Homemade Ghee | Instant pot & Stovetop

Homemade ghee, or simply refer as “Ghee” is the staple in every Indian kitchen. It is loaded with many health benefits with its nutty rich flavor and aroma. Learn how to make ghee from butter step by step and tips on how to store it perfectly for a longer time.

It gets ready in an instant pot from 9 minutes to 25 minutes depending on the butter quantity. This instant pot homemade ghee recipe is fail-proof with the same consistency every single time.

In India, the traditional ghee making process was different. Collecting malai (cream) from whole milk for many days. Churning it with chilled water to take out butter. Then Boiling it till ghee is separated from milk solids.

Making it at home is always the best as it is economical and easy to make. You can find all tips & tricks in this post, step by step, so that every time you achieve the best quality ghee, and store it.

I am sharing points on how to store GHEE and how to include it in your diet. Palak paneer or Sarson da saag, aloo ki chaat, Indian sweets like gond ke laddu or moong dal laddu are few recipes where GHEE is a must.

Ghee is an integral part of every Indian kitchen. Having a spoonful on khichdi, curries, or applying on Indian flatbread like roti or chapati or in any tempering, ghee takes the flavors to the next level.

Due to its high smoking point it is great for sauting and cooking.

What is ghee

• Unsalted butter is cooked till milk solids are separated, and caramelized. The remaining golden liquid is GHEE.
• It has a high smoking point due to which ghee is perfect for cooking and baking.
• Ghee is nutty in texture, it solidifies at room temperature.
• It has roasted flavors, adding spoonful in curries, gravies, and in khichdi enhances the taste.
• It can be used in place of oil or butter.
• Ghee has a great shelf life. No need to store in the fridge. Keeping at room temperature is good.
• Ghee is used in Indian cooking, Middle Eastern cuisine, & Southeast Asian cuisine. It is traditional medicine and used in religious rituals.

Pure ghee is Whole30 & Paleo approved as well. In addition to these diets, Ghee also helps to complete macros in the KETO diet.

Ghee vs Clarified Butter

Ghee & clarified butter, how both are different from each other? Both terms are used interchangeably. However, there is a slight difference between the two.

Clarified butter is a clear FAT, separated from milk solids of unsalted butter while cooking. There is no further browning required to make clarified butter. Since it has a neutral aroma & taste, it goes well with seafood and baking goods.

Ghee is also a clear FAT, separated from milk solids of unsalted butter while cooking but it is further cooked till milk solids are caramelized. Due to this, GHEE has a nutty texture & roasted aroma. Having a high smoking point it is great for deep frying, stir fry & sauteing.

Ghee is actually a clarified butter, which is cooked further till milk solids separated & caramelized. Doing so makes GHEE with nutty texture & roasted aroma.

There are so many Health Benefits of ghee. Ghee has a high smoking point that is why it is best for cooking.

Why making in an instant pot

• Instant pot ghee recipe is failed proof without guesswork.
• Hand-free with less monitoring.
• The consistent result every single time.

Instant pot makes the whole ghee making the process easy. Since time estimation is always the same as per the butter quantity, we end up having the perfect nutty homemade pure ghee.

Depending on the temperature of the butter it takes from 11 min to 30 min to make instant pot ghee at home.

Homemade ghee is always

• cheaper & budget-friendly
• easy to make
• easy to store for a longer time
• tastes & smells great

Instant pot ghee cooking time

Below is the estimated time to make ghee in the instant pot.

This is the estimated time I recorded while working with unsalted butter taken out of the fridge and cooked in an instant pot at SAUTE mode.

• 1 LB (16 ounces)  – 10-11 minutes
• 2 LB  (32 Ounces) – 19-21 minutes
• 3 LB (48 ounces) – 30-34 minutes

Timing is for the solid butter coming straight out of the fridge. If the butter is at room temperature then reduce the cooking time by 3 min.

Ingredient

You need grass-fed unsalted butter to make ghee at home. You can use Kerrygold butter or any unsalted butter from COSTCO. I am using unsalted butter bought from Costco.

How to know if ghee is ready?

For homemade ghee, we need milk solids to turn brown and settle at the bottom of the pan.

Simmering more will result in burnt ghee and for lesser time will make clarified butter.

To make nutty, grainy, authentic pure ghee, you need to simmer until milk solids are brown in color and sit at the bottom. That’s all you need to get the perfect ghee recipe.

How to make instant pot ghee?

This is the step by step guide how to make homemade ghee in instant pot. We are making ghee on SAUTE mode, so it requires a external timer set up for time estimation.

Set the timer for 20 minutes.

Step-1 Melt the butter

Turn the instant pot at the “SAUTE” mode. Add the butter sticks.

It took almost 6 minutes 30 seconds to melt the butter completely.

Step-2 Cook untill milk solids seperates and sit at the bottom.

Once butter is melted completely, let it come to boiling. It takes 1 minute 20 second to start boiling.

It looks like white, foam build-up on the surface which will be clear in a few minutes.

Continue to simmer ghee, after a few minutes foam will settle down and liquid will be more clear and thinner.

At this stage, milk solids start to build up. Cooking further, milk solids start settling at the bottom of the pan. The liquid will look light golden from white.

Step-3 Milk solids starts turning brown (caramelization)

Keep cooking further till you see milk solids start separating. The liquid is darker in the golden color. This is the clarified butter stage where milk solids are separated from the butter.

The liquid is more clear and you will notice bubbles are still forming at the surface which is normal.

Be very careful at this stage, ghee is ready as soon as milk solids are brown in color.

This is a final stage where milk solids are turning brown and ghee is seperated. Due to this browned milk solid ghee becomes nutty, grainy with toasted aroma.

Stir few times, bubbles will form up but it is completely ok.

Keep cooking for a few minutes till milk solids are turn into golden brown in color and sit at the bottom.

Ghee’s color will also start changing to golden color. As soon as you reach at 20 min (via external timer), turn off the instant pot & carefully remove the inner pot.

Do not let the inner pot sit in the instant pot. Even if it is switched off, instant pot still continue to cook and ghee may burn.

Step-4 Drain & store

Once it is cool enough, strain it through fine sieve and store in glass jars.

How to make homemade ghee (stovetop)

You can use a heavy bottom pan to make ghee on stovetop.

1. Take a heavy bottom pan and add butter to it. Cook it on medium heat. Let the butter melt slowly, keep stirring in between.
2. Keep cooking until you see milk solids separating.
3. Continue to cook on medium heat till milk solids caramelizing and turning golden brown in color. Stir in between so that ghee won’t burn.
4. Turn the heat off once milk solids are brown in color. Transfer the pan to another place, do not keep it on the same burner. Ghee may burn further.
5. Once cool down strain it and store in a glass jar.

Using a heavy bottom pan helps in distributing the HEAT evenly. Which further helps in reducing the chances of burning ghee.

How to store?

Ghee is best to store in the clean glass containers. Keep it at the cool place in the kitchen. It has a great shelf life and even without fridge it can be kept at room temperature for upto 6 months.

Being a saturated fat GHEE tends to solidify at room temperature.

Does ghee go bad, rancid ghee?

Just like any other food item, ghee also goes bad, rancid. There are two reasons which I experienced.
1. Moisture, always uses a dry, fresh spoon to take out the ghee from the container.
2. While cooking if milk solids remain uncooked then it goes rancid and smells bad.

If ghee is spoiled, it loses the grainy texture and smells very bad. It tastes and smells sour and consistency also does not look like grainy.

Tips & FAQ’s

Homemade ghee is BEST to use due to its aroma & nutty texture. However, there are few tips to take care of.

• Use organic grass-fed unsalted butter. I prefer to make with Kirkland unsalted butter from COSTCO. Kerry gold is another preferred brand.
• For this recipe 20 min, set in an external timer. I used 32 oz unsalted butter in 6qt instant pot, where butter came out straight from the fridge. If the butter is at room temperature then reduce the cooking time about 1-3. minutes.
• As per the butter quantity please note the estimated cooking time.
• Ghee continues to cook even after turning off the heat. Remove the insert from the cooking pot and keep it at another place. Similarly while making ghee on a stovetop, place the pan to another place after turning off the heat.
• Always use a clean glass container to store the ghee. Use a clean spoon while using ghee.
• Strain the ghee while it is still warm.
• Store at a cool place, you can keep it in the fridge as well but not required. Ghee stays well at room temperature.

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