Making your own ghee is probably much easier than you thought. This step by step tutorial will take you right through the entire process. See for yourself!

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Ghee is by far my favorite fat to cook with! It’s just like butter, except all the milk solids and water have been removed from it, so you’re left with nothing but pure, good for you fat that not only tastes fantastic but also has a really high smoke point, on top of being shelf stable. You can use it just like you would butter, too!

Making your own ghee at home is a simple task that can be accomplished very quickly and easily. All you need to do is get your hands on some good quality organic or grass-fed butter (which again, isn’t all that easy to do if you’re in Canada but is at least feasible, unlike getting your hands on the finished product…) and you’re good to go.

Chances are, you’ll end up saving LOADS of money in the process and, as an added bonus, your home will be filled with such an intoxicating aroma after you’re done, you’ll almost want to cry.

For that reason alone, you might never want to buy store-bought ever again… (IF you have that option, that is!)

So what do you say we make a batch together? You’ll see, you really don’t need much at all and we’ll be done in no time!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own ghee at home: 

Equipment:

  • A medium saucepan, preferably one with a heavy bottom
  • A large spoon to stir
  • A fine meshed sieve
  • Several layers of cheesecloth to line your sieve
  • A large bowl or measuring cup to receive the ghee (preferably one that has a pouring spout)
  • One or two glass jars to store your ghee in

Ingredients: 

  • The best quality UNSALTED* butter you can get your hands on (organic if that’s all you can get but grass-fed is much preferred)
    *if you use salted butter, your ghee might end up being WAY too salty. Better stick with unsalted.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Start with one or two pounds of the best quality butter you can find, depending on how big a batch you want to make. One pound of butter will fill a 1 pint Mason jar almost to the top.

Here in Canada, grass-fed butter is practically impossible to find due to regulations on dairy products and other agricultural restrictions, so I had to settle for organic. That’s the best one can get here, unless they happen to know a good farmer! But if you’re lucky enough to have grass-fed easily available where you are then by all means, go for it.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Cut your butter into roughly one inch by one inch squares. This will help your butter melt faster and more evenly.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

 Set your butter to melt over medium heat, stirring it gently from time to time.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Pretty soon, you’ll see a thick, white foam start to form at the surface. Notice how bright yellow and opaque the butter is at this stage of the process.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Keep stirring until your butter starts to simmer, at which point you’ll want to turn the heat down to medium-low.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

For the next 5 minutes or so, you won’t be doing much stirring. Just let the butter simmer and watch the bubbles emerge from that thick foam, increasing in size and number.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

As the bubbling increases, you’ll notice that the foam will become thinner and the bubbles will become bigger and clearer.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Soon, the milk solids will start to curdle and attach the sides of the pan. That is completely normal and desirable. Just scrape the sides of the pan from time to time to help those milk solids sink to the bottom.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

As the milk solids sink to the bottom, you will notice that your butter is beginning to clear up.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

It will get more and more translucent, the bubbles will get larger and the foam will eventually completely disappear.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

 Your butter will start to take a nice golden coloration as the milk solids, which are now at the bottom, begin to brown.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

 Keep a close eye on your butter and keep stirring, scraping the sides and bottom so the milk solids don’t attach to the pan and burn.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Notice how big the bubbles are getting? Oh yeah! We’re almost there… Watch this really closely now!

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

That, right there! That’s what you are looking for! See how the butter just started foaming for a second time? This is the indication that your ghee is now ready to be strained.

Now you want take it off the heat and let that foam settle for a few seconds.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

 Line your sieve with several layers of cheesecloth and set that over a large bowl, preferably one that is equipped with a pouring spout. Pour your ghee right in!

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

These are the milk solids that get left behind. You will want to discard this.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Now transfer your beautiful filtered ghee into a glass jar. There is a chance that you might need a tissue at this point, to wipe off the tears from the corner of your eyes.

The smell alone will probably make you weep for joy!

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

And what about the color. Have you ever seen a color so beautiful? Liquid gold is what it is!

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Cover your jars loosely and let your precious ghee set for several hours at room temperature. This generally takes a full day, if not more… I know, be patient!

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

And there you have it. Your beautiful home made ghee is now ready to use. Have you ever seen such a beautiful shade of yellow? And talk about creaaaaamy.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

Now, get your nose closer to that screen. Can you smell this? INTOXICATING!

Oh! I’m telling you. I die every single time I stick my nose into that jar. Every.Single.Time.

Homemade Organic Ghee | by Sonia! The Healthy Foodie
Print Recipe Rate this Recipe
4.72 from 71 votes

Homemade Ghee

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Setting time: 1 day
Total Time: 1 day 20 minutes
Making your own ghee is probably much easier than you thought. This step by step tutorial will take you right through the entire process. See for yourself!
Servings: 32 ±2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 or 2 pounds of the best quality UNSALTED butter you can get your hands on, *see note

Equipment

  • A medium saucepan, preferably one with a heavy bottom
  • A large spoon to stir
  • A fine meshed sieve
  • Several layers of cheesecloth to line your sieve
  • A large bowl or measuring cup to receive the ghee, preferably one that has a pouring spout
  • 1 pint mason type glass jar to store your ghee in

Instructions

  • Cut your butter into roughly one inch by one inch squares. This will help your butter melt faster and more evenly.
  • Set your butter to melt over medium heat, stirring it gently from time to time.
  • Pretty soon, you'll see a thick, white foam start to form at the surface. At this point, your butter will be bright yellow and opaque.
  • Keep stirring until your butter starts to simmer, at which point you'll want to turn the heat down to medium-low. For the next 5 minutes or so, you won't be doing much stirring.
  • Just let the butter simmer and watch the bubbles emerge from that thick foam, increasing in size and number. As the bubbling increases, you'll notice that the foam will become thinner and the bubbles will become bigger and clearer. Soon, the milk solids will start to curdle and attach the sides of the pan. That is completely normal and desirable. Just scrape the sides of the pan from time to time to help those milk solids sink to the bottom.
  • As the milk solids sink to the bottom, you will notice that your butter is beginning to clear up. It will get more and more translucent, the bubbles will get larger and the foam will eventually completely disappear. Your butter will start to take a nice golden coloration as the milk solids, which are now at the bottom, begin to brown. Keep a close eye on your butter and keep stirring, scraping the sides and bottom so the milk solids don't attach to the pan and burn.
  • Eventually, the bubbles will start to get much bigger; means we're almost there, so watch really closely now! We're waiting for the butter to start foaming a second time. When that happens, it'll be the indication that your ghee is ready to be strained.
  • As soon as your butter starts foaming for a second time, take it off the heat and let that foam settle for a few seconds.
  • Line your sieve with several layers of cheesecloth and set that over a large bowl, preferably one that is equipped with a pouring spout, and then pour your ghee right in!
  • Transfer your beautiful filtered ghee into a glass jar (you can discard the milk solids that got left behind in the sieve).
  • Cover your jar loosely and let your precious ghee set for several hours at room temperature. This generally takes a full day, if not more... I know, be patient!
  • Your ghee will keep in the pantry (no need to refrigerate) for up to several months.

Notes

*One pound of butter will fill a 16oz (1 pint) Mason jar almost to the top, yielding about 2 cups.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tbsp, Calories: 102kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 2mg, Potassium: 3mg, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 354IU, Calcium: 3mg
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!

You can also FOLLOW ME on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and TWITTER for more delicious, healthy recipes!