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Homemade Instant Pot Ghee | Clarified Butter

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Enjoy the health and nutritional benefits of ghee with this Homemade Instant Pot Ghee recipe, perfect every time.

Instant Pot Ghee - golden ghee in four small mason jars
It seems that the world has discovered ghee, something that Indians have used for thousands of years for everyday cooking, medicinal purposes, and religious ceremonies.  I never imagined there would be a day when ghee would become a staple in western kitchens, and I think that’s terrific!

 

I’m going to show you how to make homemade Instant Pot Ghee, so you never have to buy it in the store again.  It can get quite expensive buying good quality ghee!

 

You may be asking “what is ghee?”  Ghee is essentially clarified butter.  This means that butter is heated, melted and removed of all milk solids and impurities.

 

Unlike regular clarified butter, ghee is cooked for a bit longer, to the point that the milk solids have a caramelized color. What’s remaining has an intense flavor, aroma, and color.

 

Ghee has a high smoke point, much higher than butter, and that means it can be heated to high temperatures.  It also tastes great unheated, used in place of butter.

 

Ghee doesn’t spoil at room temperature like butter can. And it has many health benefits: it’s lactose-free, is rich in vitamins, is good for digestion and has antioxidant properties.

 

I used to use a slow cooker ghee recipe to make ghee in my Crock Pot and it came out great. But using the Instant Pot to make ghee takes less time and I get more consistent results.

 

My Instant Pot Ghee recipe is simple and easy, but not “instant”!  You’ll need a couple of hours, of which hands-on time is about 10 minutes.

 

And no, it’s not a typo – you set the Instant Pot on slow cook with the lid off so condensation doesn’t drip back into the butter. It’s fine to keep the lid on during the slow cook stage, but you’ll have some splatter in the second stage of cooking (‘Saute’).

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Tips and Substitutions

I recommend that you get a splatter screen to protect your countertop and floor in case the melted butter bubbles up.  This can happen during the slow cook phase and the saute phase.

You’ll also need a fine mesh strainer to strain the ghee from the milk solids.

You’ll also need a large mason jar or a few smaller jars.

I use butter made from grass-fed cows. I like to use Kerry Gold or Trader Joe’s butter for making ghee.

Although they are more expensive, since it’s good quality grass-fed ghee, I justify the cost! I also find that there’s less foaming with the grass-fed butters.

The color of Kerrygold butter gives the ghee a wonderful golden color, as you see in my photographs.  The choice of butter is entirely up to you; use what you like.

If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot  DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide first and then come back here to learn how to make this Instant Pot Ghee.

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Homemade Instant Pot Ghee Recipe Ingredients

Instant Pot Ghee Ingredients - 3 8-oz. packages of Kerrygold pure Irish butter - Paint the Kitchen Red

 

Homemade Instant Pot Ghee Recipe Step-by-Step Instructions

Instant Pot Ghee Instructions collage - inner pot with butter, arrow pointing to slow cook, arrow pointing to adjust, display says 200 - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Place sticks of butter in Instant Pot.
  • Leave the lid off. This will keep condensation from dripping into the melting butter.*
  • Press ‘Slow Cook’, press ‘Adjust’ to set temperature to ‘Normal’and then press ‘+’ or ‘-‘ till time shows 2:00 (2 hours). **
  • The timer will count down to 0:00.  After 2 hours, the timer will beep. Press ‘Cancel’.

* If you wish to cover the Instant Pot during this stage, then during the next stage of cooking (saute mode), you may have some bubbling and splatter due to condensation, so be sure to cover the Instant Pot with a splatter screen till the bubbling slows down.
** It’s possible that your butter may bubble up initially, while it’s melting. A splatter screen is really handy to make sure you don’t have butter splatter on your countertop.

Instant Pot Ghee Instructions collage - milk solids separated from ghee in inner pot, arrow pointing to saute, arrow pointing to adjust - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • The milk solids will have settled to the bottom and will still be pale yellow in color.
  • Press ‘Saute’ and press ‘Adjust’ to set temperature to ‘Normal’.

 

Instant Pot Ghee Instructions collage - ghee separated from milk solids in inner pot, splatter screen on top of inner pot, ghee boiling - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Cover the pot with a splatter screen, because there may be some bubbling and splatter.
  • Saute for 9 to 10 minutes, stirring often till the milk solids turn to a golden color.
  • Be careful to keep your face away from the Instant Pot in case the ghee bubbles up.
  • Turn off Instant Pot and let the ghee cool down. The milk solids will darken to a caramel color in the residual heat.
  • If the milk solids start to darken too much, remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot.

 

Instant Pot Ghee Instructions collage - milk solids too light in color, milk solids golden color when Instant Pot turned off, milk solids caramel color when cooled - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • If the milk solids are too light, the ghee will spoil quicker.
  • Make sure the milk solids are a golden yellow color.
  • When they cool down in the residual heat of the Instant Pot they will become a caramel color.

 

Instant Pot Ghee Instructions collage - milk solids golden brown separated from ghee, empty jar, jar full of ghee with strainer on top - Paint the Kitchen Red

  • Allow ghee to cool completely.
  • Strain the ghee through a fine mesh strainer into mason jars.
  • Store in a cabinet away from sunlight. Ghee will last for months at room temperature because all the milk solids have been removed.  Storing in the refrigerator will make it last even longer.

Use Instant Pot ghee in place of butter or oil in your everyday cooking, as in this Instant Pot Chicken Curry or try spreading it on a slice of toast or a baked treat. Mmmm-good!


Instant Pot Ghee - four mason jars with golden ghee on black background with pink petals - Paint the Kitchen Red

Homemade Instant Pot Ghee

Enjoy the health and nutritional benefits of homemade ghee with this Homemade Instant Pot Ghee recipe, perfect every time.
4.84 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Sauces
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: ghee, instant pot
Main Ingredient: vegetarian
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Calories: 45kcal
Author: Paint the Kitchen Red

Ingredients

  • 24 oz. butter (1 1/2 lbs), preferably grass-fed

Instructions

  • Place sticks of butter in Instant Pot.
  • Leave the lid off. This will keep condensation from dripping into the melting butter. *
  • Cook in 'Slow Cook' mode for 2 hours at 'Normal' temperature.  Use a splatter screen if necessary.
  • The milk solids will have settled to the bottom and will still be pale yellow in color.  Turn off Instant Pot.
  • Cover the pot with a splatter screen, because there may be some bubbling and splatter.
  • Cook in 'Saute' mode for 9 to 10 minutes, stirring often till the milk solids turn to a golden color.  Don't be tempted to saute for longer to make them darker; the milk solids will darken more after the heat is turned off.  (Be careful to keep your face away from the Instant Pot in case the ghee bubbles up.)
  • Turn off Instant Pot and let the ghee cool down. The milk solids will darken to a caramel color in the residual heat. If necessary, remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot and place on a heatproof surface.
  • Allow to cool completely.
  • Strain the ghee through a fine mesh strainer into mason jars or glass bottles that can be closed tightly.
  • Store in a cabinet away from sunlight. Ghee will last for months at room temperature because all the milk solids have been removed. Storing in the refrigerator will make it last even longer.

Video

Notes

  • * If the butter starts bubbling up during the melting phase while in 'slow cook' mode or during the 'saute' mode, use a splatter screen to keep your countertops from becoming messy.
  • If the milk solids are too light, the ghee will spoil quicker.
  • See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips, and see the step-by-step instructions and photographs for details on what color the milk solids should be.

Nutrition

Serving: 1teaspoon | Calories: 45kcal | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 15mg
Have you made this recipe?I love seeing your photos! Tag me on Instagram @PaintTheKitchenRed hashtag #paintthekitchenred

I am not a certified nutritionist.  I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers.  If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons,  I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.

If you loved this recipe, please give it a 5 Star rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sheila

    April 19, 2017 at 1:46 pm

    I grew up with ghee and make it on the stove. I never thought of making it in an Instant Pot. Thanks for the clear instructions. Never going back to the stove version!

    Reply

    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      October 16, 2017 at 2:53 pm

      Hi there, I’m sure you can do it entirely on slow cook mode, but I’m not sure that time will be enough. You might try it out and just keep an eye on it for the solids to become caramel colored. If you find that it’s taking too long, just short-cut and turn on saute mode. You might also try it on ‘More’ rather than ‘Normal’ slow cooker temperature setting. Do let us know how it goes if you try it out. I’m sure others, including me, would love to know!

      Reply

    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      January 19, 2018 at 6:07 pm

      Hi Sally, thanks for your question. I mainly use in Indian dishes: desserts (sauteed with flour and sugar), rice, bread, and curries. You might be able to add to bread or pizza dough and a rice pilaf. Just make sure the solids aren’t burned 🙂

      Reply

  8. Marie Dunn

    August 10, 2018 at 3:51 pm

    I followed all directions and my butter color is brown not golden. It taste good, like brown butter and not burnt. I think it went past the Ghee stage. I was wanting all the milk fat solids out of my butter, but brown butter has all the milk fat solids, correct?

    I hate to waste this butter, but I donl’t want all the fat.

    Reply

    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      August 12, 2018 at 8:15 pm

      Marie, did you use Kerrygold butter? I get that golden color with that brand. When I buy regular butter, it still works but the color isn’t the same – more light brown. If it’s not burned, and you actually had milk solids left over, I think you should be fine to use it.

      Reply

  9. Jill

    September 6, 2018 at 9:04 am

    I have used this over and over with success. I like to do a pot roast with the solids in the same pot!

    I have to be careful
    at the sauté point because they get brown quickly.

    I like to put coconut oil with mine at the end 1:1.

    Reply

  10. Penny Forte

    December 18, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    This recipe is AWESOME and so EASY!! My child was recently diagnosed with Chrons and I am lactose intolerant. Only since his diagnosis have I found ghee, but it’s just so expensive! So this recipe is a game changer for us! I can purchase the grass-fed butter and make this recipe at home for about half the cost of buying ghee in the store. The first batch I made ended up brown butter, but I’ll use that for some holiday baking. My subsequent batches have easily produce gorgeous, wonderful the!! Thank you so very much!!

    Reply

    • Paint the Kitchen Red

      December 18, 2018 at 4:01 pm

      Hi Penny – yes, it’s a fine line between brown butter and ghee. I think the first time most people think it’s not the right color, and keep cooking not realizing that it will darken. Thank you for your lovely comment, and good wishes to your child in their fight against Chrons.

      Reply

  12. Robyn Miller

    January 3, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    Can you freeze ghee? I live alone and I think I would have a hard time using 2 cups of ghee on my own. Thanks!

    Reply

  13. Bonita

    April 4, 2019 at 10:29 am

    Used this recipe/method in my IP to make my first batch of ghee yesterday. Turned out great! I used Kerry Gold unsalted butter. I’m on the Whole30 diet right now, and ghee is a recommended fat to consume. Can’t wait to cook with it. Thanks for posting this method of making ghee, certainly will save money and be fresher!

    Reply

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