Instant Pot Badam halwa is a rich and decadent Indian dessert made with ground almonds, sugar, and ghee, delicately flavored with saffron and cardamom! Here is my quick and easy Instant Pot recipe for this delicious almond pudding, using six simple ingredients, in just 30 minutes!

Growing up in a Punjabi home, I saw my mom make various kinds of halwa at home- Sooji halwa, Gajar halwa and even Moong Dal Halwa, but Badam halwa was a treat that we enjoyed at our favorite south-Indian restaurant, Sagar Ratna.
It wasn't until I moved to the US after marriage that I started making it at home.
This recipe is inspired by my mother-in-law's traditional version, which is delicious, but pure labor of love. But you know me 🙂 I had to find an easier, simpler way to make and enjoy this treat. Sharing this Instant Pot recipe for Badam Halwa, using readily available almond flour. It's a reader's favorite too!
Authentic Badam Halwa in 30-Minutes
The traditional recipe for badam halwa needs patience and some serious muscle power. My mother-in-law would soak the almonds, peel and grind them with milk to a smooth paste.
Then simmer this paste with ghee, sugar and aromatics, until it thickened and reduced down to a pudding-like consistency. The end result was amazing, but she was on her toes, stirring continuously for at least 30-40 minutes.
In my simpler and quicker take, I cut down the preparation and cook time considerably by using store-ready blanched almond flour, or almond meal and cook it in the Instant Pot. The halwa turns out just as good and it saves me a ton of time and effort.
I've also made this recipe healthier by cutting down ghee to a tablespoon (compared to 3-4 tablespoons), by increasing the quantity of milk. I feel that almonds have natural oils that release during cooking, so I don't feel the need to add more than a tablespoon of ghee.
Increasing the quantity of milk also adds a rich flavor and gives a silky smooth finish. That being said, if you enjoy your halwa with more ghee, you can always add more. So, let's get cooking and check out the ingredients needed.
You Might Also Like: Easy Stovetop Recipe for Badam Halwa
Ingredients- Notes & Substitutions
It only takes six ingredients to make this pot of deliciousness. Let's check them out:
- Almond Flour: I cut down the soaking, peeling, and grinding process by using blanched almond flour. Look for it in the baking aisle of your grocery store. For best results pick 'blanched' almond flour or meal to avoid getting the brown specs of almond peel in the halwa. I get mine from Trader Joe's or Costco.
- Ghee: This is a traditional and personal choice, I just love the aroma of ghee in Indian sweets. You can easily substitute it with unsalted butter and get similar results.
- Milk: Milk forms a rich base for this almond pudding. I use 2% milk, but whole or 1% is fine too. I wouldn't recommend using non-fat here. Alternatively, almond milk is a great substitute.
- Sugar: A classic way to sweeten the halwa. If you're looking for a refined sugar-free alternative, you can substitute an equal quantity of jaggery or palm sugar, but add that after pressure cooking to prevent scorching.
- Saffron and cardamom: This halwa is known for its iconic rich and floral taste. Saffron and cardamom delicately flavor and perfume the halwa and transform it into a royal dessert. For best results, soak saffron in warm milk for that deep yellow color, and use freshly ground cardamom.
- Slivered almonds: This is for adding texture and garnishing the halwa before serving. It is optional but highly recommended. I always have toasted unsalted slivered almonds in my pantry, so I use a few tablespoons.
Scroll to the recipe card for a detailed list of ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Instant Pot Badam Halwa
Saute Heat butter or ghee on Saute mode. Reserve 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds for garnish and add the rest in. Add almond flour and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
Add sugar: Add sugar to the almond mix and stir well.
Heat Milk: Heat milk, water and saffron in the microwave for 3 minutes. (You can also heat this on the stove-top). Add warmed saffron milk and ground cardamom to the pot, and whisk well to prevent lumps.
Pressure Cook: Cancel Saute and close the lid. Set the vent to 'sealing' mode and pressure cook for 4 minutes on high pressure.
Simmer: After the cooking time, manually release the pressure and open the lid once the pin drops. Turn on Saute. Simmer the halwa to cook off the liquid. Stir at regular intervals to prevent burning. For this quantity, it takes anywhere between 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your Instant Pot. A larger surface area will help reduce the halwa faster.
Garnish and Serve: Cancel Saute when the halwa stops sticking to the pot and reaches the desired pudding-like consistency.
To check for doneness, take a tiny portion of the halwa in a spoon, cool it for a minute, then gently roll it with your finger. If you're able to form a tiny ball, it's done.
If it sticks to the spoon, simmer it for a few more minutes. Do keep in mind that it continues to thicken as it cools. Garnish with the reserved slivered almonds and serve warm! Enjoy!
Dairy-Free & Vegan Variation
You can make Badam Halwa halwa dairy-free and vegan by replacing two ingredients in this recipe. Add any clear oil instead of butter or ghee, and, add unsweetened plain Almond milk instead of regular milk.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- For best results pick blanched almond flour meal to avoid getting the brown specs of peel in the halwa.
- Fresh cardamom is always the best choice for Indian sweets. Peel 4 to 5 green cardamom pods and crush them in a mortar or pestle or coffee grinder.
- Pick good quality saffron for the most amazing floral aroma and deep yellow color. Buy the smallest quantity you can find at your local international store or online, as you only need a tiny amount in this recipe. Store the remaining in any dark, cool place.
- To check for doneness, take a tiny portion of the halwa in a spoon and let it cool for a minute. Then, gently roll it with your finger. If you're able to form a tiny ball, it's done. If it continues to stick to the spoon, simmer it for a few more minutes.
- This recipe makes a rich and decadent halwa. But feel free to customize the ghee quantity to your desired level of richness, adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
More Indian Desserts from my kitchen
Here are some other quick and easy Indian desserts from my kitchen:
- Almond Spice Cookies / Nankhatai
- Gajar ka Halwa
- 10-minute Coconut Ladoo
- Besan Ladoo
- Carrot Burfi
- Baked Gujiya
- Kalakand
- Rasmalai
- Kheer (rice pudding)
- Sooji Halwa
- More Indian Desserts recipes
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📖 Recipe
Badam Halwa in Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter (clear oil for vegan)
- 1 cup almond flour (or almond meal)
- 4 tablespoons slivered almonds (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
- ¾ cup milk or almond milk for dairy-free and Vegan
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ¾ cup sugar (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder (about 4-5 cardamom pods, seeded and ground)
Instructions
- Heat butter or ghee on Saute mode. Reserve 1 tablespoon of slivered almonds for garnish and add the rest in. Add almond flour and saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add sugar to the almond mix and stir well.
- Heat milk, water and saffron in the microwave for 3 minutes. (You can also heat this on the stove-top). Add the warmed saffron milk along with ground cardamom to the pot, and whisk well to prevent any lumps.
- Cancel Saute and close the lid. Set the vent to 'sealing' mode and pressure cook for 4 minutes on high pressure.
- After the cooking time, manually release the pressure and open the lid once the pin drops. Turn on Saute. Simmer the halwa to cook off the liquid. Stir at regular intervals to prevent burning. (For this quantity, it takes anywhere between 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of your Instant Pot. A larger surface area will help reduce the halwa faster.)
- Cancel Saute when the halwa stops sticking to the pot and reaches a desired pudding like consistency. To check for doneness, take a tiny portion of the halwa in a spoon, cool for a minute, then gently roll it with your finger. If you're able to form a tiny ball, it's done. If it sticks to the spoon, simmer it for a few more minutes. Do keep in mind that it continues to thicken as it cools. Garnish with the reserved slivered almonds and serve warm! Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- For best results pick blanched almond flour meal to avoid getting the brown specs of peel in the halwa.
- Fresh cardamom is always the best choice for Indian sweets. Peel 3 to 4 green cardamom pods and crush them in a mortar or pestle or coffee grinder.
- Pick a good quality saffron for the most amazing floral aroma and a deep yellow color. Buy the smallest quantity you can find at your local international store or online, as you only need a tiny amount in this recipe. Store the remaining in any dark, cool place.
- To check for doneness, take a tiny portion of the halwa in a spoon and let it cool for a minute. Then, gently roll it with your finger. If you're able to form a tiny ball, it's done. If it continues to stick to the spoon, simmer it for a few more minutes.
- This recipe makes a rich and decadent halwa. But feel free to customize the ghee quantity to your desired level of richness, adding 1 tablespoon at a time.
Nutrition
★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below! For more quick & easy recipes, FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube.
Miriam says
Can you please publish a modified version for stovetop instead of Instapot? I don't have an Instapot but want to try this recipe. Thank you.
Aneesha says
Sure, will do that soon!
SHWETA says
Thanks for your recipe. I tried it, and it came out good, but the only thing I felt is that the almond flour did get stuck at the bottom of the instant pot, and some of it got black. I had to rub it with steel wool to clean it out later on. It wasn’t smooth like how you show in your video with no residue at all. Any tips on what I could be doing wrong? I tried to follow your recipe exactly in terms of proportions and times if each step...thanks!
Aneesha says
I Shweta, glad you enjoyed the taste. I will recommend two things- first, when you add the liquid make sure you scrape the bottom nicely to make sure all the almond flour is mixed with the liquid. It sounds like some grains got stuck to the base and burnt. Second, use a whisk next time to mix the flour with the liquid. The lumps form only when it's not mixed well and using the whisk will solve this problem. Hope you have a better experience next time.
Sneha says
hi! i made this with almond meal and coconut milk with stevia instead of sugar...but it did not come out nice.. there is a burnt taste to the halwa...where did i go wrong?
Aneesha says
Hi Sneha, I've never made this halwa with stevia so don't know if this recipe works for that. This recipe has been tried and enjoyed by many reader, which makes me think that the odd burnt taste is due to stevia.
Yukti Arora says
Wow so classy and mouth watering halwa recipe i loved it and please keep posting such tempting halwa recipe because i am Learner of making new and different halwa.
Aneesha says
Hi Yukti, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Will definitely post some new Halwa recipes soon. Thanks again!
Ayesha says
Amazingly easy and so yummy!
Aneesha says
Hi Ayesha, thank you so much. I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It's one of my favorite desserts!
Nithya says
Mouth watering recipe
aneeshasg says
Hi Nithya, thank you so much! Hope you try it sometime!
Shantha says
Awesome recipe. Tried it and came out well. I plan to make it again, but triple quantity this time. How long should I pressure cook? Please advice. Thanks.
aneeshasg says
Hi Shantha, I am so glad you enjoyed this halwa recipe!Thank you for sharing your feedback! The pressure cooking time stays the same even if you triple the recipe. The Instant Pot will just take longer to come to pressure so your overall time will go up, but cook time stays the same.
Nithya says
Mouth watering recipe.
aneeshasg says
Hi Nithya, thank you so much! Hope you try it soon 🙂
Akanksha says
OMG!! This awesome...so simply and delicious. This was the big hit at the party!!
aneeshasg says
Hi Akanksha, Thank you so much! I am super glad you and your guests enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing that. More Diwali sweets recipes coming soon!
Priya says
i tried this kesar badam halwa its so easy and yummy....ty for this recipe
aneeshasg says
You're welcome! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂