How to Make CBD Butter with Easy to Follow Steps

Making your own CBD butter can be a great alternative to purchasing CBD edibles from the store. All of you need is three simple ingredients and a few hours to kill. Then once you have your homemade CBD butter, you can use it to make all of your favorite baked treats. Just follow the simple steps outlined below!

by: Amy B. | 04/05/21 1:30PM

Home Blog How to Make CBD Butter with Easy to Follow Steps

Most of the best baked goods are made with butter. And some of the best edibles have to be made with butter. If you’re someone who loves to bake while baked, you probably already know these facts though. And you probably already make your own CBD butter to be used in homemade CBD edibles. But just in case you don’t, we have a great recipe to share with you for the best butter ever -- or at least butter with the best side effects.

woman cooking cbd in the kitchen

Ingredients for CBD Butter

Making CBD butter is simple, although it does take a very specific list of ingredients. Here is what you will need:

1 cup of Dry Herb, Ground-up
1 cup of Butter
1 cup of Water

One cup of ground-up dry herb is approximately ten grams if you prefer to work with weights instead. However, the amount of herb you add to your butter will depend on the dose of CBD you are hoping to achieve. The ratio provided above is a good place to start though if you’re making CBD butter for the first time. You can also use “shake” instead of dry herb. But since this part of the plant contains less CBD than the rest of the hemp plant it will require more plant matter to achieve the same dose. If you grow your own hemp though, then making CBD butter is a great way to use all parts of the plants after you’re done trimming.

You will also need these supplies to make your CBD-infused butter:

Oven and Stovetop
Baking Tray
Parchment Paper
Stockpot or Large Saucepan
Herb Grinder
Candy Thermometer
Funnel
Mason Jar
Cheesecloth

If you don’t have an oven and a stovetop available though, no need to worry, you can still make CBD butter! You’ll just need a crockpot or slow cooker instead. Using a slow cooker to make CBD butter can be a convenient alternative even if you have a stovetop. It allows you to set it and forget it without leaving a stovetop unattended. It also takes about the same amount of time as using a stovetop, so really, it is up to what is stocked in your kitchen.

Steps for Making CBD Butter:

Before you touch the butter, you have to prepare your dry herb. In basic recipes for CBD-infused butter, this first step is often skipped, which results in very ‘green’ tasting butter. If you prefer a CBD butter that will interfere less with the flavor of your baked goods, then you should take the extra step to “decarb” your dry herb first. Decarboxylating, or decarbing, your dry herb helps activate certain cannabinoid compounds in the plant. In the end, it makes the CBD butter more potent.

1. Decarb the Dry Herb

If you care about putting the extra effort into your CBD butter, then preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, line a baking tray with parchment paper and place your dry herb onto the tray. You will want to bake your dry herb for 30 to 40 minutes. Also, be sure to mix the dry herb around on the tray every ten minutes or so.

Older or drier herb will take a little less time to decarb than freshly cured herb. If you happen to be impatient or in a hurry, you can boost the oven temperature up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake your herb for ten to eighteen minutes instead. However, decarbing is best done slowly over low heat, in order to better preserve the cannabinoids. You’ll also want to allow your herb to cool a bit before picking it up for the next step.

grinder and dry herb put together

2. Grind Up the Dry Herb

Once your dry herb has cooled enough to touch, then you will want to remove it from the baking tray. Add the dry herb to your herb grinder and grind it down to a coarse consistency. You want the resulting plant matter to be small enough to be evenly distributed in melted butter, but large enough to strain out of the mix later. Measure out one cup of ground-up dry herb and it set aside.

3. Melt the Butter

Next, you will need to bust out a stockpot or large saucepan. In the pot, add a cup of water and a cup of butter. Set the stovetop to simmer on low, to allow the butter to melt slowly without burning. The water will also help regulate the temperature of your mixture so that the butter doesn’t get scorched.

If you’re using a slow cooker instead, then set it to low heat or 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Add your butter and a touch of water to help prevent it from burning. Then follow the same steps listed below.

dry herb grinder plus dry herb

4. Add the Dry Herb

Once your butter is melted, it is time to add the cup of ground-up dry herb you set aside. Be sure to give your mixture a stir to evenly distribute the herb throughout the melted butter.

5. Simmer It All Together

Now you will have to watch a pot boil for a few hours, literally. Set the stovetop to maintain a low heat and simmer your butter, water, and dry herb mixture for two to three hours. It’s handy to have a candy thermometer available so that you can carefully monitor the temperature too. You will want to keep the mixture between 160- and 200-degrees Fahrenheit, and never allow it to boil completely. Also, be sure to stir it occasionally. This step of the process can become quite fragrant as well, and your entire kitchen, and house, will probably end up smelling dank.

strainer getting the thc out grey background

6. Strain It All Out

Once your butter has become sufficiently infused with CBD, it’s time to strain out the excess plant material. Allow your butter mixture to cool slightly before handling it though. In the meantime, place the funnel on top of the mason jar, and line the inside of it with the cheesecloth. Once the butter mix has cooled enough to handle, pour it over the cheesecloth and into the funnel. Allow the strained butter to fall into the jar and resist the urge to press down on the cheesecloth. If you press too hard then plant matter might be squeezed into the butter and make the end product less tasty.

7. Cool the Butter

Now you will need to allow the butter time to cool completely. Add a lid on your mason jar full of fresh CBD butter, and place it in the refrigerator to cool off. The butter will separate from the water you added earlier, by floating to the top of the jar. The cooling process will take about an hour, in order to allow enough time for the butter to solidify and separate from the water. Once your butter is solidified, you’ll notice a layer of water underneath it. To drain your butter, simply scoop the butter layer out of the top of the jar and pour out the remaining water from the bottom.

cooling the thc butter

8. Enjoy!

Once your butter has cooled and drained it is all ready to go! You can use your CBD-infused butter to make your favorite baked treats or simply spread it across some toast.

Homemade CBD butter is a great alternative to buying CBD edibles. Also, if you have any dietary restrictions, making your own CBD butter can be perfect for mixing into your custom recipes. Just remember that the dosing will not be exact, and you should always start by eating a small amount of your homemade CBD butter at first to gauge the potency. Once you find the dosing sweet spot though, you can make custom edibles designed to be the perfect dose for you.