Homemade Ghee

Melted ghee in a mason jar on a counter.

5 from 2 votes

If you have ever wondered how to make ghee at home, here is a simple and easy recipe for homemade ghee. Also known as clarified butter, this recipe has only one ingredient, is ready in under 30 minutes, tastes nutty and delicious, and is way cheaper than store-bought.

Prep Time2

Cook Time23

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 81kcal

Author: Vaishali

Equipment

Stainless Steel Fine Mesh Strainer
Mason Jars

Ingredients

1.5 pound unsalted butter 6 sticks or 2.5 cups

Instructions

Unwrap the butter sticks. Set a heavy bottom sauce pan on medium high heat and add the butter to the pan.
With a small wooden spoon, stir the butter and let it melt for about 7-8 minutes. Keep stirring in between so that the butter does not pop.
After about 15 minutes, you will notice the butter has started to clarify with some bubbles or foam forming at the surface. Keep cooking the butter stirring in between without scraping the bottom of the pan.
At around 20 minute mark, there would be a lot more bubbles and the liquid will become less cloudy. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. The liquid should be clear and you should be able to see the milk solids in golden color at the bottom of the pan. At this point, turn the heat off. Your ghee is ready!
Let the ghee cool down for 10-15 minutes and using a fine mesh stainless strainer, strain it into a clean mason jar and store at room temperature.

Notes

This recipe makes 2.5 cups or 530 g/1.17 lb of ghee.

Keep stirring the butter as it melts, especially the first 5 - 10 minutes so that the butter does not "pop" and make a mess. As butter heats up, the water begins to separate from the milk fats. If it gets too hot, the fat starts to splatter and separate and "pops".
Do not scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir.
Turn the heat off few minutes before you think you should. Take a leap of faith and do it when the bubbles/foam subsides. There is enough heat in the ghee so it will continue cooking for a few minutes after the heat is turned off.
Don't let the settled milk solids turn brown. The ghee can go from nutty to burnt very quickly if this happens. See the tip above!
Use a nut milk bag for extra straining. A stainless steel fine mesh strainer works fine but if you want extra clarity in your ghee, you can use a nut milk bag for straining it.
To make ghee in Instant Pot - Set your instant pot to saute mode and add the butter, cook for about 10 minutes, stirring intermittently. Turn the instant pot off and let ghee cool down completely before straining it into a clean glass jar.

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