Instant Pot Ghee (Instant Pot or Stovetop Recipe)

Name: Instant Pot Ghee (Instant Pot or Stovetop Recipe!)
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 17 min
Ingredients: 1 lb unsalted butter*

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Making Ghee (or clarified butter) in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop is much more affordable than store-bought, and it’s so quick to make in 15 minutes using one package of butter. Homemade ghee is perfect for all your cooking and baking because it’s rich, slightly buttery and nutty, and has a high smoke point.

Ghee in a jar with an Instant Pot in the background.

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Why This Recipe is So Good

What is Ghee, or clarified butter and why use it? Ghee is a cooking oil made by heating butter until the milk solids separate from the oil, leaving clarified butter or an oil that can be used for high-heat cooking without burning. Because of this high smoking point, ghee is ideal for sauteing and frying just like other high-smoke-point vegetable oils like coconut oil and avocado oil.

This instant pot ghee recipe is so simple and pretty hands off. It’s made with just one ingredient, and you can make it either in an Instant Pot or over the stove. The instructions for both methods is in the blog post and down in the recipe card.

What does the ghee taste like? Clarified butter doesn’t taste super buttery, more like a nutty neutral oil with hints of butter flavor.

It’s shelf stable. I always keep a jar of this instant pot ghee on my counter because, unlike butter, it can be stored there for several weeks, making it the perfect pantry staple.

Ways to use ghee

I’m always grabbing for either olive oil or homemade ghee in my cooking. You can use it in place of olive or coconut oil when you want a neutral-tasting oil. Use it to saute vegetables when making soups or stews like this Chunky Cauliflower Potato Soup with Mixed Vegetables, Vegetable Lentil Soup, or this Spicy Ground Turkey Chili with Black Beans, or use it in homemade tortilla dough in place of olive oil. Because it has such a high smoking point, it’s perfect for pan-frying these Cilantro Lime Chicken Thighs or brushing over these Air Fryer Lamb Chops. I exclusively use it when making these Small Batch Buttermilk Pancakes because the oil doesn’t burn like butter.

Recipe Ingredients

Sticks of butter on a counter with a jar. Instant Pot ghee ingredient infographic.

Butter – You’ll only need 1 (1lb) package of butter. Use unsalted otherwise as the butter is cooked the salt in the butter will become more concentrated making your ghee very salty.

How To Make Ghee in the Instant Pot

Step one: Unwrapped sticks of butter then place in the instant pot liner. Press the “SAUTE” button. Allow the butter to melt, stir every few minutes with a spoon to help the melting process.

Step two: Once the butter has completely melted allow the butter to continue to cook for another 5 – 7 minutes or until the milk solids have separated from the oil and have started to brown on the bottom and sides of the pot. Turn off the Instant Pot then remove the liner from the unit.

Step three: Allow the ghee to cool slightly, and pour it over a clean pint-sized mason jar. Use a fine mesh strainer to strain out any milk solids, then top with a lid for storage.

How To Make Ghee Over the Stove

Step one: Melt your butter on medium-high heat. Once the butter has come to a rapid simmer, bring down the heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally. The ghee will sound loud as it simmers. If it pops out of the pan, turn the heat down lower.

Step two: Stir occasionally. As the butter cooks, it will have milky foam on the top. This is the milk separating from the oil in the butter. This milky foam is what is burning when you cook with butter in its natural form. While the butter cooks, the milk will start to harden and crystallize on the sides and bottom of the pot.

Step three: After another five minutes, the butter will be clear and little bubbles will occur on the surface of the ghee. It will start to look foamy and you can see that the milk has completely crystallized. Once this point has been reached, you are done!

Step four: Remove the pot from the heat. You can allow the ghee to cool slightly or immediately strain it into a pint-size mason jar to use in everyday cooking. It will have the perfect light golden color.

Tips and Tricks

Remove the Instant Pot liner from the unit as soon as the ghee is finished cooking, otherwise, the ghee will continue to cook and possibly burn.
Only cook your ghee until it starts to foam with small bubbles on top and the oil has a light yellow color. You don’t want the ghee to be too brown.
Your ghee might solidify as it cools or it might not, it’s still fine either way!
Store your ghee at room temperature for several weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it cheaper to make or buy ghee?

It is definitely cheaper to make ghee rather than to buy it. 1 pack of organic unsalted butter is $5 – 6 and yields about 2 cups of ghee. I’ve seen the same amount or even less cost $10 – $17 at the store.

Is ghee and clarified butter the same thing?

Yes! Clarified butter is another name for ghee. Ghee is butter that has been cooked so that all the milk solids have been removed or clarified.

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