I use two pounds of good unsalted butter, the Instant Pot's Keep Warm and Sauté settings, and a cheesecloth-lined strainer.
More than clarified butter. Way more flavor.
Real Talk
I started making my own ghee while planning a round of Whole30. Store-bought ghee is expensive. And once I learned that ghee can take higher heat than butter, the way other cooking oils can, I wanted to know why. I read a lot about it, and this recipe is the result.
My favorite thing to cook in ghee is pan-fried eggs. In butter, the eggs seemed to burn quickly. It turns out the milk solids were burning, not the eggs. Ghee has those solids removed, so now I get crispy edges that aren't burned. It seems like a small thing, but it made me happy.
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, but it bothers me a little when people leave it there. It has so much more flavor.
Why This Recipe Works
- The Instant Pot does the melting. Keep Warm melts cold butter gently, then Sauté brings it to a boil. No pressure cooking is involved.
- Color tells you when to stop. Turn off the power when the foam is light golden, not brown, and let the residual heat finish the milk solids.
- Cheesecloth catches the solids. A fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth holds back the cooked milk solids, so only the ghee goes into the jar.
Ingredients
Butter
- 32 ounces (2 pounds) high-quality unsalted butter
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Fine mesh strainer
- Cheesecloth
- Mixing bowl
- Airtight container for storage
Why I Use Kerrygold
I highly recommend Kerrygold butter. The cows are grass-fed, and it's pretty much the highest-quality butter you can get just about anywhere.
Cold Butter Is Fine
The butter can go in straight from the fridge. Refrigerator-cold butter takes about 10 minutes to melt completely on Keep Warm.
How Much It Makes
Two pounds of butter makes approximately 30 to 32 ounces of ghee. The recipe card counts that as 60 tablespoons.
Ghee vs. Clarified Butter: What's the Difference?
Butter has four parts: milk fat, water, protein, and milk solids, which include lactose. When butter heats, the water and solids sink to the bottom, the protein floats to the top, and the fat stays in the middle. The fat is what you want.
For clarified butter, you heat the butter until those parts separate, skim the protein off the top, then ladle or pour off the fat and leave the solids behind. It's the butter you get when you order crab legs.
Ghee goes further. You keep cooking until the water evaporates and the milk solids caramelize. That gives the fat a nutty flavor that clarified butter doesn't have.
Watch the Color, Not the Clock
The foam on top should reach a light golden color, not brown. For me that takes about 12–13 minutes on Sauté.
Then turn off the power and let the ghee sit for 10 minutes. The milk solids at the bottom should finish medium brown, not too dark.
If the foam turns brown, the milk solids have probably burned, and the ghee will taste charred.
How to Make Instant Pot Ghee
Step 1: Melt the butter on Keep Warm
Place the butter in the Instant Pot and turn on the Keep Warm setting.
Stir gently as the butter melts.
Cold butter from the fridge takes about 10 minutes to melt completely.
Look for: completely melted butter before you switch to Sauté.
Step 2: Boil on Sauté and scrape the bottom
Switch to Sauté on the normal level. Once the butter begins to boil, stir well every minute or two.
The foam on top is the protein. When you stir, scrape the bottom of the pot so the milk solids that settle there cook evenly.
Tip: You'll start to feel the milk solids on the bottom of the pot the longer the butter cooks.
Step 3: Turn off the power at light golden
You want the foam to reach a light golden color, not brown. For me that takes about 12–13 minutes.
When you see light golden, turn off the power. The ghee keeps cooking with the residual heat.
Avoid: brown foam. It means you've probably burned the milk solids and charred the taste of the ghee.
Step 4: Let it finish for 10 minutes
Leave the ghee in the pot with the power off for 10 minutes.
Look for: milk solids at the bottom of the pot that are medium brown, not too dark.
Step 5: Strain through cheesecloth
Set a fine mesh strainer over a mixing bowl.
Line the strainer with cheesecloth.
Pour the ghee through the cheesecloth.
The cooked milk solids stay behind in the cloth.
Some of the milk solids will also be left in the pot.
Step 6: Cool and store
Transfer the ghee to an airtight container. Let it cool completely, uncovered, then cover it and store it away from sunlight and heat.
I keep mine in the fridge, where it lasts up to 6 months. Some people store ghee at room temperature. I don't, because I don't want to lose it.
Tip: Use it like any cooking oil that handles higher heat than butter. Pan-fried eggs are my favorite.
Expert Tips
- Scrape the bottom, not just the surface. The milk solids settle on the bottom of the pot. Keep them moving so they cook evenly.
- Watch the foam for light golden. Brown foam means the milk solids have probably burned. The color is the cue, and the 12–13 minutes is approximate.
- Let the residual heat finish it. Turn off the power at light golden and give it 10 minutes. The solids should end up medium brown, not too dark.
- Cool it uncovered. Cover the container only after the ghee has cooled completely.
FAQs
No. This recipe doesn't use pressure. The butter melts on Keep Warm, boils on Sauté, then finishes cooking with the power off.
Clarified butter is butter with the protein skimmed off and the milk solids left behind. Ghee cooks longer, until the water evaporates and the milk solids caramelize, which gives it a nutty flavor.
I store mine in an airtight container in the fridge, where it lasts up to 6 months. Some people keep ghee at room temperature, but I don't.
When butter burns in a pan, it's the milk solids burning. Ghee has the milk solids strained out, so you can cook with it at higher heat. That's why I use it for pan-fried eggs with crispy edges.
Recipes That Use Ghee
Ghee goes into my Stuffed Sweet Potatoes in the Instant Pot and Italian Sausage Soup. For the Instant Pot Buffalo Meatballs, we mixed melted ghee into the wing sauce.
Did you make this Instant Pot Ghee?
Please leave a star rating and tell me how it turned out!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Ghee
Ingredients
- 32 oz. unsalted butter high quality
Instructions
- Place butter in pot and turn on the “keep warm” setting. Gently stir butter while it melts completely. With refrigerator-cold butter, it will take about 10 minutes.
- Once butter is melted completely, switch to sauté setting (normal level). After butter begins to boil, stir well every minute or two.
- When stirring, be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot so that all the milk solids that settle cook evenly. You will begin to feel them the longer the butter cooks. Also watch the color of the foam on the surface (the proteins). The goal is a light golden color, not brown. If you see brown, you've probably burned the milk solids and charred the taste of the ghee.
- Once you see the light golden color (after about 12-13 minutes), turn off the power and allow to continue cooking with the residual heat.
- After 10 minutes with the power off, the ghee is ready. The milk solids at the bottom of the pot should be a medium brown color, not too dark.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a mixing bowl, then line the strainer with cheesecloth. Pour the ghee through the cheesecloth.
- Transfer the ghee to an airtight container. Allow to cool completely uncovered, then cover and store away from sunlight or heat. I recommend keeping it in the fridge, where it will last for up to 6 months. Some people store it at room temperature, but I don't, because I don't want to lose it.
Nancy
This recipe is easy enough
I just made it, however the color of the liquid is more of an orange light brown. I cooked it lo ger than your suggested 12-13 min looking g for the foam to turn a light gold vs a warm yellow. Perhaps your instructions could make it clearer that it's the liquid color. I'm figuring it's still great to use. Right?
Amy
Hi!
I followed the directions and at about ten minutes on sauté the butter suddenly foamed up and almost came out of the pot. I immediately removed it from the base and the solids started turning brown. And the butter became darker.
I’ve made ghee in the crockpot with no issues…I always use Kerrygold. Any ideas on why it suddenly foamed and turned brown. I was stirring almost constantly, but I was finding it hard to keep the solids scraped off if I stopped for even half a minute, during the last three minutes.
Thanks for any thoughts!
Gary White
The longer I've been posting IP recipes, the one thing I've noticed is that different models, and even different pots within the same model, often reach different temperatures. So it's really tough to dictate how each one will act. That's the main reason I try to give clear details and pictures of what it should look like in each stage. It sounds like your pot got really hot.
Ruzzel Zullo
Followed the recipe to a T. I think I did it right, but my solids did NOT turn brown. They were still yellow even though the ghee color was golden brown like the pictures. I boiled for 12 minutes instead of 13. Should I boil for longer or is it okay that the solids were not brown yet! Otherwise the ghee came out great.
Kari Bailey
Thank you for making me feel like I can make ghee! I was recently in Mexico and discovered ghee at a local market. The woman had different flavors including garlic and rosemary. How do I infuse herbs into your ghee recipe?
Jeanette Schutz
So is this used just like any other cooking oil? I’ve never used ghee before. Thanks.
Gary White
It is pretty much butter-flavored oil, so you can use it in all kinds of ways. It has a high smoke point, so that's a plus also.
Katia Vi
The photos and time really made it easy. Thank you. But sautéing for the 10 minutes suggested “burned” my ghee a lit bit. No matter, it still taste nutty and delicious - almost sweet. I will try again with less sauté time.
Roberta
Loved the instructions and they were clear I was just very surprised how quickly it goes from golden to burnt! Just a heads up to others to err a bit on the side of caution as I did burn my first batch. Apparently my pot does not need as much time as yours but I love how easy this was. I will definitely use this recipe again and get it right the next time. Thanks for posting!
Nancy B
I hope you didn’t throw it out…I think it’s the milk solids that are “burned”, the resulting ghee just seems to have a deeper flavor but not a burnt one.