Ghee and groundnut oil differ most in their fat. On USDA figures about 66 per cent of ghee's fatty acids are saturated, against about 18 per cent for peanut oil, which is mostly monounsaturated. ICMR-NIN advises limiting ghee and using every cooking oil in moderation. Groundnut oil is also made from peanuts, a common food allergen, and a 1997 trial suggests crude, unrefined oil is the bigger worry for people allergic to them.
This compares composition and rules, not treatments. If you have a peanut allergy, high cholesterol or any other condition, follow your doctor's or allergist's advice over anything here.
At a glance
- USDA FoodData Central lists 61.9 g of saturated fat per 100 g of anhydrous butter oil, the closest match to ghee with a full fatty acid breakdown, and 16.9 g for peanut oil.
- Peanut oil's largest fat on USDA figures is monounsaturated, at 46.2 g per 100 g; USDA lists 256 mg of cholesterol per 100 g for butter oil and none for peanut oil.
- ICMR-NIN's 2024 guidelines say not more than 27 to 30 g of visible fat a day is needed on a 2,000 kcal diet, and to limit ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day.
- FSSAI says groundnut oil obtained by solvent extraction may be sold for eating only after refining, with no more than 5.0 ppm of hexane left in it.
- In a 1997 BMJ trial of 60 people with peanut allergy, none reacted to refined peanut oil and 6, or 10 per cent, reacted to crude peanut oil.
What is the difference between ghee and groundnut oil?
Ghee is made from milk; groundnut oil is pressed from peanuts. FSSAI defines ghee as a product made exclusively from milk, cream or butter by a process that almost completely removes water and non-fat solids. It defines groundnut oil, moongh-phali-ka tel, as oil expressed from clean, sound groundnuts.
On USDA figures ghee carries cholesterol and vitamin A; the oil carries neither, but more vitamin E. FSSAI says ghee has a "specially developed flavour" and physical structure. Groundnut oil must have no added colouring or flavouring, and its taste depends on processing: ICMR-NIN notes that refining removes an oil's odour.
We give no prices here, but on raw material: curd-churned cow ghee needs roughly 25 to 30 litres of milk per litre. Our comparison of ghee and mustard oil covers a sharper-tasting oil.
How do ghee and groundnut oil compare per 100 g?
Ghee is mostly saturated fat; peanut oil is mostly monounsaturated, with a large share of omega-6 linoleic acid. Both are almost pure fat with similar calories. For ghee we use USDA's anhydrous butter oil, because USDA's ghee record gives no breakdown of the fatty acids.
| Per 100 g | Ghee (anhydrous butter oil) | Groundnut (peanut) oil | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 876 kcal | 884 kcal | USDA FoodData Central |
| Total fat | 99.5 g | 100 g | USDA FoodData Central |
| Saturated fat | 61.9 g | 16.9 g | USDA FoodData Central |
| Monounsaturated fat | 28.7 g | 46.2 g | USDA FoodData Central |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 3.7 g | 32.0 g | USDA FoodData Central |
| Linoleic acid (omega-6, 18:2) | 2.3 g | 32.0 g | USDA FoodData Central |
| Alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3, 18:3) | 1.5 g | 0 g | USDA FoodData Central |
| Saturated share of fatty acids | 65.6 % | 17.8 % | Calculated below |
| Cholesterol | 256 mg | 0 mg | USDA FoodData Central |
| Vitamin A (RAE) | 840 µg | 0 µg | USDA FoodData Central |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 2.8 mg | 15.7 mg | USDA FoodData Central |
The saturated share is saturated fat divided by the three fat groups added together: 61.9 ÷ 94.3 for ghee (61.9 + 28.7 + 3.7) and 16.9 ÷ 95.1 for peanut oil (16.9 + 46.2 + 32.0). Per tablespoon, using USDA's weights of 12.8 g for butter oil and 13.5 g for peanut oil, that is about 7.9 g of saturated fat in ghee and 2.3 g in peanut oil. Why the groups add up to less than total fat is explained in our article on whether ghee is saturated fat.
USDA's own record for clarified butter (ghee) gives 900 kcal and 60 g of saturated fat per 100 g, close to these figures. USDA does not say whether its peanut oil was refined, but ICMR-NIN says refining does not alter fatty acid composition, so the fat rows should hold for both kinds; vitamin E may differ.
Is cold-pressed groundnut oil different from refined?
Yes, in what it keeps, not in its fats. Cold-pressed (kachi ghani) oil is pressed mechanically without heat and keeps its natural antioxidants, but ICMR-NIN says it also keeps undesirable compounds similar to crude oil. Refining removes those, the odour and some antioxidants, and leaves the fatty acids unchanged.
ICMR-NIN's list of undesirable compounds in crude oils includes gums, waxes, pesticide residues, aflatoxins and allergens. It advises using all extracted seed oils, crude or refined, in moderation.
FSSAI's rules draw the same line in legal terms:
- Raw edible oils are obtained by expelling or pressing, with or without heat, and may be purified by washing with water, settling, filtering and centrifuging. No processing aid may be used.
- Refined vegetable oil is deacidified, optionally degummed, bleached with adsorbent earth or activated carbon and deodorised with steam. No other chemical agent may be used, and the label must name the source oil.
- Acid value may be up to 6.0 for groundnut oil but not more than 0.6 once refined.
- Peroxide value may be up to 10 milliequivalents of active oxygen per kg for refined oils and up to 15 for cold-pressed and virgin oils.
- Solvent-extracted groundnut oil must be refined before it is sold for eating, with no more than 5.0 ppm of hexane, and expeller-pressed oil must be free from hexane residues.
How refining works step by step, and what FSSAI demands of refined oils generally, is in our comparison of ghee and refined oil.
Can people with a peanut allergy use groundnut oil?
Only on an allergist's advice. The NHS lists peanuts among the most common food allergens. In one trial, refined peanut oil caused no reactions in 60 allergic people and crude oil caused reactions in 6. ICMR-NIN counts allergens among the compounds that cold-pressed oil shares with crude oil.
The trial, by Hourihane and colleagues in the BMJ in 1997, was a double-blind crossover food challenge in people whose allergy was confirmed by challenge tests. The authors concluded that crude peanut oil "should continue to be avoided". It is one small trial, and it cannot tell you which oil a restaurant or sweet shop uses.
US labelling rules draw the same line. FDA guidance exempts highly refined oils, meaning refined, bleached and deodorised, from its definition of a major food allergen; a peanut oil that is not highly refined must declare its source as an allergen.
The NHS page on food allergy advises checking food labels and restaurant menus, and not cutting foods out of your diet without speaking to a GP. It says to call 999 if your lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly swell, or you are struggling to breathe or swallow. Ghee is a milk product, so it raises the same question for people with a milk allergy; see our article on ghee and milk allergy.
Which is better for frying, ghee or groundnut oil?
We cannot settle it with smoke points. A 2024 review gives ghee's as about 250 °C, but we found no groundnut oil figure in a source we could open. What the evidence does cover is reuse: ICMR-NIN says repeatedly heated oils and fats generate harmful compounds.
The ghee figure comes from a 2024 review by Kataria and Singh, which, citing earlier work, describes ghee's smoke point as high compared with most other edible oils. For groundnut oil, processing changes the answer: a laboratory study from Taiwan found that oil pressed from roasted peanuts had a lower smoke point than oil from unroasted kernels.
Use matters too. In a laboratory study at India's Central Food Technological Research Institute, refined groundnut oil used to fry poori 2 hours a day for 4 days degraded more than oil used for 8 hours at once, and its smoke point fell. ICMR-NIN advises that oil used once for frying can be filtered and used for curries within a day or two, but not for frying again.
What does ICMR-NIN say about choosing between them?
It advises moderation for both and names neither as the one to use. Guideline 7 says to use oils and fats in moderation and to choose a variety of oilseeds, nuts, nutri-cereals and legumes for fats and essential fatty acids. It does not prescribe a combination of cooking oils.
- One limit for both. Not more than 27 to 30 g of visible fat a day on a 2,000 kcal diet, which can include cooking oils and ghee or butter.
- Ghee specifically. Limit ghee or butter to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, or avoid it if possible.
- Saturated fat. Limit oils and fats high in saturated fat, such as ghee and butter; the guidelines say a high intake raises the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Omega-6. Moderate the use of oils high in omega-6 fat, the group that makes up all of peanut oil's polyunsaturated fat on USDA figures.
If you have a heart condition or high cholesterol, the choice of cooking fat belongs with your doctor.
The short version
About 66 per cent of ghee's fatty acids are saturated on USDA figures, against about 18 per cent for peanut oil, which is mostly monounsaturated and carries no cholesterol. Cold-pressed groundnut oil keeps more antioxidants than refined, but ICMR-NIN says it also keeps the undesirable compounds of crude oil. One trial found crude peanut oil caused reactions in 6 of 60 peanut-allergic people and refined oil in none, so anyone with a peanut allergy should ask their allergist first. ICMR-NIN counts both fats inside one daily limit and asks you to keep ghee to 1 to 2 teaspoons.
Sources
Further reading behind the figures above. Himdhara's own numbers — yields, batch results — come from our production records and the batch reports on the lab reports page.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Butter oil, anhydrous. FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (2019). Oil, peanut, salad or cooking. FoodData Central (SR Legacy).
- ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (2024). Dietary Guidelines for Indians (Guideline 7). ICMR-NIN.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (2022). Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 (2.2.1 Oils; 2.2.8 Peroxide value). FSSAI compendium, version XXVI.
- Hourihane JO, Bedwani SJ, Dean TP, Warner JO (1997). Randomised, double blind, crossover challenge study of allergenicity of peanut oils in subjects allergic to peanuts. BMJ.