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Cannabutter Recipe on the Stovetop: The Slow, Low, No-Drama Method

Last checked: October 30, 2026

Every kitchen experiment with cannabis starts in the same place: a pot of butter, a pile of flower and a lot of questions. This cannabutter recipe is the stovetop version, written plainly for adults 19+ who want to understand each step before they turn on the burner. It's a how-to, not a sales pitch. No dosing advice, no claims about what it does, and no product recommendations.

Read the whole thing before you start. The quiet part of this process is the most important part.

What cannabutter is

Cannabutter is butter that has been gently heated with cannabis flower so that some of the plant's compounds move into the fat. Butter is a good carrier because those compounds dissolve in fat, not water. After straining, you're left with butter you can bake or cook with.

That's the whole idea. The craft is in the heat control.

Before you start: two things to know

Raw flower is heated first. The CFIA's biology document on Cannabis sativa notes that in fresh plant tissue the cannabinoids sit mostly in their acid forms, with THC present as THCA, and that conversion to the neutral forms (decarboxylation) is catalyzed by heat, light or alkaline conditions. That's why many stovetop methods heat the flower on its own in the oven before it ever meets butter.

Homemade batches are not measured. A licensed edible has a tested amount on the label. Your kitchen butter has no label at all. Treat it that way: label the container clearly and store it where no one grabs it by mistake.

What you need

Step 1: Break the flower up

Break the flower into small pieces by hand or with a grinder on a coarse setting. You're aiming for rough crumbs, not dust. Powder slips through cheesecloth and turns the butter green and grassy.

Step 2: Decarb in the oven

Spread the broken flower in a thin layer on parchment and heat it in a low oven. Low is the key word: you want it toasted lightly and evenly, not browned. Stir once partway through. When it's dry, fragrant and a shade darker, it's done. Let it cool.

Every oven runs differently, which is why careful home cooks use an oven thermometer instead of trusting the dial.

Step 3: Melt butter with water

Put the butter in the saucepan with a splash of water. The water is a buffer: it keeps the butter from scorching while it sits on the heat. Melt it over the lowest heat your burner can hold.

Step 4: Add the flower and keep it low

Stir in the cooled flower. Keep the mix at a gentle steam, never a boil. Bubbles mean it's too hot; back the heat off. Stir every so often and let it go slow. This long, low simmer is what most stovetop cannabutter recipe guides agree on, even when their timings differ.

Stay in the kitchen. Don't leave a pot of fat on a lit burner unattended.

Step 5: Strain

Set the cheesecloth over the bowl and pour the mix through. Let it drip on its own. Squeezing the cloth hard pushes plant bits and bitter flavour into the butter.

Step 6: Chill and separate

Cover the bowl and refrigerate it. The butter firms up on top and the water sits underneath. Lift the butter off, pour away the water and pat the butter dry.

Storing cannabutter safely

Mistakes to avoid

Quick answers

Can I use oil instead of butter? Yes, many people use coconut or another cooking oil; the same low-heat method applies.

Why is my butter green? Fine plant material got through the strainer. Use finer cloth next time and don't squeeze.

Is there one perfect cannabutter recipe? No. Treat this as a careful starting method and keep notes.

Learn the flower first

Want to understand flower formats before you cook? Our weed flower guide covers the basics, and our capsules and softgels label guide explains how measured, labelled products differ from anything homemade. Indigenous Midtown Cannabis is at 93 Broadway Ave, Toronto. Adults 19+ only. Bring government-issued photo ID.

Indigenous Midtown Cannabis Dispensary Weed Delivery · 93 Broadway Ave, Toronto, ON M4S 2A2 · (437) 219-7367 · Visit & contact