How To Make Marijuana Butter

Smokable cannabis is not the only way to consume medical marijuana. Many patients prefer edible products for a number of reasons. They are easier to use, and some people find that edible cannabis can produce long-lasting effects.

DocMJ has helped almost 100,000 patients across the United States get (and renew) their medical cannabis cards. We have friendly, compassionate physicians in major cities in Ohio and Columbus appointments available.

When you are a registered patient in a state medical cannabis program, nothing stops you from consuming it according to personal preference. You can purchase inhalable products, tinctures, capsules, or tablets. And depending on your state, edibles, and concentrates.

Some people prefer to create baked goods, like cookies, cakes, or brownies (the OG of baked edibles). One of the fastest ways to incorporate cannabis into your cooking at home is to create cannabutter.

No matter how well you cook or bake, making a cannabutter recipe is a piece of cake. It doesn’t cost much, and when stored properly, your cannabutter can last months in the freezer. Get ready for some tips (and high-terpene recipe ideas) you can try at home! Because making weed butter couldn’t be easier.

How Much Marijuana Do You Need to Make One Pound of Butter?

When batch cooking, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort. To make your DIY cannabutter, you will need to decide how much THC content you want in your butter. For some people who want a more potent concentration, a 1:1 ratio is used.

People who want “lighter” THC potency and effects settle on a ratio of 1/2 ounce of cannabis per one pound of butter. But remember, the potency of the cannabis you buy will also impact the amount that you use to create your cannabutter recipe.

You don’t have to make a full pound of butter. You can experiment with smaller amounts, such as two (2) sticks or a one-half pound of butter. Adjust your cannabis ratio to preference.

What Kind of Butter Should I Buy?

It depends on your preference and the food you plan to make with your cannabutter. For example, if you plan to create some baked goods with it, you will want to make a batch of unsalted butter.

However, if you plan on using making weed butter as a garnish, you may choose to use salted butter. Sweet cream butter is a favorite garnish for foods like hot vegetables and meat (buttered steak is delicious!). Some people also prefer clarified butter or ghee instead.

Some people use soy lecithin when making cannabutter at home. Soy lecithin is used during metabolism to help remove fats from the body. The lecithins are transformed into choline in the human body. And they also help produce acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter.

When added to cannabis butter, soy lecithin may help boost muscle performance. Low acetylcholine levels are found in patients with memory problems and muscular disorders. Talk to your doctor first before consuming soy lecithin with cannabis.

What Happens if I Put Too Much Cannabis In My Butter?

If you make a cannabis butter recipe and you find it is too potent, don’t throw it out. What you can do is mix it with plain butter to dilute the THC content and then portion it out accordingly. That way, you are not wasting your food or your marijuana.

Simply put your cannabutter in a bowl and add an equal amount of plain butter. You can hand mix it or add it to your food processor (which works better). You may need to experiment a few times to figure out the right potency for your cannabutter recipe.

What Kind of Cannabis Should You Buy to Make Butter?

When you are cooking with cannabis, you do not have to use the highest quality or most expensive flower to extract the THC. In fact, if you are regularly making your own cannabis infused edibles at home, you’ll want to economize. Your local dispensary will have a variety of products that you can use to make cannabutter.

Cannabis Tinctures for Making Cannabutter

The easiest way is to purchase a flavorless tincture with good potency. You don’t need to have a concentrated tincture to do the trick. Most tinctures range from 10% THC to a whopping 60% concentrated formulation.

Some people think that you lose some of the THC potency when you heat cannabis. But shelf-stable tinctures retain their potency very well. So remember, the potency you put into making your cannabutter recipe will be almost identical to what you consume when micro-dosing tinctures. Low to average THC content works best.

Shake That Discount at the Dispensary!

That container, jar, or sealed bag of loose cannabis? Hello, shake! Many people bypass cannabis shake because of misconceptions about its quality. Shake is not a lower quality flower; it is simply parts of bud that have fallen off during trimming or packaging.

Shake is priced lower because most people prefer whole flower or bud. But if you are keen on making your own cannabis edibles, shake is a great choice. It is easy to decarboxylate because it is already broken down.

Once the THC is released, you can use it to create cannabutter at a fraction of the cost of buying whole-flower cannabis. Or any other type of cannabis edibles like soups, beverages, or baked goods.

How Long Does Marijuana Butter Last?

Some people think that cannabutter must be used right away. But the truth is that if you store it correctly, your marijuana butter can last for months. You can also freeze it if you are making batches for up to six months.

All edibles can maintain both flavor and potency for up to six months. When you thaw your cannabis butter, it should be just as potent as the day you made it. Make sure that you store it in an airtight container. Freezer bags with a zip-lock work well, and you can double bag them for extra care.

Start With Decarbed Cannabis

If it’s your first time creating cannabis edibles at home, the first and most important step is decarboxylation. If you were to eat a cannabis bud on its own, you wouldn’t feel anything at all. That is because the cannabinoid that creates psychoactive and physical sensations (tetrahydrocannabinol) or THC must be activated.

Debarbing cannabis at home used to be a high-risk endeavor, with an even higher risk of burning your cannabis. For decades, the only way to decarboxylate cannabis was in a conventional oven, usually on a cookie sheet with a foil layer.

Burnt cannabis can still retain THC, but it tastes really awful. And the scent of burnt cannabis is much stronger and can linger in your house. So what you want to do is choose a safe and worry-free method of decarboxylation so that you minimize any waste.

Some of the easiest ways to decarboxylate cannabis include:

• Use an oven-safe mason jar. Place your broken-up cannabis flower inside, and then seal the lid. Wrap the jar in a damp towel, and place it on a cookie sheet in the oven at 225°F for at least 60 minutes. Make sure you are opening the oven and shaking your jar to move the cannabis around for even results.
• You can use your air fryer to decarboxylate cannabis as well, following the same steps as the oven-safe method. But instead of a glass jar, create a foil pouch and seal it before heating it up in the air fryer. Poke a few holes with a toothpick in the foil before baking.
• Grind up your cannabis or break it up by hand. Spread it out in a single layer on a microwave-proof glass dish. Then set it for 90 seconds on a medium temperature setting. Take it out, mix the contents, and return to the microwave for another 60 seconds for toasted golden brown bud.

If you plan on cooking with cannabis on a regular basis, you can decarboxylate a batch and store it in a cool, dark place in an airtight container. Mason jars work best for storing cannabis. Make sure to keep it out of direct sunlight, as heat and sun can erode THC content over time. When you are ready to make weed edibles, your decarboxylated cannabis will be ready to go.

How-To Make Crock Pot Cannabutter

Are you the kind of person that has a crock pot that you never use? Dust that bad boy off and bring it back to the kitchen! It is one of the safest and easiest methods to make a homemade cannabutter recipe at home.

You can set it and forget it while it simmers, creating perfect flavored or plain cannabis butter. And the best part is that a crockpot will shut off automatically. Zero chance of burning your butter.

Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 hours

What You Will Need:

• Crock Pot
• Mason jars
• Clean dish towel
• Food thermometer

Take a clean dish towel, and place it on the bottom of your crock pot. This will help insulate the mason jars from the heat to prevent breakage. Plug in your pot and fill it halfway with hot water. Set it to high heat, and check the temperature. Water that is between 170°F to 200°F will work well.

Combine butter and decarboxylated cannabis in your mason jars. If you want to experiment with adding additional dried herbs or spices to your butter, you can also do that. Fasten the lids securely on the mason jars, and place them vertically (cap facing up).

Turn your pot down to low heat for four hours. Remove the jars and strain milk solids and cannabis fragments from the butter. You can pour the cannabutter into a container or get creative and pour them into decorative silicone molds before putting them in the fridge to set.

If you do not live alone, clearly label your cannabutter for safety reasons. Make sure your weed butter can be easily identified to avoid accidental dosing.

Can You Make Cannabutter in an Air Fryer?

Is there anything you can’t cook with an air fryer? It turns out that they are handy not just for decarboxylating cannabis, but you can use your air fryer to make weed butter too. In just a few easy steps.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

What You Will Need:

• Air fryer
• Aluminum foil
• Oven-safe dish (that fits inside your air fryer)
• Fine mesh filter
• Container to store your butter

Take your ground cannabis, place it in the oven-safe dish, then cover it tightly with foil. Bake your cannabis in the air fryer at 250°F and set it for 30 minutes. After the first heating cycle, move the cannabis around in the container, and return it for another 30 minutes.

Repeat the process a third time (replacing the foil if it is damaged or ‘extra crispy’ and will not seal correctly). Set the time for forty (40) minutes. Stir your ingredients (butter and cannabis) and bake again at the same temperature for another 40 minutes.

Remove your container and let it cool to room temperature. Use a fine mesh strainer and pour the butter through to remove fragments of cannabis. Then transfer it to your butter container and store it in the refrigerator.

Other Methods of Making Cannabis Butter at Home

If you have a Sous Vide or an Instant Pot, many online resources provide instructions. They, too, can be used to make homemade cannabis edibles, including a cannabutter recipe.

Enhance Your Infused Butter With Natural Herbs and Terpenes

Homemade edibles are the best because you can add additional herbs and spices. When you make cannabutter, you can make a variety of different flavors by adding dried or fresh herbs. And augment the terpene content in your weed butter.

If restaurants make fancy flavored butter melts, so can you! But choose herbs and spices that offer additional terpenes and wellness benefits. Here are some great ideas to get you started!

Herbs With Beta-Caryophyllene

Beta-Caryophyllene is a common terpene found in cannabis. But it is also present in even higher potencies in other herbs and spices. The beta-caryophyllene terpene is responsible for spicy and peppery flavors and musky scents.

Some herbs and natural extracts that are loaded with beta-caryophyllene include basil, lavender, cinnamon, and rosemary. Some clinical studies suggest beta-caryophyllene can help with pain, stress relief, and problems with inflammation, and it may boost immune system functioning.

Herbs With Limonene Terpenes

Who doesn’t love a lemon scent or flavor? It is so fresh and makes you feel happy and alert. You can thank limonene, one of the most popular terpenes, that provides the lemon or citrus notes you taste in raw cannabis flower.

Limonene terpenes can help reduce inflammation, which is believed to be a powerful antioxidant. It is not your imagination if you feel refreshed after smelling or tasting something with limonene; studies have suggested it can have a powerful anti-stress effect.

Foods high in limonene terps include citrus peels (lemon or oranges), caraway, rosemary, anise, fennel, and mint. All of which sounds pretty tasty for a cannabis infused butter.

Herbs With Humulene for Earthy Flavors

Humulene may be one of the planet’s healthiest and least recognized terpenes. But if you are a patient with a compromised immune system, you may want to learn more. Clinical studies have shown that when consumed, humulene can be an effective anti-fungal and anti-bacterial superhero. It may also help with depression and anxiety.

When you taste any plant with humulene terpenes, you notice an earthy or woody flavor. It is a little spicy and has a rich herbal and musky scent. Adding clove, basil, sage, or coriander to your infused butter or ghee will increase the valuable humulene content.

Delicious Carvone Terpenes

Carvone terpenes are delicious. They smell and taste sweet, with a minty undertone. Many herbs that have high carvone terpene content are used in products to help with sleep, relaxation, and circulatory or digestive problems.

Herbs with many carvone terpenes include dill, chamomile, lavender, caraway seed, and spearmint. You can infuse your butter melts cautiously with lavender, as not all types of lavender are safe to consume. The English lavender varieties like hidcote, munstead, or lady lavender are commonly used in sweet or savory recipes.

Dry Herbs vs. Fresh Herbs

Fresh herbs have more terpene content than spices that are dried. And they taste better, too, so you may wonder if you can use fresh herbs to create your cannabis infused edibles and butter mixture.

You can, and the flavor is delicious. The only difference is that fresh herbs can spoil more quickly, even when mixed with butter. So, instead of lasting weeks or months (in the freezer), your fresh cannabis-infused butter should be discarded after 4-5 days.

It is not a concern if you plan to make small quantities of fresh cannabutter or infused ghee. Just stick to the smaller batches if you plan to use fresh herbs. The fresh herbs do not impact the quality of the cannabis butter that is frozen, either. If stored in an airtight container, cannabutter with fresh herbs can also last for months in the freezer.

Cannabis Butter Recipes You Can Try at Home

Now that you are ready to make your cannabutter let’s talk about some of the exciting flavors you can create in your kitchen. Because the sky is the limit, you can make many different types of flavored cannabis-infused butter to enjoy.

Jalapeno Cannabis Butter

There are a few different methods of preparing the jalapenos, depending on the level of heat you want in your butter. Raw jalapeno (remove the seeds) can be added to the mason jar during infusion. That will give you medium to hot spicy butter.

If you want to make a little less spicy butter, you can try charring the jalapenos. You can use your oven or your grill for cooking them and then adding them to your infusion. Some of the potency of jalapeno peppers is lost during the cooking process.

Looking for the mildest hint of jalapeno flavor without the burn? You can purchase pickled jalapenos at your local grocery store. Dice them, and add them to your butter ratio. You can also add the juice from pickled jalapenos for a mild flavor.

Mexican Elote Flavored Marijuana Butter

Elote is Mexican “street corn,” and it is delicious! If you are a fan of eating corn on the cob, you may want to create a small batch of cannabis infused elote butter! The fastest and easiest way to do that is to add elote seasoning to your cannabutter recipe.

Most grocery stores carry it in the spice aisle. But if you can’t find it, then make your own. The Mexican elote seasoning is an equal mix of chili powder, dried chipotle, and cumin. And it is amazing on grilled vegetables or as a marinade for chicken.

Rosemary Marijuana Butter for Marinating and Grilling

So many different types of food taste great with rosemary. Finding fresh or dried fresh or dried at your local grocery store is also easy. Rosemary is also loaded with healthy terpenes, so adding it to your cannabutter recipe may be a good call.

Rosemary marijuana butter can be used for grilling meat or vegetables. It is also delicious as a spread for crostini or sandwiches. You can also use rosemary cannabutter on roast chicken or turkey made in the oven.

Cinnamon Toast Butter

If you love cinnamon toast, you’ll enjoy this home cooking hack. You can infuse all the great cinnamon flavors (and terpenes) into your butter. And use it for cinnamon toast or baked goods like cookies or pies. Stick to the unsalted butter for baking; it tastes better.

Keto Bulletproof Coffee Butter

If you are following a keto diet, you are probably familiar with making bulletproof coffee first thing in the morning. It involves mixing hot coffee with a high-fat dollop of butter and some MCT powder (which is derived from coconut oil).

There are many steps to make a cup of Joe first thing in the morning. But you can create your own keto bulletproof coffee butter. Then add a tablespoon, and you are ready to wake and bake.

Add a measured amount of MCT powder to your cannabutter recipe to get the extra goodness of medium-chain triglycerides. You can find MCT powder in the health food aisle at most grocery stores.

Making Unsalted Cannabis Butter for Baking or Soups

Cannabutter can be the base ingredient for several baked goods, including cakes, brownies, cookies, pudding, and more. And you can also use your cannabutter to make soups, stir-fry, and other dishes.

Planning on cooking or grilling with your cannabutter? You probably want to stick to unsalted butter overall. That way, you can season your dish how you want without worrying about too much salt. Also, it’s much healthier for individuals with hypertension and sodium-restricted diets.

How-To Store Your Marijuana Butter

Some people like to keep a butter container at room temperature on the kitchen counter. But that is not the best way to store your cannabis flower butter mixture. The best practice is to keep it in an airtight container (mason jars work well) and in your refrigerator.

When stored properly, your cannabis butter can last for months. But it is so delicious; you’ll probably use it much sooner. If you are making several different types of cannabutter, label each one accordingly. And indicate if the butter is salted or unsalted, per your intended use.

How Do You Get a Medical Marijuana Card in Ohio?

Check our map and determine if DocMJ provides in-office or telemedicine cannabis healthcare services near you. If unavailable in your state, join our patient waiting list and be the first to access our services when we expand to your home state.