Infusing your own coconut oil with cannabis and using it to make DIY edibles is probably a lot easier than you may have thought!
There’s a wealth of information out there, and many an argument has been had over the best way to do it. The method we’re sharing is one of our favorites; we think the difficulty-to-quality ratio is just right! All you need is ten minutes to prepare the ingredients, and about two hours of time to hang out at home while your oven does all of the magic for you.
**This recipe is for a small quantity – but you can easily double, triple, or even quadruple it if you so desire!
Ingredients you’ll need:
- 7g (aka ¼ oz) of cannabis flower (You can also use trim! If you go this route, we suggest using a full ounce)
- 100g (aka ½ cup) of coconut oil
Supplies you’ll need:
- A scale (or, just a quarter-ounce bag of weed!)
- Scissors or an herb/cannabis grinder
- An oven-safe baking dish (We recommend using a glass dish; a 9×9 size will work perfectly for the amount in this recipe. You can step up to a 9×13 size if you’re doubling or tripling the recipe!)
- Aluminum foil
- A medium stovetop pan
- A spoon (Wooden spoons are preferred – but you can use whatever you have on hand!)
- Cheesecloth
- A storage container for the final product (Standard 16oz mason jars work great for this, but it’s not necessary – as long as your container is at least 6oz and resealable, you’ll be just fine!)
What to do:
- Using your scale, weigh out 7 grams of weed. If you purchased a quarter-ounce of cannabis to use for this, then reweighing isn’t necessary. Skip to the next step!
- Preheat your oven to 215°F
- Break up the weed using a cannabis grinder or a pair of scissors
- Cover the bottom of your baking dish with the ground cannabis, and seal tightly with aluminum foil
- Bake it in the 215°F oven for 30 minutes to activate the cannabis. This process is called decarboxylation, and it helps to create a more potent oil infusion!
- Remove from the oven, leaving the aluminum foil tight over the top. Keeping it sealed helps prevent cannabinoid-rich vapor or steam from escaping the container, and allows it to settle back into the herb – again, helping with potency!
- Melt your coconut oil in a medium-size pan over low heat while the baking dish filled with herb cools
- After the herb dish has been left to cool for about 15 minutes, uncover and pour the melted coconut oil over the cannabis. Use a spoon to mix until combined; the goal is to coat all of the dry herb with oil!
- Cover tightly with the aluminum foil once more, and return it to the 215°F oven for an hour and a half. If possible, it’s best to stir/agitate the mixture once or twice while it’s baking. Doing so helps the cannabinoids distribute more evenly.
- Remove the dish from the oven, and let cool with the aluminum foil cover on for 15-20 minutes – until you can comfortably handle the dish.
- Place a double-layer of cheesecloth over the opening of whatever storage vessel you’re using for your infused oil
- Carefully pour your infusion over the cheesecloth, straining out all chunks of plant matter in the process
- Gather up the sides of the cheesecloth into a bundle, and squeeze out as much remaining oil as possible
- You’re all done!
You’ve just created a batch of activated cannabis-infused coconut oil, and now you’re all set to make your own edibles! Celebrate by making a delectably potent batch of cookies, spice up your favorite stir-fry with a drizzle before serving, or create a delicious homemade vinaigrette – you can use this anywhere you would use “regular” coconut oil, making it perfect for any sweet or savory recipe. You could also let that mixture cool down, and then enjoy your brand-new homemade topical. The possibilities with this infusion are endless!
A friendly reminder:
Always be cautious when consuming cannabis-infused edibles! Onset time can vary vastly from one person to the next, taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours for folks to feel effects. It is always better to start conservatively, testing to see how strong your batch turned out, than to accidentally overdo it and get a bit too high. If we were to estimate, we’d say this about a ½ teaspoon portion of this oil would equate to approximately a 10mg serving size. The Washington State LCB considers 10mg to be a “standard dose” of cannabis when consumed in edible form.