Are you ready to make some cannabutter? This step-by-step beginner's guide will teach you how to make weed butter at home in a crockpot or slow cooker. You can then use your cannabutter to create all of your favorite edible recipes!
Features
- Just two simple ingredients are needed: cannabis & butter
- Perfect if you want a set-it and forget-it, easy option
- No special equipment is required! You just need a basic crockpot and some mason jars. (Or use an Instant Pot)
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Cannabis butter, also called cannabutter, is one of the most tried and true cannabis-infused recipes.
It remains the most popular recipe in my Well With Cannabis Community and it's the perfect recipe to follow if it's your first time making edibles.
Once you have your marijuana butter made, you can use it in just about any recipe you want that traditionally calls for regular butter.
From sweet to savory recipes, like brownies and chocolate chip cookies, there is a use for cannabis butter in just about every recipe you can imagine.
As you go through this guide, keep in mind that there is no one best way to cook with cannabis and that working in a home kitchen is not an exact science.
While some guidelines you should generally stick with, many people follow different methods, and that's OK. There are many different ways to get the result of a delicious cannabis infusion.
Below you will find my step-by-step instructions to make cannabis butter at home with a crockpot or slow cooker, storage instructions, notes, expert tips, and thoroughly answered FAQs.
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Ingredient Notes
- Cannabis: The first step is to select your preference of THC, CBD, or CBG dominant flower, trim, shake, etc. You can purchase flowers from my online shop here. Then select your desired amount to use. Small batches can be made with as little as 3.5 grams; large batches can be made with up to 1 ounce of cannabis or more. Use the Flower to Oil Ratio Guide if you need help deciding how much to use. You do not need to grind the cannabis; just break the buds into small pieces.
- Butter: The next step is to choose unsalted butter, clarified butter, or ghee. You can also use this infusion process to make cannabis oil with olive oil, coconut oil, MCT oil, vegetable oil, etc. You will not have to remove milk solids from canna oil at the end of the process.
The Step-By-Step Process
Step 1: Lay a clean dish towel down on the bottom of your crockpot. This will help to prevent the mason jars from moving or cracking during the process.
Step 2: Fill your crockpot at least halfway with hot water. You want enough water to cover the sides of the jars you plan on using. However, be careful not to add too much water, as it may overflow when you add the jars.
Step 3: Place a thermometer in the water and set the crockpot to high heat. When a temperature of around 180°F is reached, turn it down to low heat. Note: any low temperature between 160-190° Fahrenheit will work. You may need to adjust to medium heat, depending on your crockpot.
Step 4: While the water bath is heating up, measure your desired amount of cannabis flower. Use the Flower to Oil Ratio Guide if you need help deciding how much to use. Record how much flower you used, in grams, so you can calculate your final potency with the edible dosage calculator.
Step 5: Gently break apart the cannabis buds by hand into popcorn-sized pieces and place them into a mason jar. Do not grind. Gently put the lid on the mason jar and place the jar in the oven for decarboxylation. The decarboxylation process is simple and can easily be done in an oven or Instant Pot. Bake at the time and temperature needed for each specific cannabinoid, see notes below.
- THCA to THC → bake at 240° F for 40 minutes
- CBDA to CBD → bake at 240°F for 90 minutes
- CBGA to CBG → bake at 220°F for 60 minutes
- THC to CBN→ bake at 240°F for 180 minutes
Step 6: After decarboxylation, place your butter or oil of choice into a mason jar (or another jar with a tight sealing lid). You may need more than one jar to make a big batch.
Step 7: Add your decarbed cannabis to the jar. If you are using more than one jar, evenly divide the ingredients between the jars for more consistent dosing.
Step 8: Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean towel, and add the lid. Tighten the metal ring to finger-tip tightness. It should be tight, but not too tight.
Step 9: Carefully place the jars into the water bath, put the crockpot lid on, and leave it alone to cook for 4 hours. You want to maintain a temperature of around 160-190°F the entire time. If you don't have a lid, aluminum foil will work.
Step 9: After the 4-hour cooking time, carefully remove the jars from the water bath and allow them to cool enough to handle. You are now done with the crockpot step and can discard the water bath.
Step 10: While the butter is cooking, prepare a straining area. You can use a coffee filter with a funnel, a fine-mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or a French press.
I do not recommend using anything not food-safe, like pantyhose. Pour the melted cannabutter through the strainer to separate the plant matter from the infused butter.
Don't forget to save the leftover plant material, also called the pulp, to use in other recipes.
Step 11: Add the strained butter to a container you would like to cool it in. A flexible container works well. You can also use butter molds. Place the container in the refrigerator and allow it to cool completely (overnight is ideal).
Pro Tip: If you're using butter molds, place the molds on a baking sheet to prevent them from spilling. Then use a spoon to get the pure, infused butter into the first two sticks of the mold. The third stick will contain the remaining infused butter and milk solids. You will then only need to remove the milk solids from one stick. The fourth stick will remain empty due to the loss of water volume during the cooking process.
Step 12: While cooling, the infused butter will harden and solidify, leaving a bit of liquid underneath. When completely cool, remove the solid block of butter and drain the liquid (it doesn't contain anything worth saving).
Your cannabis butter is now ready to enjoy 😀
Storage Instructions
Store your finished product in an airtight container in the refrigerator according to the expiration date on the butter you used. You can store it for a long time in the freezer. If you keep it in the freezer, wrap the cannabutter in individually sized portions to ensure easy and convenient dosing.
If you store the butter in the fridge or freezer, never use the microwave to soften or thaw the butter, as it could ruin the final product with too much heat. Use my guide to get your cannabutter to room temperature safely.
Notes & Expert Tips
- If you are new to edibles, check out my beginner's guide to edibles first. They can be difficult to dose and even more potent than other forms of consumption. Friends don’t let friends eat edibles unprepared, so let me help you!
- If you’ve never cooked with cannabis before, consider starting with CBD flower. Experimenting with a more affordable option means less heartache if an accidental mistake is made along the way.
- Be mindful of how much cannabis you add. Adding even a small amount to a cup of butter can result in a high final mg of THC. Before getting started, use my edibles dosage calculator to determine how much you should use.
How to Use Different Product Types
Using buds is one of the most common ways to make butter, but it's not the only way. The best part about making pot butter is that you can use any type of cannabis you want.
Aside from seeds or roots, all parts of the cannabis plant contain some cannabinoids that can be infused into butter. Some parts of the plant, like the buds, contain more trichomes than other parts, like the trim leaves.
Here are the most popular options to work with. Keep in mind that how much you use will also impact your final potency.
Cannabis Flower Buds
Cannabis buds, or flowers, will make a more potent butter than trim or leaves and exert stronger effects because the flower contains a higher concentration of cannabinoids.
Keep track of how many grams of weed you add to the butter so you can calculate the final potency of your cannabutter in mg THC (or CBD, CBG, etc).
How much flower you use is a personal preference and will dictate how potent your final batch of cannabutter is. Remember, the better the bud, the better the butter 😉
Shake, Trim, or Leaves
Using all parts of the cannabis plant is great for sustainability, and many people exclusively make their cannabutter with shake, trim, or leaves from the raw cannabis plant.
Because trim leaves do not contain nearly as many cannabinoids as flower buds, you may want to use more, up to 50% more by weight.
Also keep in mind that trim and leaves contain more chlorophyll, and will result in a more green-colored final product.
Kief
Kief is the fine, powdery substance that accumulates at the bottom of a hand grinder. It typically contains the most cannabinoids and trichomes. This means it will make a very strong butter, depending on your tolerance level.
Because kief is more potent than bud, you may be able to use less of it in this recipe, depending on the effect you're looking for. It is also a great option to use if you have a high tolerance.
Just remember that you still need to decarb kief. If you've never worked with kief before, you can get my guide on decarbing kief here.
Concentrates
You can use cannabis concentrates like distillate or FECO to quickly and easily make a very potent cannabutter. These products are great because they state the milligrams of THC on the package, making dosing easy.
The most important thing is to decide how much or how little butter you want to use, as this will affect the final potency. Then warm the butter up in a small saucepan, stir in the concentrate, and mix well.
To Make A More Potent Cannabis Butter:
- Choose a higher-quality flower that contains more % THC, CBD, etc
- Add decarbed kief or cannabis concentrates like distillate or FECO
- Use more flowers (increase from 1 ounce to 2 ounces or more)
- Use less butter (decrease from 1 pound of butter to ½ pound)
Frequently Asked Questions
While it's a simple recipe, here are the questions I get asked most frequently from my Well With Cannabis Community to help you make the best cannabutter possible.
Using a crockpot is the best method for a set-it-and-forget-it, basic recipe option, but you can also use the sous vide method with an immersion circulator or Instant Pot.
Butter is perfect for making homemade edibles because of its high-fat content. It is versatile and can be used in many recipes, ranging from sweet to savory dishes. Cannabinoids are lipophilic, meaning that they dissolve in and bind to fat. When cannabinoids are extracted with fat, they are more easily absorbed and thus more bioavailable in our bodies (1).
I prefer using Kerrygold unsalted butter because it has a higher butterfat content, meaning more opportunity for cannabinoid infusion and fewer impurities to remove. You can also use clarified butter or ghee, which will save you a step in the end. Ghee is butter that has already been clarified or has had the milk solids removed. If you want to clarify your butter ahead of time, gently boil the butter in a saucepan over the stove and skim all the foam, or milk solids, from the top. Do NOT use margarine or other types of ‘fake’ butter.
If you do not clarify your butter first, you will notice white particles on your cooked butter the next day. They are simply milk solids. These solids will be removed when you strain and discard the excess water.
You should expect a volume loss of 15-25%. This occurs due to the removal of the milk solids and evaporation of excess water. Volume loss is important to keep in mind, especially if you try to make a small batch to use in a particular recipe.
Place a heavy heat and water-safe item on the jar's top to weigh it down; a clean rock works well. Also, there can be an occasional mishap that results in a broken or cracked jar - it happens to the best of us without rhyme or reason. To help prevent this, use a mason jar specifically meant for canning or cooking. Do not use leftover glass jars from other products. Also, use a brand new lid so you know the seal is good and the contents inside will stay dry.
No. Color doesn’t have any correlation with potency. A very green butter is simply cannabis butter with a lot of chlorophyll, the green pigment that has also been extracted from the plant. You will have a deeper green color if you use trim or very fresh buds.
How to Determine The Dosing
Want to get a more accurate guesstimate of the potency of your cannabis infusions and extractions? Try our popular edibles calculator!
Not sure what your perfect dose is? Learn more here.
Recipes To Make With Cannabutter
Now that you have your cannabutter made, it's time to try some delicious recipes. Check out my full selection of cannabis recipes here.
My Edibles Made Easy Online Cooking Course will teach you how to make cannabis edibles and topical recipes at home with ease. This step-by-step video course will teach you how to infuse, extract, and create edibles with many different product types - all from the comfort of your own home.
Learn more and enroll today →
Easy Crockpot Cannabutter Recipe (Photos + Video)
Equipment
- Strainer or coffee filter
- Silicone Butter Mold optional
Ingredients
- 7 grams cannabis flower
- 1 stick butter or ghee
Instructions
- Lay a clean dish towel down on the bottom of your crockpot to create a buffer between your mason jars and the crockpot. This will help to prevent the jars from moving or cracking during the cooking process.
- Fill your crockpot at least halfway with hot water. You want enough water to cover the sides of the mason jars you will be using. However, be careful not to add too much water, as it may overflow when you add the jars.
- Place a thermometer in the water and set the crockpot to high heat. When a temperature of around 180°F is reached, turn it down to low heat. Note: any temperature range of 160-190 degrees Fahrenheit will work. You may need to adjust to medium heat, depending on your crockpot.
- While the water bath is heating up, measure your desired amount of cannabis flower. Use the Flower to Oil Ratio Guide if you need help deciding how much to use. Record how much flower you used, in grams, so you can calculate your final potency at the end.
- Gently break apart the cannabis buds by hand into popcorn-sized pieces and place them into a mason jar. Do not grind. Gently put the lid on the mason jar and place the jar in the oven for decarboxylation. The decarboxylation process is simple and can easily be done in an oven or Instant Pot. Bake at the time and temperature needed for each specific cannabinoid, see notes below.
- After decarboxylation, remove the jar from the oven. When it is cool enough to handle, open the lid and place your butter or oil of choice inside. You may need more than one jar if you are making a big batch. If you are using more than one jar, evenly divide the ingredients between the jars for more consistent dosing.
- Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean towel, and add the lid. Tighten the metal ring to finger-tip tightness. It should be tight, but not too tight.
- Carefully place the jar into the water bath, put the crockpot lid on, and leave it alone to cook for 4 hours. You want to maintain a temperature of around 160-190°F the entire time. If you don't have a lid, aluminum foil will work.
- After the 4-hour cooking time, carefully remove the jars from the water bath and allow them to cool enough to handle. You are now done with the crockpot step and can discard the water bath.
- Prepare a straining area with new, clean mason jars and a strainer, paper filter, cheesecloth or French Press. Pour the contents of the mason jar through the strainer to separate the plant-matter from the infused butter.
- Add the strained butter to a container you would like to cool it in. A flexible container works well. You can also use butter molds. Place the container in the refrigerator and allow it to cool completely (it may take several hours).
- While cooling, the infused butter will harden and solidify, leaving a bit of liquid underneath. When completely cool, remove the solid block of butter and drain the liquid (it doesn't contain anything worth saving). Your cannabis butter is now ready to enjoy!
- Store your finished product in an airtight container in the refrigerator according to the expiration date on the butter you used. You can store it for a long time in the freezer. If you keep it in the freezer, wrap the cannabutter in individually sized portions to ensure easy and convenient dosing.
- To guesstimate the final potency of your cannabutter, input the required values into the edible dosage calculator. Remember, you will end up with approximately 20% less butter than you started with, so calculate accordingly.
Notes
- Don't forget to save the leftover plant material, also called the pulp, to use in other recipes.
- Pro Tip: If you're using butter molds, place the molds on a baking sheet to prevent them from spilling. Then use a spoon to get the pure, infused butter into the first two sticks of the mold. The third stick will contain the remaining infused butter and milk solids. You will then only need to remove the milk solids from one stick. The fourth stick will remain empty due to the loss of water volume during the cooking process.
- If you store the butter in the fridge or freezer, never use the microwave to soften or thaw the butter, as it could ruin the final product with too much heat. Use my guide to get your cannabutter to room temperature safely.
Peggy
can you take cannabutter out of freezer and re make it to make it stronger I made a few batches with shake but now I have a good lot of bud and would like to redo it by adding the cannabuttre to the water and creboxelated weed and recook it
Emily Kyle
Yes, you can re-infuse to try and make it stronger. Good luck 🙂