiches over the next few days (add some Dijon mustard and a couple of slices of tomato and Swiss cheese), or chop and add to pasta or potato salad.
If you prefer, you can reheat the ham, though it is best to reheat ham by the slice. Either:
- Reheat in the oven: Place the ham slices in a baking dish, cover with aluminum foil and heat in the oven at 285°F/ 140°C for 5-10 minutes, or
- Reheat in the microwave: Place ham on a microwave-safe plate, cover with plastic wrap (pierce a few times) and heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes on high.
Instant Pot Boneless Ham
Ingredients
- 4 pound boneless ham precooked
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 20 ounces pineapple chunks in juice 1 large can
Instructions
- Drain the pineapple chunks, reserving the juice, and place the pineapple chunks in the bottom of the Instant Pot inner bowl.
- Place ham into the Instant Pot bowl cut side down, on top of the pineapple chunks, and pour the reserved pineapple juice over the ham.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar onto the ham, pressing it onto the sides of the ham so that it sticks.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot with the valve set to sealing, and use ‘Pressure Cook’ or ‘Manual’ to cook the ham for 8 minutes.
- At the end of the cook time, use the ‘quick release’ method to open the Instant Pot and carefully remove the ham, and scoop out the pineapple chunks with a slotted spoon.
- To make a glaze from the liquid remaining in the Instant Pot bowl, set the electric pressure cooker to ‘saute’, and simmer the juices stirring often, until the liquid reduces by half.
- Drizzle the glaze over the ham. You can caramelize the glaze under the broiler for a few minutes if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and provided for informational purposes only.
