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Slow Cooker Ghee

Here I show you how to make ghee in the slow cooker, Instant Pot, or on the stove-top. Ghee is a healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and Whole30 compatible. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own is not only easy but cheaper too.

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Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

before (slow cooker)

What Is Ghee

Ghee originated in India and the Middle East and it is known not only for its flavor but also as a healthy ingredient sometimes even used in traditional medicines. Ghee is an important part of Ayurveda, which is a type of healing that addresses both the physical and the spiritual. Ghee is considered sacred in Ayurveda so it is said that when you take the Ayurvedic medicine made with ghee, it will help heal you both inside and out. 

Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

leave the lid slightly ajar to release the steam

The Benefits of Ghee

Since ghee is lactose-free, it is a great alternative to butter for people who have dairy sensitivities. It can be used to replace butter in many cooking and baking recipes, opening up many foods that would have otherwise been to hard on the digestive system to eat. It has also been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties due to all the nutrients, which is another reason why ghee is better for your digestive health. Low heat preparation maintains many of the vitamins and nutrients like vitamin A and E, antioxidants, and other organic compounds. Ghee can help the body absorb these nutrients, and when you cook other nutrient rich foods, like vegetables, in ghee it can help you absorb more of the nutrients from those as well. It is also packed with Omega-3s, which are heart healthy fats that can also be found in salmon. Good ghee is also all natural. As long as the butter that ghee is made from is of a high quality, you know that your ghee will be also. You might have to do some research on store bought ghee to make sure it is made ethically and organically, but when you make your own ghee you have more control over the quality of your product.

Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

after (slow cooker)

How to Use Ghee

I love using ghee as a replacement for butter in my recipes because it is whole30 and paleo compliant. While there are going to be a few exceptions, you can generally use ghee just like you would butter or other cooking oils, even when baking! It also has a decently high smoke point (which is the temperature at which oils burn) of almost 500 degrees, which means that you won’t burn anything when you use it to sauté on your stovetop. It also will not pop and splash like butter will since there is no water left in it to cause a bad reaction with the oil. That means there is less chance of you accidentally getting burned, and less cleanup after dinner, too. Basically, you can substitute ghee into recipes just about any place you would use butter.

Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

strain the ghee

Straining Ghee

When you cook ghee, the milk solids brown & fall to the bottom of the appliance. You will need to strain those out. Most people use a cheesecloth but I have found that a coffee liner works just as well.  My 2 pounds of butter filled four 8-ounce mason jars.

Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

How to Store Ghee

Ghee can be stored both at room temperature and in the refrigerator, but I wouldn’t recommend storing it in the freezer unless absolutely necessary. In general a jar of ghee can be left on your counter for up to 3 months & in the refrigerator for up to 1 year. Storing ghee at room temperature will make it soft, but you don’t need to worry about it going bad because there is not dairy in it to spoil. If you refrigerate it, it will be solid, and you will have to scoop it out of the jar using a spoon or a butter knife. I prefer to keep it in the refrigerator myself because I want to be able to easily scoop it into a measuring cup or my pan while I’m cooking. If I know I will need my ghee to be softened or melted, I just leave it on my counter while I begin prepping to cook and by the time I need it, it’s right where I need it to be.

Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

I used my 4-quart slow cooker but you can easily double this recipe to make more if you have a larger 6-quart slow cooker. I only own a 6-quart Instant Pot do I use that when I make ghee. If  you make this on the stove top, using a heavy bottom pan will help keep the milk solids from burning.

Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

Tips For Making A Successful Ghee

  • Start with a good quality, unsalted butter. Vital Farms & Kerry Gold are good options.
  • Ghee has a slightly nutty flavor and is very aromatic.
  • If making this in the Instant Pot, you will need to make adjustments if you use less butter. 1 pound of ghee cooks for 8 to 10 minutes, rather than 12-14 minutes.

 

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Ghee is clarified butter; butter that has been heated to remove the solids, water, and lactose. Ghee is all the rage now being a popular, healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and whole30. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own using your slow cooker is not only easy but cheaper too.

Slow Cooker Ghee

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Here I show you how to make ghee in the slow cooker, Instant Pot, or on the stove-top. Ghee is a healthy fat to use when cooking in diets like keto, paleo, and Whole30 compatible. Store-bought ghee can be expensive; making your own is not only easy but cheaper too.

  • Total Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: 3 cups 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 pounds unsalted butter

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  1. Add unsalted butter to a slow cooker. Leave the lid slightly ajar to let steam escape.
  2. Cook on high 2-4 or low 4-6 hours.
  3. When done, let cool slightly.
  4. Line a strainer with cheesecloth or a coffee liner. Place the lined strainer over a mason jar. Carefully pour the liquid through the strainer.

Instant Pot

  1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté.  If your pot tends to heat up faster, switch to “less” . mode.
  2. Add butter to the pan. Set stopwatch for 12 minutes. Simmer the butter until the until the milk solids start to separate and fall to the bottom of the pressure cooker.
  3. Around minute 12 minutes, the milk solids at the bottom should start to brown. When this happens, turn off pressure cooker. Using oven mitts, remove the inner pot of the pressure cooker from the base so the butter doesn’t continue to cook.

Stove Top

  1. Melt butter in heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat.
  2. Stir occasionally while the butter simmers.
  3. Turn off the heat when the milk solids that fall to the bottom of the pan start to brown. Let cool.
  4. Line a strainer with cheesecloth or a coffee liner. Place the lined strainer over a mason jar. Carefully pour the liquid through the strainer.

Notes

For this recipe you’ll also need cheesecloth or coffee liners and mesh strainer.

  • Author: Shannon Epstein
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 tbsp
  • Calories: 102
  • Sugar: 0 g
  • Sodium: 1.6 mg
  • Fat: 11.5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 7.2 g
  • Trans Fat:
  • Carbohydrates: 0 g
  • Fiber: 0 g
  • Protein: 0.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 30.5 mg

 

 

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