Ghee: What It Is, Nutrition, Ghee vs Butter and Is It Healthy?

Ghee is butter with almost all of its water and milk solids removed, leaving nearly pure butterfat with a nutty, toasted flavor. Per tablespoon, USDA data put it at about 112 calories and 8 grams of saturated fat, which is 40% of the Daily Value, so it is richer than butter per spoonful, not lighter. Ghee has a long history in South Asian cooking, keeps well and has very little lactose, but small trials suggest it raises some blood cholesterol markers compared with olive oil. Here is what ghee is, how ghee vs butter compares, and what the evidence says about whether ghee is healthy.

Peptide Labs does not sell ghee or any cooking fat. This article is general nutrition information, not medical advice.

What is ghee?

The international food standards body Codex Alimentarius defines ghee as a product made only from milk, cream or butter by processes that remove almost all of the water and non-fat solids, with an “especially developed flavour and physical structure.” In a home kitchen that means simmering unsalted butter until the water cooks off and the milk solids sink and turn golden brown, then straining them out. The browning is what separates ghee from plain clarified butter, which is strained before the solids color and tastes milder. Both end up as mostly fat: USDA lists anhydrous butter oil at about 99.5% fat and well under 1% water, compared with about 81% fat and 16% water in regular butter.

Because the water and most milk solids are gone, ghee keeps longer than butter and does not spatter the same way in a hot pan. Removing the milk solids also removes the part of butter that browns and burns first, which is why cooks use ghee for frying and sautéing. Published smoke point figures vary widely with how the ghee was made and stored, so we do not quote one here.

Ghee nutrition: USDA table

The values below are per tablespoon, calculated from the USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy database. For ghee we use the “butter oil, anhydrous” entry because it has complete data and a tablespoon weight; a second SR Legacy entry labeled “clarified butter (ghee)” lists similar values per 100 grams (900 calories, 60 grams saturated fat). Percent Daily Value (%DV) uses the FDA Daily Values of 20 grams for saturated fat and 300 milligrams for cholesterol.

Ghee also supplies vitamin A, about 12% of the Daily Value per tablespoon in the USDA entry, and small amounts of vitamins E and K. Its fat is roughly 62% saturated, 29% monounsaturated and 4% polyunsaturated. It contains a little butyric acid, about 0.4 grams per tablespoon. That fatty acid gets attention in gut health articles, but most of the butyrate in the colon is made by gut bacteria from fiber, and we found no human trials showing that eating ghee changes gut health. If that is your goal, our guides to high fiber foods and how to improve gut health are a better place to start.

Ghee vs butter: what actually differs

• Fat per spoonful: ghee is denser because the water is gone, so a tablespoon of ghee has about 10 more calories and slightly more saturated fat than a tablespoon of butter. Gram for gram of fat, they are essentially the same fat.
• Lactose: butter is already very low in lactose (USDA lists 0.06 grams of sugars per 100 grams), and ghee has even less because the milk solids are strained out. Many people who are lactose intolerant tolerate both; our lactase guide explains why tolerance varies.
• Milk protein: clarification is not designed to remove every trace of milk protein, and USDA still lists a small amount of protein in anhydrous butter oil. Ghee is a milk product, so anyone with a milk allergy should ask their allergist before using it.
• Flavor and cooking: ghee tastes nuttier, keeps longer at room temperature once properly made, and handles high-heat cooking better than whole butter because the solids that burn are gone.
• Cholesterol: both contain dietary cholesterol, about 10% to 11% of the Daily Value per tablespoon.

Is ghee healthy? What the research shows

There is little human research on ghee itself, and most of it comes from small trials. Two randomized trials are worth knowing:

• Ghee vs olive oil (2022): in a crossover trial published in the British Journal of Nutrition, 30 healthy adults in Iran added ghee or olive oil to their usual diet for four weeks each, with a washout in between and matched calories. Compared with olive oil, the ghee period raised apo B and non-HDL cholesterol, two markers linked to heart disease risk. The LDL difference was not statistically significant, and weight, triglycerides, glucose and insulin did not differ. The study was small and short.
• Swapping ghee for rapeseed oil (2024): in a 12-week trial in the same journal, 110 adults with fatty liver disease who used ghee every day were randomly advised either to replace it with rapeseed (canola-type) oil or to keep using it with healthy-diet advice. The swap group had less liver fat and better liver enzymes, blood lipids and blood sugar markers. It was a single, advice-based trial, so it shows what happened in that group rather than proving cause.

These results fit the broader evidence on saturated fat. A 2017 American Heart Association advisory concluded that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fats, especially polyunsaturated vegetable oils, lowers LDL cholesterol and was linked to less cardiovascular disease in trials, while replacing it with refined carbohydrates and sugar was not. Claims that ghee is a uniquely healthy fat, or that it is harmless in any amount, are not supported by trials so far.

What the Dietary Guidelines say

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise keeping saturated fat below 10% of calories from age 2 and list liquid vegetable oils such as olive, canola and soybean as the main cooking oils. The 2025-2030 edition keeps the same 10% ceiling, says to prioritize oils with essential fatty acids such as olive oil, and names butter and beef tallow as other options. It does not mention ghee and notes that more high-quality research is needed to settle which fats support long-term health. In practice, ghee is a flavorful butter alternative to use in small amounts, not a replacement for olive oil or other liquid oils in everyday cooking.

Who should be careful with ghee

• People with high LDL cholesterol or heart disease, or anyone told to limit saturated fat: ask your clinician or dietitian how ghee fits your plan.
• People with a milk allergy: ghee is still a milk product, even though it is low in milk protein.
• Anyone watching calories: at more than 100 calories per tablespoon, spoonfuls add up quickly. On GLP-1 medicines, where appetite is low and every bite counts, our GLP-1 diet guide covers protein and nutrient priorities.
• Anyone using ghee in “bulletproof” style coffee: that habit adds a lot of saturated fat without protein or fiber; our MCT oil guide explains how that fat differs.

For a lower saturated fat everyday oil, see our companion guide to olive oil benefits and grades.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about a label? Contact us or read our Buyer’s Guide. Food comes first; if you have high cholesterol, heart disease or a medical diet, ask your clinician or a registered dietitian which fats fit your plan. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Last reviewed October 2026.

Related guides: Olive Oil Benefits: Research, Nutrition and Types of Olive Oil, Coconut Oil Benefits: Saturated Fat, Research and Virgin vs Refined, Avocado Oil: Nutrition, Benefits, Olive Oil Comparison and Quality.