Tender, fall-off-the-bone ham is on today's menu. This tasty and super simple Instant Pot Ham recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. Serve this delicious ham with some honey mustard sauce on the side.
Every year, I bake a ham for Easter; and every year it's such a chore. Not because baking a ham is hard to do, it actually couldn't be simpler. However, the reoccurring issue is that my ham is never ready when it's supposed to be.
After hours of cooking, the ham ends up dried up, yet somehow still cold in the center. Part of the problem is my oven, which always runs lower in temperature than it's supposed to. However, I've talked to friends who have experienced the same thing.
I've left those issues in the past now that I own an Instant pot! With this simple ham recipe, I can skip the oven and guesswork altogether. Tender juicy ham is not only possible but quite easy to accomplish.
If you are lucky enough to have leftover ham, be sure to try this ham and cabbage soup or use the ham bone and some leftover ham to make this warm and comforting Instant Pot Split Pea Soup!
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Instant pot ham is easy and perfect every time!
- The ham is ready to eat in around 30 minutes.
- Leftover ham freezes really well and great for making grilled cheese and ham sandwiches.
- Pressure cooker ham stays tender and juicy and has a wonderful flavor!
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ham: For this recipe, I'm using a 6 lb spiral cut bone-in ham. You can also use a whole ham or a half ham. You just need to make sure it will fit inside your Instant pot. If you have a larger Instant pot and can fit a bigger ham, you'll need to adjust the cooking time by adding 2 additional minutes for each additional pound.
- Broth: I usually use chicken broth, but you can also use beef or vegetable broth.
- Wine: Any white wine, as long as it's not too sweet. You can also substitute cooking sherry.
🍖 How to Make Instant Pot Ham
Step 1: Mix wine and broth and pour into Instant Pot. Place the trivet inside the Instant Pot and top with spiral-cut ham (flat side down).
Pro Tip: If you need to, you can remove a few slices from the flat side of the ham to make it fit into your Instant pot.
Step 2: Add lid then seal Instant pot by turning the valve to the seal position. Select high pressure and adjust the cooking time for two minutes per pound, or 12 minutes for a six-pound ham.
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Step 3: Once the cooking time is done, let the ham rest for 5 minutes, then do a quick release to release the remaining pressure.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
I like to serve the ham slices with my honey mustard sauce on the side along with Instant pot scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes. These roasted sugar snap peas, green beans casserole, or parmesan roasted rainbow carrots can complete your Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any day of the year, spread!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Since Spiral ham is already cooked, you will basically be reheating it in your Instant Pot. Start by allowing the ham to come to room temperature for a few hours.
Two minutes per pound is the sweet spot. This means a six-pound ham will need to cook for 12 minutes (not counting ten minutes to bring the Instant Pot to pressure, and five minutes for natural release).
An important thing to keep in mind when purchasing a ham is the size of your Instant Pot. I own a six-quart Instant Pot and could barely squeeze a six-pound ham into it.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Don't forget to remove the plastic bone guard on the bottom of the ham before cooking it. I'm not speaking from experience.
- Save the ham bone to make my ham and bean soup!
- Serve honey mustard sauce on the side, so that your guests can have the option of enjoying the ham plain (low carb), with dijon mustard, or topped with the honey mustard sauce.
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze in freezer bags for longer storage.
- You may also want to try my pomegranate glazed double smoked ham, it's incredible!
Glazed vs Unglazed Ham
The internet is swimming with sweet and sugary, glazed ham recipes. It makes me wonder, is my family the only one left who prefers plain, unglazed ham?
Besides preferring the taste of plain ham, I find you can do a lot more with the leftovers. Ham and split pea soup, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, or ham and eggs to name a few.
If, however, you want to use the glaze packet that comes with your ham, be my guest! Just prepare the glaze while the ham is in the Instant pot. Next, pour the glaze over the cooked ham and bake it in a hot oven for a few minutes to caramelize.
🥘 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Ham Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pressure cooker
Ingredients
- ½ cup broth
- ½ cup wine
- 6 lb. Spiral (bone-in) ham
Instructions
- Mix wine and broth and pour into Instant Pot. Place the trivet inside the Instant Pot and top with spiral-cut ham (flat side down).
- Add lid then seal Instant pot by turning the valve to the seal position. Select high pressure and adjust the cooking time for two minutes per pound, or 12 minutes for a six-pound ham.
- Once the cooking time is done, let the ham rest for 5 minutes, then do a quick release to release the remaining pressure.
- Serve with Honey Mustard Sauce on the side.
Notes
-
- Don't forget to remove the plastic bone guard on the bottom of the ham before cooking it. I'm not speaking from experience.
- If you need to, you can remove a few slices from the flat side of the ham to make it fit into your Instant pot.
-
- Save the ham bone to make my ham and bean soup!
-
- Serve honey mustard sauce on the side, so that your guests can have the option of enjoying the ham plain (low carb), with dijon mustard, or topped with the honey mustard sauce.
-
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze in freezer bags for longer storage.
Angela says
Which type of wine do you prefer for this? Also, I assume broth is referencing chicken broth? Might I add, THANK YOU for helping those of us who wanted to know how to do a spiral sliced ham in the instant pot without all the extra toppings! I’m with you—I like to use the leftovers for various other recipes that would not work with flavored/sweet ham.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Angela,
This recipe is pretty flexible, so any white wine (as long as it's not sweet) will work. You can even use cooking sherry. As for the broth, I usually use chicken but you can also use beef or vegetable broth. Heck, you can even use beer if you want, as long as you keep the proportions the same. Good luck!