How To

How to Make Cannabutter

Cannabutter is made by gently applying heat to butter and decarboxylated weed with enough time to infuse the THC and other cannabinoids into the fat of the butter.

Once you have decarboxylated your cannabis (weed) and your THCA has been converted into active THC, your weed is now ready to be consumed. But first, you will likely want to infuse its contents into something more pleasing than dry, crumbly weed. Cannabutter is suitable for several edible recipes and can be substituted in for regular butter in many dishes! Our recipe calls for 2 sticks of butter (typical for a batch of cookies) and 7 grams of cannabis, however, feel free to scale those numbers however you please in order to reach the quantity of butter and potency required.

Note: The higher the saturated fat content of the butter, the better! We recommend unsalted butter as it is more common in baking recipes (though we personally prefer salted). Approximately 60% of the activated THC will infuse into your butter.

How To

Getting Started

Decarb time: 50 min (if not done)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 hours
Cooling time: 1-3 hours

Potency: While this recipe calls for 7 grams (1/4 oz.) of cannabis for 2 sticks of butter, you may increase the amount of weed used in the butter to further increase its potency. The additional THC will infuse into the butter. To help estimate your butter potency, check out our potency estimator.

More butter: Similarly, you may increase the amount of butter used in this recipe to make more. If you leave the cannabis amount at 7 grams, the resulting butter will have half the potency.

To begin making your cannabutter, you will need the following materials:

  • 2 sticks (1/2 lb.) of unsalted butter
  • 7 grams (1/4 oz.) of decarbed cannabis (flower, trim, or shake)
  • 1 medium pot
  • 1 whisk
  • 1 large glass bowl
  • 1 cheese cloth
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 cup of water (additional; during simmer)
  • 1 airtight container (e.g. jar)
  • 1 thermometer (optional)

1. Melt Butter

Combine 2 sticks of butter and 1 1/2 cup of water in a medium pot and simmer on low. Once your butter has melted, add your decarbed weed to the pot and gently stir with a whisk.

  • Why the water?
    Adding water to your cannabutter while cooking will help to absorb some of the chlorophyll that would otherwise remain in the butter. Similarly, during the separation process, plant matter that may have been missed during straining will fall out into the water and not be caught in the butter. In addition, this will somewhat clarify the butter, which is the removal of water and milk solids from butter, leaving a more purely butterfat-rich butter. Clarified butter has a higher smoke point.

2. Simmer & Stir

Let the butter, water, cannabis combination simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Try to keep your butter at roughly 160-220°F. If you have a thermometer available, check the temperature of your butter to ensure it does not exceed 250°F as this will start to degrade cannabinoids and other important herbal contents of the cannabutter.

You should see very small bubbles forming during its simmer. If your butter begins to develop a rolling boil, turn your heat down further.

Add 1/4 cup (50 mL) of water every 30 minutes to replace the amount of water that will evaporate during its simmer.

Simmer cannabutter

3. Strain

Once the proper amount of simmer time has passed, you may now strain your cannabutter into the large glass bowl with the cheese cloth pulled taught over the bowl. Strain and squeeze all butter out of your infused weed, leaving the plant material in the cloth and the liquid in the bowl.

  • No cheese cloth?
    Instead of cheese cloth, you may try one of these alternatives:
    • - Coffee filters carefully layered
    • - Clean linen (e.g. pillow case)
    • - Unbleached muslin cloth
    • - A mesh strains (with coffee filters lining it)
    • - Thick paper towels (last resort)
Strain cannabutter
Cool cannabutter in a bowl

4. Cool

Leave your strained cannabutter in the large glass bowl on a counter for about 1 hour to cool prior to refrigeration.

In the Fridge

Place the butter in your refrigerator and wait for about 2-3 hours or overnight.

In the Freezer

For quicker use, place the relatively cool bowl of cannabutter and water in the freezer for roughly 30 minutes or more. This will solidify and separate your butter from the water quickly for same-day use.

Cooled cannabutter

5. Remove Butter

Once cool, you will be able to very carefully drain the liquid from the bowl, avoiding splashing or mixing it with the solid butter. Remove the solid butter from the bowl and place it in an airtight container, preferrably a glass jar. Keep refrigerated until use.

Pouring water from cannabutter
Cannabutter in jar

6. Store

In the Fridge

In an airtight container, your cannabutter will stay good for up to 8 weeks in the refrigerator.

In the Freezer

If you wish to keep your cannabutter for a longer period of time, it should stay good for about 6 months in the freezer. Be sure to wrap your butter to be airtight (e.g. with plastic wrap) to prevent freezer burn from forming by reducing the butter's air exposure.

Common Questions

at least 3 hours

Both types of butter will infuse THC at similar quantities (e.g. the salt content of the salted butter will not inhibit this). We recommend unsalted butter, however, as more recipes call for this form of butter and salt can always be added during the cooking process.

Water helps to capture chlorophyll that would otherwise leach into the butter and other plant solids during the cooling process. In addition, water somewhat clarifies the butter by removing water and milk solids. This leaves a more pure butterfat butter with a higher smoke point.