The Top 9 Mistakes When Making Homemade Edibles

Curious about edibles? You’re not the only one.

The global cannabis edibles market is will hit an estimated $13.6 million by the end of 2025. That’s a whole lot of dollars spent on edibles.

If you’re interested in trying edibles, the more cost-effective solution is making homemade edibles, right in the comfort of your own kitchen. It’s not as difficult as you might think, plus it gives you the creative freedom to experiment with a range of edible recipes. 

Who knows? It could be your new favorite hobby!

While relatively easy, making homemade edibles isn’t a process you should approach casually. Especially for first-timers, there are quite a few things that could go wrong.

We’ve compiled a list of the most common errors so you will know what to watch out for. Read on to learn the top 10 most common mistakes when making homemade edibles. 

1. Skipping Decarboxylation

Got a craving for special brownies? You won’t get a good product just by emptying your stash into the batter. Before using it in any recipe, you’ll need to make sure your cannabis is cured, dried, and fully decarboxylated.

Decarboxylation is the process of heating the cannabis prior to use in edible recipes. This releases the cannabinoids THC and CBD, making them ready for absorption when you eat them.

Not only will raw cannabis not have any effects, but it’s also likely to upset your stomach. All that raw plant matter won’t do you any favors if you’re wondering how to make edibles.

2. Getting the Ratio Wrong

When you’re preparing butter or oil for homemade edibles, there is a specific ratio to follow for your decarboxylated cannabis and butter/oil. 

As suggested by magicalbutter.com, the perfect ratio for homemade edibles is 1:1. That’s one part decarboxylated cannabis to one part butter or oil.

If you prepare your butter or oil too strong, then you may experience some pretty unpleasant effects from your homemade edibles. Too weak and the most you’ll probably get is a bellyache. Luckily, mixing equal parts is pretty easy to remember, even if you’re a novice.

3. Grinding Too Fine

Once your cannabis is decarboxylated, the next step in making homemade edibles is to grind it down into small granules. This is where a lot of rookies can make the mistake of grinding it down too fine.

Grinding it into too fine of a powder will make your homemade edibles take on an unpleasant “grassy” or earthy taste. While it won’t affect the potency, you might not enjoy eating them.

What you’re looking for is a “granule” type texture: look for a consistency that is similar to white sugar. This will maintain a good flavor profile and mix well into your edible recipes.

4. Not Stirring Enough

When you’re making homemade edibles, you want to evenly distribute the decarboxylated cannabis. Otherwise, one brownie will send you to the moon while the others have little to no effect at all.

A good strategy to adopt is fully stirring your batter, dough, or whatever else you’re mixing before adding the cannabis. That way, you’ll have an easier time making sure everything is evenly distributed.

5. Not Adding Water to Butter and Oil

As you’re heating up the cannabis with the butter or oil you’re infusing, the mixture can easily burn on the stove. In addition to stirring consistently, be sure you’re adding a small splash of water to the concoction. This will help control the heat and prevent burning.

6. Not Straining Carefully

When you’re preparing your cannabis-infused butter or oil, the last step is to strain out the plant matter before you collect the liquid for your homemade edibles. This is where a lot of newbies tend to miss out by not straining carefully.

In order to strain the mixture properly, use a cheesecloth rather than a strainer. This will collect all the plant matter and prevent it from messing up your final product.

It’s also important to remember to squeeze your cheesecloth extra hard to get every last drop of liquid. That way, you won’t be wasting any oil or butter. 

7. Rushing the Process

Just like learning any new skill, learning how to make edibles is a process. If you’re too eager as a beginner, you could wind up missing important steps and potentially ruining your product.

Rushing through the homemade edibles process might also cause you to burn your butter or oil when you’re heating it up with the cannabis. Not exactly the best flavor for whatever you’re cooking.

In order to learn how to make edibles the right way, find a good step-by-step guide, and read it all before you begin. This will help ensure that you’ve got a good grip on what you’re doing so you don’t wind up wasting any cannabis.

8. Not Using the Best Homemade Edibles Recipe

There are a lot of edible recipes out there, and some of them are better than others. If you can, try finding tried-and-true recipes from a source you trust. If you’re experimenting with a new recipe, you might want to try reducing it first and whipping up a small test batch.

Actually, you don’t even need to try a new recipe when you’re making homemade edibles. Cannabis-infused butter and oils can be substituted for the regular versions of those ingredients in a snap. So, if you’ve got a ride-or-die chocolate chip cookie recipe, you can just swap out the regular butter for your cannabis-infused butter.

9. Eating Too Much in One Sitting

Homemade edibles are much more potent than regular smoking. Plus, they take a lot longer to go into effect. Many rookies eat more edibles when they aren’t feeling anything, and wind up feeling very unpleasant once the cannabinoids start working.

For first-timers, eat a small portion and wait an hour to see how you feel. Then, you can consume more if needed.

Start Cooking Up Homemade Edibles Today

Making homemade edibles is a relatively simple process, but it can be messed up if you’re not careful. Now that you know the most common mistakes, starting cooking up your own homemade edibles today!

For more advice, check out our other blog entries.