Edibles are a favorite among both California medical marijuana patients as well as recreational connoisseurs. While our dispensaries carry a pretty vast variety of confections and candies, THC can be infused to practically anything, including things like cannabis ice cream. 

Cannabis ice cream is simple to make and doesn’t cost a lot of money. You also don’t need special equipment to make it at home, and the process will only take about 15 minutes. Here’s everything you need to know about making your own THC-infused ice cream. This base recipe is a great starting point for getting creative with your own flavors and ingredients. 

Why make a weed ice cream recipe? 

In short, cannabis ice cream offers a different kind of edible experience that you won’t be able to find at most dispensaries. While smoking cannabis is quick, an edible high lasts a long time and feels a lot different. While you have to wait an hour for it to kick in, you can expect to feel it for up to 8 hours. 

You might also like trying weed ice cream if you’re trying to cut down on smoking, beat the heat, or enjoy cannabis discreetly.

But first, edible safety. 

If you’re new to edibles, remember to start with a low dose and slowly increase your dose until you find a comfortable high. THC-infused ice cream can take several hours to kick in, especially if you enjoy them after a meal, so remember to take your time and be patient. You will eventually feel it. 

It would also help to keep in mind that homemade edibles aren’t always accurately dosed like they are in dispensaries. Factors like starting material, how long it was decarboxylated, and how much fat the THC had to stick to will all affect how potent your homemade edibles become. 

Practically everyone has a bad edible story because of their own impatience, so take your time and see how an edible affects you before eating the whole thing. We recommend using Magical Butter’s dosage calculator to help you with some of the math. 

Step One: Infuse THC into Whipping Cream 

THC molecules bind to fats. If you’ve ever made your own edibles, you’ll typically need butter or oil for the THC molecules to stick to. This recipe is a little different, though. Oil and butter don’t taste good in ice cream, so we suggest using full-fat heavy cream. Much like making your own cannabutter, you’ll first decarboxylate your cannabis and infuse it into the heavy cream in a saucepan. You will need the whipping cream recipe below to make the ice cream recipe at the bottom of this page. 

Start by decarboxylating your cannabis. 

Cannabis flowers contain THC-a (inactive), which transforms into THC-v (the kind that makes you feel high) when you heat it. That’s why eating weed by itself won’t get you high. To decarb your cannabis, break up your flowers and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake it at 220-245°F for 30-45 minutes. Take care to stir your flowers, so they toast evenly and don’t burn. 

Combine the decarboxylated cannabis with whipping cream. 

Use the dosage calculator to find a good dose for your needs and tweak it to your preferences. Edible potency varies based on starting material and how long you infuse it into the cream. The easiest way to do it is to add the cannabis and cream to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat as soon as it starts boiling and let it simmer for 45 minutes up to two hours. Be sure to stir frequently to avoid burns.

Strain and Chill 

After infusing the cream, strain the mixture into a cheesecloth container to ensure no cannabis particles make it into your ice cream. Refrigerate it until it’s cool and you’re ready to use it. 

Why shouldn’t I use cannabis butter or cannabis oil instead? 

Butter doesn’t belong in ice cream. Butter is over-churned cream, and it’ll give your weed ice cream an extremely thick texture and unpleasant taste. Using butter or oil will make your ice cream taste like butter or oil, and it won’t set properly. You could always drizzle a little cannabis oil over a bowl of ordinary ice cream, but that changes up the dose and can get confusing as well as unpleasantly flavored. 

How much cannabis ice cream should you eat? 

Please, please, PLEASE use a dosage calculator before jumping into the recipe. Science is pretty murky for precise milligram dosages, and math is hard. You should also keep your preferences in mind. If you know you like to sit down and eat an entire pint in one sitting, you’ll want to make your batch with a lower dose. If you only want to eat a scoop at a time, you can make the batch more potent. 

Also, make sure you check and double-check your math to have a more accurate idea of how the ice cream will affect you. Take your time and wait and see how potent the ice cream is before you eat the whole batch, too. Once you know how strong it is, you’ll have a better idea of your serving size. 

Vanilla No-Churn Cannabis Ice Cream Recipe 

This no-churn weed ice cream recipe is a great base recipe that you can modify to make your own. This recipe is vanilla, but you can easily make it chocolate ice cream by adding chocolate in place of vanilla. You can also add your own mix-ins, like chocolate chips, mint, or fruits. Remember to use the dosage calculator to infuse your cream and make the best homemade edibles. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups cannabis-infused whipping cream (see notes above) 
• Whisk, mixing bowls, spatulas, and an airtight container for the ice cream. 

Instructions: 

• Chill a mixing bowl in the freezer 
• Whisk the condensed milk, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl
• Using the chilled bowl, use a mixer to whip the cannabis cream until firm peaks form 
• Using a spatula, fold half of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture until combined 
• Fold that mixture back into the whipped cream
• Blend well 
• Add the mixture into an airtight container and freeze until set, around 3 hours. 
• Add your favorite toppings and serve.