Pressure Cooker Ham Braised in Beer

The best beer-braised pressure cooker ham glazed with pineapple and brown sugar! Recipe includes your ham pressure cooker times and instructions for slow cooker ham as well, so read on!

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If you love this Instant Pot spiral ham and you're looking for more incredible holiday recipes, check out my Brown Butter Sweet Potato Pie, my Pecan Pie Tart, or my Christmas Charcuterie Board!

Pressure Cooker Ham Recipe

This is my go-to recipe to make a boneless ham in an Instant Pot or any electric pressure cooker in a fraction of the time! It's the best ham ever, with a brown sugar glaze that is perfect for your special occasions!

This is the holiday ham my family has every year for Christmas dinner. It's my grandmother's recipe on my mom's side, and my mom has been making it for years. The past few years, we've tried it in the Instant Pot and it was SO much easier! We haven't looked back. In the pressure cooker, ham is done in just minutes and comes out even more flavorful and delicious!

Ham Pressure Cooker Times - How long do you cook a cooked ham?

Most spiral cut holiday ham is precooked so it won't need much time to heat through. But how long do you cook in a pressure cooker? Well, you'll need to cook this ham for 8 minutes of cook time, with a natural release. That time works best for a 4-5 pound, boneless, spiral sliced ham. If you have a smaller ham, you can use the quick release method on your pressure cooker, but I usually just release pressure naturally even with a smaller-sized ham.

Cooking for 8 minutes allows the ham to heat through, while also providing time for the flavors in the braising liquid to penetrate the meat. And using a pressure cooker for your ham keeps it moist and flavorful and perfect for your holiday meal! Serve it with Southern Baked Mac and Cheese, pineapple casserole, sausage stuffing casserole, or calabacitas and the best dinner rolls, and follow it up with a big slice of brown butter rum soaked cake!

Ingredients

• boneless, spiral-cut ham - It should be about 4 pounds to fit easily into a 6-quart Instant Pot. If necessary, you can trim your ham to fit. And for another yummy ham recipe, try this crock pot ham and scalloped potatoes!
• canned crushed pineapple - this is a tradition for sure -- the pineapple adds so much flavor and helps sweeten the glaze. If you prefer, you can use pineapple chunks or slices, or just pineapple juice! You can also swap out the pineapple altogether for another sweet fruit flavor of your choice!
• dark brown sugar - I definitely prefer dark brown sugar for this pressure cooker ham recipe. It caramelizes so nicely during the broiling step, and adds so much rich flavor.
• Christmas or Winter Ale-style beer - I love Great Lakes Christmas Ale, but you can use whatever beer is your favorite!
• dijon mustard - this is key - it helps to offset the sweetness of the brown sugar and pineapple so that your glaze isn't overly sweet!
• ground cloves - these are optional, but if you like your ham with a bit more spice, add them in!
• cornstarch - helps to thicken your glaze!

Equipment

You'll definitely need a 6-quart pressure cooker, or bigger depending on the size of your ham. You'll also want to grab something to broil your ham for that caramelized crust, either a broiler-safe baking dish or roasting pan. You could even use a cast-iron skillet for the broiler step. Or for another ham recipe with a slow cooker, try this Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Ham or this slow cooker gammon joint. Here are a few more recommendations for this pressure cooker ham:

Pressure Cooker Ham, Step by Step

This is the best way to make a juicy ham! Here's what you need to do to achieve the best Instant Pot spiral ham!

1. Place ham on trivet inside your Instant Pot. We're using the trivet to make it easier to remove the ham from the pressure cooker once we're done! Make sure the sliced end of the ham is facing up.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together your beer, brown sugar, pineapple, mustard, and cloves.
3. Use your fingers to separate the slices of your ham and pour the glaze mixture in between the slices, letting it fall over the sides of the ham into the bottom of the pressure cooker.
4. Pressure cook on High pressure 10 minutes, letting pressure release naturally. Once pressure has released, open the pressure cooker and use trivet to remove ham to a baking dish.
5. Turn Instant Pot to "Saute" mode and heat glaze liquid, stirring frequently. In the meantime, mix your cornstarch with a little water until it's dissolved. Stir this slurry into the glaze to thicken as it cooks. Once glaze is reduced and thickened, turn off instant pot and pour glaze over ham.
6. Optional broiler step: This step is a must for me! Once the glaze is over the top of the ham, top with another ⅓ cup or so of dark brown sugar, pressing sugar into the top of the spiral slices. Then you'll just want to broil your ham for 5-7 minutes until the sugar is nice and caramelized and the edges of the ham are crispy. It makes it sooo good!

Tips & tricks for the best instant pot spiral ham

This ham is so easy to make and SO good, but here are a few tips to make it even better!

• Choose the right size ham - this recipe works best with a ham that's between 4 and 5 pounds. If your ham is smaller, just reduce the cooking time to 6 or 7 minutes. And if your ham is larger, first make sure it fits in your pressure cooker, and then add a minute to the cook time.
• Natural Release - I like to let it naturally release at least 10 minutes to let the flavors continue to penetrate the ham. I usually forget though and by the time I check on my ham, the pressure in the pressure cooker has fully released. Either way, it should come out great!
• Don't be shy with the brown sugar - Maybe it's just me, but I like my ham nice and sweet! And especially with the complex flavors added to this recipe by the beer and the mustard, I like to liberally sprinkle on brown sugar for the broiling step. So if you have a sweet tooth like me, feel free to add as much as you like!
• Storing Leftovers: To store, you can place your leftover ham, sliced or unsliced, into an airtight container or food storage bag. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezing Leftovers: You can cut your ham into slices and pop it into a freezer bag, making sure to get some of that juice/glaze in there too to keep it moist! Then, be sure to squeeze out the air from the bag. I also like to add a second bag just to be extra sure it won't absorb any air from the freezer.

And if you like this pressure cooker ham recipe, definitely check out these Instant Pot Carnitas! And you've got to try my Peach Cobbler Pound Cake, my Mini Carrot Cake, and my Lemon Icebox Pie! Or if you love Instant Pot recipes, try this Instant Pot Pot Roast! Or if you want to try another classic pork main dish, try this porchetta recipe or these baked stuffed pork chops!

More Recipes for your Holiday Dinner

Chocolate cake is always welcome on a holiday table! Try my Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake, Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, or my Chocolate Olive Oil Cake and they'll always be a hit!

Or how about some more festive treats? Vegan Gingerbread Loaf will always be a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike, and Turtle Pie is a decadent chocolate-caramel treat! I also love these Biscoff Blondies with White Chocolate!

📖 Recipe

Pressure Cooker Ham Braised in Beer

5 from 12 votes

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This pressure cooker ham is a must for any holiday! Easy method for the best beer-braised pressure cooker ham glazed with pineapple and brown sugar!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes minutes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine :American

Servings: 10 servings

Calories: 487kcal

Recipe Source: Chenée Lewis

Equipment you may need

• pressure cooker
• baking dish
• whisk
• measuring cups and spoons
• mixing bowls

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 1 4-5-lb (2 kg) boneless spiral sliced ham
• 1-2 12 oz. bottle (354 ml) beer - preferably a spiced holiday ale
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) dijon mustard
• 1 20 oz. can (28 g) crushed pineapple - with juice
• ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar - plus more for broiling step
• ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) ground cloves - optional
• 3 tablespoon (44 ml) cornstarch

Instructions

• Position Instant Pot trivet inside instant pot and place ham on trivet, cut side down and slices facing up.
  1 4-5-lb boneless spiral sliced ham
• In a large bowl, stir together pineapple and juice, mustard, brown sugar, and cloves. Add in beer and stir until well combined.
  1-2 12 oz. bottle beer, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, ½ cup dark brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• Gently separate ham slices and pour pineapple/beer mixture over ham, in between slices.
• Cook on manual pressure on High for 10 minutes, and allow pressure to release naturally.
• Carefully remove ham from instant pot and cover loosely with foil. Turn instant pot to “Sauté” setting.
• In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch with 2 tablespoon of water until cornstarch is fully dissolved. Add this slurry to the remaining liquid inside the instant pot and heat, stirring, about 5 minutes until thickened and reduced.
  3 tablespoon cornstarch

Broiling (Optional)

• Place ham in a broiler-safe baking dish on center oven rack and pour thickened glaze over the top. Sprinkle additional brown sugar on top of glaze, if desired. Position ham on center oven rack.
• Position ham on center oven rack and broil 3-5 minutes or until top of ham is caramelized and browned.

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Notes

• Storing Leftovers: To store, you can place your ham, sliced or unsliced, into an airtight container or food storage bag. It will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezing Leftovers: You can cut your ham into slices and pop it into a freezer bag, making sure to get some of that juice/glaze in there too to keep it moist! Then, be sure to squeeze out the air from the bag. I also like to add a second bag just to be extra sure it won't absorb any air from the freezer.

Slow Cooker Ham: Pour pineapple/beer mixture over ham and cook ham on low in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours. Thicken and reduce your glaze on the stovetop in a medium saucepan, rather than in the Instant Pot. Then, just transfer your cooked ham to a baking dish, pour thickened glaze over ham, and broil as normal.

Nutrition

Serving: 6 oz | Calories: 487 kcal | Carbohydrates: 9 g | Protein: 39 g | Fat: 30 g | Saturated Fat: 11 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14 g | Cholesterol: 112 mg | Sodium: 2174 mg | Potassium: 538 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 5 g | Vitamin A: 1 IU | Vitamin C: 1 mg | Calcium: 20 mg | Iron: 2 mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

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Last Updated on March 17, 2025 by Chenée Lewis