This Air Fryer Ham calls for a fully baked ham and five additional ingredients – just butter, garlic, and herbs. It’s super easy to make, and the results are amazing. Perfect for Easter dinner!
Here we go with another air fryer recipe! I figured your oven will be pretty busy on Easter, so why not make the ham in the air fryer?
So let’s drag out that air fryer, unless it has a permanent place on your counter, as it does on mine!
Super basic ingredients
Like the Maple Mustard Glazed Ham I posted recently, this recipe is super simple. You just need:
- 1 small boneless, fully cooked ham (about 4 pounds)
- 1/2 cup (that’s 1 stick) butter, softened
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
Make sure to use a fully cooked, boneless ham. They need to be cooked for about 15 minutes per pound. So if you have a larger ham, you must adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Since the ham is pre-baked, all you need to do is add some delicious garlic and herb butter and warm up the ham.
There’s already enough to do for Easter. Having such an easy main dish makes things a whole lot easier!
Can I use a raw ham?
You’d need to look up directions for cooking an unbaked ham in an air fryer. When it’s 1 hour away from being cooked, then you can add half of the garlic herb butter.
Bake for 50 minutes; add the remaining butter and then bake for another 10 minutes.
Can I use olive oil instead of butter?
I googled this just now and saw some recipes for ham using olive oil, but then they also use something thick, like honey, that helps the glaze stick to the ham a bit.
If you used olive oil in this recipe, it’d all just fall straight off the ham. I imagine that the butter melts quickly after going into the air fryer, but a few minutes is better than 0 minutes.
I also personally don’t think an olive oil ham would be very tasty. So I have to go with no on this one!
Can I use dried garlic and herbs?
Yes! You can use:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/3 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme
What to serve with this air fryer ham
Whole Wheat Rolls are a must! They’re perfect with this ham and pretty much everything else. If you’re gluten-free, these Gluten Free Rolls look great!
You could also make some extra herb butter and melt it over some Blanched Broccoli. That’ll certainly make broccoli less boring. 😉
And no Easter meal is complete (in my mind) without carrot cake. This Whole Wheat Carrot Cake with Skinny Cream Cheese Frosting tastes like a traditional carrot cake, but it’s 100% whole grain, made with healthy oil and is honey-sweetened.
For another must-make Easter meal, try this Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes and Ham!
If you’re gluten-free or dairy-free
Ham is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, but you can never be sure what’s been added, especially to fully cooked hams, which sometimes have a glaze or other flavoring. So be sure to read the label!
Concerning the butter – I haven’t tried it, but I think plant-based butter would work fine. Then this ham would be dairy-free!
If you need something gluten- and dairy-free, this sheet pan ham dinner is naturally both, making it a great option!
How much ham per person
If you’re cooking an Easter dinner for 10 to 12 people, you will need a 5-6 pound boneless ham. That’s assuming each person will eat about 1/2 a pound of ham.
If you are cooking for a smaller crowd this year, you will need a 3-4 ½ pound ham for 4-6 people or 4 ½-6 lbs of ham for 6-8 people.
If you are using a bone-in ham, you’d need a 7-9 pound ham because you need to factor in the weight of the bone. But I’d recommend sticking to the recipe because the times for the air fryer are very different than the oven. Also, I don’t think such a large ham would even fit in an air fryer!
By the way, this ham would be amazing in these Hawaiian Roll Sliders.
So that’s it! Enjoy the ham. 🙂 If you make this or any of my recipes, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #fooddoodlesrecipes so I can check them out.
Looking for some Easter breakfast recipes? Check these out!
Air Fryer Ham with Garlic Herb Butter
Ingredients
- 1 small (about 4 pounds / 1.8kg) boneless fully cooked ham
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced
Instructions
- Line the air fryer basket with foil to create a well that is large enough to contain the ham. This will help contain the juices.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients. Spread half of the garlic herb butter over the ham, and put aside the remaining half for later.
- Put the ham into the foil "basket" and cover the ham with foil, preferably so that that foil is not touching the ham, and cook at 300 °F (150 °C) for 50 minutes.
- Using pot holders, carefully remove the foil that's covering the ham and rub the remaining butter on top of the ham. It's fine if it melts.
- Cook the ham at 375 °F (190 °C) for another 10 minutes.
- Serve warm. Refrigerate any cooled, leftover ham in an airtight container for up to three days.
Notes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/3 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/3 teaspoon dried thyme
Comments & Reviews
Heidy says
This recipe for air-fryer ham was great, and the entire family was delighted to have something new instead of the same old same old ham recipe I make. I will be making this again soon. Have a great week!
Heidy
amycaseycooks says
I love these little hams and this sounds like a delicious recipe to try. Thanks for posting it!
Beth says
I would have LOVED to make our Easter ham in the air fryer except that I bought a bone-in one and it was too big. Saving this garlic-herb butter recipe for my next ham.
FOODHEAL says
This is awesome, no need to have the store-bought ham that’s loaded with sodium and preservatives.
The ham looks tender and evenly cooked.
Cathleen says
This ham is calling my name!! Why did I never think of making ham in the air fryer before??
Linda says
What a great recipe! Love how easy to prep this and can be done in an air fryer
HEATHER PERINE says
OMG that crust on the ham!! This looks so easy – and that garlic butter?! Totally trying this for Mother’s Day!