Ham steaks might not be currently rotated into your weekly dinner recipe list, but after trying this deliciously juicy ham steak recipe, they might as well should be.
Ham steaks are generally associated with the holidays, often prepared with leftover ham from a large holiday feast.
You can also find precooked ham steaks individually packaged in the meat section at most grocery stores.
Not only are ham steaks affordable and delicious, but they are undemanding and easy to make.
Since the meat is already cooked, there is not much that needs to be done in terms of cooking.
Cooking juicy ham steaks in the air fryer is the quickest and arguably most delicious way to cook ham steaks, and this recipe allows for you to have dinner ready in under 20 minutes–including prep time!
Ham steaks are beyond versatile, and can be incorporated into your breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This recipe is lunch and dinner focused.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ingredients
This recipe is relatively simple and doesn’t require much. Below we’ve listed the essentials for prepping ham steaks, but feel free to make your own marinade, purchase a ham steak with pre marinade such as hickory or honey glazed, or combine savory and sweet ingredients for extra flavor.
Main Ingredients:
- 2 individually packaged, precooked ham steaks
- If you have leftover ham from a festive dinner gathering, just slice the meat into ½ inch thickness.
- Salt
Sauce 1:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ a lime, squeezed and juiced
- 1 tablespoon ginger lime coco aminos
Sauce 2:
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon of honey–for this recipe we used orange blossom (or orange zest) infused honey to give it some zest
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Optional Additions:
- Two slices of bread or buns
- Sourdough bread with butter is always a good choice
- Veggies–i.e. Asparagus, Artichoke, Green Beans
- A starch or grain–i.e. potatoes, rice
Because of the versatility, you can get creative with the presentation and accompanying foods you pair with it to add texture and depth.
Recipe Description
Juicy marinated ham steaks cooked two ways. For this particular recipe, we marinated one with a honey butter glaze, and the other with a ginger lime coco amino sauce.
Both taste immaculately tender and provide diverse flavor profiles that perfectly balance salty and sweet.
All you’ll really need to do is prep the marinade(s) of your choosing, marinade the meat, then place the ham steaks into the air fryer and wait as the magic unfolds.
Prep Time – 10-20 min
You can marinade your ham steaks for as little as 5 minutes and as long as you’d like, but optimal timing for marinating is generally from 10-20 minutes, as the flavors absorb into the meat rather quickly.
Cook Time – 8-14 minutes
Generally, anything longer than 14 minutes will result in an undesirable texture. The thickness of the ham steaks make for incredibly juicy meat, much better than your average deli meat, so keep them tender by sticking within the timeframe.
Servings – 2-4
This recipe calls for 2 ham steaks, cut about a half inch in thickness. Depending on what you eat your ham steaks with–bread, veggies, it can serve 2-4 people. Due to thickness, the ham steaks are rather filling, so if you plan to eat them with bread and sides, 2 ham steaks will likely feed a family of 4.
How To Make It?(Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Preheat your air fryer to 380 degrees
Step 2: Prep the ingredients–gather up all the ingredients as well as a bowl and plate for the marinade and final plating
Step 3: Prep the marinades – 1 with butter and honey, and 1 with ginger lime coco aminos and lime juice
Step 4: Place ham steaks in marinade from 10-20 minutes, flipping halfway through
Step 5: Transfer ham into air fryer and drizzle any remaining glaze or butter directly onto the ham steaks
Step 6: Cook ham for 5-6 minutes
Step 7: Flip the ham steaks, then place them back in the air fryer for another 5-6 minutes
Step 8: Remove and let cool
Step 9: Slice into desired thickness, and serve with veggies, or place it in between bread with your desired condiments for a crispy tender ham steak sandwich!
Optional Modification/ Toppings / Substitutes
Of course, you can eat these ham steaks standalone, but they pair nicely sandwiched between two slices of bread.
You can opt for sourdough, brioche, ciabatta, french baguette, or really whatever your preferred bread choice is.
You can add a variety of veggies within the sandwich–such as cheese and onion–for that extra umf of flavor and to give it a bit more texture.
If used for a breakfast sandwich, ham steaks taste phenomenal on a bagel with cream cheese, egg, and melted cheese.
An entire ham steak is quite large for one person, so we recommend cutting it into smaller pieces. You can even cut the ham steak into fourths and serve on mini slider-style buns.
Other Options/ Versions of This Recipe?
There are tons of other ways to make ham steaks. A few other iconic and satiating sauces include a Coca Cola, Worcestershire, and brown Sugar sauce with butter, or if you like a zesty tangy flavor, pineapple juice. A more intricate sauce includes brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and honey.
We encourage you to try them all or craft your own sauce concoction to see what best suits your fancy–the possibilities are truly endless!
Cooking Times By Air Fryer Model
The table below is an indicator of air fryer cook time if you are cooking ham that is precooked and not frozen. If you are cooking frozen ham, it will just take 50% longer to cook than when thawed.
| Model | Cooking time | Temperature |
| Ninja Foodi | 10-12 min (5-6 min each side) | 380 Degrees |
| Philips Airfryer XXL (HD9630) | 10 min (5 min each side) | 400 |
| Nuwave Bravo XL Grill | 14 min (7 min each side) | 350 |
| Power XL 2&3 Qt Vortex | 8-10 min (4-5 min each side) | 400 |
| Cuisinart | 10 min (5 min each side) | 380 |
| Cosori | 8 min (4 min each side) | 380 |
| Breville Smart Oven | 6-10 min (3-5 min each side) | 360 |
Can you make/prepare this Recipe ahead of time?
The great thing about ham steaks is that they keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Their tenderness and juiciness keeps well, and the ham can be sliced, diced, and reheated or air fried yet still retain the same great taste and texture as they did on the first day they were cooked.
You might want to check out our Leftover Pulled Pork Recipes.
Other Tips & Tricks
If you are on the go often, you might want to consider incorporating ham steaks into easy to prepare, small batch snackables, such as egg bites or egg cups.
When sliced, ham steaks can make for great additions to egg cups with cheese and veggies, or on small rolls.
You can store these ham steaks in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for around 1-2 months.
As far as variations go, you can sub out honey for maple syrup, and lime for any sort of citrus fruit to still retain that juicy tangy flavor.
Simple Ham Steaks In The Air Fryer
Juicy, tender ham steaks are a satiating and flavorful way to fill your belly and heart. All you’ll really need to do is prep the marinade(s) of your choosing, marinade the meat, then place the ham steaks into the air fryer and wait as the magic unfolds.
Ingredients
- Ham steaks
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter
- Honey
- Ginger Lime Coco Aminos
- Lime
- Main Ingredients:
- 2 individually packaged, precooked ham steaks
- If you have leftover ham from a festive dinner gathering, just slice the meat into ½ inch thickness.
- Salt
- Sauce 1:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ a lime, squeezed and juiced
- 1 tablespoon ginger lime coco aminos
- Sauce 2:
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon of honey–for this recipe we used orange blossom infused honey to give it some zest
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Optional Additions:
- Two slices of bread or buns
- Sourdough bread with butter is always a good choice
- Veggies–i.e. Asparagus, Artichoke, Green Beans
- A starch or grain–i.e. potatoes, rice
Instructions
- Preheat your air fryer to 380 degrees
- Prep the ingredients
- Prep the marinades
- Place ham steaks in marinade
- Transfer ham into air fryer
- Cook ham for 5-6 minutes
- Flip the ham steaks, then place them back in the air fryer for another 5-6 minutes
- Remove and let cool
- Slice into desired thickness
Notes
Whether you’ve tried a tender and flavorful ham steak or this is your first time, your taste buds will thank you for the experience. Ham steaks offer an abundance of flavor, protein, and are a good source of fat, that–if consumed sparingly, are great for energy and nourishment. If you want to prepare veggies and homemade condiments or sauces, that might tack on a few extra minutes, but in actuality this simplified recipe doesn’t require much prep time.
We hope you enjoyed this delectable ham steak recipe! Let us know how your ham steak experience was and what type of sauce you decided to use. We’d love to hear your feedback.
Thank you for reading, and happy eating!
My name is Keren Tayler. I am a stay-at-home mama to three lovely girls, Sarah + Rachel + Hannah. Prior to becoming a mom, I had a successful career in the accounting field, steps away from becoming a CPA. I decided to give up on my career in order to raise my own kids (as opposed to letting a nanny do it, no judgment here :)) I learned a lot and I love sharing it with other moms. Along the way, I also became a Certified Food Handler.