Instant Pot Ham

Jump to Recipe

This Instant Pot ham is so easy to make – 4 ingredients and a pressure cooker is all you need for a fantastic ham that everyone will love!

My kids are huge ham fans. One of their favourite meals for sure. That’s probably not unusual.

I think that most kids like ham. Maybe not quite as much as mine do.

I made this twice in one week to get the recipe right, and there were audible cheers from the kiddos when they found out I was making a second ham.

And the first one wasn’t even all gone yet.

Instant Pot Ham - Bake. Eat. Repeat. (2)

Half hams are big. That’s a lot of ham to eat, but they were perfectly okay with that.

My husband and I don’t love it as much as the kids, but it’s still a meal that makes everyone here pretty happy. Especially me – easy as can be to make, and leftovers for days.

That’s pretty much the perfect meal.

Instant Pot Ham - Bake. Eat. Repeat. (3)

Is bone in ham better than boneless?

Boneless hams are easier to slice, but I have found that they don’t have as much flavour as bone in hams, and the texture is sometimes a bit mushy. So I nearly always buy a bone in ham.

You do need to cut the ham up a bit for this recipe though to fit it in the Instant Pot. So if you prefer to toss a whole ham into the Instant Pot instead of cutting it up, that’s definitely an option.

If you’re doing this, go with 8 minutes per pound for the cooking time, as boneless hams come in a variety of sizes.

What’s the best cut of ham?

I like to get a half ham, labelled either shank portion or butt portion, with the bone in. They are usually quite large but do freeze very well.

So if you only want to cook half of it and freeze the other half that’s an option. Or cook it and then freeze it for later.

The only kind of ham I wouldn’t recommend for this recipe is a spiral cut ham. It would cook a little weird in the Instant Pot and go rather dry I think.

That being said, I haven’t tried it myself as I always find the spiral cut hams dry.

Instant Pot Ham - Bake. Eat. Repeat. (5)

How many people will my ham feed?

A good estimate for how many people your ham will feed is 3/4 pound per person for a bone in ham and 1/2 pound per person for a boneless ham.

The ham I cooked this time was 8 pounds with the bone in. So theoretically that should serve about 12 adults.

I think it actually serves more then that as we have leftovers for days when I make a ham even though my kids eat a ton of it, but it obviously depends on how much everyone present eats!

For my family of five this ham was enough for two dinners. We also fried some up with eggs for breakfast a couple times. Plus sandwiches at lunch for a few days.

So it lasted just over a week in my house. Ham lasts for quite a while, so it’s not a bad thing to have leftovers of!

Instant Pot Ham - Bake. Eat. Repeat. (6)

How to make Instant Pot Ham:

This Instant Pot ham is so easy to prep. Simply cut it into a few chunks so it will fit in your Instant Pot, pour a brown sugar, mustard, and orange juice mixture over top, and cook on high pressure.
The edges of the ham pieces do get quite dark with this recipe, especially where the ham is resting on the bottom of the pot, between the heat and the sugar in the sauce. It will still taste fine, but I prefer not to trim the fat and the rind before cooking, and try to have those sides of the ham pieces sitting on the bottom of the pot so you can just trim the dark edges off. If it’s the side with the rind, you would usually trim it off anyways so you’re not losing anything if you wait to trim it until after it’s cooked.
I’ve made this recipe with both Dijon mustard, and prepared yellow mustard, and I preferred the Dijon, but both were good so use whichever you have on hand.
I have an 8 quart Duo Instant Pot, and could fit the entire ham with the bone in it after cutting it up a bit. If you have a smaller Instant Pot you likely won’t be able to fit it all. Leave the bone out if it won’t fit, it will still be delicious.

Here are some great recipes for you that you can use the leftovers in:

Creamy Ham and Corn Chowder
Ham Egg and Cheese Pretzel Rolls
Creamy One Pot Turkey and Rice(use chopped ham instead of turkey)

And here are a few great side dishes to serve with this Instant Pot ham:

Roasted Baby Potatoes with Rosemary and Garlic
Cheesy Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower
Drop Biscuits

Yield: serves 12

This Instant Pot ham is so easy to make - 4 ingredients and a pressure cooker is all you need for a fanstastic ham that everyone will love!

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time35 minutes

Total Time45 minutes

Ingredients

6-9 pound (2.5-4kg) bone-in ham (not a spiral cut ham)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or prepared yellow mustard, although we prefer Dijon)

Instructions

Cut the ham into smaller pieces, so that you can fit it all in the Instant Pot.
Put 1/4 cup of water into the insert of your Instant Pot. Add the ham pieces, including the bone if it will fit, into the pot, making sure not to fill it above the 2/3 fill line.
In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, orange juice, and mustard.
Pour this mixture over top of the ham.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn it to the locked position. Make sure the valve is in the sealing position.
Cook on high pressure for 30-35 minutes (less time if your pieces are small, 3 inches or so, more if you cut it into bigger pieces)
When the cook time is finished, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure. The ham should be very tender. If it isn’t you can cook for another 5-10 minutes. The pot will come to pressure faster the second time.
Remove the ham from the Instant pot carefully, slice or shred it, and place it on a serving dish.
Drizzle some of the liquid from the pot over top of the sliced ham and serve.

Notes

The edges of the ham pieces so get quite dark with this recipe, especially where the ham is resting on the bottom of the pot, between the heat and the sugar in the sauce. It will still taste fine, but I prefer not to trim the fat and the rind before cooking, and try to have those sides of the ham pieces sitting on the bottom of the pot so you can just trim the dark edges off. If it’s the side with the rind, you would usually trim it off anyways so you’re not losing anything if you wait to trim it until after it’s cooked.