How to Make Perfect Cannabutter (The Red Roots Way)

Edibles are one of the most enjoyable ways to experience cannabis, whether you’re looking for deep relaxation, long-lasting relief, or a fun weekend treat. But every great home-made edible starts with one thing: potent, flavourful, high-quality cannabutter.

At Red Roots Trading Company, we believe that if you’re taking the time to infuse, you should do it right: easy, effective, and delicious. This recipe is crafted to give you strong, clean-tasting cannabutter with less of that overpowering “green” flavour many of us have grown to dislike.

Need some decent flower to use? We've got you covered with either our Milled Indica House Blend Ounce, or our even heavier-hitting Premium Milled Indica House Blend Ounce. Both are pre-ground for ease of use with no other flower prep needed (other than decarbing) to get you going on this recipe!

Let’s dive into the step-by-step process, with all the pro tips you’ll need to elevate your homemade edibles game.

Why This Cannabutter Recipe Works Best

When making edibles, you want three things:

Easy method – No fancy equipment required. Just cannabis, butter, water, and a stove.

Maximum potency – Captures cannabinoids (like THC and CBD) efficiently, so none of your plant goes to waste.

Better flavour – By straining out extra plant material and cooking with water, this butter is smooth and mild instead of grassy or bitter.

That’s why this recipe is our go-to. It works for both recreational bakers looking for a fun edible buzz and medical cannabis patients who need consistent, reliable results.

Butter or Coconut Oil?

This is the eternal edible debate.

Coconut Oil: Healthier, longer shelf life, and pairs great with baked goods. Coconut also masks the cannabis flavour well. Perfect for capsules or health-conscious recipes.

Butter: Rich, creamy, and easy to swap into any recipe (cookies, brownies, sauces, even garlic bread). Tends to have less folks with allergies to it than coconut.

For this tutorial, we’re sticking with butter because it’s versatile, classic and we've been using this tried-and-true recipe for close to 20 years in our own kitchen.

Ingredients (for 1 pound of Cannabutter)

This batch of our perfect cannabutter makes about:

15 Strong portions OR 30 Medium portions OR 50 Light portions

You’ll Need:

- 1 oz dried/cured cannabis flower (or 3 oz dried trim/shake)

- 1 pound (LB) unsalted butter (1 Canadian block/4 American sticks)

- 4 cups water

- Medium Cooking Pot

- Stove-Safe Cooking Spoon

- Kitchen Spatula

- Large Heat-Safe Kitchen Bowl
 

- Cheesecloth (for straining)

- Oven baking sheet

- Aluminum foil
 

Optional but helpful:

- Turkey bag or Large glass mason jar (for low-odour decarboxylation)
 

⚡ Note: Your cannabutter needs to chill overnight in the fridge before it’s ready, so plan a day ahead!

Step 1: Decarboxylation (Don’t Skip This!)

Without heat, cannabis isn't psychoactive. Decarboxylation (aka “decarbing”) is where you use your oven's heat to activate the THC and CBD in cannabis so your butter is potent. Without it, your butter won’t do much besides taste earthy, and nobody asked for edibles that totally miss the mark.

How to Decarb:

1. Preheat your oven to 250°F (120°C).

2. Lightly grind your cannabis (not too fine, just break down any big nugs).

3. Spread evenly on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet, OR, you can put your cannabis in a turkey bag or glass mason jar to prevent the fairly potent cannabis smell you'll get from the decarbing process.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. (Be aware: Your house will smell like a straight up grow room, unless you use a turkey bag or glass jar. Go ahead, channel your inner Snoop Dogg for the novelty at least one time.

Once done, crumble gently with your fingers, no big chunks, but no powder either. Your cannabis should look toasted, brown and crumbly. That’s how you know it’s ready to infuse!

Step 2: Infuse with Butter & Water

This is where the magic happens.

1. In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low, add your butter, and stir until your butter has melted.

3. Stir in your decarbed cannabis. (It will float, that’s totally normal. Just make sure there’s enough water for 1–2 inches of clearance to the top of your pot.)

4. Simmer gently for 90 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.

Pro Tip: The water acts as a buffer so your butter doesn’t scorch, while also pulling out chlorophyll and other bitter-tasting compounds from your cannabis flower! Best part, THC and CBD are hydrophobic, meaning they aren't water soluble, so they'll stick to the fats in your butter and won't leech into the water with all the other nasty stuff you don't want!

Step 3: Strain & Separate

Once your mixture has simmered, it’s time to separate out the good stuff.

1. Line a large bowl with 2 layers of cheesecloth.

2. CAREFULLY pour your hot butter-water-cannabis mixture through the cheesecloth. Be careful not to splash, trust us, we have the battle scars to prove patience is key! Use a spatula to press down on the saturated cannabis for maximum yield. Don't wring out the cheesecloth so you don’t burn yourself, use the spatula and press down!

3. Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge overnight.

4. By morning, your butter will have solidified on top of the water, leaving a clean layer you can easily separate.

5. Run a knife around the edges of your butter disc and lift out your perfect butter. Discard the murky chlorophyll packed water underneath.

Store your cannabutter in an airtight container (in the fridge for a week max, or in the freezer for months).

Using Your Cannabutter

Swap it 1:1 for regular butter in honestly any recipe your heart desires. Use your imagination!

Try it in baked goods, pasta sauces, garlic bread, or even on your morning toast with some jam. Some of our customers even put a small dollop of cannabutter in their morning coffee for a creamy pick-me-up!

Start small! Edibles hit differently, and can take upwards of 1–3 hours to fully kick in. You DON'T want to be that person orbiting the International Space Station asking yourself how the hell you got there…

Pro Tips & FAQs

❓ Why use water when making cannabutter?

Water pulls out chlorophyll and plant gunk that make your butter otherwise taste harsh, bitter, and that all-too-familiar “green” taste we all have experienced with edibles in the past. The potency of your butter stays the same, but the flavour is cleaner, smoother, and more refined.

❓ How much cannabis should I use?

A good baseline is 1 ounce of ground flower (or 3 ounces of trim) per 1 pound of butter. If you want stronger butter, increase the cannabis, but don’t overcrowd your pot.

❓ Do I really have to decarb?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Decarbing converts THCa into THC and CBDa into CBD. Without it, your edibles will be hilariously weak, and that's being extremely generous.

❓ How long will my Cannabutter last?

Fridge: ~1 week, unless you’re using it fast. Mold risk is truly a real deal due to the teeny bit of residual moisture left behind by the water we used to make the butter.

Freezer: 3–6 months, sometimes longer if stored in an airtight container.

Food for thought! THC slowly degrades into CBN, at a rate of 16% overall THC lost/converted for every year of storage!

Final Thoughts

Making cannabutter at home doesn’t have to be intimidating. With just a few ingredients (like our Milled Indica House Blend Ounce, perfect for culinary endeavours) and some patience, you can create potent, tasty cannabutter that forms the foundation for endless edible adventures.

Whether you’re baking brownies, making cannabis beverages, or whipping up infused savoury dishes, this tried-and-true recipe gives you consistent results every time.

At Red Roots Trading Company, we’re here to help you get the most out of your cannabis experience, whether that means great recipes, high-quality lab-tested products, or just smart tips to make your sessions better.

So go ahead, grab your apron, and start infusing. Your future self (and your taste buds) will thank you!