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Home Sauces

How to make Ghee and Clarified Butter (same thing!)

By:Nagi
Published:14 Oct '20Updated:8 Dec '20
63 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

This is a recipe for how to make Ghee and Clarified Butter – they are almost the same thing (more on this later). Extremely easy, cheaper than buying, shelf-stable, and has a high smoke point which makes it excellent for pan frying or roasting things at high heat without burning like normal butter.

It’s the fat used in many traditional Indian curries for intense buttery richness, to make pan fried things like Potato Rosti super crispy, and a restaurant secret for extra lush Hollandaise Sauce (in 90 seconds!).

Spoon scooping up homemade ghee

What is clarified butter and ghee?

And why do I love it so much? Here’s why!

  • Clarified Butter is normal butter minus the dairy component and water ie just butter fat;

  • Ghee is a type of Clarified Butter, best known as used in Indian cooking. Arguably the purest form because the method to make it ensures 100% of the dairy is removed, whereas some basic methods for clarified butter are not as thorough;

  • They have a more intense butter flavour and in the case of Ghee, a slightly nutty flavour imparted by the browned milk solids;

  • Is a gorgeous golden yellow colour;

  • Is completely clear and pure, not clouded with milky bits and foam like normal melted butter;

  • Makes things much more crisp than butter – such as the Potato Rosti pictured below; and

  • Has a high smoke point of 230°C/450°F, compared to butter which has a smoke point of only 175°C/350°F. This is in fact higher than some vegetable oils, meaning you can use clarified butter/ghee just as you would a normal cooking fat, frying and sauteeing things at a high temperature without setting off the smoke alarm.

I’ve used clarified butter and ghee in a handful of recipes and in each of those I keep repeating the same directions for how to make it at home if you can’t find it, plus it’s about half the price to make at home.

So I thought it was about time I put up a separate recipe for it – because it’s so easy!


How to make Ghee / How to make Clarified Butter

If you can melt butter on the stove, you can make ghee! Essentially, you just leave butter on a medium low stove for 10 minutes until you see golden bits on the base of the pan which are the milk solids – and this means it’s done. The water has evaporated and the dairy has solidified which will be strained out.

Here’s how it changes during the simmering time:

How to make Ghee and Clarified Butter

Then simply line a mesh colander with a paper towel and strain. Then marvel at the incredible liquid gold – and the smell! It’s insane – so buttery and nutty!

How to make homemade Ghee and Clarified Butter (same thing)

How to store ghee / clarified butter

Ghee and clarified butter can be kept in the pantry because the dairy has been removed and the butter is now 100% fat, so it won’t spoil. It will keep for 3 months in the pantry – or even a year in the fridge!

Important note: other basic methods of making clarified butter – such as just skimming the foam off – are not as thorough in removing all the dairy. So you should not store that in the pantry, it must be kept in the fridge. And I personally would not keep it any longer than the shelf life of the butter you used.

Ghee and Clarified Butter in a jar in the pantry

Ghee is liquid when it’s warm. In the pantry, it will firm up but still be quite soft – sort of like peanut butter consistency – as depicted below. If you refrigerate it, it becomes very firm, like butter, but it looks sort of grainy (melts completely smooth).

Ghee and Clarified Butter in a jar, ready to be used

What butter to use

I use unsalted butter. Ghee and clarified butter purchased at the store is unsalted.

You can use salted if you prefer, but unsalted is handier because it’s the standard in recipes so you don’t have to worry about oversalting things because you have salted ghee.

Butter for Ghee and Clarified Butter

What is clarified butter? What is ghee? And what’s the difference?

Clarified butter and ghee are the almost same thing. Both are simply normal butter with the water and milk solids removed, leaving behind pure butter fat. Pure butter fat has a more intense butter flavour and a higher smoke point, meaning it is suitable for using just like regular cooking oil.

Put another way, butter is made up of about 82% fat, and the rest is dairy (milk solids) and water. The dairy is what leaves black spots on your food when you sear over high heat – because it burns. The water is what stops things going ultra crispy when you pan fry in butter, and it dilutes the butter flavour.

So with clarified butter, the water is removed and the dairy component is strained out, leaving you with pure butter fat.

The difference between ghee and clarified butter

Clarified butter is the general term for butter that has had water and milk solids removed, as explained above. However there are different methods for achieving this. One of the quickest and most common methods is to melt the butter, skim off the foam (which are the milk solids that initially float to the surface) and pour off the butter fat for use, leaving behind any remaining water.

Ghee however takes a specific approach to clarifying butter. Instead of skimming, you continue to heat the butter until all the water boils off, the milk solids go brown and sink to the bottom, and finally are strained out. As you can see this is the exact method I’ve provided above. So what you get with mine is true ghee! Think of it as a specific kind of clarified butter. I find it’s not only simpler, but has a superior flavour too AND you can be confident that every bit of dairy has been removed so it is safe to keep for months – years, if stored in the fridge!!!

Potato Rosti in a skillet, fresh off the stove
The Swiss secret to ultra crispy golden brown Potato Rosti is clarified butter. You can’t achieve the same crispiness OR flavour using normal butter or oil.

What to do with ghee / clarified butter

Both ghee and clarified butter are used in cooking, as opposed to spread on toast or bread. You can use it in place of butter in recipes because it has a higher smoke point than oil – it will make things crisper and you won’t get those burnt black spots you get from pan frying in butter.

Here are a few examples:

  • As the fat for almost every Indian dish, especially curries – traditional use of ghee;

  • To make the crispiest, best tasting Potato Rosti you’ve ever had;

  • In place of oil or butter in any recipe for pan frying, roasting, sauces. Try Garlic Prawns with butter instead of oil, use it to pan-fry fish, for crispy roasted potatoes, buttery roast carrots, or this butter smeared Herb and Garlic Roast Chicken, Standing Rib Roast or Turkey Breast (use the ghee softened, not melted);

  • In Hollandaise Sauce for Eggs Benedict – for a richer flavour and smoother sauce;

  • Elegant, classic French Sauce for pan fried fish – see Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish;

  • Drizzle steamed, braised or roasted vegetables to make it even tastier;

  • Toss through this Movie Popcorn or Lightly Sweet ‘n Salty Popcorn – it stays CRISP for days, unlike when using normal butter!

  • Drizzle over soup;

  • To make rice dishes, such as Mushroom Risotto or Buttery Seasoned Rice;

  • To make the most amazing steak ever.

Note: Use with caution in baking recipes (such as cakes and cookies). Baking is a science – so you don’t want to muck around with batters.

Yellow Homemade Movie Popcorn in a popcorn bucket
Clarified butter is the secret to making buttery popcorn that stays CRISP for days! The water component in normal butter is what makes popcorn soggy.

Lastly, it’s worth knowing that ghee is a secret ingredient used by Chefs in fine dining restaurants to add an extra touch of buttery flavour into dishes. Whether it’s brushing filo pastry for baklava or stirring through Creamy Mashed Potato or to make the most amazing Mashed Cauliflower of your life, it’s just one of the little tricks used by professionals to make food extra special.

And now YOU can do it too! – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Spoon scooping up homemade ghee

How to make Ghee and Clarified Butter (same thing - almost)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Basics, Sauces
Western
4.74 from 19 votes
Servings220 ml / 7 oz
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Ghee is a form of clarified butter, where butter that is simmered until the water content is evaporated, then the milk solids are strained out to leave just pure gold butter fat with a nutty, intense butter flavour.
It's shelf stable (3 months pantry, 1 year fridge), has a higher smoke point than butter so you can pan fry and roast on high heat without smoking out your house.
Chef-secret ingredient, used in many recipes in place of ordinary butter for extra flavour (like Hollandaise Sauce), make pan fried things like Potato Rosti super crispy, and the traditional fat used in Indian curries.

Ingredients

  • 250g / 2 sticks unsalted butter , cut into 2.5cm / 1" cubes (or so)

Instructions

  • Use a small or medium saucepan or small skillet with a silver base so it's easier to see when milk solids are golden.
  • Put butter in then let it melt over medium-low heat.
  • Leave to simmer for 10 minutes - it will start to foam at about 5 minutes, then at 7 minutes most of the foam will be gone, and by the end the foam should be almost all gone.
  • The ghee is ready when the milk solids that settle on the base of the pan turn golden.
  • Strain through a mesh colander lined with a single sheet of paper towel.
  • Then pour into a jar for storage. Keep in the pantry 3 months (firms to peanut butter consistency), or fridge 1 year (hardens like butter).

Using:

  • Use in place of butter or fat for pan frying, roasting, sauces. The smoke point of ghee / clarified butter is 230°C / 450°F which is considerably higher than common oils such as vegetable oil and olive oil, so it won't smoke and burn.
  • Use with caution in baking recipes - such as cakes and cookies.

Recipe Notes:

Scaling recipe up - it will take longer for the water to evaporate after which the foam will subside, fall to the bottom and turn brown. Use a skillet if you can - lower walls = faster evaporation (but don't use one too big, you don't want the butter spread too thin).
Scaling recipe down - use a smaller saucepan otherwise the butter will spread too thinly and will be difficult to monitor.
Keywords: clarified butter, ghee
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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63 Comments

  1. Natalie says

    October 26, 2022 at 11:55 am

    4 stars
    Mine took nearly twice as long as the recipe said and the foam didn’t drop until I gave it a proper stir after 10mins. But I got there in the end.

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      November 15, 2022 at 1:13 pm

      I’ve since made this again using my medium size saucepan rather than my small one and the timing was spot on.

      Reply
  2. fred says

    August 14, 2022 at 7:39 am

    i started with (2) frozen sticks of butter and gave it 11 minutes , an extra minute for being frozen. still needed more time to boil off the water. the milk solids got very brown and the ghee tasted nutty,, how do I get rid of the water before the milk solids start to burn?? my freya says hi to dozer and would like to meet him,, lol

    Reply
    • anonymous says

      March 1, 2023 at 8:45 am

      Amount of butter to size of pan makes a big difference to the time needed

      Reply
  3. Laura says

    August 6, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    Can I just ‘clarify’ … :-p
    Can I use salted butter to make ghee?
    Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Cate says

    June 4, 2022 at 11:37 am

    It takes a lot longer than 10 minutes to process butter into ghee. A lot longer.

    Reply
    • A says

      July 26, 2022 at 4:42 am

      5 stars
      Not for this recipe.

      Reply
  5. Gary Redinger says

    May 13, 2022 at 5:27 am

    What can you use the left over milk solids for?
    Or is it chicken food?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 13, 2022 at 5:48 pm

      You can melt them over vegetables or add to mashed potatoes or rice Gary! N x

      Reply
      • Gary says

        May 13, 2022 at 9:05 pm

        Thank you, have a wonderful day

        Reply
      • Ali says

        June 7, 2022 at 8:16 pm

        I made this and put the milk solids into my mashed cauliflower and it was delicious. So glad I didn’t end up throwing it out! Also, i’ve kept my ghee for over 3 months and it’s still good to use :).

        Reply
  6. Alam says

    May 6, 2022 at 6:57 am

    Hi Nagi,
    Just a comment about your concern of a possible need to adjust the amount of salts in recipes using ghee, should one choose to use salted butter to make ghee:
    If the ghee is made and filtered properly, it will have no solids. Salt does not dissolve in ghee which is pure fat, hence no need for any concern.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 6, 2022 at 2:52 pm

      Thanks for that information Alam! N x

      Reply
  7. richard says

    April 20, 2022 at 3:13 am

    5 stars
    Update: Wife found the perfect solution for straining off the milk fat, and that is: Use the metallic coffee machine filter. Worked perfectly.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 20, 2022 at 4:34 pm

      I hadn’t thought of that one Richard – great idea!! N x

      Reply
  8. richard says

    April 20, 2022 at 2:47 am

    1 star
    Total disaster !!! IMO: It requires skill and the right kitchen tools to drain off the fat and I have neither. Tried paper towel, was not draining and butter all over the stove top, same as for coffee filer.

    Reply
    • A says

      July 26, 2022 at 4:44 am

      5 stars
      That is a ‘you’ problem. Paper towels has worked for me in a pinch.

      Reply
    • Tammy Johnson says

      December 9, 2022 at 2:13 am

      You can use a mesh strainer with paper towel/coffee filter and strain it that way, I used salted butter and all the brown bits on bottom my god way salty

      Reply
    • anon says

      March 1, 2023 at 8:49 am

      Pour butter from pan into a jug and then into a sieve for no mess!

      Reply
  9. Chrissie says

    February 24, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    Just wondering how much of clarified butter would the 250g butter yield?

    Reply
    • Michael says

      April 11, 2022 at 10:16 pm

      I think it would be approx 205g. The recipe says it makes 220ml, and pure fat is a little under 1g/ml, so 205g is my best bet.

      Reply
  10. Amanda B says

    February 20, 2022 at 9:55 am

    Love your instructions! So nicely illustrated. Made two batches, one plain and one with spices and they both came out GREAT. Next movie night our popcorn will be so good with ghee. Thank you!

    Reply
  11. April says

    February 9, 2022 at 10:27 am

    5 stars
    Important lesson learned: make sure your mesh is NOT plastic! I poured the beautiful butter into the lined mesh colander and it totally melted the mesh in the colander! UGH! I didn’t even think about it not being metal! A half pound of butter wasted 🙁 Well, I learned. Great recipe, my blooper.

    Reply
  12. Kenneth Bett says

    February 6, 2022 at 7:37 pm

    its beautiful.Can I eat ghee without any other food?

    Reply
    • Nish says

      February 9, 2022 at 12:33 am

      5 stars
      Hi Kenneth, I have heard from my elders as well as on the internet it is good to eat ghee daily. Some eat a small bit of ghee and jaggery. I use ghee in my cooking so no need to eat on its own.. a personal favourite is when mum is making chapatis and eating one with ghee. During our new year we mix ghee with bananas too. Enjoy. PS We cook our fried eggs and omelettes in ghee too… to me there is no other way!

      Reply
    • April says

      February 9, 2022 at 10:51 am

      5 stars
      Ghee is amazingly delicious with a bit of brown sugar and fresh grated ginger in it! In India, this concoction is used in Ayurveda cooking to reduce heat in the body.

      Reply
  13. Beryl Rowe says

    January 8, 2022 at 8:50 am

    5 stars
    made this for naan but had leftover. Decided to make your caramel popcorn and used the ghee to pop the corn. OMG had to quit eating or I wouldn’t have had enough for the caramel. I pop 1/3 cup but add cashews to the popcorn before I coat it. Very habit forming so I don’t make it often!!

    Reply
  14. Laura says

    January 2, 2022 at 4:09 am

    5 stars
    Great recipe and Love the pics!! Thank you:)

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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