Cannabutter (cannabis infused butter) is an essential ingredient in many cannabis infused edibles and it’s incredibly simple to make. You can use cannabis buds, trimmings & shake, and even concentrates like hash and wax to make it. In this cannabutter recipe, we will be using cannabis buds. But you are welcome to switch that with whatever cannabis product you want to infuse into your butter.
If you want to go right into how to make cannabutter, click the “jump to recipe” button above.
To make perfect & potent cannabutter every single time with no hassle, check out the LEVO II Oil Infuser or other weed decarb & infuse machines. It makes the entire infusion process extremely simple and you can infuse many other things like coconut oil, and even make gummies and tinctures with it. It is a top of the line product and is a must-have for anyone who is into herbal infusions. It even has a decarb function!
Before making the cannabis infused butter, you first need to decarboxylate the cannabis. Decarboxylation activates the psychoactive medicinal properties in cannabis. The decarbing process converts the THCa & CBDa in the cannabis to THC & CBD. If you need help with how to decarb weed, check out our guide. It’s very simple. Once you have decarb’d your cannabis, you are ready to get started with making the cannabutter!
What can i use cannabutter for?
You can use cannabutter in any recipe that requires butter. Simply switch out the butter in the recipe with cannabis infused butter. But as well as cooking, you can use it for things like making cannabis capsules. If you want to put your cannabutter into gelatine capsules, I would recommend clarifying your butter first to get rid of the additives and impurities. Clarifying your butter will prolong the shelf life (fridge life?) of your butter.
Want some ideas for what to do with your cannabutter?
Check out these recipes:
- Weed Infused Chewy Marshmallow Cereal Bars
- Rich & Moist Cannabis Infused Blondies
- Cannabis Infused Butter Chicken Curry
- Black Truffle Compound Cannabutter
How much cannabis should i use for this cannabutter recipe?
Depending on how potent you want to make it, you can put as little or much as you desire. We will be using 7 grams of cannabis buds into 250g of butter which is quite strong. If you have a low tolerance I would recommend using 3.5g or less per 250g stick of butter. If you are using trim or shake, you may want to add a bit more because there will be less THC/CBD in that compared to the flower buds.
How to make cannabutter stronger
The best way to make cannabutter stronger is to just use more cannabis in the recipe. But there are a few more things you can do to make cannabutter stronger.
- Use cannabis buds rather than trim/shake. Cannabis buds will make stronger cannabutter compared to trim/shake if you used the same amounts.
- Cook it for longer. We cook our cannabutter for is 3 hours. You may not be getting the most out of your cannabis if you cook it for less time. Cooking it longer can also degrade the THC into CBN which some people prefer for it’s relaxing and sedative properties.
- Make sure you do not burn it or use too high of a heat to minimize damage to the cannabinoids.
Finished Decarboxylating? Let’s Get Cooking!
Once you’ve got your cannabis decarboxylated – you can now get started with the cooking. Follow the recipe below.
Quick & Easy Cannabutter (Potent)
Ingredients
- 7 grams cannabis (add more or less depending on desired potency)
- 250 grams unsalted butter (if adding more than 7g of cannabis, you will need more butter)
Instructions
- Decarb your cannabis to activate the THC & CBD. Put it in the oven at 240°F (115°C) for 40 minutes or check out our guide on how to decarb cannabis for more information. If you skip this step, your cannabutter will be weak and may contain inactive cannabinoids.
- Bring some water to a boil in a saucepan. Aim for about 2-3 inches of water from the bottom of the pan. You can just estimate the amount based on the size of your pan, but make sure your cannabis has at least 1.5 inches of water to float on so it doesn't burn.
- Once the water is boiling, put the butter into the saucepan and let it melt to a liquid. When the butter has completely melted, add your decarboxylated cannabis to the saucepan.
- Turn the heat down to a low simmer. You do not want it boiling, just very slightly bubbling. High heat can damage the THC so you want to use a low temperature. Allow the mixture to cook for 1-3 hours while stirring occasionally. I usually let it cook for 2 hours.
- Once you have had the cannabutter mixture cooking for at least 1 hour (or longer), take it off the heat and prepare to strain out the cannabis material. Place a cheese cloth or fine strainer over a bowl/container and secure it in place so it doesn't fall in when pouring.
- Pour the cannabis infused butter mixture from the saucepan, through the cheesecloth or strainer and into the bowl/container. Use a spoon or your hands to squeeze out any remaining butter from the cheese cloth or strainer.
- Let the liquid cannabutter cool down then move it to the fridge and wait for the butter to separate from the water. The cannabutter will rise to the top and create a hard layer.
- Once the cannabutter has hardened, use a knife to slice around the edges then lift the butter out of the bowl/container. Pat the cannabis infused butter dry with a paper towel and throw away the water.The cannabutter is now ready to be used!
Notes
Nutrition
What should cannabis Infused Butter look like?
The look of your cannabutter is not a good indicator of potency or quality. Your weed butter could be very green and not very potent, or similar colour to normal butter but be very potent. Your weed butter may come out anywhere from yellow, to greenish or brownish. The colour can depend on the type and quantity of cannabis you use, how long it was cooked for, and if you clarified your butter or not.
Can you eat cannabutter by itself?
Yes you can. You can even have cannabutter on toast if you prefer that. You can also make cannabis capsules out of cannabutter for discreet dosing on-the-go.
It might not taste the best, but if you feel like having a spoonful or two of cannabutter before you cook it into something – go ahead! If your cannabutter is strong then a spoonful may be too much for some people, so keep this in mind and be careful when testing the potency.
Does cannabutter get you high?
Yes it does (unless you made a CBD cannabutter with no THC). Eating THC containing cannabutter by itself will produce intoxicating effects as well as when it is used within a recipe. If you do not want to get high from your cannabutter but still want the benefits of cannabinoids, try making CBD cannabutter instead. To make a CBD infused butter, simply switch out the cannabis in this recipe with CBD hemp flower buds.
Remember to always start with a low dose when testing your edibles potency!
Are there any vegan or non-dairy cannabutter recipes?
Butter is made from cream which comes from cows, so it is not vegan friendly. For those looking for a vegan and dairy free option to cannabutter, we would recommend cannabis infused coconut oil and cannabis infused olive oil.
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My first time making cannabutter and I am very pleased with the result. Had a small tablespoon of it before I put in the fridge and it’s very strong
Is it truly necessary to decarb before putting it in the butter. I remember that I had done this once before and I didn’t decarb it and it turned out decent still.
Decarbing before adding to the butter is recommended to maximise the potency of the extraction.
Not decarbing before adding to the hot butter will still work to some extent and you can even get good results out of it. But it may have been stronger if you decarbed first.
If you decide to not decarb before following the recipe i would suggest letting the cannabis sit in the butter for longer than stated to make up for not decarbing first.
does it matter if my butter is salted or unsalted?
You can use both salted and unsalted butter. I prefer to use unsalted. You can always add salt to it if needed.
Good guide. I burned my cannabutter the first batch I made 🙁
It’s hard to tell the temperature on a hob
Try using a thick glass measuring cup and put your butter in there melt the six down then add and double boil it. Then you’ll never burn your butter but cook it on low once you get the butter all melted and you mix it. Leaving butter for 3 hours
Other instructions gave temps, got candy thermometer.
Do I need to use water when cooking the cannabutter or can I do it without?
The water is optional. You can make cannabutter without the water, just make sure your heat is very low so it does not burn the butter. I personally do not use water when I make my cannabutter.
hi, is it better to use cannabutter or canna coconut oil if i want to make canna capsules?
I would say infused coconut oil would be better for making cannacapsules over cannabutter. Cannabutter goes bad quicker than infused coconut oil due to the dairy.
The recipe was pretty straight forward but yielded almost no butter for me. Is this normal?? I used a whole cup(250g)! Plus the butter broke apart when I tried to take it out of the water.
That is not normal! If you used 250g of butter, it should have yielded almost the same amount of cannabutter (230g+).
How long did you put it in the fridge for before you tried separating the butter from the water? The butter should have hardened into a slab that doesn’t break apart.
What type of butter did you use? The best stuff to use is pure unsalted butter (the hard blocks). Spreadable butter and other butters designed for easy spreading are not recommended.
The butter shouldn’t have disappeared unless you drained it already so if you still have the butter/water mix, try leaving it in the fridge for longer or wack it in the freezer and check on it regularly to see if the butter has separated from the water and hardened.
Hello 🙂 what is the best thing to do with the left over weed pulps from making cannabutter?
Hi Jimbo! You can re-use the pulp in more edibles or put it straight into your food. The texture can be off-putting to some but there can still be lots of cannabinoids in there that you do not want going to waste. I threw a batch of left over pulp into some brownies and was pleasantly surprised by how strong they came out.
First time and I wanna make strong butter. Do I use bud or shake or both? And do I bake it on parchment paper? And what temp is the best
For a strong butter I would recommend using bud however you can also use both. The more cannabis you use, the more THC and other cannabinoids will be infused into the butter. You do not need to bake it on parchment paper, however some people prefer using parchment paper as it makes it easier to pick up all the bud and drop it into the butter after decarbing. If you have an old oven tray that is well used or a bit sticky/greasy then I would recommend using parchment paper.
To decarb, I go with 115C (240F) for 35-45 minutes.
Check out our guide on how to decarb cannabis for more details.
That was fun to make! (my first time cooking with marijuana) I don’t use MMJ but my daughter does and has bad chronic pains and she said the butter was good! What to try making next…?
Hi Pam, well done! You should try baking something with the cannabutter. A cookie, brownie, or cupcake is a good place to start 🙂
Gonna try this for the first time usually use a mason jar and lose a lot of butter,just wondering do I put a lid on
Magical recipe❤️
easy to follow thanks 🙂 butter turned out good
came out nice and strong after a 3 hour infusion
I got quite a high tolerance (daily smoker) and I made a small batch of cannabutter for me and the wife using this guide and it came out very strong. 2 grams of haze into 8 tablespoons of clarified butter then we had 4 tablespoons each into a coffee then just downed it. We were both absolutely slumped a couple hours later!
amazing infusion thx..
Can you make gummy bears with cannabutter or any type of gummys?
can i cut the recipe in half if i only want to make half a cup of cannabutter?
Absolutely! You could even quarter the recipe if needed.
Back when i was younger I often made small single dose batches (chunk of hashish into 2 tablespoons of butter).
Yes. Use liquid sunflower lecithin in the butter. Then 2 boxes of Knox and your favorite flavoring or add a box of jello. It will taste like jello if you use it.
Be better off using rso
Can I put 1 ounce bud into 1 stick of butter to make it super strong or is that too much? I want to put it in capsules for microdosing, thanks
Yes you can, but keep in mind it will be much stronger than using 3.5-7g of herb into a stick of butter. An ounce into a stick of butter is great for making cannacapsules but might be a bit too strong if you wanted to microdose with them. If a single capsule is too strong, try half filling or quarter filling them instead to meet your desired microdosing strength.
I use a crockpot, it’s easier to watch and I can make larger Batches of butter. I prefer using unsalted butter in mine, fat seems to bind better. I use one ounce to a pound of butter and cook for 8 hours on low. Longer IS STRONGER .results when done is a pound of butter I put in small containers. One stick of butter is 113 grams. For even potency I place hardened butter back into empty bowl and let siften,soften, whip with mixer to balance out the thc evenly. Results are amazing cookies and are all equal in strength.
first time making infused butter went very well. thx for the tutorial
I want to make cannibutter only I have coconut oil ; what’s the ratio when cooking bud in coconut oil?
You can infuse your coconut oil the same way as cannabutter or check out our cannabis infused coconut oil recipe page for instructions specifically for making that.
Personally, i’d recommend 7g bud to 250ml coconut oil however this may be too strong for some. 3.5g into 250ml also works great for those with a low tolerance.
2 tablespoons on ocked my socks off😄😄 much stronger than my last batch. Thank you dank yum for the good tutorial. next I want to try is that cannasugar but i need to find some strong grain alcohol to use because they do t have ever clear here
Very happy with the results of my cannabutter 😁 have a great evening ya’ll!
Nice and strong cheers
Have never tried this water method before but a friend of mine recommended it so I thought I’d give it a go. The butter tastes better than the lot I made in a saucepan on a low heat with no water in it. Either way is good (no noticeable differences in potency) but yeah I noticed with water it tastes “cleaner” in some way
Can i use this cannabutter to make gummy sweets or is it better to use coconut oil
I want to try this recipe. There are lots of vegan or plant based butter alternatives. I would like to know if I can use this recipe with an alternative to dairy
Absolutely! Coconut oil can be used instead of butter in this recipe. We do have a recipe specifically for infused coconut oil however you will still get good results following this recipe and just switching the butter with coconut oil.
Can I use fresh buds for making cannabutter? (Recently harvested and not properly dried/cured yet)
I have used fresh. I did everything the same.
how long will cannabutter last in the fridge? can i freeze it?
how much does this stink up your house?
It depends. A small amount may not smell much but a large batch can smell a lot.
In my experience, the decarbing part is the smelliest part of the process. To minimise the smell you can decarb in a sealed mason jar. Check out our decarbing guide using a mason jar.
I set my oven correct but for some reason the temp raised to 325 for the first 10 minutes, is that going to mess it up?
If you used a cover on top of your cannabis it should be fine. I use a glass dish with a lid and put my thermometer inside it and i notice it takes about 10 mins for the temperature inside the dish to reach the actual temperature of the oven.
When this happens to me i tend to finish the decarb a bit earlier to make up for the extra heat at the start. It’s hard to tell without actually seeing the product. If it doesnt look black and charred i’m sure its fine! I’ve had batches that ive left in the oven for too long which came out borderline burnt and it still made some good edibles.
Getting ready to make my second batch. We made peanut butter cookies with our last batch and they were wonderful. Perfect recipe.
Thank you for the feedback! Peanut butter cookies are delicious! What’s your recipe?
can i use leaves and shake instead of buds for this cannabutter recipe? i made some last week using buds and it turned out realy good and i want to make some more and use up my shake if possible but not sure if it will give it a bad taste
strong stuff
What is a good starting dose?
Is 10 grams too much weed for 1 cup butter?
can i put cannabutter in gel capsules for microdosing or no?
I made some fire ass brownies with butter I made from this recipe🔥🔥🔥
easy to follow recipe and my butter came out very strong. thank u for writing this 🙂
that was easier than i was expecting and the butter is strong!!!