How to Make CBD Gummies at Home – Simple Hemp Edibles Recipe

Illustration of CBD Gummies in a cooking pan.
Written by Livvy Ashton | Last updated: November 14, 2023

CBD gummies are all the rage; they have quickly become one of the most popular forms of CBD right next to tinctures. What was once reserved for kids is now also an adult treat that can help you reap the benefits from hemp without having to swallow earthy oils.

Adults take gummy supplements for an array of reasons, such as improving their skin, providing essential fatty acids or upping their vitamin and mineral levels. Cannabis edibles have grabbed people by the throat, so the introduction of CBD gummies was a logical consequence of the booming market.

Since CBD is legal on a federal level, you can easily buy them in all 50 states — either locally or online.

But, since high-quality CBD gummies can be more expensive than your average gummy bears, you may want to try and make a batch of your own treats at home.

Looking for the best guide on how to make CBD gummies?

You couldn’t find a better place.

However, before we get down to business, let’s answer some basic questions about this appealing form of cannabidiol.

Do CBD Gummies Get You High?

Since CBD comes from cannabis, new users might wonder if they can get high after CBD gummies.

The answer is no — CBD gummies won’t get you high because CBD itself is non-intoxicating. Unlike THC, it doesn’t bind to the cannabinoid receptors in the brain, hence the lack of buzz (1).

Hemp-derived CBD gummies contain less than 0.3% of THC, which is nowhere near to get an adult person high.

If you’re concerned about the trace amounts of THC in your gummy bears, you can also get THC-free gummies that are made with a broad-spectrum extract or CBD isolate. Therefore, you also minimize the risk of failing a drug test.

Why You Should Consider Making Your Own CBD Gummies

When it comes to making CBD gummies at home, control is the name of the game. You can easily adjust the potency, flavors, acidity, and sweetness to your liking. Whether you want your gummies to melt in your mouth or be chewier — you’re in charge here.

Here’s why people are turning to homemade CBD gummies :

  • You can control the potency of your CBD gummies. CBD oils come in a wide range of potencies. For example, if your oil has 20 mg of CBD per mL, you can easily measure out the desired dosage that you use in the entire batch, and then divide it by the total number of your gummies. This way, you know precisely how much CBD is in a single gummy. If you’re new to CBD, you can use a low-potency CBD oil; for those experienced with CBD, we recommend higher concentrations, upwards of 1200 mg of total CBD.
  • Homemade gummies can be made according to your dietary restrictions. If you’re vegan, paleo, doing keto, or have food allergies, there are certain ingredients that you want to avoid in commercially available CBD gummies. If gluten, sugar, or animal-derived products are a no-go for you, it’s easy to exclude them from the formula when you make gummies at home.
  • You can come up with your own formulations. Add antioxidants such as vitamin C, or powerful anti-inflammatory agents like turmeric or ginger to enhance the therapeutic properties of your CBD gummies. You can also add grass-fed gelatin or fruit powders that are high in antioxidants. Doing so will make your gummies nutritious as well as calming.
  • Homemade CBD gummies are budget-friendly. As mentioned, high-quality CBD gummies can be expensive, especially if they’re part of your daily supplementation. By making CBD gummies at home, you can significantly reduce your costs on top of the above perks.
  • You can make your own shapes and flavors. Homemade CBD gummies awaken your inner child. You can buy a bunch of different molds, get a few different fruit juices and concentrates, and make hearts, drops, bears, cannabis leaves, dinosaurs, and stars. Sweet or sour, or sweet and sour — it’s all up to you.

CBD Gummies Recipe

girl messing around with measuring equipments

CBD gummies are a fun and low-calorie way to reap the benefits from taking cannabidiol. They provide sensations of calmness combined with focus and relief from stress. At higher doses, they can also induce slight drowsiness, so if you live a stressful life, CBD gummies can help you ease anxiety and sleep problems.

Many people also make CBD gummies at home to alleviate pain, which is one of the most remarkable benefits of taking CBD.

We’ve also prepared something for DIY lovers and chef hobbyists who want to enjoy CBD gummies without breaking the bank.

This recipe for CBD gummies uses a full-spectrum extract because here at CFAH, we believe in the entourage effect. Full-spectrum CBD contains all the beneficial compounds from hemp, including CBD, adjunctive cannabinoids, terpenes, and traces of THC.

Again, we’d like to note that even full-spectrum CBD gummies won’t get you high, as the amount of THC never exceeds 0.3%.

But, if you want to avoid the slightly bitter aftertaste in your gummies, you can choose CBD isolate instead of full-spectrum CBD. Isolates are flavorless and odorless.

Here’s what you need to make delicious and healthy CBD gummies at home.

Equipment

  • Saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Optional: continent dispenser bottle, gloves, funnel, pipette
  • BPA-free food-grade silicone molds

Ingredients

  • 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (filtered) *
  • 2 tablespoons raw honey
  • 2 tablespoons gelatin (can substitute for pectin or agar if you want vegan CBD gummies)
  • 2 mL of high-quality full-spectrum CBD oil
  • Optional: Vitamin C with sugar mixed in a 1:1 ratio (for the sweet-and-sour coating)

How to Make CBD Gummies at Home (Step-by-Step)

  1. Place the fruit juice in a medium saucepan and simmer it over low heat.
  2. Add the honey and gelatin, whisking until combined. This step should take about 1 minute.
  3. Turn off the heat and add the CBD oil. Whisk the mixture again so that the ingredients are distributed evenly.
  4. Transfer the liquid mass into your molds using a pipette. This will help you avoid spilling the liquid. At this point, your gummy base can be hot, so handle the molds with gloves.
  5. Once the mixture has been distributed evenly, transfer the molds into the refrigerator.
  6. Your CBD gummies should be set within an hour, but you can keep them in the fridge overnight if you want the flavors to intermingle thoroughly.
  7. Store the gummies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Calculating CBD Dosage In Your Homemade CBD Gummies

While CBD gummies are easy to make from the technical point of view, dosing isn’t that simple and straightforward. Fortunately, you can decide in advance how potent you want your gummies to be and then infuse them with the right amount of CBD oil.

Here’s how you can calculate the dosage of your CBD gummies:

  • Determine how much CBD you want per gummy.
  • Multiply that amount by the number of gummies you’ll be making
  • Check the potency of your CBD oil to find out the amount you need to add to your gummies

For example, if you plan on making 20 gummies and you want each gummy to have 5 mg of CBD, you need a total of 100 mg of CBD. So, if your CBD oil has 2500 mg per bottle, you’ll need to add about 1 ¼ of the dropper to get the amount you need.

How Many CBD Gummies Should You Eat?

a girl eating gummies

No two people are the same, so the amount that works for your friend may not be enough for you — and vice versa. People live different lifestyles; each person has unique body chemistry and metabolism, which is why dosing CBD gummies requires taking individual factors into consideration.

A good rule of thumb is to start with 1–5 mg of CBD for every 10 pounds of body weight. If you’re not sure where to begin, you can use a middle ground (2.5 mg for 10 every 10 pounds).

So let’s say that your optimal dose is 20 mg of CBD and a single gummy contains 5 mg. You’d need to take around 4 gummies throughout the day to meet that dose. You can make stronger gummies with a single serving matching your needs.

How to Ensure Chewy and Delicious CBD Gummies Every Single Time

  • Don’t bring the liquid to a full boil. If the pot gets too hot when you introduce CBD oil to the mixture, it could damage cannabinoids and terpenes, reducing the potency of your gummies and negatively impacting their flavor.
  • Don’t substitute gelatin with collagen because your gummies won’t gel, which is essential for achieving the gummy texture
  • Grass-fed gelatin is healthier than grain-fed ones, but it’s also more expensive. You can get similar results using fruit pectin or again, which will also make your homemade CBD gummies vegan-friendly.
  • Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that also adds a burst of sour flavor to your gummy base. If you’re a fan of sour CBD gummies and want to naturally increase your vitamin C intake, the vitamin C powder will get you the right experience.
  • If you’re looking for a natural low-calorie sweetener, you can use xylitol, erythritol, or a little bit of raw honey. Unless you breach a certain threshold, honey-sweetened CBD gummies won’t throw you out of ketosis. Glucose and corn syrups should be available, especially by people with corn sensitivities.
  • Oil and water don’t go hand in hand, meaning you’ll have to whisk the gummy base vigorously and pour them fast into the molds to prevent the two ingredients from separating.
  • The best molds for homemade CBD gummies come with droppers. You can use it to easily squeeze out the gummy base and transfer them into the molds without having to funnel your liquid or create mess by using a spoon.
  • Another smart tip is to go for large or jumbo gummy molds. You can fill them with a larger amount of liquid, receiving a higher dose of CBD per serving.
  • Not all fruit juices work well with gummies; it’s best to avoid pineapple and kiwi juice, as they won’t gel and fail to provide the desired gummy texture. Instead, you can use lemon juice, orange juice, grape juice, or tart cherry juice.

Best Deals on High-Quality CBD Gummies If You Don’t Want to Break the Bank

Much as we appreciate the benefits of making CBD gummies at home, they can be a hassle for some people, especially with all the equipment you need to gather.

If you want an easier way to enjoy high-quality CBD gummies that are priced reasonably, we recommend finding a trustworthy online CBD brand.

While you can look for CBD gummies near you, local suppliers often sell the same products for a leveraged price, not to mention that many local stores don’t bother asking manufacturers about the lab reports, so you actually can’t tell if your product comes from pesticide-free hemp and whether or not it’s free of toxic solvent residue.

Buying CBD gummies online provides you with more opportunities for researching your potential suppliers. Not only can you read lab reports and reviews, but you can also run a background check on the company by checking expert blogs, rankings, and social media groups that focus on CBD.

Another benefit of shopping for CBD gummies online is the wealth of choice. The high demand for CBD products has resulted in a boom on CBD gummies — you can choose from the plethora of different flavors, sizes, potencies, colors, and shapes in the comfort of your home.

Not to mention the difference in the price of such products.

Online stores can cut out the middleman, carrying these savings over special perks for their customers, including coupon codes, bulk pricing, and reward programs.

Last but not least, storebought gummies can usually last up to 2 years, whereas making your own CBD gummies limits this shelf life to a few weeks.

Do you make CBD gummies at home? What are your favorite ingredients? Give us a shout in the comments!

Reference links:

  1. Elsaid, S., & Le Foll, B. (2020). The complexity of pharmacology of cannabidiol (CBD) and its implications in the treatment of brain disorders. Neuropsychopharmacology: official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 45(1), 229–230. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-019-0518-1

Livvy is a registered nurse (RN) and board-certified nurse midwife (CNM) in the state of New Jersey. After giving birth to her newborn daughter, Livvy stepped down from her full-time position at the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey. This gave her the opportunity to spend more time writing articles on all topics related to pregnancy and prenatal care.

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