How to Make Edibles for Beginners

Baking with cannabis is one of the most satisfying (and delicious) ways to consume weed. Not only is making marijuana edibles fun, but the high that edibles produce is unique to other consumption methods – and more potent.

But chances are, the selection of edibles at your local dispensary lacks variety, desired potency, or overall appeal. Luckily, making marijuana edibles at home is easier than you think. Discovering how to make a weed edible gives you full creative control over the type of tasty treat you bake, the strain you choose, and the effects you feel.

Do you want to learn how to make a weed edible? Elevate Holistics is here with a handy weed baking guide. We’ll go over how to make edibles for beginners with cannabutter, how to make edibles for beginners without cannabutter, and some general weed baking FAQs. Set your oven to 350 degrees and let’s get baked.

How Do Edibles Work?

Edibles, or cannabis-infused foods and drinks, are a super popular option among cannabis enthusiasts. Edibles are great for patients who don’t want to inhale weed smoke, need to be discreet and odorless, or just desire a different, more potent high.

Unlike cannabis inhalation or sublingual edibles that are absorbed directly into the bloodstream, traditional edibles must be digested, absorbed through your intestines, and metabolized by your liver before taking effect.

Why is the high from high so different from other cannabis highs? Once the THC in the edible reaches your liver, it turns into 11-Hydroxy-THC before entering your bloodstream. 11-Hydroxy-THC is stronger and more psychoactive than traditional THC.

How to Make a Weed Edible Using Cannabutter

When learning how to make edibles for beginners, one of the most standard ways is to use cannabis-infused butter – also known as cannabutter.

Since THC (the psychoactive compound in cannabis) is highly fat-soluble, butter is the perfect medium for THC to bind to.

You can use cannabutter in a variety of recipes: brownies, banana bread, savory chicken, pasta, or even just spread on toast. The possibilities are endless. If it can be cooked or baked, you can use cannabutter in it.

To turn cannabis into cannabutter, it must first be decarboxylated. Decarbing weed means heating it at a low temperature to turn THCA into activated THC. This is what gets you high when you smoke or vape weed. Then, you simply mix it with the butter on low heat and strain. It’s a bit of a process, but totally worth having a cannabutter supply.

Use the first batch of edibles you make as a way to test the potency of your cannabutter. The potency of the cannabutter could depend on the THC level of the weed you used or the temperatures during infusion.

We recommend using ¼ of a teaspoon and seeing how it makes you feel. Remember, the effects of edibles could take approximately 30 to 90 minutes to kick in. Keep in mind that you can use regular butter alongside cannabutter to meet the butter requirements in a recipe.

How To Make Cannabutter

So how do you decarboxylate weed and make cannabutter?

Decarb:

Grind or break up about an eighth of weed (keep the pieces large enough to be strained out)
Spread your weed on a parchment paper lined sheet pan or glass dish
Set your oven to 220 degrees and let the weed bake for 30 minutes (mix it around a couple of times throughout baking)

Infuse with butter:

After it cools, add the decarboxylated cannabis to one cup of melted butter
Simmer on low heat for at least an hour, stirring every half hour (high temperatures will burn out important compounds)
Strain the cannabutter through a mesh strainer or cheesecloth, getting rid of the flower bits
Add to a sealed container and refrigerate until the cannabutter has solidified

Now, your cannabutter is ready to be added to any recipe. You can use this same process to make edible cannabis oil by substituting butter with your choice of cooking oil, such as vegetable, olive, or avocado.

But, what if you want to cook weed without butter?

How to Make Edibles for Beginners Without Cannabutter

Are you interested in easier options where you can cook weed without butter? Learning how to make edibles for beginners without cannabutter is centered around infusing your edibles with extracts and oils.

So how do you cook weed without butter? Here, we’ll go over simple alternatives like using a cannabis oil tincture or cannabis distillate to make edibles.

How to Make Edibles From Weed Tinctures

Tinctures mix high-grade alcohol with decarboxylated cannabis, making them an easy go-to option for making edibles.

Using a tincture when making edibles is also easier to dose than cannabutter or canna-oil. You can add a cannabis tincture to almost any food or drink – juice, smoothies, pasta sauce, salad dressing, candy mixture.

Most importantly, you cannot cook or bake your food after adding a cannabis tincture. Since the cannabis is already decarboxylated, the heat will destroy the cannabinoids and other therapeutic compounds. Instead, add your tincture to a food or drink that has already been heated or doesn’t require heating.

When consuming a weed tincture sublingually (under the tongue and absorbed through the mouth tissues), the product enters the bloodstream quickly.

When adding a tincture to a food or drink, it must go through the digestive system and liver like a traditional edible. Thus, creating edibles with weed tinctures causes the product to take longer to produce effects.

Making Edibles With a Cannabis Distillate

Cannabis distillate is a pure cannabis extract that isolates a specific cannabinoid, like THC or CBD, into a highly concentrated substance. Cannabis distillate removes compounds like terpenes, leaving it tasteless and odorless.

According to the entourage effect, terpenes and other cannabis compounds work synergistically to produce the maximum therapeutic benefits.

But if you want to avoid a weed-like taste in your edibles and are primarily interested in the high, making edibles with a cannabis distillate is an ideal option.

So, how do you make weed edibles with a distillate?

A couple of options are to:

Melt your cannabis distillate straight into a very hot drink or soup
Melt it into cooking oil to be added to any recipe
- Loosen up the cannabis distillate from its container by putting it in a bowl of warm water
- Add the desired amount of distillate to any cooking oil
- Place the mixture into a microwave-safe dish for up to two minutes and mix well

Baking With Cannabis FAQs

When it comes to weed baking, a few questions frequently come up. Cannabis consumers want to know if making edibles will stink up their house, how to dose edibles, why edibles aren’t working for them, and more. Let’s get into it.

Does Making Edibles Smell?

Unless you’re using the latest herb infusing machine, weed baking that includes decarbing weed or cooking with cannabutter/oil will almost always produce a weed-like odor. However, if you cook weed without butter or oil, you can make edibles odor-free using a tincture or distillate.

Where Can I Find Cannabutter Near Me?

Do you want to use cannabutter in your next recipe without making it yourself? First, get your medical marijuana card. Then, search the online menus of your local dispensaries for cannabutter or canna-oil. Some dispensaries sell these types of products while others do not.

How Do You Dose Edibles?

When baking with cannabis, the potency of the edibles you make can vary depending on the weed you used, the temperatures throughout infusion, and other factors. It’s always best to start low and go slow. The effects of edibles take at least 30 minutes to set in, and they last longer than your average high.

If you’re aware of the amount of cannabis (milligrams) in your edibles, here’s our edibles dosing guide.

Why Don’t Edibles Work For Me?

Why don’t edibles work for me? Some reasons include body size and tolerance, rapid drug metabolization, and digestive issues. Explore other marijuana products to further your cannabis journey.

Get Baked With Elevate Holistics

We’ve learned how to make a weed edible with cannabutter and how to make edibles for beginners without cannabutter – so do you think you’re ready to try baking with cannabis?

Visit your local dispensary to stock up on your favorite strain of flower, tincture, or distillate, and start experimenting.

Are you in need of a medical marijuana card to visit dispensaries? Elevate Holistics makes it easy. Our secure, straightforward, and fully online process connects you with a certified MMJ physician for an online doctor’s appointment.

We’re here to help you feel better naturally.