Air Fryer Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze

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This air fryer ham recipe is a tasty way to enjoy your holiday ham and topped with the most simple and delicious homemade glaze. It’s one of those air fryer dinner recipes you will make again and again!

Ham Cooked in the Air Fryer

If you want to cook in your air fryer more, consider making Air Fryer Chicken ThighsAir Fryer Peach Hand Pies, and these Air Fryer Baked Potatoes. There are so many possibilities when you use your air fryer to prepare meals!

We love that it’s an easy countertop appliance that doesn’t heat the whole house and minimizes clean-up. You may also want to check out my air fryer cookbooks. They are jam-packed with 175 tasty recipes for the air fryer!

If you’re serving this ham at a fancy holiday meal, it pairs nicely with our recipe for Thanksgiving Fruit Salad and instant pot garlic mashed potatoes. They are two of our favorite side dishes to serve at a holiday meal.

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Plated Air Fryer Ham

❤️Why You’ll Love This Recipe

If you’re looking for a simple recipe for juicy ham with ham glaze, then this recipe is for you! Air Fryer Ham is an incredibly easy and tasty way to prepare ham. 

This easy air fryer recipe makes the ham juicy and flavorful with a delicious brown sugar glaze! You will love this easy recipe for its simple ingredients and easy-to-follow directions. 

This recipe gives just the right balance of salty ham to sweet glaze that satisfies the entire family.

The air fryer is a great option for cooking ham because it saves room in your oven for other items or allows you to skip heating up your oven in the first place. I love that I can serve it for a special occasion or an ordinary weeknight dinner. 

It’s not that complicated and doesn’t take a long time to prepare.

Also, this recipe uses just four simple ingredients! You won’t need to purchase five different types of spices or ingredients for this recipe. I made it as straightforward as I could while also teaching you how to make an amazing ham with a sticky glaze that you can cook in your air fryer. 

Some of our favorite sides to serve with ham are Easy Scalloped Potatoes, Roasted Air Fryer Carrots. and 30 Minute Dinner Rolls.

📋Ingredients

Ingredients for air fryer ham laid out on a wooden cutting board.

2-4 pound Boneless Ham: This recipe calls for a pre-cooked ham. Most hams sold at grocery stores are pre-cooked. Make sure to choose a ham that is small enough to fit inside your air fryer. 

Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar both work well in this recipe. Use whatever you have on hand! If you don’t have brown sugar, try this hack for homemade brown sugar. 

Orange Juice: Fresh squeezed or bottled works just fine.

Honey: Yes, this recipe calls for two different sweeteners. Trust the process, it will be worth it!

Scroll to the bottom for the complete list of ingredient measurements and printable recipe card.

📖 Ingredient Swaps

Pineapple Juice: You can swap out the orange juice for pineapple glaze to make a pineapple glaze. 

Maple Syrup: The honey can be substituted for equal parts maple syrup.

Spiral Ham: If you’re planning to cook a bone-in or spiral ham, you may need to increase the cooking time by a few minutes. See the notes below under “Expert Cooking Tips”.

🔪Step-by-Step Instructions

Ingredients for a glaze inside a small skillet next to a ham sitting on golden foil.
Step 1: Combine the brown sugar, honey, and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. While the glaze is warming, line your air fryer basket with a piece of foil. Place the ham on top of the foil.
Ham sitting on a piece of foil and coated with glaze.
Step 2: When the glaze is ready, brush about half of it over the ham.
Ham wrapped tightly in foil on top of a wire air fryer rack.
Step 3: Close the foil over the ham and be sure to wrap it tightly. 
Foil wrapped ham inside of an air fryer.
Step 4: Set your air fryer at 325°F for 40 minutes. Brush the remaining glaze on the ham halfway through the cooking time. After 40 minutes, unwrap the top of the foil and cook an additional 5 minutes, until browned.

👩🏻‍🍳Expert Cooking Tips

The biggest challenge in cooking a ham is the risk of drying it out. For best results, keep the ham wrapped in foil until the last few minutes.

When you peel the foil back to let the ham carmelize, keep the foil wrapped around the sides of the ham to catch any drippings and lock in moisture.

Air Frying Spiral Hams

If you are using a bone-in or spiral ham, you may need to increase the cooking time by a few minutes. Use an instant read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the ham.

Most ham is fully cooked, so you are just warming it up. However, you will still want it to reach an internal temp of 145 degrees F.

Caramelizing the glaze

For crispier skin, remove the foil from the ham for the last 5 minutes of cooking. This will crisp up the skin and caramelize the glaze. 

Leftover Ham Slices

If you have leftover air-fried ham, there are a few ways that you can use it. Don’t let it go to waste! Try Ham and Cream Cheese Roll-Ups instead of a traditional ham and cheese sandwich or try these Ham & Egg Breakfast Sandwiches.

No Air Fryer?

You can make this delicious ham without an air fryer! Of course, you can bake it in the oven. You can also try our recipes for Crockpot Brown Sugar Ham or Instant Pot Ham

💭Recipe FAQs

Can you heat up a cooked ham in air fryer?

Yes, reheat ham in an air fryer set to 325°F for 40-45 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F.

How do you cook a ham without drying it out?

The best way to lock moisture into your ham is by using a glaze and wrapping it in foil while reheating.

🥣More Air Fryer Recipes…

A picture showing the cover images for all three cookbooks written by Aileen Clark.

If you tried this Air Fryer Ham Recipe or any other recipe on my website, I would love it if you could leave me a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below. ❤️

Plated Air Fryer Ham

Air Fryer Ham Recipe

Aileen Clark
This air fryer ham recipe is a tasty way to enjoy your holiday ham and topped with the most simple and delicious homemade glaze. It's one of those air fryer dinner recipes you will make again and again!
4.50 from 4 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Air Fryer
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 866 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 lb. boneless fully cooked ham

For the Brown Sugar Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup orange juice

Instructions
 

  • Combine brown sugar, honey, and orange juice in a skillet over medium heat.
  • Line the air fryer basket with a piece of foil. Then place the ham on top of the foil. 
  • Brush 1/2 of the glaze over the ham. 
  • Close the foil over the ham and wrap tightly.
  • Air Fry at 325°F for 40 minutes, brushign the remaining glaze over the ham halfway through.
  • Unwrap the foil from the top of the ham and cook an additional 5 minutes to brown and carmelize the ham.
  • Serve & enjoy! 

Notes

The biggest challenge in cooking a ham is the risk of drying it out. For best results, keep the ham wrapped in foil until the last few minutes.
When you peel the foil back to let the ham carmelize, keep the foil wrapped around the sides of the ham to catch any drippings and lock in moisture.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 866kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 65gFat: 51gSaturated Fat: 18gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 187mgSodium: 3595mgPotassium: 920mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 34gVitamin A: 21IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
A white platter filled with thin sliced ham.
4.50 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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