How to Make Edibles: Simple Steps to Cannabis-Infused Treats

Combining the benefits of cannabis with delicious food has been growing in popularity, and when you try it yourself, you’ll understand why. Unfortunately, it’s a little more complicated than throwing some bud in a bowl with flour and sugar. Like fine cooking in general, baking with cannabis is a process that you can refine with practice, smart techniques, and tasty base ingredients.

In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of cooking with cannabis and lay out some delicious recipes to start with. You’ll be a pro cannabis chef in no time.

1. Picking Out Your Cannabis Strain
2. Decarbing Your Cannabis Flower
3. Preparing Cannabutter and Other Base Ingredients
4. Cooking and Baking With Your Cannabis Infusion

Picking Out Your Cannabis Strain

First things first—you need some good old-fashioned ganja! The traditional way to make homemade edibles is to start with cannabis flower (i.e., dried cannabis plant); though fairly time-consuming and tedious, this method is very effective. Using flower also gives you the most options when it comes to choosing a strain. If you’d rather skip the mess of this method, however, you can also make edibles using homemade or store-bought cannabis tincture—simply add some to your recipe. 

When picking out a strain for your edibles, it’s best to use a familiar one that has worked well for you in other consumption forms (smoking, vaping, etc.). Other than that, the strain you choose should be based on the benefit you’re looking to get from your edibles, whether that’s pain relief, relaxation, increased energy, or something else. Try searching for strains based on your desired effect:

• Weight loss
• Anxiety/stress relief
• Migraine relief
• Chronic pain relief
• Energy/productivity
• Nausea relief

Indica strains are known for being more sedating, and sativas more uplifting, but these identifiers are becoming outdated (learn more about indica vs. sativa strains here). Focus more on cannabinoid ratios (THC:CBD) and terpene profiles when seeking a specific effect. For example, a strain high in CBD and linalool or myrcene will be very calming, while a strain high in THC and limonene will be more euphoric. 

Decarbing Your Cannabis Flower

The next step to making homemade cannabis edibles is decarboxylating your cannabis flower. Without decarboxylation, cannabis won’t provide medicinal or recreational benefits. What you’ll get instead is a superfood rich in vitamins and minerals.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much research that analyzes the effects of raw cannabis consumption, but the important fact here is that the raw product contains tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA). When exposed to the proper amount of heat (i.e., decarboxylated) these acids activate to become tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the infamous cannabinoids we know and love. 

Cannabis decarboxylation naturally occurs when the plant is smoked or vaporized. One of the reasons it’s worthwhile to decarb cannabis for edibles is its potency: Smoked cannabis isn’t fully activated when burned, but a carefully decarboxylated cannabis plant has all its potent potential ready for use.

There are two traditional methods of decarbing at home. One uses boiling water in a slow cooker, while the other involves baking your cannabis in the oven. You can also buy specialized (and expensive) heating devices that produce perfectly decarbed cannabis. Whatever method you choose, it’s important to note that decarboxylation is a process that takes hours and careful preparation to complete—and it must be done before you can cook anything with your cannabis.

For a deeper dive into decarboxylation and step-by-step instructions on how to do it, check out this post: Weed Decarboxylation: How to Decarb Cannabis

Preparing Cannabutter and Other Base Ingredients

Once your decarbed cannabis is ready to go, there’s still one more step before it can be used in traditional baking recipes: infusing it into a base ingredient. You can add cannabis into yogurt, honey, butter, coconut oil, flour, sugar, and more. Doing this step ahead of time will make cooking with cannabis a breeze and greatly reduce the amount of time and effort needed to incorporate cannabis into your dishes at home. 

This step is where you will determine the potency of your edibles, so it’s helpful to have a scale in your kitchen for more accurate measurements. Try out Veriheal’s edible dosage calculator to create perfectly dosed canna-treats.

When it comes to cannabis infusions, cannabutter has long been the favorite of cannabis chefs. It can be prepared in different ways, but our favorite one uses a slow cooker with a simple mixture of lecithin, decarbed flower, and butter. After cooking the mixture for hours to allow the cannabis to properly infuse with the butter, the mixture is strained, cooled, and put in the fridge to set. Just like normal butter, cannabis butter can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks before going bad. 

Check out our recipes for cannabutter and other basic infusions:

• Cannabutter recipe
• Cannabis Coconut Oil
• Cannabis-Infused Honey
• Cannabis-Infused Flour
  
  

Cooking and Baking With Your Cannabis Infusion

With your cannabis infusion ready to go, it’s time for the fun part—making your medicinal goodies! You can incorporate your infusion into your cooking and baking in so many different ways, from making a batch of brownies to garnishing normal snacks and meals. Looking to quickly elevate some food? Cannabis-infused butter, oil, and honey can be used as-is on bread rolls, baked potatoes, oatmeal, and so much more.

Check out these beginner-friendly edible recipes:

• Cannabis Brownies
• Cannabis-Infused Junk Food Cookies
• THC-Infused Pizza
• Cannabis Gingerbread Cookies
• Cannabis-Infused Caramel Popcorn
• Cannabis-Infused Chicken Soup

It’s important to note that regardless of your baking skill, the process of making cannabis edibles is not an exact science. Decarboxylation done at home, in addition to changes that occur during cooking and baking, means that the exact potency of the final product can vary. When it comes time to eat your cannabis-infused food, start with a small amount and wait about 2 hours before consuming any more. 

Final Takeaway

Making homemade edibles is a fun and effective way to consume your cannabis. Simply follow these steps:

1. Pick a cannabis strain.
2. Decarb your cannabis flower.
3. Infuse a base ingredient (e.g., butter, oil, flour) with your decarbed cannabis.
4. Use your cannabis-infused ingredient to make your favorite recipe or garnish meals and snacks.
5. Store your edibles according to these guidelines. 

Always keep in mind that edibles are potent cannabis products that should be consumed carefully. You can learn more about edibles as a consumption method in these posts:

• The Pros and Cons of Edible Marijuana vs. Smoking
• 11-Hydroxy-THC: The Reason Why Edibles Can Be So Powerful
• From Smoking to Dabbing to Edibles, How Long Does a Cannabis High Last?
• How to Recover From Cannabis Edibles Fast

Frequently Asked Questions About Making Edibles

What is the easiest way to infuse edibles?

Making a batch of infused cannabutter or cannabis oil is the easiest way to infuse your edibles at home! Make cannabutter in your slowcooker for an easy, hands-off way to infuse. 

Can I make my own edibles at home?

Yes, you can make your own edibles at home! Use the instructions in this article to pick an ideal strain, decarb your flower, and infuse all your favorite treats. Plus, with Veriheal’s edible dosage calculator, you won’t be left guessing how many milligrams are in each serving size.

How to make edibles without decarbing?

Decarboxylation is an essential step in making sure you get all the desired effects from your edibles. If you’re looking for a simple way to decarb your cannabis without baking it, try using an herbal infusion machine, such as the LĒVO oil machine.

Can you make edibles with just buds?

Yes, once your flower is decarbed, you can use the buds to make your edibles. While we recommend making butter or oil with your decarbed bud, you can also sprinkle it on easy treats (like the ever-iconic Firecrackers, using just crackers, peanut butter, and decarbed weed).

How to make edibles with flower?

To make edibles with flower, you’ll first have to decarb the plant by cooking it at a low temperature in the oven or slowcooker. Once your flower is decarbed, you can use it to infuse a variety of recipes.

How to make edibles with cannabutter?

To make edibles with cannabutter, you can swap regular butter for cannabutter in almost any recipe. Before doing so, you’ll want to calculate the dosage of your butter. A good rule of thumb is to aim for no more than 7 grams (1/4 ounce) of cannabis per 1 cup of butter, depending on your tolerance.

How to make edibles with kief?

To make edibles with kief, you’ll need to decarb the kief like you would regular flower. Collect all the kief from the kief tray of your grinder, and cook it at a low temperature in your oven, toaster oven, or slow cooker. Once your kief is decarbed, you can use it to infuse butter and oil, or add it to other recipes.

How to make edibles with a broken cart?

Since the oil in a cannabis cartridge is already decarbed, you can use it to make edibles. However, use caution when handling broken carts to avoid getting cut by broken glass. If your cart is leaking oil, you may be able to collect the oil in a DIY drip pan like a Tupperware container or bowl. If the glass is broken, however, you may have to use a syringe to draw the oil out of the cart in order to use it in your recipes.

How to make edible brownie batter?

To make edible brownie batter, you can substitute cannabutter in place of regular butter in your favorite brownie recipe (like our famously robust weed brownie recipe). If you want to just eat the batter without cooking the brownies, you can replace the eggs with either applesauce or a combination of flaxseed and water. To do so, mix one tablespoon of flaxseed with one tablespoon of water and let it sit for half an hour to make the equivalent of one large egg. Otherwise, use two tablespoons of applesauce per egg.

Does making edibles smell?

While making edibles themselves may not produce the potent skunky smell we all associate with cannabis, decarbing your flower definitely will. For a more subtle option, try decarbing your cannabis flower in the slow cooker.

What are the easiest edibles to make? 

Firecrackers are the easiest edibles to make, as they don’t require infusing butter or oil with cannabis. Simply sprinkle your decarbed flower on a saltine cracker with some fatty spread (like nut butter or Nutella), and bake them in the oven for around 15-20 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

This blog post was originally published on 1/6/20. Updated 09/17/2025.