Ghee has become more common to see on grocery store shelves over the past few years, and for good reason. The liquid gold, as I like to call it, is a staple in my pantry and I use it to cook almost anything that hits the pan. Since I love it so much, I’ve rounded up a list of recipes with ghee for you to try. You’ll find traditional Indian dishes, seafood recipes, quick and easy recipes with minimal ingredients, desserts, and even instant pot friendly options.
Thanks to its high smoke point, ghee is incredibly versatile. (Think vegetable oil, but with way better flavor.) You can use it to sauté, roast, and even fry. Try swapping it in for olive oil while roasting vegetables, or use it to cook an omelet.
How To Use Ghee
Ghee is a versatile product that can be used in place of butter and oil in many recipes. You can swap it out for regular butter, coconut oil, vegetable oil, etc. in baked goods.
Ghee is great for deep-frying, searing, and sautéing because it has a high smoke point, making it less likely to burn or turn carcinogenic. Regular butter has a smoke point of 350 degrees, while ghee has a smoke point of 450.
When you add butter to your sauté pan, if it heats too long or at high temperatures, the butter often burns and leaves that icky brown stuff on your pan (and your food if you’re not careful). With ghee, you can cook for a longer time and at higher temperatures without damaging or burning the oil so you get that rich, buttery flavor, and perfectly golden pan-fried food.
Some people use ghee much the same as regular butter, for everything, but keep in mind that it is stronger in flavor and greasier in nature, so experiment with ghee by starting out with smaller doses to see if you like the flavor for things like spreading on your toast or topping your baked potatoes. Personally, I use ghee most frequently for stir fries, sauteing, frying, and adding to soups, stews, and casseroles. I use it less frequently in baking.
Scroll to Bottom for the Recipes with Ghee ⬇
Ghee is a staple in Indian cooking, but is used in cuisines all over the world. It is made from butter that has been simmered down to separate the milk solids and the butterfat and remove the water content. The pure butterfat is strained to remove the milk solids. In Indian technique, the milk solids are caramelized before straining to impart a nutty flavor and create a deeper golden color. In French technique, the butterfat is strained right away and is more pale in color.
Ghee is similar to clarified butter. What’s the difference? Ghee is cooked longer, and sometimes at a lower temperature, to remove all the moisture.
Flavor wise, ghee is a bit stronger than regular butter with a nutty, roasted flavor. Texturally, it is not creamy like regular butter. In liquid form at room temperature, it is oily. When it is stored at cooler temperatures, it hardens slightly and is slightly grainy until it is melted again.
Ghee Shelf Life and Storage: Ghee can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature in your pantry, or in your refrigerator. Ghee, once opened, can be properly stored and kept in the pantry for up to three months, and in the refrigerator for up to a year. As always, if you’ve purchased store-bought ghee, it’s best to refer to the expiration date on the package.
5 Ways to Use Ghee | #5things5WAYS
FAQ
What is best to cook with ghee?
What food is good with ghee?
Is ghee better for you than butter?
Can you use ghee for cooking?
There are a lot of cooking oils we can choose and one of our favourite ways to use ghee is for high-heat cooking methods like stir-frying, sautéing or roasting. Start off by melting a tablespoon in you pan and add more as needed. Recipe to Try: Herb and Ghee Roasted Sweet Potatoes by Parsnips and Pastries
Can you substitute ghee for cooking oil?
Swapping out the butter or cooking oil is a great way to incorporate more ghee into your diet for health or flavor reasons. It’s as easy as using equal parts ghee for the fat called for in your favorite recipe. Ghee’s high smoke point makes it suitable for almost any cooking substitution.
What can you eat with ghee?
Your favourite oatmeal or porridge is a fantastic way to use ghee in your regular cooking, and amp up your morning with some healthy fats. Make sweet or savory porridge with ghee – and it also happens to work well in many other popular breakfast recipes too like hashes, omelettes, congee and pancakes.
Can you cook fish in ghee?
Ghee’s high smoke point makes it suitable for almost any cooking substitution. Australian chef Steve Hodges says he prefers cooking fish in ghee over oil because it crisps up the skin better without leaving behind an oily finish (via SBS ).