Cannabutter allows you to make your own personal cannabis-infused recipes and edibles. Here’s everything you need to know about making and using cannabutter.

If you’re interested in enjoying the benefits of marijuana but would rather avoid the drawbacks associated with smoking, you’ll want to know about cannabutter.

Cannabutter can be used to make an array of marijuana edibles, which are food products that have been infused with cannabis, allowing you to get the effects of cannabinoids by eating, instead of smoking.

Here we offer a complete overview of cannabutter, giving you all the information you need to know to incorporate the beneficial cannabis-infused food product into your medical marijuana regimen, including cannabutter recipes and step by step directions for making cannabutter.

What is Cannabutter?

Cannabutter is traditional unsalted dairy-based butter that has been infused with activated medical marijuana flower. Infusing cannabis into butter opens an array of opportunities for cooking with cannabis.

Technically, making cannabutter is a cannabis extraction method where the plant’s cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids are pulled from the plant and infused into the butter fats.

The cannabinoids in cannabis — like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) – are not naturally soluble in water, but they are in certain carrier oils. The fat in butter acts as a carrier for the cannabinoids and other compounds so that once they’re ingested they can be delivered to the bloodstream.

What are the Benefits of Cannabutter?

Many consumers prefer marijuana edibles made with cannabutter because they offer more extended and intense effects compared to other types of marijuana products. If you’re looking for long-term effects, foods made with cannabutter are ideal.

The effects of cannabutter marijuana edibles are delayed because they have to be digested before the compounds can reach the bloodstream. Often times, the effects of cannabutter edibles are not noticeable until 30 to 90 minutes after they are consumed.

Once the effects of cannabutter edibles do set in, they’ll typically last between 4 and 12 hours, depending on the concentration of THC, how much is consumed, and your metabolic rate and body weight.

Marijuana edibles made with cannabutter also offer a more lung-friendly option for marijuana users compared to smoking weed. Smoking marijuana, like other plants, exposes your lungs to carbon monoxide and other byproducts and potential toxins.

cannabutter how to make

How to Make Cannabutter

Making your own cannabutter is a relatively simple process. Pick a time when you know you have a free 3-4 hour period.

Before diving into how to make cannabutter, it’s important to understand that you’ll need to first decarboxylate your marijuana flower. Decarboxylation is a heating process that activates the cannabinoids in marijuana. Some decarboxylation will also occur just through the infusion process. Here is our cannabutter recipe. You can adjust the ratio of butter to marijuana as you see fit for your needs or your tolerance. 

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own cannabutter:

  • ½ to 1 ounce decarboxylated marijuana flower
  • 1 pound unsalted butter
  • 4 cups water

Directions to make cannabutter:

  1. Cut butter into several pieces.
  2. Combine butter pieces, water, and marijuana flower into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat. Continue cooking on low for 3-4 hours. You can also use a slow cooker to make cannabutter.
  3. Gently stir the cannabutter mixture every 30 minutes or so with a metal spoon. It will gradually thicken as water cooks off.
  4. Once the mixture appears glossy and is more dense because most of the water has evaporated, remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly. At this point, the majority of the cannabinoids will be infused into the butter.
  5. Once mixture is safe to handle, pour the THC-infused cannabutter into a metal colander or strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. Use the back of a spatula to press down on the butter to drain it into a heatproof airtight container. Discard the cannabis caught in the cheesecloth.
  6. Use the spatula to scrape any residual butter left in the pan into the container. Secure the container’s lid firmly and place the container of cannabutter into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let it solidify.

You may find other cannabutter recipes that call for shorter cook times, but it’s recommended that you follow the “low and slow” method when making cannabutter: low temperature and slow cook time means a higher quality cannabutter.

Allowing the cannabis to gradually infuse into the butter for several hours will more thoroughly activate marijuana’s cannabinoids – including THC and CBD – without scorching the flower.

You can make the process even easier by purchasing a specially designed cannabutter machine created to automatically heat your butter and marijuana mixture for the right amount of time without the need to stir it.

What to Do with Cannabutter

Now that you’ve made your cannabutter, you’re ready to make some cannabis-infused edibles.

Cannabutter can be used to make a nearly endless list of cannabis-infused edible recipes, like:

  • Cookies
  • Cakes
  • Brownies
  • Chocolates
  • Muffins
  • Banana bread
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Pasta sauces

weed butter

 

Cannabutter can be incorporated easily into any recipe that calls for traditional butter, allowing you to add the ingredient into foods that align with your personal preferences and dietary needs.

Use the cannabutter as a topping to baked potatoes or pancakes, stir a teaspoon to a tablespoon into your morning coffee, or melt it and drizzle it over a bowl of popcorn.

If you have extra cannabutter, keep it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Provided it’s kept from exposure to air, it will keep in the fridge for several weeks and in the freezer for up to six months.

Learn More about Medical Marijuana

With medical marijuana now legal in more than half of the United States, more and more patients are looking into how to incorporate the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis.

You can learn more about medical marijuana, including how to grow your own plants at home, by visiting our Cannabis 101 page.