Instant Pot Ham: Easy Ham Recipe with Cranberry Glaze

Get family dinner on the table with our savory Instant Pot ham with a sweet cranberry glaze.

This Instant Pot Cranberry Glazed Ham recipe is so simple that it only has three ingredients, a ham, canned cranberry sauce and brown sugar. Making this glazed ham in an Instant Pot or multi-functional electric pressure cooker makes the process so fast that you can serve it on a normal weeknight or for your next holiday dinner.

Instant Pot Cranberry Glazed Ham Recipe

Barbara found this recipe for a ham with jellied cranberry sauce in an old cookbook called Favorite Recipes of American Home Economics Teachers, MEATs edition. She modified it from an oven version to a version that uses a multi-functional pressure cooker like an Instant Pot.

The oven version goes as follows: place ham, fat side up in an uncovered baking dish.  Bake at 325 degrees F until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F. Combine cranberry sauce and brown sugar; spoon over ham. Return to the oven for an additional 20 to 30 minutes spooning the glaze over ham once or twice.

Barbara loves using an electric pressure cooker. It frees up the oven for side dishes which is prime real estate for holidays such as Christmas or Easter. The pressure cooker also takes down the cooking time to 30 minutes (as opposed to 2 plus hours in the oven). What a time saver!

Simple recipes, like this cranberry glazed ham, with few ingredients are our go-to. The glaze for this ham consists of two ingredients – canned cranberry sauce and brown sugar.

Cranberry Glaze

Barbara stocks up on canned cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving when they are on mark down. We also use cranberry sauce in our Baked Cranberry Pork Chops recipe. And we always have brown sugar on hand. Hello, chocolate chip cookies!

Leftover ham is delicious for recipes such as Crock Pot Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Potato Casserole (swap smoked sausage with leftover ham), 20-Minute Ham and Cheese Chowder, Prep Ahead Ham Quiche, or save the ham bone for Instant Pot Ham and Beans.

Recipe FAQs for Instant Pot Ham

• We use a bone-in ham, approximately 5 to 6 pounds. The ham is smoked which makes it precooked.  You can use a smaller or bigger ham, but be sure that it fits in the instant pot insert. If you use a bigger ham, you will need to take up the cooking time.
• This bone-in ham recipe for instant pot uses a ham that has not been pre-sliced. This is important. The cooking time in this recipe is not the same as for a spiral cut. We like using the crock pot or slow cooker for a spiral cut ham in our 3-Ingredient Crock Pot Spiral Ham.
• You may need to cut off a little piece of the side of the ham to get it to fit correctly. The lid needs to seal completely.
• You will only use half the cranberry glaze for the cooking process. The other half is reserved for the broiling process.
• Do not walk away from the ham during the broiling step.  It could burn easily due to the brown sugar.  The goal is to caramelize, not burn.
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How to Make Instant Pot Ham

Step By Step Instructions

1. Pour 1 cup water into the insert of an Instant Pot.  Add ham.
2. In a small bowl, stir together cranberry sauce and brown sugar.
3. Take half of the mixture, and spread it all over the ham.
4. Put on the pressure cooker lid, and set to lock position.
5. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let pressure release using the natural release method.
6. Remove the ham, and put in a broiler pan. Spread with the rest of the glaze. Broil for 5 minutes or until caramelized.

Storage Instructions

Let leftovers cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Full recipe for Instant Pot bone-in ham recipe can be found at the bottom of this page.