This Instant Pot ghee is clarified butter taken to the next level with a nutty flavor. All the guesswork is taken out with the convenience of an Instant Pot.
We're planning on starting a round of Whole30 in just a few weeks. And in doing some research and planning for the VERY restrictive menu, I came to the conclusion that making my own ghee was an absolute necessity - mainly because store-bought ghee is ridiculously expensive. But when I realized that ghee can be used just like other oils that can be heated to higher temperatures than butter, I was really curious why that was. So I did a TON of research. And this Instant Pot ghee recipe is the result of all that knowledge.
Currently, my favorite thing to cook with ghee is pan-fried eggs! You know how, when using butter, the eggs can seem to burn rather quickly? Well, I learned that's because it's the milk solids that are burning, not the eggs themselves. So now, after making ghee (which removes the solids), I can have perfect eggs with crispy edges that are not burned. I know, it seems silly... but it really made me happy!
There's a difference between ghee and clarified butter?
Let's first talk about the different parts of butter. Butter has four parts: milk fat, water, protein, and milk solids (which include lactose). When heated, the water and solids sink to the bottom, the protein floats to the top, and the fat remains in the middle. That is the good stuff! That is what we want to get from this purification process.
When making clarified butter, you heat the butter until the four parts separate. Then you skim the proteins on top and discard. The next layer is what you want. You can either ladle out the middle layer of butter fat or pour it off, making sure to leave behind all the solids at the bottom. This is the type of butter you might get when you order crab legs.
For ghee, you basically just take clarified butter to the next level. You boil the butter until two things happen: the water evaporates and the milk solids caramelize. By caramelizing the milk solids, the butter fat layer takes on a nutty flavor that has WAY more flavor than clarified butter. So while this Instant Pot ghee is a type of clarified butter, it kinda bothers me when people label it that way because it is SO MUCH MORE.
The Process
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📖 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.