How To Make CBD Oil Capsules In Your Home Kitchen

If you’re a fan of CBD softgels or other canna caps you’ve tried, you might be keen to hear that making them at home is easier than you might think!

Sure, making CBD pills in mass quantities for legit distribution is one thing. But if you’re simply looking to make some for yourself and maybe a little for sharing, you only need some basic equipment and ingredients. Within an afternoon, you can have a jar o’ CBD capsules ready for enjoyment.

Interested? Then you’re in the right place, because we’re showing the step-by-step process for turning CBD oil into capsules using oil you already have or plan to make.

Why Make Your Own CBD Oil Capsules?

CBD in pill form is travel-friendly, discreet, pre-measured, and mess-free. And when made with primo CBD oil, they can be highly effective. You can definitely track down some ready-to-take CBD pills that check all these boxes. If that’s more your speed, go for it!

But you might be interested in a more hands-on approach if:

• You want complete control over your ingredients. Maybe you can’t find vegan CBD capsules, or you have a sensitivity or allergy. Or maybe you just like to see everything that goes into your products. We get it — we’re ingredient fanatics, too!
• You need a customized dosage. Each CBD pill contains a pre-measured dose. If dosages you’re finding on the market aren't right for you, you can dial things in on your own.
• Your repertoire goes beyond just CBD. Say you want to mix CBD and CBG oil, or CBD plus delta-8-THC to get maximum synergy. It’s all possible when you do-it-yourself.
• You need a specific type of CBD. Each type of CBD (broad-spectrum, full spectrum, isolate) has pros and cons. Making CBD capsules gives you freedom to use whichever one works best for you.
• You’re looking to stretch your dollars further.Using homemade hemp oil or a surplus of drops you already have can save you some dinero.
• You want to take your CBD drops to-go.Tinctures (aka CBD drops) are a fantastic, fast-acting delivery method, but they can be a tad inconvenient. Easy fix: Capture them in a capsule!

As you can see, there are many, many reasons why you might wanna roll up your sleeves and get to whipping up this popular form of CBD. You might even have one to add to this list.

How To Make Your Own CBD Gelcaps

Hooray! It’s time to work some DIY magic and turn CBD oil into convenient and effective capsules.

Step 1: Buy Or Make CBD-Infused Oil

Have some CBD oil drops handy, or plan on buying some? Your life just got really easy. You can skip the list and instructions below and move on to Step 2. Just make sure you’re using a high-quality CBD oil product.

You might also consider buying CBD oil tincture if you want to know exactly how potent each dose is — info you don’t have when you make your own. Also, hemp flower may not be legal in your state, in which case ready-made CBD oil is the way to go.

If you’re making CBD oil from scratch, you’ll be happy to hear it’s fairly straightforward. First you decarboxylate some hemp flower, which is just a fancy way of saying you toast it up to activate the cannabinoids. Then you use heat to infuse oil with CBD. After some cooling and straining, it’s ready to go.

Supplies & Materials

• 5-7 oz of a high-CBD strain of hemp flower
• 1 cup virgin coconut oil or other quality carrier oil oil, such as avocado oil or hemp seed oil(1)
• Cannabis flower grinder or food processor
• Rimmed baking sheet
• Small saucepan
• Heat-safe bowl
• Cheesecloth
• Regular bowl
• Thermometer

Disclaimer: We make a general recommendation of how much flower to use in this recipe, but how much you’ll need depends on the CBD potency and your cannabinoid tolerance.

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 225℉ and make sure the rack is in the middle. While the oven is heating, use the grinder or a food processor to break the hemp flower into rice-sized pieces. Spread it out evenly on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 45 minutes, but check it at 20 minutes to make sure there aren’t areas that are browning too quickly. Rotate the pan if needed.
• Once the flower bits are evenly toasted (They should be golden brown.), remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the flower pieces cool completely.
• Fill the saucepan with a couple of inches of water and bring to a simmer, then reduce to low heat. Set a heat-safe bowl on top of the simmering water to make a double boiler. Make sure it’s not boiling aggressively — this is a low and slow process.
• Add the flower and oil and make sure that, as the oil melts, all the greenery gets mixed in. You might need to stir once to incorporate, but after that, let it do its thing.
• Simmer for 1-3 hours. Patience is a virtue! The longer it sits, the more potent the final product will be.
• Remove the bowl from the heat and let it cool for 30 minutes or so. If you’re using coconut oil, make sure it doesn’t cool enough to harden.
• Strain the flower out of the oil using a cheesecloth into a bowl. Take its temperature. Once it drops below 90℉ , you can move onto the next step: filling the capsules!

Step 2: Fill The Capsules

*Rubs hands together excitedly.* This is the part we’ve been waiting for, how ‘bout you?

Now we take your CBD oil — either thoughtfully sourced or homemade — and put it into capsules.

Supplies & Materials

• CBD oil
• Size 00 gelatin or plant-based gelatin capsules made for oils (Make sure they’re designed for oils so you don’t end up with leaky caps!)
• Capsule holder to hold those tiny vessels upright for easy filling
• Dropper (which a CBD oil bottle already has!) or Jacquard syringe to transfer the CBD oil from the bowl to the capsules
• Jar or bottle with a lid for airtight storage
• Labeling materials (doesn’t have to be fancy — masking tape and a Sharpie will do)

Instructions

• Open the capsules and place them in the capsule holder.
• Using a dropper or syringe, fill each capsule with CBD oil. If you’re using CBD oil you purchased, take note of how much it takes to fill each capsule so you know the potency of each pill.
• Secure the top half of the capsule. Put your pills into a jar or bottle with a lid and label the bottle “CBD capsules,” plus today’s date, and the potency details if you know ‘em.

How To Store Your CBD Capsules

*High-five.* You did it! Now there’s the matter of keeping these babies fresh for your enjoyment.

As with all foodstuffs and plant stuff, CBD oil has an expiration date. It’s usually somewhere between 12-24 months. However, this could be less depending on the type of oil.

When you make the oil yourself, it could also become contaminated by moisture or residues on your equipment, so the shelf life may be less. That’s why it’s generally recommended that you store CBD capsules you make yourself in the refrigerator.

That doesn’t mean you can’t take a few to-go, but keeping them sealed up in a trusty airtight container at cool temps and away from light when you don’t need them ensures you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for longer.

We have a whole guide on CBD shelf life calledDoes CBD Oil Expire + Other FAQs About CBD Shelf Life. It’s definitely worth a read for anyone making or using CBD products.

DIY CBD In A Capsule: Yay Or Nay?

There are oodles of reasons you might want to make your own CBD capsules — like cost, control over ingredients, and customization capabilities. Whatever your motivation may be, now you have the framework for filling and storing those pills.

But if this all sounds like a whole lotta work that you don’t want to sign up for, you can always pick up a bottle of CBD softgels at your local retailer or online. With their tiny size, clear dosage, and rave reviews, they just might be the CBD solution you’re looking for!

THESE CBD SOFTGELS ARE READY TO GO!

References

1. Dellwo, A. (2020). Carrier Oils for CBD: How to Choose the Best One. https://www.verywellhealth.com/cbd-carrier-oils-5081879