To make canna oil, decarb your cannabis, warm it gently in a cooking oil for a couple of hours, then strain. Here's how to make canna oil step by step, which oils work best, how to estimate strength per teaspoon and how to store it safely.
Canna oil vs. store-bought cannabis oils
Homemade canna oil is a food oil infused with cannabis for cooking. It isn't the same as the oils on a dispensary menu:
- RSO is a thick, concentrated extract; see our Rick Simpson Oil guide.
- Tinctures are measured drops made with alcohol or oil; our tincture guide explains them.
- Vape oil is a concentrate made for cartridges. Never cook with it, and never vape a cooking oil.
Which oils infuse best
THC dissolves in fat, and cooking oils are almost pure fat, so any of them will carry it. Choose by flavor and by what you plan to cook:
| Oil | Flavor | Works well for |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut | Mild, or neutral if refined | Baking; firms up when chilled |
| Olive | Fruity, peppery | Dressings, drizzles, gentle sautés |
| Avocado | Mild | Sautés and roasting at moderate heat |
| Neutral, such as canola or sunflower | Very little | Any recipe where you don't want added flavor |
Decarb first
Raw flower is mostly THCA, and a warm oil bath converts it slowly and unevenly. In lab tests, THCA conversion was still incomplete after 60 minutes below roughly 212°F, the range an oil infusion stays in. So give broken-up flower 30 to 45 minutes in a 240°F oven before it meets the oil. Our decarb guide has the details.
How to make canna oil: the method
The recipe card below has the full steps. In short, keep the oil and decarbed flower between 160 and 200°F, warm but not bubbling, for a two- to three-hour steep. A small saucepan on its lowest setting or a slow cooker on low both work. Need flower for your batch? Browse your store's online menu.
Straining without the mess
Let the oil cool until it's warm, then pour it through a fine-mesh strainer lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Let it drip through on its own; squeezing pushes plant bits and a grassy taste into the oil.
Dosing: estimating mg per teaspoon
A cup of oil holds 48 teaspoons. With 3.5 grams of 20% THC flower, the most THC you can get is 3.5 × 0.20 × 1,000 = 700 mg, or about 15 mg per teaspoon. Heat and the strained plant material keep the real number lower, and it can vary within the jar. That ceiling is above the 10 mg serving cap Michigan sets for store-bought adult-use edibles, so a full teaspoon could be a lot.
Begin with a quarter teaspoon, then let two full hours pass before thinking about more. For help finding your own starting point, see our THC dosage guide.
Storage and labeling
On its botulism prevention page, the CDC tells home cooks to refrigerate homemade oils made with garlic or herbs and to throw them away after 4 days. University of Georgia Extension adds that using dried ingredients doesn't make an infused oil safe on its own. Cannabis is a dried herb, so play it safe:
- Refrigerate canna oil in a sealed glass jar and use it within 4 days.
- Freeze the rest in small portions, such as an ice cube tray, then bag and label the cubes.
- Never add fresh garlic or herbs to the jar.
- Label it with the date and estimated strength, and keep it where kids and pets can't reach.
Cooking with it: dressings, sautés and baking
- Dressings: whisk it into a vinaigrette or drizzle it over a finished dish.
- Sautés: use low to medium heat, or stir it in near the end, since long, high heat breaks THC down.
- Baking: swap it for part of the oil in brownies or muffins, and mix well.
Skip deep-frying, where the heat is high and the dose is hard to track. To bake with butter instead, see how to make cannabutter.
21+ only. Please consume responsibly.
