Ghee is butter that has been clarified to remove water and milk solids, which adds a toasty aroma and flavor to the finished butter.
It’s absolutely delicious and so easy to make using your Instant Pot!
Besides having a good flavor, Instant Pot Ghee has a longer shelf life and is more suitable for high-heat cooking than butter.
And being milk-free, ghee is great for those who are lactose intolerant or have a sensitivity to dairy products.
You can find many substitutes for ghee, but in my opinion making it yourself is the best option 🙂
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Why This Recipe Works
There are tons of benefits of using ghee where you would normally use butter, including health benefits and more flexibility in terms of cooking methods. But ghee is also much more expensive than butter...
Thanks to this Instant Pot Ghee recipe, ghee has never been easier to make. Plus, it’s much cheaper to make your own than to buy it! The heat of the Instant Pot melts the butter in a consistent way, so it fully melts but doesn’t brown or burn. We’ve tested the recipe to have it work perfectly every time! So you don't have to be nervous to make ghee with this foolproof recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
Butter – really, that’s it! Butter is the only ingredient needed to make ghee. For this Instant Pot ghee recipe, you can use any type of butter you have, just make sure it is unsalted.
How to make ghee
Get your butter
Cut the butter into equal sized cubes. Place the butter in the Instant Pot.
Select Saute. The butter will start to melt.
Cook the ghee until foamy, for 8-9 minutes. Turn off the Instant pot and let the butter cook in the heat for 2 minutes more.
Strain the butter to remove solids, and you're left with ghee.
Cool the ghee for few minutes.
Pack the ghee in a jar. Store in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
- You may see the ghee in different colors, from yellow to golden. This just indicates the type of butter that was used for the recipe. Grass-fed butter generally results in a deeper hue because it has more milk proteins which brown during the clarification process. So, do not worry if your ghee is yellow or golden, it all depends on the butter type, and it will taste great no matter the hue.
How to Serve Ghee
Ghee has a distinctly warm and nutty taste that lends buttery goodness to dishes like stir-fries or pan-sears without any of the potential burning or bitter tastes that can result from overcooking butter.
Try using ghee in place of the oil in this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe.
More Indian Recipes
If you’re looking for authentic Indian recipes to use your ghee, here are some of my favorites for you to try out:
Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
FAQ About Ghee
Is ghee healthier than butter?
If you think about it, ghee is just clarified butter, but is there more to it? Clarifying butter is a slow, steady process of driving out water and milk solids so that you are left with pure butterfat.
Pure butterfat keeps longer than butter and has a much higher smoke point. This makes ghee suitable for cooking at high temperatures without burning, making it a useful fat to have in your kitchen.
Ghee is a classic Indian food staple but has gained popularity through trendy diets, specifically low-carb diets and Paleo. Beyond the cooking benefits and reported health benefits, ghee is also a delicious alternative to butter if you want to switch things up!
How to store ghee?
Once strained, let your Instant Pot Ghee cool completely before covering for long-term storage. You can store the homemade ghee in the refrigerator for about three months or freeze it for up to six months.
Instant Pot Ghee
Ingredients
- 16 oz unsalted butter
Instructions
- Cut the butter into cubes.
- Press "saute" and add the butter to the Instant Pot.
- Let the butter melt completely.
- Saute the butter until foamy for 8-9 minutes and then turn off the Instant Pot.
- Let the butter cooks for another 2 minutes while the Instant Pot cools down.
- Strain the butter through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Enjoy your homemade ghee 🙂
Does the ghee return to a solid after the process or does it stay in liquid form?
It will turn to a solid in the refrigerator.
What level should I put my duo evo plus sauté at? For ghee.
I think low will work best. If it doesn't get foamy like in the photos, turn to high saute.
What amount of end product is the yield from 1 pound unsalted butter? How healthy is this compared to alternative oils?
Butter is approx. 80% fat, 16% water and 4% milk solids. Since the water and milk solids will be removed in this process, you'll end up with approx 12 ounces of ghee (or 3/4 lb.) from 1 lb. of unsalted butter. Different oils have different health benefits, but ghee is a healthy choice that contains many antioxidants, vitamins, and healthy fats.