This easy, step-by-step beginner's guide will teach you how to make cannabis coconut oil at home in a crockpot. It is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to make a cannabis-infused oil that is vegan, dairy-free, and versatile enough to be used as a base for recipes and self-care products.
Features
- A fan favorite with over 950+ happy reviews!
- Just 2 simple ingredients needed: cannabis flower & coconut oil.
- No special equipment required! You just need a basic crockpot and some mason jars. (Check out this guide if you want to use an Instant Pot, instead.)
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Cannabis coconut oil can serve as a cannabutter alternative and is an important staple recipe for any cannabis consumer to master alongside cannabis olive oil.
Making infused cannabis coconut oil is a fairly straightforward process that uses both heat and fat to decarboxylate the cannabis flower and extract the cannabinoids from the plant.
This process extracts a full spectrum of cannabinoids and other plant compounds from the plant.
The final product is a cannabis-infused oil that can then be used to make more specific cannabis recipes like the ever-popular cannabis brownie, chocolate chip cookies, and more.
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Ingredient Notes
- Coconut Oil - Coconut oil is great because it is solid at room temperature, but easily melts. You can choose between refined and unrefined coconut oil, further explained below.
- Cannabis Flowers - You will need your desired amount of cannabis flowers, ranging from 3.5 grams up to 1 ounce. Choose THC flower, CBD flower, or CBG flower. You can purchase them from your local dispensary or purchase hemp flowers from my online shop here.
- Lecithin, optional: lecithin is a natural emulsifier that will help keep opposing ingredients bound together, like water and oil. If you're new to working with lecithin, you can learn more about adding lecithin to edibles here. If needed, you can purchase liquid lecithin or powdered lecithin. This ingredient is optional.
Note: a complete list of ingredients with amounts and printable instructions is located in the recipe card below.
The Step-by-Step Process
- Step 1 - Create a water bath that stays at approximately 180-190° F. The printable instructions below are for using a crockpot to create the water bath.
- Step 2 - While the water bath is heating, measure and decarb the flower. Use my traditional oven or Instant pot decarboxylation tutorials, if needed.
- Step 3 - Add the flower and oil to mason jars. If you plan on using sunflower lecithin, add it to the mason jars now. Add the lid.
- Step 4 - Place the jars in the water bath. Place the lid on the crockpot. Leave it alone to infuse for 4 hours. After 4 hours, remove the jars from the water to cool.
- Step 5 - Whether it be a paper filter and funnel, cheesecloth, French press, or a simple coffee filter, you will want to set up a straining station to separate the plant matter from the oil.
- Step 6 - Strain the prepared oil. You can save the leftover cannabis pulp for use in future recipes.
- Step 7 - Return the prepared oil to whatever jar you would like to store it in; a mason jar works well.
- Step 8 - Store the prepared cannabis coconut oil in a cool, dry place.
Note: complete step-by-step printable instructions are located in the recipe card below.
Storage Instructions
Store your prepared oil in a cool, dry place. It will last longer if stored in the refrigerator and even longer if stored in the freezer.
Why Coconut Oil Is Great For Infusions
I help educate my Cannabis Compass Online Course students about how they can learn to confidently use cannabis to improve their quality of life.
Many of my students follow a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, which is why I wanted a cannabis-infused butter alternative that was dairy-free.
Coconut oil is the perfect substitute for butter when in need of dairy-free or vegan cannabutter.
The coconut oil performs similarly to the butter in extracting the cannabinoids from the plant matter, and it remains solid at room temperature like butter.
Coconut oil is naturally dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian, plant-based, and allergen-friendly, and this is the product we use and recommend when making our own at home.
This cannabis-infused coconut oil is a great option for anyone following a specialty diet or just looking for an alternative to traditional cannabutter.
Choose A Type of Coconut Oil
There are many different types of coconut oil on the market today, the three most common being unrefined coconut oil, refined coconut oil, and MCT coconut oil.
It is ultimately your decision on which type of oil you want to infuse, but here are some important considerations when making your decision.
Virgin or Unrefined Coconut Oil
Virgin or unrefined coconut oil is about as close to the natural substance as you can get.
Unrefined coconut oil is made from the 'meat' of fresh coconuts and then cold-pressed, leaving just the oil which has a pure coconut flavor. Unrefined coconut oil has a more natural, more prominent, topical coconut taste and smell.
Like refined coconut oil, unrefined coconut oil is 63% MCTs and 50% lauric acid, meaning it infuses the same. If you choose to use unrefined coconut oil, this is the organic virgin unrefined coconut oil we recommend.
Refined Coconut Oil
Refined coconut oil is an oil made from dried coconuts that have been put through additional processing.
Some companies use harsh chemicals to bleach the coconut to remove the taste and flavor, while others use steam to refine the oil.
The biggest draw to refined coconut oil is that it has a very neutral taste and flavor, making it easier to work within certain recipes where the coconut taste is not wanted.
Many people prefer refined coconut oil because it has a less prominent coconut taste. Like unrefined coconut oil, refined coconut oil is 63% MCTs and 50% lauric acid, meaning it infuses the same.
If you choose refined coconut oil, you will always want to make sure you choose a sustainably farmed organic steam refined coconut oil like this one we recommend.
MCT Coconut Oil
MCT oil is a type of saturated fat extracted from coconuts that are rapidly digested and absorbed by the body. Many people prefer liquid MCT oil for infusions because it is tasteless and remains liquid at room temperature.
"Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are a unique type of fatty acid naturally found in coconuts that support the metabolism and are easily digested and burned by the body for energy and fuel" (1).
The process for infusing MCT cannabis oil is the same as refined or unrefined coconut oil, although we do have a special guide for making MCT-infusion here.
One important thing to note is that MCT oil in large amounts may cause digestive distress in some individuals.
If you choose to use type oil, this is the MCT oil product we recommend.
Don't Forget To Decarb
Before getting started, it is important to note that consuming dried or raw cannabis flower buds will provide little to no intoxicating effect at all.
If you do not decarboxylate, you will reap the health benefits of CBDA or THCA, which are non-intoxicating.
However, most people want to feel the full effects of activated CBD flower or THC flower when making edibles.
For this recipe, we decarboxylated our cannabis flower in the oven before combining it with coconut oil and placing it into the crockpot. Therefore, we can have a shorter cooking time, about four hours.
You can also decarb in an Instant Pot, if you have one.
You will simply increase your cooking time which will help you achieve decarboxylation over time. If you don't decarb first, I recommend infusing the coconut oil for longer than the typical 4 hours, going for at least 8 hours.
This longer cooking time helps to decarboxylate the flower for you. If you accidentally forget to decarb, you can relax, all is not lost.
Additional Factors to Consider
If you asked 100 different Chefs, you would likely get 100 different variations on how to make your own cannabis-infused oil at home. Many factors can affect your results when cooking with cannabis.
Here are a few additional considerations to keep in mind:
Temperature Controls
It is important to keep tight temperature controls when cooking with cannabis.
While heat is needed to decarboxylate the acids into the active form of cannabinoids our bodies can use, extreme temperatures can destroy many important plant materials that contribute to positive health outcomes, like terpenes.
Each terpene may have its own therapeutic health benefits, but it also carries its own sensitivity to heat.
If cannabis is heated above 300° Fahrenheit for a prolonged period of time, you run the risk of denaturing many important plant compounds.
For this reason, we recommend using an instant digital-read thermometer during your cooking process to ensure you never go above the safe temperature threshold.
You may also want to invest in a machine that can decarboxylate and infuse for you, like the Ardent infusion machine or LEVO infusion machine.
The Strain of Cannabis Used
The strain of cannabis flower you are using will impact decarboxylation time and temperature recommendations.
Each cannabis strain contains varying amounts and ratios of different cannabinoids and terpenes.
Because each cannabinoid and terpene decarboxylates at a different temperature, you will want to consider the best temperature and cooking time for your particular strain.
Additionally, the final potency and intoxicating effects will vary depending on whether it is a THC or CBD-dominant strain.
There are CBD dominant flower options and THC dominant cannabis flower options to choose from.
The Freshness of Product
You will have noticeable differences in the final product depending on the freshness of the material you start with.
Cannabis coconut oil can be made with raw cannabis leaf trimmings to make a CBDA or THCA dominant oil and it can also be made with traditionally dried and cured flower buds.
The concentration of cannabinoids will vary with the freshness of the starting material, the cannabinoid concentration of the material, which will ultimately impact your final product's potency.
Equipment Variability
You can make cannabis coconut oil with various pieces of equipment like a crockpot or slow cooker or Instant Pot, but small variables in the cooking equipment may impact your final product.
Different crockpots will have different temperatures when setting to the same setting, which is why we recommend a digital thermometer be used throughout the cooking process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some other important considerations before making your own cannabis-infused coconut oil and answers to the most frequently asked questions from my Well With Cannabis Community.
In theory, using lecithin will make valuable cannabinoids like CBD and THC more bioavailable or ready for use by the body, ultimately making the edible stronger. You will definitely still have a great infused cannabis oil if you don't use lecithin, it's not a make or break ingredient for this recipe.
Yes, you can infuse coconut oil with full-extract cannabis oil, FECO (or RSO), instead of flowers. If you want to infuse with this type of oil, here is my guide on making FECO.
After the straining process to separate the plant matter from your infused oil, you will be leftover with a ball of spent cannabis flower, also called leftover pulp or sludge.
Yes, just use the cannabis flower to oil ratio chart below to choose the batch size that is right for you.
How to Determine The Dosing
Want to get a more accurate guesstimate of the potency of your cannabis infusions and extractions? Try our popular edibles calculator!
Not sure what your perfect dose is? Learn more here.
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Recipes To Make With Your Oil
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Easy Crockpot Cannabis Coconut Oil
Ingredients
- 1 ounce cannabis flower pre-decarb
- 16 ounces coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon liquid sunflower lecithin optional
Instructions
- Lay a clean tea towel down on the bottom of your crockpot. This will create a buffer between your mason jars and the crockpot, potentially preventing any jar from moving or cracking during cooking.
- Fill your crockpot with enough warm to hot water to cover the top of the mason jars you plan on using by an inch to create a water bath.
- Place the digital instant-read thermometer into the water. Start the crockpot heat on high. When a temperature of 185° F is reached, turn the crockpot to low.
- While the water bath is heating in the crockpot, measure and decarb the cannabis flower in the oven at 240°F for 40 minutes (for THC-flower). Click here for a full cannabis decarboxylation tutorial, if needed.
- Evenly divide the coconut oil between the mason jars you plan on using. You can either use pint-sized or half-pint-sized jars, it's you're preference, just be sure they fit in your crockpot. No matter the size, be sure to leave a ½ inch headspace from the top.
- If you plan on using sunflower lecithin, add it to the mason jars now.
- Evenly divide the decarbed flower between the coconut oil-filled jars. Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean paper towel and place the lid on. Tighten the metal ring to finger-tip tightness, it does not have to be tightened all the way. Do not tighten too tightly.
- Once the water bath reaches a temperature of 185° F, carefully place the jars into the water bath. Place the lid on the crockpot and leave alone to infuse for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, carefully remove the lid, followed by the jars from the hot water. Set them aside to cool.
- Once cool enough to handle, you will want to strain the cannabis oil through a paper filter and funnel, cheesecloth, or French press to separate the plant-matter from the coconut oil.
- Store the prepared cannabis coconut oil in a cool, dry place. It will last longer if stored in the refrigerator and even longer if stored in the freezer.
Notes
- Yield: ~16 ounces / ~2 cups
- Temperature Control: The water bath does not need to stay perfectly at 185° F the entire time. Any temperature between 170°-190°F is OK.
- Safety First: I recommend you sanitize your jars by keeping them submerged in the 185° F crockpot for 10 at least minutes. This step is not necessary, but good practice for safety and hygiene.
- Floating Jars: Sometimes the mason jar will float when placed in the water bath. This is no need for concern, simply put something heat and water safe over the top of the jar to weigh it down, a clean rock works well.
- Alternative Carrier Oil Options Include:
- Avocado oil
- Hemp seed oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Coconut oil
Chris
My crockpot only gets to 155f
Will be this enough heat? I'm using refined coconut oil.
How much longer would you recommend and lids should be lightly on?
Emily Kyle
Hey Chris! I don't have lab tests to say for sure how much longer, but I would maybe add another hour or two? And lids on lightly, you don't want them too tight, but you don't want any water to get in, either 🙂
Matt
If all i have in a regular oven, what temp should i set it to to keep the water around 180°?
Ive done then before years ago with using your recipe but i used the oven and cant remember what i set my temp to, but i slow infused it for 6 hours. Everyone loved the final product
Emily Kyle
Hey Matt, I haven't done it this way before, but I would set the oven as low as it would possibly go - I think mine goes as low as 200°F? Let us know if it works for you!
Glenn
I've been reading you articles and watched videos. You are very informative ( I've really been enjoying my edibles). I have an ardent lift decarb machine. It turns off automatically. I am very interested in turning my thc into cbn. Can I safely achieve this? If yes please advise.
Emily Kyle
Hey Glenn! Thanks for reading and watching. My Ardent FX manual says you can simply run the THC decarb setting twice to get to CBN 🙂
Karina
Hi! I just made this recipe and it was super fun and easy. I have a question, my oil didn’t solidify after cooling which I find strange?! I used organic virgin coconut oil cold pressed unrefined- it’s in a solid form. Is it normal that my cannabis infused oil didn’t solidify after ?
Emily Kyle
Hey Karina! Thanks so much; I'm glad you found it fun and easy. This is normal, and with coconut oil as it cools, sometimes it even looks like little balls of oil. Totally normal; it will solidify eventually. You can always put it in the fridge to speed up the process if you want 🙂
Mtartar
Hypothetical question, what if you fell asleep and the oil cooked in the crockpot for about 10ish hours, would it be ruined?
Emily Kyle
Hey Mtartar, no, it would not be ruined 🙂 If anything it may look and taste more green, and you may have a more sleepy end product, but it's definitely not ruined!
Ernestine
Hi there! I love your video. It may sound silly, but where do you buy cannabis flower to make the infused coconut oil? Thanks!
Emily Kyle
Hello Ernestine, thanks so much for the kind words! No silly questions here 🙂 I have both CBD and CBG flower for sale in my shop, and for THC flower I grow my own. Availability and legality will depend on what state you're in, I hope this helps!
Jen
If you're making the infused coconut oil with FECO to use as a topical, what would the ratio be, and do you need to heat it as long in the crockpot? Total newbie here; looking forward to trying it. Your website has been so instructional. Thanks!
Emily Kyle
Hey Jen! The ratio will be totally up to you and how potent you want. FECO is basically already ready to use, so when you're adding coconut oil, you're just doing it to expand the volume, but this will dilute the consistency. If you want it super potent, don't add a lot of oil. If you want to make it less potent, add more oil. If you know the potency of the FECO, you can use the edible dosage calculator to play around with the volume of coconut oil to see how it impacts the overall mg 🙂
Karina
Hi Emily! While I am not new to consuming edibles I am new to making my own. I read the article about calculating the doses but I am still confused as to how much flower you use per coconut oil to achieve a stronger oil. I did a trial run for your gummies recipe and it made 48 1 teaspoon gummies and 48 2 teaspoons gummies. If using this recipe how much flower would you recommend for the coconut oil? I am trying to get the gummies on the stronger side. 15-25mg?
Emily Kyle
Hey Karina. If you have 48 pieces and you want them (average) 20mg each, you'll need 960mg THC to start (48x20=960). Next, you will need to know the % THC in you're starting material. If you don't know that, an average number I will use for this example is 15% THC. At 15% THC, you will get 150mg THC per gram, so you will need 6.4 grams of flower (960/150) to get to your desired amount of 960mg THC total. I hope this makes sense!
Lindsey
Thanks for the recipe! My oil turned out very dark. What does this mean and is this something I can correct?
Emily Kyle
Hello Lindsey, you are most welcome! Color has no indicator of potency; it simply means that a lot of chlorophyll was transferred from the plant matter into your infusion. It's not a good or a bad thing; it's just simply personal preference. Here is a guide to learn more about chlorophyll and how to keep it out of your edibles if you prefer 🙂
Joan
Hi Emily
I decarbed coconut oil and added the lecithin at that time. When making the gummies should I add more lecithin or is it enough in the oil?
Thanks I learned a lot from your site
Joan
Emily Kyle
Hello Joan! Thanks so much for the kind words 🙂 I always recommend adding the amount of lecithin called for in the gummy recipe, regardless of whether or not you have added it into your infusion first. I hope this helps!
Tommy
It says to leave 1/2" headspace. Can I use a Quart jar and only have it filled half - three quarter way? Will the larger headspace cause any issues with the infusion? I will be using approximately 1 oz of ground cannabis and 16oz of coconut oil
Thank you
Emily Kyle
Hey Tommy! Yes, that should be totally fine 🙂 Good luck!
Kim Mulhern
Dear Emily:
We used your recipe for 1:1 Cannabis flower to oil ratio chart resulting in infused oil that is twice as potent, so are we correct in assuming that we are to half the amount of oil to be used in all of your recipes? Also, how long can we keep gummies once made? Can they be kept for months if frozen?
Emily Kyle
Hello Kim! This will totally depend on how strong you want your final product. If you want a very strong end product, use the full amount. If you don’t want it so strong, half or even quarter it. The shelf life of the gummies will depend on what preservative you used and if you air dried them, but yes, they will last a long time in the freezer 😁
Scott
Love your website and all the very helpful information. I don’t have a crockpot. Is there a stovetop method I can follow? And what happens if the oil gets too hot during the infusion process?
Emily Kyle
Hello Scott! Yes, of course, I have a stovetop method guide right here. Just swap the butter for coconut oil. This method uses a water bath, so no worries that the oil will ever get too hot. Good luck 😀
Harley
I’m so happily surprised with how good my oil came out this time! First time trying this recipe to make infused oil too. I followed the directions carefully aswell to ensure that it would come out I was a bit nervous being my first time using this method but I’m not switching back, the potency of my oil is amazing! My next step is trying my hand at the gummy’s! I’ll update once I’ve made them! Thank you for having such simple instructions!!!
Emily Kyle
Harley, I am so happy to hear about your success! I hope the gummies turn out just as good. Enjoy 😀
Cathy
Is it possible to combine the flower and coconut oil directly to the crock pot and simmer on low thereby skipping the jars altogether, initially? Seems like an unnecessary step but maybe I am missing something
Renée from Team EKN
Hi Cathy. You can definitely infuse directly in the crockpot. We recommend using mason jars for two reasons. Mason jars greatly reduce the cannabis odor in the air and you can use the same jar for decarb, infusing and storing which reduces the amount of cleanup overall. I hope this helps!
Steve Diamond
If top of lid is exposed will it effect or I s it dangerous ?
Renée from Team EKN
Hi Steve. The top exposed is fine as long as the contents of the jar are covered by the water line.
Lindsey
Can you use half pint jars instead if pints? Also can you use a kitchen towel or cloth napkin for bottom of slow cooker?
Renée from Team EKN
Hi Lindsey. Yes to both questions. Half pint jars work well and a kitchen towel or cloth napkin will suffice. Cheers to Cooking with Cannabis! 🤗