Do you have a lot of kief that you want to turn into homemade edibles? This easy homemade kief butter guide will show you how to make a super potent cannabutter that tastes absolutely amazing. You will find step-by-step instructions for dosing, decarbing, infusing, and more!
Table of Contents
- Article Features
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- What You’ll Need
- Step-by-Step Instructions
- Storage Instructions
- What is Kief?
- How Much Kief to Use
- Don’t Forget to Decarb
- Is Kief Butter Better Than Cannabutter?
- Notes and Expert Tips
- Easy Homemade Kief Butter Recipe
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Cannabutter Resources
Article Features
- A simple kief butter recipe with step-by-step instructions
- Notes on what kief is, how much to use, and how to decarb
- Want to skip the work? Enjoy the convenience and exceptional flavor of my Bliss Cannabutter – no fuss, no mess, just top-quality cannabutter delivered straight to your door. Now shipping across the United States!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
My crockpot cannabutter recipe has been the most popular recipe on the site for the past two years.
My Well With Cannabis Community knows that cannabis loves fat and that making an infusion is one of the easiest ways to make edibles.
Understandably, for some, the taste of cannabutter can be overwhelming, even off-putting, which is where kief butter comes in.
Kief butter can be a better way to make more potent cannabis butter, and it can taste better – a win-win for most!
In this guide, I will show you how to make your kief butter at home in a few easy steps, give you an idea of how to dose this potent edible and share great ideas for making kief edibles.
What You’ll Need
- 1 gram kief – see the How Much Kief to Use section below for helpful tips on dosing.
- One stick (113 grams) of butter – ordinary butter or unsalted butter will do, but many prefer ghee or clarified butter. You can also make kief oil with any other oil you desire, like olive oil or coconut oil. Want a less potent infusion? Add more sticks of butter. Want to make CBD kief butter? Start with kief collected from CBD flower.
Note: a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions is located in the recipe card below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1 – Gather the ingredients and equipment and preheat the oven to 240° F.
- Step 2 – Using a digital scale, weigh the kief to your desired weight into an oven-safe container with a lid, like a mason jar.
- Step 3 – Place the jar in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes for THC-dominant flower or 60-65 minutes for CBD-dominant flower. New to decrying? Check out this kief decarb guide here.
- Step 4 – While the jar is cooling, prepare a water bath. Fill a saucepan 1/2 way with water and place over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to low heat to simmer.
- Step 5 – After the decarb cooking time, remove the jar from the oven.
- Step 6 – When the mason jar is cool enough to handle, remove the lid and put in your butter stick or oil. Reattach the lid.
- Step 7 – Place the mason jar in the water bath and let the butter start to melt.
- Step 8 – Once the butter and kief have completely melted, allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. If cook enough to handle, shake a few times gently.
- Step 9 – Remove the jar from the hot water bath. You can allow the butter to harden as is, or you can “clarify” the butter by straining the white foam from the butter before allowing it to solidify.
- Step 10 – Pour the butter into silicone molds and individual portion-sized trays, or leave it as-is in the container.
- Step 11 – Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to allow the butter to harden.
- Step 12 – Enjoy your kief butter in your morning coffee, on toast, or in all of your favorite baked goods.
Note: complete step-by-step printable instructions are located in the recipe card below.
Storage Instructions
Store the cannabutter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. You can store it for even longer in the freezer.
If refrigerating or freezing, be sure to avoid reheating frozen cannabutter in the microwave. Learn how to store edibles so they don’t go bad.
What is Kief?
Cannabis kief is the material that is left at the bottom of your grinder.
It comprises the cannabis plant’s resin glands, a collection of trichomes containing terpenes and cannabinoids.
Kief is the most potent part of the plant in terms of cannabinoid concentration.
Because kief is so high in cannabinoids, depending on the type of flower you’re starting with, even a little bit can have a big effect.
If you’re using a THC-dominant flower, you will have a THC-dominant kief.
If you are using CBD-dominant flowers, you will have CBD-dominant kief.
It’s easy to collect kief with a grinder or kief catcher, and over time you’ll quickly save up a lot, especially if you use trichome-heavy strains of cannabis.
How Much Kief to Use
Don’t worry if you ask, “how much kief do I need?“
For this recipe, we will measure in grams of kief. A digital scale can help you measure this.
It’s difficult to know exactly how potent your kief is without testing it in a lab, but you can approximate its strength if you know what kind of bud the kief came from.
In addition, if you buy kief at a store or dispensary, the label will likely give you a good idea of its potency.
While it’s standard to find cannabis flowers roughly 15-25% THC, kief can contain upwards of 70% THC, meaning it can be very potent.
With this in mind, know that a little bit of these sticky crystals can go a long way.
As a general rule of thumb, you’ll probably want to start with one gram of kief and increase if needed.
Note, it is not recommended to use my flower-to-oil ratio guide with kief as your end product will end up too strong!
Don’t Forget to Decarb
Decarbing is one of the most important things when it comes to making cannabis edibles.
Raw cannabis kief does not naturally contain high amounts of active CBD or THC; it actually contains what is known as cannabinoid acids.
Cannabinoid acids, like CBDA, THCA, and more, have potential health benefits – but they are not intoxicating, meaning you won’t get high.
To convert these nonintoxicating cannabinoid acids into the activated cannabinoids we typically want to consume, the process of decarboxylation must occur.
The common recommendation is to bake at 240°F for 30-35 minutes for THC or 60-65 minutes for CBD in an oven-safe dish with a lid.
Baking in an oven-safe dish that you can later infuse it is a good way to keep all the sticky kief that collects at the bottom of the jar.
The medium heat and short cook time help to prevent any burning that may occur with the very fine consistency of the kief, although it is recommended to pay close attention at the end.
Your kief will have darkened in color. Sometimes, the resin crystals may have melted a little, but that’s okay; they will melt into the butter.
Once you’ve mastered the process of decarboxylation, you can use your new skill to create so many different types of edibles.
Is Kief Butter Better Than Cannabutter?
Many people find this easy kief butter recipe much more enjoyable than weed butter, mainly because of the taste and smell.
Chlorophyll is leached from the plant material into the final infusion when making cannabutter with flower buds or trim.
That, along with excess moisture, makes the final product look and taste green.
The good news? Many people find that making kief butter provides the best edible experience.
Notes and Expert Tips
- You can use this same method to make hash butter or CBD butter.
- When making a water bath, you can do it in a crockpot, Instant pot, or, as we are doing here, on the stovetop.
- After this recipe, you can make kief cookies, kief cookie dough, and all these other amazing kief recipes.
- Need ideas to use your cannabutter? Check out these 25 amazing recipes, our sweet tooth recipes, and no-bake recipes.
- Prefer savory options? Try your kief cannabutter on steak or a cannabutter board.
- If you are wondering how to make kief tea, we’ve got a recipe for that, too!
- If your kief butter is too strong, gently melt it in another stick of regular butter or two. If it is too weak, follow these instructions.
Easy Homemade Kief Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 gram kief or your desired amount
- 113 grams butter or ghee (1 stick)
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients and equipment and preheat the oven to 240° F.
- Using a digital scale, weigh the kief to your desired weight into an oven-safe container with a lid, like a mason jar.
- Place the jar in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes for THC-dominant flower or 60-65 minutes for CBD-dominant flower.
- While the jar is cooling, prepare a water bath. Fill a saucepan 1/2 way with water and place over high heat. Once boiling, reduce to low heat to simmer.
- After the decarb cooking correct time, remove the jar from the oven.
- When the mason jar is cool enough to handle, remove the lid, and put in your stick of butter or amount of oil. Reattach the lid.
- Place the mason jar in the water bath and allow the butter to start to melt.
- Once the butter and kief have completely melted, allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. If cook enough to handle, shake gently a few times.
- Remove the jar from the hot water bath. You can allow the butter to harden as is, or you can "clarify" the butter by straining the white foam from the butter before allowing it to solidify.
- Pour the butter into silicone molds and individual portion-sized trays, or leave it as-is in the container.
- Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight to allow the butter to harden.
- Enjoy your kief butter in your morning coffee, on toast, or in all of your favorite baked goods.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several different methods to get more kief than just the grinder. Investing in a kief collector, kief boxes, or dry ice is a great way to collect as much pure kief as possible.
Kief has a mild nutty flavor, but many people find it much more mellow than traditional cannabutter.
Nope! Once you have decarboxylated kief, you can add it as-is to any recipe you desire. There are many different ways to use it, from edibles to smoking.
Keeping the plant matter in the melted butter is the best way to get the most potency and final result. If you feel you have to strain, you will want to increase your infusion time to 2 hours and then use a coffee filter or other fine tool to strain.
Yes, you can refrigerate and freeze your kief cannabutter.
Absolutely, go ahead and bake those brownies and cookies at 350°F; these higher temperatures won’t ruin your favorite cannabinoid, THC.
More Cannabutter Resources
Articles & How-To Guides
How to Evaporate Alcohol From Tinctures
Cannabis Infusions & Extractions
Instant Pot Cannabutter or Oil » Easy Guide
Cannabis Infusions & Extractions
Attempting to make a keif garlic butter according to your directions!! Hope it turns out ok!!! I will keep y’all updated
Can’t wait to hear how it turns out! Keep us posted! 😊
Followed recipe to a “T”.
But my mason jar cracked in the simmer water bath. Ruined the entire batch, 3 grams of hash wasted……
Oh no, Jay. I’m so sorry to hear about your mason jar cracking! That can be so frustrating. One tip to prevent this is to make sure the jar isn’t exposed to sudden temperature changes and to avoid over-tightening the lid, as pressure can build up during the simmering process. Don’t give up—your next batch will be worth it! 😊
If you use more than 1g, should you decarb it longer
The amount you’re using doesn’t necessarily change the decarb time. What matters is the temperature and consistency of the process. Stick to recommended guidelines for decarbing, regardless of the quantity. Just make sure the material is evenly spread out for consistent results!
Hi Emily
Tried your keif recipe was easier than making Cana butter , used 1 gram of keif 1 stick butter made oatmeal cookies we’ll see how buzzed we get 😂🤣
Hi there! I’m glad to hear you tried the kief recipe! Oatmeal cookies sound delicious, and I’m excited to see how they turn out for you. Enjoy the buzz! 😂🍪
I’ve put my decarb into a mason jar with ghee/ water bath into the crockpot on high. How long should I leave it there and do I need to turn to low?
Thank you
Hi Terri. When making kief butter, you only need to warm the ghee and kief for a few minutes to get well mixed. We don’t recommend straining the kief out of the butter, but if you would like to, you will want to increase your infusion time to 2 hours, on high, and then use a coffee filter to strain. Happy infusing!
Hey when making canna butter. Using water, coconut oil and dried cannabis. Because the slow cooker gets so hot should I need to decard beforehand?
Yes, Tash, we recommend decarbing your cannabis before adding it to the slow cooker with water and coconut oil. Decarbing ensures that the THC is activated, optimizing the potency of your cannabutter. Although the slow cooker gets hot, decarboxylation beforehand ensures a more consistent and effective activation of the compounds in your cannabis. I hope this is helpful!
When this recipe says “serving size: 1 Tbls,” does that mean that’s what you should consume? What is the thx dosage per Tbls?
Hi Cherie. Yes, when the recipe indicates a serving size of 1 tablespoon (Tbls), it means that is the recommended amount for consumption. The THC dosage per tablespoon will depend on the concentration of the THC in the ingredients you use. It’s important to know the potency of your ingredients to calculate the dosage accurately. If you’re unsure of the potency of your cannabis, starting low and going slow is best.
Question! I de-carbed my entire supply of KEIF about 1/2 cup. Can I just keep it in freezer for future use one gram at a time?
Hi there, Dorthea! Absolutely, you can! Decarbed kief stores quite well in the freezer. Just make sure you keep it in an airtight container to maintain its potency and protect it from moisture. This way, you can use it as and when you need. Happy experimenting! 🌿🧪💚
What is the average dosage for this recipe?
Hello, Kelsey 😊 Great question! And a tough one, there is no one easy answer. The dosage can vary depending on the potency of the cannabis you’re using and how much you use. I always recommend starting with a lower dose and adjusting as necessary. It’s all about finding what works best for you. Always remember, it’s easier to add more but impossible to take away. Stay safe and enjoy!
Can this be done in the instant pot just like cannabutter?
Hi Thea. Most definitely! You can follow this guide: Instant Pot Cannabutter or Oil » Easy Guide. Happy infusing!
How long should step 4 take? I tried 2 grams of kief per stick and don’t know how long do I keep them in the water bath? Is the kief suppose to disappear? I have a lot of sold kief in my sticks of butter. And how do you keep it from separating while it cools when uses unsalted butter sticks.
Hi Dave. Once the butter and kief have completely melted, allow it to simmer for 5 minutes then shake gently a few times. The kief will not dissolve completely but should be distributed evenly throughout the butter. To keep the butter from separating, you can “clarify” the butter by straining the white foam from the butter before allowing it to solidify. I hope this helps. Happy infusing!
This is a lovely, easy kief butter recipe! I’ve made it 5 times now with great results, except for once when I tried baking it in a mason jar. All of the previous times, I had no problems when I baked the kief in a Pyrex dish and then transferred to a mason jar (because I read that mason jars are not oven safe).
The time I baked it in the mason jar, the bottom of the jar broke and popped off in the water bath. My water bath was too hot (hard to regulate temp with glass-ceramic cooktop), so that was the main reason for it breaking. However, I feel like the mason jar was likely more brittle from baking it.
Just my experience – seems like others have no issues with baking in the mason jar. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Amanda. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the kief butter recipe! It’s great to hear that you’ve had success with it multiple times. I’m sorry to hear about the incident with the mason jar breaking during baking. It sounds like the high temperature of the water bath and the brittleness of the jar might have contributed to that mishap. Thank you for your feedback and for trying out the recipe. Happy cooking!
Do you put the lid and ring on the mason jar?
Hi Denise. The lid and ring need to go on, hand tight only, to avoid any water getting in from the water bath.
Can I use this butter immediately after making it?
Hi Ryan. Absolutely, but we do recommend letting it get to room temperature first.
what would be the brown looking sediment in bottom of jar after set?
Hi Bet. The brown sediment at the bottom of cooked butter results from the proteins and other particles breaking down when the butter is cooked. This sediment is harmless and can be removed prior to use.
Just pulled my jar from the water bath and it it very cloudy at the bottom, even when I shake it. What went wrong?
Hi Stephanie. No worries! Nothing went wrong. The cloudiness is due to water in the butter. It should all settle, and you can scrape it off. This process will actually clarify your butter. I hope this helps!
Hi, thank you for the detailed recipe. I have been looking for recipes for a while and most of them it says that the butter needs to stay in the hot water bath for 2-4 hours. How much time it should be and also can you kindly share the water temperature, if its okay. Thank you again!
Hi Ki. Since the keif isn’t strained out from the final product, you don’t need to infuse the butter for hours. Once the butter and kief have completely melted, allow it to simmer for 5 minutes in the water bath. Temperature should be no higher than 180°. Once cool enough to handle, shake gently a few times. You can then clarify the butter if desired and pour into molds, or let cool in the jar it’s in. Allow the butter to fully harden and Enjoy!
Just wondering how to keep the butter and the kief from separating and layering as it cools.
Hi Dillon. Unless you infused clarified butter or ghee, you will experience some separation from the milk solids. If you find there is a substantial amount of kief in the separated liquid, gently boil the butter in a saucepan on the stove over low heat and skim all the foam from the top. When you pour back to cool down, there should be minimal separation. I hope this helps!
Hi – I wanna try this out but I was wondering if it has to be a mason jar?
Hi Yasmine! An oven-safe container with a lid will work. Decarbing in the container that you will later infuse in is a good way to keep all of the sticky kief that collects at the bottom of the jar. ?
Looks very promising! I have not used the butter yet as I just made it yesterday. I love that because this is done completely in a closed mason jar, the smell does not escape and does not overwhelm the house. My only question is that after chilling in the fridge over night, there is about a half inch of white liquid at the bottom of the jar that did not harden. What is this liquid and should it be used it discarded?
Hello Lynn! Thanks for giving the recipe a try. This liquid at the bottom is normal, its natural separation that occurs when the milk solids and water leave the butter. More info on that is here. You can discard it!
Hello, I really just wanted any tips or info from anyone who has made this Kief Butter infusion before. I’ve never made kief, or cannabis, butter before, so this being my first attempt, I just felt like any info/help is better than nothing. Thank you!
Hey Chris, I hope someone can chime in and offer some words of wisdom! Good luck ?