How to make weed butter (cannabutter), step by step
Cannabutter is the foundation ingredient of edible cooking — swap it into almost any baking recipe and you have an infused version. It is also where most homemade dosing disasters begin, because people skip the math. Done right, it is a three-stage process: decarboxylate, infuse, portion — with the potency calculated before anything goes in the oven.
Step 1 — Decarboxylate (activate the THC)
Raw flower contains THCA, which is not intoxicating until heat converts it to THC. Spread roughly ground flower on a parchment-lined tray and bake at 230–240°F (110–115°C) for 30–40 minutes, stirring once halfway. Expect a toasted, slightly browned result and a strong smell — ventilate. Skipping or rushing this step is the most common reason 'my edibles did nothing'. Full details in our decarb recipe.
Step 2 — Infuse low and slow
Combine the decarbed flower with butter and a splash of water (the water buffers temperature and gets discarded) in a saucepan or slow cooker. Hold it at a gentle simmer — 160–200°F (70–93°C), never a rolling boil — for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Boiling degrades THC and scorches milk solids; patience extracts more than heat. Strain through cheesecloth into a container, let the butter solidify above the water, then lift it off and discard the water layer.
Step 3 — Do the dosing math before you bake
The potency chain: grams × THC% × 1000 = theoretical mg THC; × ~0.8–0.88 for decarb; × ~0.8 for transfer into the butter. Example: 7 g of 18% flower → 1,260 mg theoretical → about 1,010–1,110 mg active → roughly 810–890 mg in the finished butter. If that yields one cup (16 tablespoons), each tablespoon carries about 50–55 mg — which tells you exactly how much to use per batch and per serving. Decide your per-serving target first (2.5–5 mg for most people) and scale the butter quantity to fit. The infusion calculator does this arithmetic for you, forwards or backwards.
Common mistakes
- Skipping decarb — weak or inactive butter.
- Boiling the infusion — degraded THC, burnt flavor.
- Squeezing the cheesecloth hard — pushes bitter plant matter through; let it drip.
- No math — guessing potency turns every brownie into a coin flip.
- Unlabeled storage — infused butter looks exactly like butter. Label it with mg per tablespoon and keep it locked away from kids, pets, and unsuspecting toast.
Beyond butter
The same method works for any fat: our classic cannabutter recipe has the tested proportions, and cannabis coconut oil, cannabis ghee, and infused olive oil cover vegan and savory cooking. Once you have a dosed fat, browse the recipes — every one lists its per-serving mg.
Frequently asked questions
How much weed do I need for one stick of butter?
A common ratio is 3.5–7 g of flower per stick (½ cup) of butter. What matters more than the ratio is the math: at 18–20% THC, 3.5 g yields roughly 400–450 mg in the butter after decarb and transfer losses — dose your recipe from that number, not from the ratio.
What temperature should I decarb weed at for butter?
230–240°F (110–115°C) for 30–40 minutes. Lower and slower preserves more terpenes; higher risks degrading THC into CBN, which skews the effect sedating.
How long does homemade cannabutter last?
Refrigerated in an airtight container, about 2–3 weeks; frozen, up to 6 months. Always label it with the date and mg per tablespoon.
Why is my cannabutter weak?
The usual suspects: skipped or rushed decarb, too-short infusion, too-low flower potency for the butter volume, or overestimating THC%. Run the numbers with the infusion calculator before blaming the butter.