This decidedly Southern-influenced pressure-cooked ham with ginger peach glaze is reason number 273 to love your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. It turns out a memorable holiday ham with all the familiar warm and rich undertones of mustard, ginger, bourbon, and peach in less than an hour. No lie. And no more is your oven held hostage all holiday morning.
Why Our Testers Loved This
The testers were delighted that this method for cooking ham in a pressure cooker kept it moist and tender. They also loved that the peach glaze was not overly sweet and complemented the salty ham well.
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Ham–You can use a bone-in or boneless ham for this Instant Pot ham recipe. We prefer a semi-boneless ham, as it’s easier to carve than a regular bone-in ham. It still gives you added flavor, and the leftover bone is ideal for making split pea soup.
- Peach preserves–Feel free to substitute a different type of preserves for the glaze. Apricot preserves would work well.
- Mustard–You can use your favorite strong mustard here, such as Creole or whole-grain mustard. Adding mustard gives the glaze a tang, which is essential to balance the salty ham and sweet preserves flavors.
- Ginger beer–The bite of ginger beer lends a distinct flavor to the ham, but regular ginger ale will work well. Don’t substitute diet ginger ale.
How to Make This Recipe
- Score the top and sides of the ham in a diamond pattern.
- Mix the preserves, mustard, and spices together in a small bowl.
- Spread half of the glaze over the ham.
- Pour the ginger beer into the Instant Pot with the trivet set inside.
- Set the ham on the trivet inside the Instant Pot.
- Secure the lid and cook over low pressure for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 3 minutes, then quick-release the remaining pressure. Use the trivet to lift the ham out of the pot and set the ham on a baking sheet. Spread the remaining glaze on the ham.
- Broil the ham until the glaze is golden and bubbling. Let rest for 15 minutes. Simmer the cooking liquid in the Instant Pot until reduced by half, then pour in the preserves, bourbon, and lemon juice.
- Whisk until combined.
- Carve the ham. Serve with the bourbon jus, if using.
Common Questions
The general rule of thumb for a semi-boneless ham is 3 minutes per pound over low pressure or 2 minutes per pound over high pressure. If you use a boneless ham, you can reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
Absolutely. Feel free to use your favorite type of preserves in the recipe or swap in a completely different glaze. We love slathering our ham with mustard glaze.
If you’re cooking a boneless ham, plan for 1/2 pound per person. If using a bone-in ham, plan on 2/3 to 3/4 pound per person.
Although this pressure cooker ham recipe is easy enough to whip up any day of the week, it’s perfectly suited to a holiday meal, particularly Easter. For an easy Easter dinner, serve it with scalloped potatoes and fresh peas with mint. Any of these Easter desserts would be a fantastic ending to the meal.
Helpful Tips
- Line your baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup.
- Leftover ham can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- To rewarm ham, place it in a baking dish and cover it tightly with foil. Bake at 300°F until warmed through.
- Save your ham bone for making soup stock, or use it instead of a ham hock for split pea soup.
More Great Ham Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Instant Pot Ham with Ginger Peach Glaze
Equipment
- Pressure cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
For the glazed ham
- One (4-to 5-pound) fully cooked ham, preferably semi-boneless
- 3/4 cup peach preserves
- 1/4 cup Creole mustard or whole-grain Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup premium ginger beer or ginger ale (do NOT use diet)
For the bourbon jus (optional)
- 1/4 cup peach preserves
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Make the glazed ham
- Use a sharp, heavy knife to score the top and sides of the ham in a diamond pattern. Make diagonal cuts that are about 3/4-inch (2-cm) deep and spaced about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) apart.
- In a medium bowl, stir together 3/4 cup preserves, the Creole mustard, mustard powder, ground ginger, and pepper. Spread half the glaze over the top and sides of the ham. Reserve the rest of the glaze.
- Pour the ginger beer into the pot of the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Lower the ham onto the trivet in the pot, cover, and cook on low pressure for 15 minutes. Let stand for natural release for 3 minutes and then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Lift the trivet out of the pot and transfer the ham to a large ovenproof skillet or rimmed baking sheet. Leave the cooking liquid in the pot. Spread the reserved glaze over the ham.
- Position an oven rack so that the top of the ham will be about 5 inches (13 cm) from the heat source. Preheat the broiler.
- Broil the ham until the glaze is bubbling and browned and the diamond pattern opens up and gets crisp on the edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Make the bourbon jus (optional)
- Using the sauté function on your pressure or multi cooker, simmer the cooking liquid until it reduces by half, 6 to 10 minutes. Stir in the preserves, bourbon, and lemon juice. Simmer until warmed through, about 3 minutes.
- Serve the sliced ham with the jus, if using.
Notes
- Easy cleanup–Line your baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup.
- Storage and freezing–Leftover ham can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Reheating–To rewarm ham, place it in a baking dish and cover it tightly with foil. Bake at 300°F until warmed through.
- How to use the ham bone–Save your ham bone for making soup stock, or use it instead of a ham hock for split pea soup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This Instant Pot ham recipe makes a terrific centerpiece ham. And I don’t say that lightly. My family LOVES ham. I don’t. So I was fully prepared for this to be another recipe they’d love while I looked for something else to eat. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it. I wouldn’t say it was love at first bite, but I did like it.
The glaze is very quick to put together, and cooking it in the Instant Pot kept the ham from being dry. The glazed ham wasn’t overly salty or sweet. I didn’t have any ginger beer in the house, so I used ginger ale. I would like to see what a difference ginger beer would make when I make this ham again.
We found the peach preserves weren’t too sweet, a common complaint here with glazed hams, and the bourbon added a nice note.
My ham weighed in at around 5 pounds, slightly larger than called for, so I had to trim about 1/3 off the long side to get it to fit.
I found 15 minutes under low pressure thoroughly warmed the ham without drying it out. Broiling it for 5 minutes gave it that nice burnished look and diamond pattern without anything burning. I have a gas stove and broiler and kept an eagle eye on it so things didn’t burn.
To be honest, we never really got around to having the jus when I brought the ham to the table. Everyone seemed content to have the ham as it was.
I sent some of the extra ham over to my son, and he said even though it had been a couple days, the glazed ham was superb. So it keeps well, too.
This holiday ham made for a stunning and delectable Sunday dinner and would be wonderful for an Easter table. My family adored the ham and we all commented on how moist and tender and delicious it was.
I used homemade peach preserves and loved how the peach flavor complemented the ham.
How could this recipe be adapted if you were baking it in the oven?
Hi, Lily. We didn’t test it that way, as it’s an Instant Pot recipe. If you want oven-baked hams, try these seven holiday hams.