Cannabutter

Cannabutter Recipe: How to Make CBD, CBG, or THC Infused Butter at Home

By Mellow Moose

Quick Answer

Cannabutter is butter infused with cannabinoids dissolved directly into the melted fat. Using 5g of CBD or CBG isolate (or 2g THC extract) and 1 lb of unsalted butter, you'll produce ~5,000mg of total cannabinoids per pound of butter — roughly 156mg per tablespoon. Total active time is 20 minutes, plus cooling. No decarboxylation needed when using isolate, and almost zero cooking odor.

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Why This Cannabutter Recipe Beats Traditional Methods

Most cannabutter recipes online tell you to simmer cannabis flower in butter for 2–4 hours. That approach has three big problems:

• It takes forever. 2–4 hours of active stovetop attention for a single batch.
• It smells strong. Your entire house will smell like cannabis for the rest of the day, and your butter will too.
• It's inconsistent. Cannabinoid extraction from flower depends on temperature, time, plant material quality, and a dozen other variables. Two batches made the same way can have wildly different potency.

This recipe sidesteps all three issues by using isolate or extract directly. The cannabinoid is already extracted, already activated (in the case of isolate), and already pure. You're not extracting anything from plant material — you're just dissolving a pre-measured amount of cannabinoid into melted butter. Total time: under an hour. Smell: minimal. Potency: precise to the milligram.

The other reason to use this method: cost. Commercial cannabutter at this potency would run $80–150+ per pound. This recipe produces 1 lb at meaningfully lower cost using premium isolates.

Recipe Overview

• Yield: 1 lb infused butter (32 tablespoons)
• Active time: 20 minutes
• Cool time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: Beginner

Equipment

• Small pot (1–2 quart)
• Whisk or wooden spoon
• Small silicone spatula (for scraping isolate from the jar)
• Storage container with lid

Ingredients

• 5g CBD Isolate OR 5g CBG Isolate OR 2g THC extract (Distillate works best)
• 1 lb unsalted butter (high-quality butter gives the cleanest result)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter. In a small pot over low heat, melt the butter slowly until fully liquid. Do not let it boil or brown — high heat damages cannabinoids and changes the flavor. The butter should look clear and golden, not foaming or simmering.
2. Add isolate or extract. Sprinkle in your CBD isolate, CBG isolate, or THC extract while stirring continuously. Use a small silicone spatula to scrape every bit of isolate from the jar — even small residual amounts represent meaningful potency loss.
3. Stir until dissolved. Continue stirring on low heat for 8–10 minutes, until the cannabinoid is fully dissolved into the butter. The butter should look completely uniform with no visible particles or graininess.
4. Cool and transfer. Remove from heat. Let the butter cool slightly (5 minutes), then pour into your storage container.
5. Solidify. Allow the butter to set at room temperature, or transfer to the refrigerator to firm up faster. Once solid, it's ready to use in any butter-based recipe.

Why This Recipe Works (And Why Most Online Cannabutter Recipes Don't)

Most cannabutter recipes assume you're starting with flower or trim. They walk you through grinding, decarbing in the oven, simmering in butter for hours, then straining out plant material. By the time you're done, you've lost 15–30% of your potency to heat degradation, your kitchen smells like a grow operation, and you have no real idea how potent the final product actually is.

Using isolate or extract directly eliminates every problem in that chain:

• No decarb step. Our isolate is already in its active form — it's ready to use.
• No long simmer. You're dissolving a pure cannabinoid into fat, not extracting it from plant material. 8–10 minutes of low-heat stirring is enough.
• No straining. No plant material means no leftover green sludge to filter out.
• No smell. Pure isolate is virtually odorless. The strongest scent in this recipe is the butter itself.
• Precise potency. You know exactly how much cannabinoid is in your butter because you started with a measured weight of pure material.

The low heat matters too. Cannabinoids degrade at sustained temperatures above 320°F (THC starts converting to CBN; CBD and CBG slowly break down). Keeping the butter below a simmer ensures you preserve full potency from raw ingredient to finished product.

Dosage Math

CBD or CBG version: ~5,000mg cannabinoids per pound of butter

• ~156mg per tablespoon
• ~52mg per teaspoon

THC version: ~850mg cannabinoids per pound of butter

• ~26.5mg per tablespoon
• ~8.8mg per teaspoon

Edibles take 30–90 minutes to onset and effects last 4–8 hours. Always start with a smaller serving than you think you need — especially with THC versions. Use our dosage calculator for personalized dosing guidance.

How to Use Cannabutter

• Baking: Substitute 1:1 for regular butter in cookies, brownies, cakes, and most baked goods. Cannabinoids are surprisingly heat-stable in baking once bound to butter — minimal degradation in standard baking temperatures (350–400°F for typical bake times).
• Sauces and spreads: Toss with hot pasta, melt over vegetables, spread on toast, or use in any savory dish that calls for butter.
• Cooking: Sauté at medium heat or below. Avoid high-heat applications (above 400°F sustained) where prolonged exposure can degrade cannabinoid content.
• Direct dose: A pat of butter on toast at your preferred dosage is the simplest application of all.

Common Failure Modes

• Grainy or chunky butter. The isolate didn't fully dissolve. Either the butter wasn't fully melted before you added the isolate, or the heat was too low to fully incorporate it. Solution: gently warm the butter back to liquid state on low heat and stir longer until smooth.
• Browned or off-flavored butter. Heat was too high during melting. Cannabinoids start degrading above 320°F, and butter starts browning around 250°F. Solution: melt butter on the lowest heat your stove allows. If butter has browned, the batch is still usable but flavor is altered.
• Inconsistent potency between recipes. Stirring wasn't thorough enough during the dissolving step. The fix: stir continuously and longer (10+ minutes) to ensure full uniform incorporation throughout the butter.
• Butter smells "weedy". Shouldn't happen with isolate (which is virtually odorless). If you used flower-derived extract or distillate instead, that's the source of the scent.
• Material left in the jar. Use a small silicone spatula to fully scrape the isolate out. At 5g of premium isolate, even small residual amounts represent meaningful potency loss.

How to Customize

• Smaller batches: Halve everything — 2.5g isolate + ½ lb butter produces a half-batch with the same per-tablespoon potency.
• Higher potency: Double the isolate. 10g per lb of butter produces ~310mg per tablespoon — a strong dose by any measure.
• CBD + CBG blend: Use 2.5g of each instead of 5g of one. Produces a balanced 1:1 cannabutter ideal for everyday baking.
• Stronger THC version: Use 4g THC extract instead of 2g for ~1,700mg total per pound (~53mg per tablespoon).
• Salted vs unsalted: Unsalted gives you more control in recipes. Use salted if you prefer to taste it directly on toast.

FAQs

What is cannabutter? Cannabutter is butter infused with cannabinoids — most commonly CBD, CBG, or THC. It's used as a base ingredient in edibles, baked goods, and any recipe that calls for butter. Once made, it can be stored and used like regular butter for as long as the butter itself remains fresh.

Do I need to decarboxylate before making cannabutter? Not if you use isolate. Our CBD and CBG isolates are produced in their already-active form, so no decarb step is needed. If you're starting with raw flower or non-decarboxylated extract, you'll need to decarb first or your cannabutter will be largely inactive (raw THCA and CBDA don't produce the effects most people expect).

Why is this faster than traditional cannabutter recipes? Traditional recipes extract cannabinoids from flower, which takes 2–4 hours of simmering. Using isolate or extract, the cannabinoid is already extracted and pure — you just need to dissolve it into the butter. That takes 10 minutes instead of 2 hours.

Does this method produce cooking smell? Almost none. Pure isolate is virtually odorless, so the only smell in this recipe is butter itself. This makes it dramatically more discreet than flower-based recipes.

How long does cannabutter stay good? Refrigerated in an airtight container, cannabutter keeps for 3–4 weeks (the same shelf life as regular butter). Frozen, it stays good for 6+ months without significant potency loss.

Can I use cannabutter in any recipe that calls for butter? Yes — including baking applications. Cannabinoids bound to butter are reasonably heat-stable through standard baking temperatures (350–400°F for typical bake times). Avoid sustained high-heat applications like deep frying or anything held above 400°F for extended periods.

Is cannabutter legal? Federally, hemp-derived CBD, CBG, and Delta-9 THC products containing less than 0.3% THC by dry weight are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. Hemp-derived cannabinoids are legal in most US states, though specific cannabinoid restrictions vary. THC extract from cannabis (not hemp) follows your state's cannabis laws.

What's the difference between cannabutter and ghee or coconut oil infusions? The base fat is different but the principle is identical. Cannabutter has the most familiar flavor and works in the widest variety of recipes. Ghee has a higher smoke point (good for high-heat cooking). Coconut oil is shelf-stable longer and works for vegan applications. All three can be made using this same isolate-based method.

Related Recipes & Products

• CBD Isolate (20g, USDA Organic) — start here for cannabutter
• CBG Isolate (20g, USDA Organic) — for daytime/focus-oriented cannabutter
• Cannasugar Recipe — sugar-based infusion alternative
• Cannabis Infused Honey — same concept, different sweetener
• Canna-Lean (CBD or THC Syrup) — liquid infusion alternative