Hemp butter at home: how to make it step by step

Hemp butter is the simplest way to transfer the contents of the herb into food. Fat acts as a carrier, not an additive: cannabinoids are almost insoluble in water, so without fat, little from the herb will reach the food. The entire process consists of two stages, which are easily confused in order. First, the herb goes into the oven, then into the melted butter in a water bath. Both stages have their temperatures, and both can be ruined by overheating. You do not need specialized equipment, with one exception: a kitchen thermometer is truly indispensable here. Below you will find a step-by-step recipe, measured data on how much cannabinoids decrease at different temperatures, and an answer to the question of when homemade processing of the herb is legal and when it is a crime.

KEY INFORMATION
• Decarboxylation at 110°C costs 18.05% of the total molar concentration when converting CBDA to CBD, and at 130°C already 25.2% (Wang et al., Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 2016).
• Conduct the infusion in a water bath at 80-85°C, never directly on the burner.
• Fat increases the absorption of cannabinoids, but this was measured in rats, not in humans.
• Legal raw material is herb in which the sum of THC and THCA does not exceed 0.3%.

Why make hemp butter at home?

Butter is a carrier, not an additive. Cannabinoids are lipophilic, so without fat, they remain in the herb instead of in the food. Administering them together with lipids increased systemic exposure to CBD threefold in rats, and to THC two and a half times, compared to a fat-free preparation (Zgair i wsp., American Journal of Translational Research 2016).

The same study shows where fat leads cannabinoids. After lipolysis, over 30% of the administered CBD and THC was found in the micellar fraction, meaning in a form available for absorption, and both compounds had a high affinity for rat and human chylomicrons. The authors write that a similar effect can be expected in humans, but the measurement itself was performed on animals.

This distinction is important because a review of the pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol in humans states directly that absolute bioavailability was measured only for the inhalation route, where it was 31%. For oral administration, none of the 24 analyzed studies provided this. However, the same review notes that the maximum concentration increases after a meal and in lipid-based preparations, and the time to reach it is between zero and four hours (Millar i wsp., Frontiers in Pharmacology 2018).

Homemade infusion also provides control over the composition. You know what herb went into the pot and how much of it there was, which is usually not known about a finished product from the shelf. A broader culinary context is described przewodnik po konopiach w kuchni.

Is homemade hemp butter legal?

It depends solely on the raw material. Butter made from industrial hemp is legal because such raw material is not a narcotic. Industrial hemp refers to plants in which the total delta-9-THC and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in the flower tops does not exceed 0.3% when calculated on a dry mass basis, rounded to one decimal place.

The basis is Article 4 point 5 of the Act of July 29, 2005 on counteracting drug addiction (Journal of Laws 2023, item 1939), as amended by the Act of March 24, 2022 (Journal of Laws 2022, item 763), in force since May 7, 2022. Until May 6, 2022, the threshold was 0.20%.

The EU threshold has the same value but is a separate regulation. Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 allows, from January 1, 2023, cannabis varieties with THC content up to 0.3% within the framework of agricultural subsidies, while the previous regulation 1307/2013 referred to 0.2% and has been repealed. The Polish threshold corresponds to the EU one, but it does not derive from it.

The boundary lies with the raw material, not with the regulation. If material above the threshold enters the pot, including medicinal raw material issued by prescription, making butter from it at home is processing, meaning giving the narcotic a new form in the sense of Article 4 point 20 of the Act, punishable under Article 53. A prescription does not change this. Article 33a refers to raw materials for prescription medications prepared in pharmacies, and the law does not contain a provision exempting the patient from responsibility for self-processing.

A separate issue is the THC limits in food. Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915, applicable since May 25, 2023, sets them for products made from hemp seeds: 3.0 mg/kg for seeds and seed products and 7.5 mg/kg for seed oil. Flower raw material is not covered by this position, so these values do not apply to homemade butter.

What raw material should you choose for hemp butter?

Choose raw material with a laboratory test that provides the total THC and THCA, not just delta-9-THC. This distinction changes the measurement result: THCA converts to THC only under heat, so raw material compliant with the threshold, when both forms are summed, provides certainty that the measurement of delta-9-THC alone does not.

Do not count how many milligrams of cannabinoids will come from a cube of butter. The only measured data on losses comes from the laboratory. Wang and colleagues decarboxylated hemp extracts in a vacuum oven, without oxygen and light, and the loss of total molar concentration ranged from 7.94% to over 52% depending on the cannabinoid and temperature. A home oven does not replicate these conditions, and filtration through cheesecloth adds its own, unmeasured loss.

The strain mainly affects the aroma. Terpenes are volatile, so some of the aroma will disappear already during decarboxylation, and the rest during the two-hour infusion. Aromatic raw material will yield butter with a more pronounced scent, but not with a higher content of active substances.

Vaporized material is also suitable and does not require baking anymore, as it has already undergone decarboxylation in the vaporizer. This is described in a separate text about the second life of ABV raw material.

What do you need to make hemp butter?

Three ingredients and seven items, one of which is essential: a kitchen thermometer. Without measuring the temperature, you cannot maintain the infusion within the range where fat extracts cannabinoids, and heat does not break them down yet. The rest of the equipment is standard kitchen gear that you do not need to purchase.

List of ingredients for one cube of butter:

• 250 g of butter with at least 82% fat content, with clarified butter working just as well
• 7-10 g suszu konopnego zgodnego z progiem 0,3% sumy THC i THCA
• szczypta soli, opcjonalnie

Equipment you will use in order:

• coarse herb grinder
• blaszka i papier do pieczenia
• piekarnik z termostatem
• large pot for water and a smaller pot or heatproof bowl for butter
• termometr kuchenny
• strainer lined with cheesecloth or linen cloth
• jar or container with a lid

Butter with lower fat content contains more water, and water in a water bath evaporates and shifts the proportions in the pot. Clarified butter does not have this problem because proteins and water have been removed from it beforehand. Cheesecloth beats a dense strainer because it allows you to squeeze the fat from the raw material, not just drain it. The ratio of raw material to butter is a recipe ratio, not a recommendation for how much active substance to take.

How to make hemp butter step by step

The process has two stages and seven steps. The first stage is decarboxylation in the oven, the second is infusion in a water bath. Active work takes about half an hour, the rest is waiting. The most common mistake is heating the butter directly on the burner, as the temperature then exceeds 100°C without any warning. The chemistry of the first stage is described in a separate text about dekarboksylacji konopi krok po kroku.

Safety: Do not leave the heated butter unattended. A water bath will not exceed 100°C by itself, and that is its main advantage. When squeezing the raw material, wait until the butter cools enough not to burn.

1. Measure 7-10 g of the herb and grind it coarsely. Powder makes filtering difficult and clouds the finished butter.
2. Spread the herb on a baking sheet lined with paper and place it in an oven preheated to 110°C for 45-60 minutes, without convection. At this stage, the acidic forms of cannabinoids lose their carboxyl group and convert to neutral forms.
3. Fill a large pot with water to one-third of its height and place a smaller pot or heat-resistant bowl on top, ensuring the bottom does not touch the water.
4. Melt 250 g of butter in the upper vessel, add the cooled herb, and mix.
5. Maintain 80-85°C for two to three hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes and checking the temperature with a thermometer. Cover the vessel to reduce evaporation.
6. Pour the warm butter through a sieve lined with cheesecloth, and when it cools, squeeze out the herb. A noticeable amount of fat remains in the unpressed material.
7. Pour the butter into a jar, leave it to cool at room temperature, then place it in the refrigerator. It will solidify within a few hours.

We noticed in tests that butter held for three hours at 80°C smells more pronounced than the same butter after two hours at 85°C. A lower temperature for a longer time preserves terpenes, which are responsible for the aroma. This difference translates less to the cannabinoid content because no home method measures it.

How much hemp butter to add to a dish?

This question cannot be resolved with a number because the cannabinoid content in homemade butter remains unknown. You do not know the effectiveness of decarboxylation in your oven, nor how much fat remained in the squeezed raw material. Any "so many milligrams per serving" would be a guess presented as a measurement.

However, there is a number in the other direction, which is the ceiling. EFSA, in its updated position on the safety of cannabidiol as a novel food, derived a provisional safe dose of 0.0275 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, which for a person weighing 70 kg amounts to about 2 mg. This value applies only to supplements with a purity of at least 98% CBD, without nanoparticles (EFSA NDA Panel, EFSA Journal 2026).

This same position states something more important than the number: the safety of cannabidiol cannot be established in individuals under 25 years of age, in pregnant and breastfeeding women, and in individuals taking medications simultaneously. Homemade butter is not a supplement with 98% purity, so the EFSA ceiling does not directly apply to it, and the mentioned groups should leave it alone.

The temperature of the dish remains. Cannabinoids break down faster than intuition suggests. In a study on cannabis analytics, a brief pass through a hot chromatograph dispenser broke down 20% of CBD and 17.2% of delta-9-THC, creating cannabinol (García-Valverde i wsp., Frontiers in Chemistry 2022). Therefore, hemp butter works best where it is not heated strongly: on bread, in sauces removed from heat, in dough that does not reach oven temperature.

How to store hemp butter?

In the refrigerator, in a sealed and opaque container, for two to three weeks. In the freezer, longer. The principle is the same as for regular butter, with one difference: in addition to preventing fat from going rancid, you also need to keep an eye on cannabinoids, which break down from heat and light. Cold and darkness protect both of these things at once.

The scale of the temperature effect was measured on hemp resin and its solutions. The rate constant for CBD degradation in a solution with pH 2 increased from 0.0266 per day at 40°C to 1.6222 per day at 70°C, which is about sixty times, and the best stability of CBD was recorded at pH from 4 to 6 (Jaidee i wsp., Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 2022). Butter is not an acidic solution, so do not directly transfer these numbers to a jar in the refrigerator. Transfer only the direction, as it is unambiguous.

Freezing in portions makes life easier. Divided into fifty-gram pieces, you can defrost the butter in the amount you need, instead of repeatedly heating and cooling the whole block. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, not in the microwave, as uneven heating creates localized spots that are significantly warmer than the average.

You can recognize spoiled butter by its smell. A sour, rancid note indicates fat oxidation, and a greenish coating is mold that cannot be scraped off, as the mycelium reaches deeper than the visible layer. How to store the dry herb before infusion is described poradnik o przechowywaniu suszu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is hemp butter made from CBD herb legal in Poland?

Yes, if the raw material is hemp flower, meaning that the sum of delta-9-THC and THCA does not exceed 0.3% of dry weight. The basis is Article 4 point 5 of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction as amended on May 7, 2022. Processing material above this threshold, including pharmacy-grade herb, is punishable.

At what temperature should the infusion of hemp butter be conducted?

At 80-85°C, in a water bath. The heat breaks down cannabinoids faster the more of it there is: the rate of CBD degradation in solution increased about sixty-fold between 40°C and 70°C (Jaidee et al., 2022). The water bath will not exceed 100°C, thus protecting against accidental overheating.

How much herb is needed for 250 g of butter?

The typical recipe ratio is 7-10 g of herb per block of butter. This is the amount of raw material, not a recommendation regarding active substances: the cannabinoid content in the finished butter cannot be measured at home, as you do not know either the efficiency of decarboxylation or the losses during filtration.

How long does hemp butter stay fresh?

In the refrigerator, in a sealed and opaque container, for two to three weeks. In the freezer, significantly longer, especially if divided into portions. A rancid smell indicates fat oxidation, and a greenish coating is mold, after which the entire portion must be discarded.

Can decarboxylation be skipped?

No, because without it, cannabinoids remain in their acidic forms. Heating extracts at 110°C converts CBDA to CBD at the cost of 18.05% of the total molar concentration, and at 130°C at the cost of 25.2% (Wang et al., 2016). A higher temperature shortens the time but increases the loss.

Susz konopny z badaniem laboratoryjnym znajdziesz w the dried flower category in the u Bucha store.

The article is informational and educational in nature and does not replace consultation with a doctor. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medications, or have chronic conditions, consult the use of supplements or herbs with a specialist.

Author: Michał Waluk · Opublikowano: 2026-05-04 · Aktualizacja: 2026-08-15