There are many variations when it comes to weed gummy recipes, but one of the most popular ways to make weed gummies at home is to use a cannabis-infused coconut oil and gelatin mixture. This method is tried and tested among the cannabis community and produces tasty candies in under one hour.

Making weed gummies like this is fairly straightforward: you only need a few basic tools and ingredients that should be easy to find in your local store.

How to Make Weed Gummies at Home

gummies made of weed

Tools

Before you start cooking, gather the equipment you need for your cannabis-infused gummies. One of the reasons that this recipe is so popular is that this equipment is easily accessible for most people.

If you can’t source any of the below items in your main store, visit your local baking store.

  • A cooking pot, preferably with a heavy base, so it stays put while you whisk.
  • Utensils: a whisk and a spatula
  • A candy mould. Gummy bears are popular but choose what you like!
  • A cooking syringe, ‘dropper,’ or something else to allow you to accurately transfer the mixture from the pot to the mould. A spouted measuring jug can also work.
  • A stovetop
  • Freezer

When choosing your candy mould, you should ‘bear’ in mind (pardon the pun) that any variations in size will affect the potency of the gummies. This recipe is best suited for the typical size of gummy bear sweet.

If you choose a mould that makes much larger sweets, just remember that each portion will contain more THC and provide a stronger effect.

As with all edibles, the best advice is to start small. Although you might be able to make a pretty accurate estimate, you won’t be 100% sure of the potency of your bears until you’ve already ingested one. For this reason, especially if you are new to cannabis and have a lower tolerance, begin with a reduced portion.

Remember, edibles can take an hour or two to kick in. This varies depending on your metabolism, what else you have eaten recently, and a few other factors. The peak should be at around 2-3 hours, with effects lasting up to 12 hours.

If you do happen to take a higher dosage than you planned for, there’s no cause for alarm. Stay hydrated, calm, and sleep it off if necessary. Drinking fresh lemon skin in hot water can also reduce the high.

Ingredients

The following should yield 12 average-sized candies. Adjust the amounts depending on the size of your gummy molds and how many candies you want to end up with.

  • One standard-sized pack flavoured gelatin, such as Jell-O (3 oz or 85 grams)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin
  • 2 tablespoons unflavoured gelatin
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup cannabis-infused coconut oil
  • Non-stick cooking spray

If you are having trouble sourcing any of the ingredients, check in your local health-food store or look online.

If you don’t have access to a cannabis-infused oil, you can even make this yourself from scratch (instructions follow).

These are the core ingredients that form the basis of the weed gummy bears recipe. But, you can substitute some of these ingredients, which we will explain more about below.

Once you are confident following the original gummy recipe, you can start getting creative and introducing all sorts of flavours into your cooking. The only limit is your imagination!

Instructions

  1. Combine the 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of infused coconut oil into the cooking pot. Gently stir the mixture over low heat until the oil has completely melted.
  2. Add in the soy or sunflower lecithin, and whisk it in.
  3. Add in both the flavored gelatin and unflavored gelatin. Continue whisking until they have both entirely dissolved. Although it should be hot, do not let the mixture boil.
  4. Spray your chosen gummy molds well with a cooking spray. This will make your job easier when it comes to removing the weed gummies from the molds.
  5. Carefully fill your gummy molds with the mixture using your chosen apparatus. The easiest and most accurate transfer method tends to be with a kitchen pipette or syringe-style tool.
  6. When full, lift the mold a couple of inches from the countertop and drop it. This is an expert tip used by bakers and chefs to get rid of any air pockets.
  7. Place your gummy molds in the fridge for at least one hour or 25-30 minutes in the freezer. If stacking the molds on top of one another, remember to use a sheet of baking parchment in between each layer for effortless removal later on.

Those seven steps are all that you need when learning how to make weed gummies at home.

When your candies are ready, remove them from the molds and place them on sheets of parchment paper to air-dry. If possible, you should try to do this in a cool area with low humidity.

You can use a fan to speed up the drying process. If you have a food dehydrator, even better—just make sure it does not use heat; otherwise, your gummies will melt.

At room temperature, drying can take over 24 hours. To prevent any dust, dirt, or other contaminants from getting on them, it’s best to cover them with a clean and breathable cloth.

When the time comes to safely store your weed gummies, they are best kept in the fridge. To stop them from sticking together, put them in a container with a lid (like Tupperware) with some powdered sugar or cornstarch and give them a good shake. Ensure each individual cannabis gummy is fully coated.

You can keep your weed gummies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for around one month. Outside of the fridge, they will last for a much short time: around one week or so.

If you have any children in your household, be vigilant about where you store the candies. These bright-coloured treats will attract the attention of any unsuspecting little ones nearby, and that is a situation that no parent wants.

Making Your Own Cannabis-Infused Coconut Oil

Many edibles recipes contain cannabis-infused coconut oil, and the recipe for weed gummies is no different. Although this infused coconut oil is available to purchase, the homemade version is also really easy.

Before we will explain the detailed steps of how to DIY cannabis coconut oil, let’s take a look at the video below:

Begin by ‘declaring your cannabis. The process of decarboxylation is what activates the THC in your weed, the psychoactive compound that allows you to get high.

When you smoke cannabis, decarbing happens naturally as the joint burns. But, with edibles, you need to carry out this process separately.

It’s vitally important not to skip this step when you make your cannabis-infused oil. Using weed that has not been decarboxylated will produce an oil that is not intoxicating, so you won’t feel any effects from your edibles.

Luckily, decarboxylating your cannabis doesn’t take long, and all you need is an oven. Set the oven to around 230°F, then grind up your weed, put it on a baking parchment-lined tray, and leave it in there for around 30-45 minutes.

Voila! The THCA in your marijuana has become THC, and now you can enjoy the high after you ingest it.

But before we get around to making cannabis gummies, the now-decarbed weed must be infused into the oil. To do this, simply heat up the oil to around 130-150°F, add the cannabis, and simmer. You’ll need about 1 cup of coconut oil for every 3.5 grams of cannabis. Be sure to stir the mixture frequently.

After about an hour, strain the oil to remove the solids, and there you have the final product: your very own cannabis coconut oil!

Be sure to choose refined coconut oil for this purpose, as it stays in solid form at room temperature. This is important for the final texture of your gummies. Refined oil also possesses no coconut smell or taste. This is ideal as it allows you to choose the flavour of the candies yourself.

On the other hand, natural, virgin, or traditional coconut oil will have a coconutty aroma and flavour, which you might find unpalatable in gummy bear form.

Recipe Variations: Cannabis Gummies

Although this recipe is a crowd favourite, it’s not suitable for all diets, lifestyles, or taste preferences. Below we explore some ways in which the recipe can be adjusted to cater to a wider audience.

When experimenting with how to make weed gummies with different ingredients, it’s a wise idea to make a trial batch first. Do this without any cannabis oil (just use regular unrefined coconut oil).

Once you are happy with the texture and flavour you’ve created, you can go ahead and make the cannabis gummies. This way, you can avoid potentially wasting your weed when the recipe goes south.

Health-conscious Weed Gummies

If you’re watching your sugar intake or are worried about saturated fat, there’s a couple of really simple hacks.

The first tip is to use sugar-free Jello in place of the regular kind. The good news is that this won’t have any detrimental effect on the final quality of the product. You can have a healthier treat, yet you don’t need to sacrifice taste or texture.

Another health-based consideration is the type of lecithin you use. Powdered lecithin contains significantly less fat than its liquid counterpart. Both powdered and liquid lecithin is effective in binding the oil and water in your recipe together.

They will both create a better-dispersed dosage throughout your gummies and help your body absorb more THC. Since both forms function the same, whichever you decide to use comes down to personal preference.

How to Make Cannabis Gummies Vegan

If animal-friendly tripping is more your thing, then you’ll probably be wondering about how to veganize these gummy candies.

The first thing to make sure of is that you are using sunflower or soy lecithin. Be careful to check the labels, as lecithin can also be derived from eggs, fish, or animal fats.

The next ingredient to scrutinize is the sugar if you are using any to coat your gummies. Most Canadian sugar is vegan, but there are some brands that still use bone char to whiten the crystals. To be safe, stick to sugar that is certified organic or marked as ‘raw’ or ‘evaporated.’

As gelatin is an animal product, you will need to substitute it for an alternative gelling agent. Agar-agar is made from algae and is a popular choice for plant-based cannabis-infused gummy bears.

Agar-agar for vegan weed gummies

It can be tricky to get the final consistency right. Start with the same amount of agar-agar as you would gelatin, and adjust as needed. It might take you a few times to hit the nail on the head.

You can also add some fruit juice or puree (just make sure to use less water) to help achieve the desired firmness. Now you can make weed gummies that are not only good for you but are better for our planet, too!

How to Make Weed Gummies with Alternative Fats

The fat used in the basic recipe we described above is coconut oil. Cannabinoids, including THC and CBD, are fat-soluble. This means they dissolve in fat (not water), so it’s an essential ingredient when you’re making edibles.

You are relatively unrestricted when it comes to the fats you want to use to make your gummies. Some common alternatives to coconut are canna butter, cannabis tincture, cannabis-infused avocado oil, cannabis-infused olive oil, MCT oil, and hash oil. If you prefer another infused cannabis oil mixture like hemp, canola, soybean, sunflower, these types of products could also work.

Changing up your cannabis oil choice will affect the texture of your cannabis gummies. For example, if you use MCT oil to make weed gummies, you can expect the final candy to be a lot more soft and squishy than if you were to use solid coconut oil.

Cannabis tincture and other concentrates also produce a cannabis gummy with good consistency and are popular choices due to their availability.

Replacing the oil with cannabutter will give your candies a creaminess which many people find pleasant. The caveat, however, is that the cannabis taste is more prevalent, so you may need to introduce some stronger flavours to cover it up.

Improve the Taste of Your Cannabis Edibles

If you’re a fan of face-squirmingly sour candies, you may want to add a little pizzazz to your edibles. Allow the gummy bear mixture to cool a bit first, then add in one teaspoon of citric acid or malic acid and stir well. This will give them that extra zing that tickles your tastebuds.

Or, perhaps you’re looking to up the ante with a more intense fruity flavour. In that case, you can use a super-strength flavouring oil to boost the taste profile. This should help to cover up that earthiness that is typical when you consume cannabis.

To have total control over your candy, you can scrap the Jell-O and use only unflavored gelatin. This way, you can whichever fruity tang you so desire without being restricted to what Jell-O has to offer.

Blending fruits like blueberries or strawberries to make a puree and using this in your cooking will also lift the flavour, although you need to adjust the water to account for the extra liquid.

Final Thoughts

It doesn’t matter what level of cannabis education you have; making weed gummies is uncomplicated yet highly rewarding. Following the seven straightforward steps will make you feel like a canna Masterchef in the kitchen! Add your own twist with the recipe variations laid out above for an even more personalized edibles experience.