Cannabis budder (also called cannabutter) is regular butter infused with cannabis, and it’s the foundation of most homemade edibles. The process has three stages: activating the cannabis with heat, simmering it in butter so the fat absorbs the cannabinoids, then straining out the plant material. A standard batch uses half an ounce of flower to one cup of butter and yields roughly 30 mg of THC per tablespoon.
Decarboxylation: The Step You Can’t Skip
Raw cannabis flower contains THCA, a non-active compound that won’t get you high if you eat it directly. Heat converts THCA into THC, and this process is called decarboxylation. Without it, your budder will be weak no matter how long you infuse it.
The sweet spot is 221°F for about 2 to 2.5 hours. This temperature gives you the best conversion rate while leaving a forgiving window if your oven thermostat isn’t perfectly accurate. If you’d rather go faster, 260°F for 30 minutes also produces good results, though you have less margin for error. Avoid going much higher or cooking longer than needed. One test found that 240°F for 40 minutes caused a 33% loss of THC, so more heat does not mean more potency.
To decarb, break your flower into pea-sized pieces (don’t grind it to powder), spread it in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. The foil traps volatile compounds that would otherwise escape into your kitchen. Let it cool completely before moving to the infusion step.
What You Need for One Batch
- ½ ounce decarboxylated cannabis (about 14 grams)
- 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter
- 1½ to 4 cups water (amount depends on your cooking method)
- 1 teaspoon sunflower lecithin (optional, but worth it)
You can use regular unsalted butter, clarified butter, or ghee. Clarified butter and ghee have had the water and milk proteins removed, leaving nearly 100% fat. Since THC binds to fat and not water, a higher fat content means more efficient extraction. Clarified butter also has a smoke point around 450°F, so it’s much harder to burn during a long simmer. Regular butter works fine, especially with the water method described below, but expect a slightly grittier texture from the milk solids.
Sunflower lecithin is an emulsifier that helps your body absorb cannabinoids more efficiently. Adding one teaspoon per cup of butter before you start infusing can make the finished product noticeably more potent without adding more flower. It’s sold as a powder or liquid at most health food stores.
Stovetop Method
The stovetop approach is the fastest hands-on method and gives you the most control. Adding water to the pot is the key technique here. Water boils at 212°F, which means the cannabis never gets hot enough to degrade the THC, even if you lose track of the heat for a few minutes. The water also absorbs chlorophyll and plant tannins, so your finished butter tastes cleaner.
Combine 1 cup of butter, your decarbed cannabis, and about 4 cups of water in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Bring it to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Let it simmer for 2 to 4 hours. A longer simmer extracts more cannabinoids and produces stronger budder, but also pulls more grassy flavor from the plant material. Four hours is a solid middle ground.
Check the pot every 30 minutes or so. The liquid should be barely bubbling, not rolling. Add water as needed to keep at least 3 cups in the pot at all times. Stir gently each time you check.
Slow Cooker Method
A slow cooker is more forgiving because the temperature stays low and consistent without babysitting. Add your butter, decarbed cannabis, and 1 to 2 cups of water to the slow cooker. Set it to low (not high, and never boil), and let it go for 6 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally. Some people run their slow cooker on the “warm” setting overnight, which works well if your model’s warm setting stays under 200°F.
Longer infusions of 18 to 24 hours are popular in online communities, but the returns diminish significantly after about 8 hours. The risk of overcooking and developing a bitter, overly vegetal flavor goes up the longer you go. Six to eight hours on low hits the practical sweet spot for most people.
Straining and Separating
Once your infusion is done, you need to remove all the plant material. Set a fine mesh strainer or colander over a large bowl and line it with cheesecloth. Pour the mixture through slowly. If you don’t have cheesecloth, a clean cotton t-shirt with a tight weave works in a pinch. A French press coffee maker is another popular option that makes the job quicker.
Let the plant material drain naturally for a few minutes. You can press it gently with a spoon, but don’t squeeze it aggressively. Wringing out every last drop pushes fine plant particles into your butter, which makes the final product gritty. That tiny bit of extra THC isn’t worth the texture tradeoff.
Pour the strained liquid into a container, cover it, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. The butter will solidify into a firm disc on top, and the water will settle to the bottom. This is exactly what you want. Pop the butter disc out, flip it over, and drain or blot away any remaining water with a paper towel. The water underneath will be dark and murky. Discard it. THC binds only to fat, so none of your potency is trapped in that water.
If your butter separates into two visible layers (a darker bottom layer and a lighter top layer), that’s normal. The darker portion contains more milk solids and plant residue. You can scrape it off for a milder-tasting budder or simply mix the layers together.
Storing Your Budder
In the refrigerator, cannabis budder stays fresh for a few weeks. After about a month, the butter itself starts to go off, regardless of the cannabis content. For longer storage, wrap the butter tightly in plastic wrap, place it in an airtight container or freezer bag, and freeze it. Frozen budder keeps for about six months.
Portioning before freezing saves you from having to thaw the whole batch each time. An ice cube tray works perfectly: each cube is roughly one tablespoon, making it easy to grab a consistent dose whenever you need it.
Estimating Potency
With half an ounce of average-potency flower (around 15 to 20% THC) infused into one cup of butter, you’ll end up with roughly 30 mg of THC per tablespoon. One cup of butter contains 16 tablespoons, giving you a total batch potency in the range of 400 to 500 mg.
These numbers are estimates because home kitchens can’t extract 100% of available THC, and flower potency varies. If you’re new to edibles, start with half a tablespoon of budder in a recipe and wait at least two hours before deciding you need more. Edibles hit harder and last much longer than smoking, typically 4 to 8 hours, and the onset can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on your metabolism and stomach contents.
To make a milder batch, simply use less flower. A quarter ounce (7 grams) to one cup of butter will cut the per-tablespoon dose roughly in half, giving you more room for error when cooking.