Instant Pot ghee; a household staple that can easily be made in 20 minutes. Mess-free, easy to make with just one ingredient and paleo whole 30 approved.
This nutty liquid gold is cost effective and great for so many recipes.
Ghee is such an important ingredient in the Indian pantry. From mains and appetizers to sweets; we use ghee all the time. And now, not just Indian; ghee is popular in other cuisines too.
It is a fat that can be used to cook, a flavorful topping or a great frying ingredient. It is super versatile and has many non-edible applications too. And when there are so many uses; you got to have a jar of ghee in the pantry all the time.
We use it in making Nankhatai, making this Instant Upma mix, Pineapple Zarda and Aloo Sabji amongst others.
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What is Ghee
Ghee is an essential ingredient in the kitchen. Made by slow cooking butter to remove all the water and mild solids; this almost clear nutty liquid is called ghee.
It has a pretty high smoke point of 485 F; making it ideal to roast, sauté, stir fry and even bake with. Moreover, it is popular for lighting diyas, as a natural lip balm and moisturizer.
It has a rather long shelf life as it does not contain any moisture. Moreover, it can be refrigerated even longer.
Making Ghee the traditional way
For my entire childhood I have seen my grandmother make ghee. It is a tedious process and a pretty intense one.
It starts with boiling milk, cooling it and collecting the fat (malai) that is on top. All the malai is then churned into butter to make white butter. Then we slow cook this butter till the milk solids separate and settle at the bottom. The resultant liquid is ghee.
However, this process does need a lot of time, a lot of malai and patience. I would totally hate how the entire home would smell while boiling malai. And so I would never have thought I would make this myself.
But in came 'unsalted butter' and the week long process shortened to simply 20 minutes. And no storing malai in the refrigerator, keeping a check it does not go bad etc. And with the Instant pot, the process becomes even more easy. No wonder, I have been making ghee at home for 10+ years and since the first instant pot came home, I have been using just that.
Why this recipe works
- We make ghee using simply one ingredient; unsalted butter.
- It comes together in under 20 minutes.
- Low carb, paleo, keto, whole 30 compliant.
- Ghee is lactose-free.
- Only needs the instant pot and a strainer.
- The aroma of freshly made ghee dos not compare to any brand.
- It is cheaper than store bought, with little effort.
- We can make a big batch of ghee and store in the pantry.
- An almost time based recipe that needs no baby sitting.
- The ghee has a high smoke point of around 485 F; making it great to sauté, bake, stir-fry or even fry with.
- It is easy to flavor the ghee with curry leaves, turmeric or even saffron.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter: The key ingredient to make ghee is unsalted butter. The quality of ghee will be determined by the quality of unsalted butter. So pick the best butter to make the best ghee. However, use salted butter if you like. But it gives a rather salty ghee.
- Salt: An optional ingredient for ghee, salt helps make the ghee of an amazing texture. However, skip it if you like.
- We can easily flavor the ghee with different ingredients. Curry leaves, turmeric, chili flakes or garlic work well to flavor it. Simply add and boil till the flavoring agent with the butter.
See the recipe card for detailed ingredient information, measurements and nutrition.
How to make this recipe
1- Set the Instant Pot mode to sauté, adjust to normal and set timer to 20 minutes. Add the unsalted butter.
2- In about 5-6 minutes the butter will start to melt.
3- Soon the entire butter will melt and start to bubble.
4- Soon the residue will start to settle at the bottom and the top will become frothy. Stir intermittently.
5- Keep boiling for another 8-10 minutes and test if the ghee is cooked. To check, add 2 tablespoon water to the boiling ghee. If it sizzles immediately, the ghee is cooked. Else cook for another 2-3 minutes and test again.
6- Once the ghee is cooked, stir once and shut off the Instant Pot.
7- Add a pinch of salt (if using) and mix well.
8- Though the pot is off, the heat is enough to make the residue turn dark brown and settle. So do not remove the insert yet.
Pro Tip: We want the milk solids to be dark brown, not black. So if they start to darken a lot, remove the pot and set aside.
9- Let the ghee cool in the Instant Pot insert and transfer to a clean bottle through a fine mesh strainer.
10- Cover and store at room temperature. This Instant Pot ghee can be refrigerated too (though not required).
Expert Tips and Notes
- Use high quality butter to get the best flavor of ghee. This gives the best ghee. Fine grass-fed butter makes a super flavorful ghee.
- Adding a salt is optional in the recipe; yet a popular add. This gives the ghee a peculiar consistency that is called 'danedar ghee'.
- The recipe here lists the time required for 3 pounds unsalted butter in a 6 quart instant pot. However, the time will change as we change the amount of butter. And it decreases for a 3 quart instant pot.
- Keep an eye even after turning the instant pot off. While we rely on the heat to cook off the remaining milk solids they can also burn those very easily.
- Ghee should only be stored in clean jars. If using a glass jar, run them empty in the microwave for 15 seconds before using. For steel ones, simply place in the sun for 30-40 minutes and transfer the ghee in them.
- Ghee is easy to store at room temperature for 2-3 months. However, to preserve it further, refrigerate the jars once cool.
- Do not have the Instant Pot; use this stove-top Ghee recipe then.
Cooking times for Unsalted Butter
We need to thoroughly cook unsalted butter to get ghee. The time required will vary based on brand of butter, the starting temperature of the butter and the size of instant pot used.
Here are some estimates for cooking unsalted butter in the 6 quart instant pot on normal sauté mode:
- 1 lb (16 ounces) - 8-10 minutes - yields 14 ounces (1.5 cups) of ghee.
- 2 lb (32 ounces) - 14-15 minutes - yields 28 ounces (3 cups) of ghee.
- 3 lb (48 ounces) - 20-21 minutes - yields 42 ounces (4.5 cups) of ghee.
Reduce the time by 2 minutes when using salted butter. It does cook faster.
Recipe FAQs
Butter is an emulsion made from fat and protein components of churned cream. When we cook till it melts, it gives us clarified butter. And when we completely cook and strain out the milk solids, we get the clear butterfat ghee.
No not at all. Ghee is made from ingredients that start with milk. So it is by no means Vegan.
Yes. We burn out all the milk solids and the resultant butterfat is simply fat. So it is free from lactose, though some traces might exist.
Compared to the traditional method, unsalted butter gives us far less milk solids. We can use it to make a delicious sweet by adding sugar or to add in the dough to make parathas. Or simply discard the milk solids.
The ghee made from organic butter will be organic. And if we make it with non-organic butter, the resultant ghee is not organic too.
Ghee is devoid of any moisture when cooked and stored correctly. Thus, it is shelf stable for months. To preserve it further, refrigerate it.
Recipes that use ghee
There are a lot of recipes that we make with ghee. From cookies, snacks, mains and rice dishes, we use it extensively. Here are some popular recipes to make.
More Cooking Basic recipes
Whenever we cook at home, it is always great to have some things at hand. They help us cook faster and they are often best to make in batches. Here are some of my favorites to make ahead.
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Love this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like it, consider a review in the comments whilst you are there, thanks!
Instant Pot Ghee using Unsalted Butter
Ingredients
- 3 lb unsalted butter
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot mode to sauté, adjust to normal and set timer to 20 minutes. Add the unsalted butter.3 lb unsalted butter
- In about 5-6 minutes the butter will start to melt.
- Soon the entire butter will melt and start to bubble.
- Soon the residue will start to settle at the bottom and the top will become frothy. Stir intermittently.
- Keep boiling for another 8-10 minutes and test if the ghee is cooked. To check, add 2 tablespoon water to the boiling ghee. If it sizzles immediately, the ghee is cooked. Else cook for another 2-3 minutes and test again.
- Once the ghee is cooked, stir once and shut off the Instant Pot.
- Add salt (if using) and mix well.¼ teaspoon salt
- Though the pot is off, the heat is enough to make the residue turn dark brown and settle. So do not remove the insert yet. We want the milk solids to be dark brown, not black. So if they start to darken a lot, remove the pot and set aside.
- Let the ghee cool in the Instant Pot insert and transfer to a clean bottle through a fine mesh strainer.
- Cover and store at room temperature. This Instant Pot ghee can be refrigerated too (though not required).
Video
Notes
- Use high quality butter to get the best flavor of ghee. This gives the best ghee. Fine grass-fed butter makes a super flavorful ghee.
- Adding a salt is optional in the recipe; yet a popular add. This gives the ghee a peculiar consistency that is called 'danedar ghee'.
- The recipe here lists the time required for 3 pounds unsalted butter in a 6 quart instant pot. However, the time will change as we change the amount of butter. And it decreases for a 3 quart instant pot.
- Keep an eye even after turning the instant pot off. While we rely on the heat to cook off the remaining milk solids they can also burn those very easily.
- Ghee should only be stored in clean jars. If using a glass jar, run them empty in the microwave for 15 seconds before using. For steel ones, simply place in the sun for 30-40 minutes and transfer the ghee in them.
- Ghee is easy to store at room temperature for 2-3 months. However, to preserve it further, refrigerate the jars once cool.
Nutrition
Gunjan says
Wow Shruti, that's a really clever idea to make ghee in an instant cooker. I don't have one though. And the ghee looks so soothing...process is beautifully explained !! I do like to make ghee at home too so can imagine the joy of making it. Happy cooking !!
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot! You must get one if you plan to! It is amazing for many recipes. As for the ghee, I LOVE making it at home as I know exactly whet is in it! Happy cooking to you too!
Richa says
Wow...the ghee look so good. I will try it too.
Smruti Ashar says
Thanks a lot!!! Hope u try it soon! I am sure you will love it!