Steps To Making Cannabis Butter

Making cannabis edibles at home is a rewarding and affordable way to have a potent and long-lasting cannabis experience. Our comprehensive cooking guide gives step-by-step directions on making, storing, and using cannabis butter at home. 

What Is Cannabis Butter?

Cannabis butter looks like regular butter, except it is light green and contains the plant’s active compounds, including cannabinoids and terpenes. Made by cooking cannabis with butter and straining the oil, cannabutter can be used to replace traditional butter in any recipe.

Ingredients and Supplies Needed for Making Cannabis Butter

Making cannabis butter is easy, with the right ingredients and cooking tools. You don’t have to use butter, either. You can choose from many cooking oils and methods, including stovetop, slow cooker, and oven infusions. 

Ingredients

• One cup of butter or oil (ghee is 100% fat, so it’s able to absorb cannabinoids better)
• One cup of ground cannabis

Tools

• Strainer or cheesecloth
• Grinder, scissors, or knife
• Medium saucepan
• Silicone spatula
• Oven mitt
• Baking dish
• Water
• Oven thermometer
• Bowl or container

How to Make Cannabis Butter

1. Grind the cannabis flower or trim with a grinder, scissors, or knife into pea-sized pieces. Grinding cannabis too finely can allow the plant matter to pass through the strainer.
2. To decarboxylate cannabis, preheat the oven to 212º F.
3. Spread the cannabis evenly in a baking dish. 
4. Set the oven thermometer on top of the cannabis and cover the baking dish with the see-through cover.
5. Place the baking dish with cannabis inside the preheated oven. Check the oven thermometer’s temperature every 10 minutes until the temperature reaches 212º F.
6. When the temperature reaches 212º F, heat the cannabis for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check the oven thermometer’s temperature periodically to ensure the temperature is consistent.
7. After 1 hour and 20 minutes, turn the oven off and remove the baking dish using an oven mitt.
8. Let the baking dish cool for half an hour before removing the cover.
9. Boil a quart of water in a saucepan over the stove. There should be enough water for the cannabis to remain afloat. Place the butter in the saucepan when the water starts to boil.
10. When the butter has melted, place the cannabis in the saucepan and reduce to low heat. Allow the mixture to cook for about 3 hours.
11. After 3 hours of cooking, strain the oil with a strainer or 2-4 layers of cheesecloth over the heat-proof bowl or container. Secure the cheesecloth with tape or an elastic band.
12. Slowly pour the oil into the strainer/cheesecloth. Use a spatula to remove the oil from the saucepan and gently fold the plant matter to strain the oil completely.
13. Cover the oil and let it cool to reach room temperature. 
14. Then, place the butter in the fridge for 12 hours, after which you can remove the solidified butter with a butter knife and remove the leftover water. 
15. Use paper towels to pat the butter dry gently. 
16. Cover the butter and store it in the fridge. 

Crockpot Directions

For this cooking method, use the same steps for decarboxylation and straining listed in the stovetop method above. Here are the cooking directions.

1. Add the cannabis and melted butter into the crockpot.
2. Plug in the crockpot and set it to the middle temperature.
3. Run it for 4 hours, occasionally stirring and checking the temperature every hour. The temperature should be around 150º F.
4. After 4 hours, turn off the crockpot.

How to Use Cannabis Butter

• Our 5 Favorite Uses for Cannabis Butter
  • Bacon blue cheese dip, macaroni and cheese, butternut squash soup, bud brownies, and sugar cookies
• 5 Easy and Quick Weed Recipes
  • Cannabutter pesto chicken pasta, cannabutter brownies, bulletproof coffee, THC gummies, sub sandwich
• 5 Marijuana-Infused Food Recipes You Can Make at Home
  • Cannabis chocolate chip cookies, weed ice cream, marijuana-infused popcorn

Pro tip: First-time or low-tolerance users should start with a small dose (2-10 mg of THC) per serving to avoid the side effects of overconsumption.

How to Store Cannabis Butter

Learn to Make Homemade Edibles at CTU

Cannabis Training University offers affordable online training. Learn how to infuse any cooking oil with cannabis flower or concentrate. We provide dozens of recipes, including salads, soups, meats, baked goods, beverages, and much more. Enroll at CTU today!