This Air Fryer Ham is juicy, delicious and generously basted with a homemade maple bourbon glaze. This boneless ham is perfect for a holiday feast or family dinner and is done in under 1 hour.
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You can't go wrong with putting this air fryer ham on the menu for holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Plus, it's so easy to make, you can do it with a Holiday Bourbon Cocktail, Virgin Bloody Mary Drink or Thanksgiving Margarita in hand!
I'd also highly recommend trying my Dutch Oven Apple Crisp with Cranberries or Lemon Drizzle Cake for dessert. It's the best, festive way to round out a holiday meal.
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🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Easy recipe. Making a turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas is a holiday classic, but it's no secret that it's not easy. Ham, on the other hand, is commonly sold completely pre-cooked, requires minimal prep and can be cooked in under an hour. Once you try this ham recipe, you won't be intimidated by being in charge of the main dish!
- Makes for great leftovers. The only thing better than holiday dinners is holiday leftovers. Turn leftover air fryer ham into sandwiches, hot ham and cheese sliders, Denver omelettes, split pea soup, or a breakfast casserole. The options are endless.
- Easy clean-up! This flavorful ham is cooked in foil in your air fryer basket or oven making it super easy for easier clean-up on a special occasion or a weeknight dinner. It also helps to save oven space if you are making this as a holiday ham.
🥘Ingredients and Substitutions
This air-fried ham is made with just 6 simple ingredients, most of them staple pantry ingredients.
- Ham - This recipe uses a pre-cooked, 2-3 pound boneless spiral ham. If you have a larger ham, a longer cook time will be required.
- Bourbon - If you're new to cooking with Bourbon, check out this Guide to the 15 Best Bourbon Brands for Cooking. As a general rule of thumb, use a sweeter bourbon that's not too expensive (save the expensive bourbon for sipping!). Sweeter bourbons are easier to caramelize and make into syrups.
- Maple syrup - When making a maple glaze, it is better to use maple syrups that are darker or amber grade. These syrups are richer in flavor and typically dark in color. Honey would be a good substitute here.
- Dijon Mustard - Dijon mustard balances the sweetness of this bourbon glaze and gives it a depth of flavor. Use extra Dijon mustard to make Pan Seared Chicken with Dijon Mustard Sauce.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
📖Variations
Use another ham glaze - I prefer a homemade glaze over a store-bought, but if you happen to have a pre-made ham glaze, go ahead and use it! Or, if you avoid alcohol and prefer not to use it in your cooking, try this bourbon-free easy ham glaze. You can also add pineapple juice in place of the bourbon and maple syrup for a pineapple glaze.
🔪Instructions
To start, allow your ham to come to room temperature for 1 hour. When the hour is almost up, preheat the air fryer to 325 degrees F.
Step 1: Air fry the ham. Line the air fryer basket or air fryer baking pan with aluminum foil. Lay the ham on top of the foil, cover with more foil and air fry for 20 minutes.
Step 2: Make the maple bourbon glaze. To a small saucepan, add the brown sugar, bourbon, maple syrup, cinnamon, dijon mustard, and salt.
Step 3: Heat over medium-high heat and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved and the glaze ingredients are well combined and thickened. Set aside. After the ham cooks for 20 minutes, remove the ham and brush with ⅓ of the maple bourbon glaze. Make sure to cover and get in between the slices.
Step 4: Cover and cook for another 20 minutes and baste the top of the ham with more brown sugar glaze. Remove the top foil and cook for a final 5-8 minutes, or until caramelized.
💭Recipe FAQs
It takes about 45-50 minutes to warm through a fully cooked ham in the air fryer. If you put ham directly from the refrigerator into the air fryer it will take longer because the ham was not brought to room temperature.
With a boneless ham, plan on about ⅓ pound of ham per person. This means a 2-pound boneless ham should comfortably serve 6 people and a 3-pound boneless ham should feel 8-9.
In most cases, spiral hams are precooked but always read the label. Some spiral hams can be partially cooked or even fully raw. Read carefully! The cook time for this air fryer ham is for fully cooked ham.
To prevent drying, baste the ham with the glaze while it is cooking. This will help to give you a nice juicy ham.
The ham is done cooking when the internal temperature is 145 degrees F.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- I recommend a smaller 2-3 pound boneless pre-cooked ham that is already sliced. This will give you less prep work and is easiest to cook in the air fryer.
- Use a pastry brush. A pastry brush makes it significantly easier to brush the maple bourbon glaze between each slice and make sure the glaze is evenly distributed.
- Make sure to give the ham time to come to room temperature. This helps the ham cook quickly and evenly. Plan accordingly!
- Use the foil! In most of my air fryer recipes, I typically recommend skipping the foil because it can prohibit air circulation. However, when air frying ham, it is helpful to have the foil on the bottom to catch all the juices and ham glaze and prevent the ham from drying out.
🥗Serving
I love serving this air fryer ham recipe with savory mashed sweet potatoes or smashed fingerling potatoes for the holidays. Here are a few more of my favorite sides to serve along with it:
- Air Fryer Butternut Squash30 Minutes
- Maple Brussels Sprouts35 Minutes
- Cranberry Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash40 Minutes
- Instant Pot Garlic Red-Skinned Mashed Potatoes30 Minutes
Storage and Reheating
- Store leftover ham in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- If the ham was thawed in a safe manner (preferably in the refrigerator), it can be refrozen after cooking. To freeze, tightly wrap in plastic wrap, then wrap in foil. Make sure the packaging is airtight to prevent freezer burn and allow the ham to retain its moisture and freshness.
- I also recommend freezing any additional glaze with the ham so you already have everything prepared. Keep it in a freezer-safe bag or container.
- To defrost, allow the ham and glaze to unfreeze in the fridge or on the counter for no more than 4 hours. If it is a hot day, I recommend defrosting in the fridge only.
- Reheat ham slices in the air fryer or oven at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes. You can also use the microwave for about 2-3 minutes.
More Air Fryer Recipes You May Like
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Air Fryer Ham with Bourbon Glaze
KITCHEN TOOLS NEEDED
- Aluminum Foil
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Ingredients
- 2-3 pound boneless, fully cooked spiral ham
Bourbon Glaze
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup bourbon
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Allow the ham to come to room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat the air fryer to 325 degrees F.
- Line the air fryer basket or air fryer baking pan with foil. Lay the ham on top of the foil, cover with more foil and air fry for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze by adding all of the ingredients to a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved and the glaze is well combined and thickened. Set aside.
- Remove the ham from the air fryer and brush with about ⅓ of the glaze, making sure to get in between the slices. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes and then baste with more glaze. Remove the foil and cook for another 5-8 minutes until caramelized.
- Let the ham rest for a few minutes before serving and serve with the remaining glaze if desired.
Sarah's Tips
- I recommend a smaller 2-3 pound boneless pre-cooked ham that is already sliced. This will give you less prep work and is easiest to cook in the air fryer.
- Use a pastry brush. A pastry brush makes it significantly easier to brush the maple bourbon glaze between each slice and make sure the glaze is evenly distributed.
- Make sure to give the ham time to come to room temperature. This helps the ham cook quickly and evenly. Plan accordingly!
- Use the foil! In most of my air fryer recipes, I typically recommend skipping the foil because it can prohibit air circulation. However, when air frying ham, it is helpful to have the foil on the bottom to catch all the juices and ham glaze and prevent the ham from drying out.
- Store leftover ham in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- If the ham was thawed in a safe manner (preferably in the refrigerator), it can be refrozen after cooking. To freeze, tightly wrap in plastic wrap, then wrap in foil. Make sure the packaging is airtight to prevent freezer burn and allow the ham to retain its moisture and freshness.
- I also recommend freezing any additional glaze with the ham so you already have everything prepared. Keep it in a freezer-safe bag or container.
- To defrost, allow the ham and glaze to unfreeze in the fridge or on the counter for no more than 4 hours. If it is a hot day, I recommend defrosting in the fridge only.
- Reheat ham slices in the air fryer or oven at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes. You can also use the microwave for about 2-3 minutes.
trish hart says
Last night's dinner was a hit! I swapped bourbon for rum, and added some carrots to the air fryer with the ham. Definitely a keeper! Thanks Sarah.