Can you cook with CBD oil?

Of course! Using cannabidiol (CBD) in the kitchen is easier than you might think, even for the newest of chefs. CBD pairs as well with sweet treats as it does with savory dishes, so you can incorporate CBD into almost all of your favorite recipes. Add a few drops of CBD oil into your cookie dough or cake batter, for example, or drizzle a little on top of a salad – you can even stir some CBD oil into gravy and other sauces.

Cooking with CBD oil does require a bit of planning, though, and just a little bit of skill in the kitchen.

What can you cook with CBD oil?

Most CBD oil recipes are for making sweets, mostly because it is easier to cover up the bitterness of CBD with chocolate and sugar. You can cook savory meals with CBD oils, though, as long as you add ingredients that hide CBD bitterness.

Some of the easiest dishes to make with CBD oil include:

• Coffee
• Smoothies
• Soups
• Whipped cream
• Baked goods
• Sauces

What are the best types of CBD oils to cook with?

For best results in the kitchen and for your health, you want your CBD oils to be safe and strong. The best types of CBD oils for cooking are those that come from trustworthy, high-quality brands that have undergone thorough testing by third-party labs to ensure safety and potency. Look for products containing other food-grade ingredients, such as natural flavorings and organic carrier oils.

To avoid waste and to save time, use prepackaged CBD cooking oils rather than tinctures. Pre-packaged CBD olive oil and CBD coconut oils are easy to work with, provide reliable results, and are ideally suited for baking and cooking. Each brand of CBD cooking oil may have its own unique quality, such as flavor and strength, so it may take some trial and error to find your favorite.

Jenny’s Premium Full-spectrum CBD Olive Oil (shown) has a mellow flavor profile and a subtle, fruity aroma. Made from olives grown in the United States, Premium Full-spectrum CBD Olive Oil is infused with organic full-spectrum hemp. Jenny’s Organic Full-spectrum CBD Coconut Oil contains healthy medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), also known as the “good fats” because of the health benefits they provide.

Cooking with CBD hemp oil

Low temperature is key to cooking with CBD hemp oil. A little heat is okay, but only as long as it makes the food lukewarm – high temperatures burn the oil, change its flavor, and deplete its nutrients. For best results, save your CBD hemp oil for dressings, smoothies, dips, shakes, sauces, cold soups and pesto.

Cooking with CBD MCT oil

Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) is a type of saturated fatty acid (or fat). MCTs have become more popular in health products and supplements in the past few years because these fats are easy to digest and process. Because they are a type of fat readily absorbed by the body, MCTs help the body absorb other compounds, such as CBD.

The biggest drawback to cooking with CBD MCT oil is that it can burn at relatively low heat. MCT’s smoke point, or burning point, is only 320 degrees Fahrenheit. This means your CBDs will go up in smoke if you heat it up at anything hotter than 320°. For recipes requiring higher temperatures, consider using CBD coconut oil, which has a smoke point of 350°.

Is cooking with CBD oil less effective heated up?

Exposure to heat can lower the effectiveness of CBD oils. To maintain the potency of your CBD, avoid recipes that call for temperatures above 350 degrees Fahrenheit. The low temperatures needed to ensure the potency of CBD might be too low for making stir-fry and other stovetop recipes that require frying.

Recipes for cooking with CBD oil

Until just a few years ago, recipes for cooking with CBD oil were far and few between. Today, hundreds of delectable CBD recipes are available. Cooking with CBD oil tincture is easy – just add a couple of drops to juices, soups, ice cream, salad dressing, and even mashed potatoes and gravy. With now widespread CBD use, we have even seen the emergence of CBD Mocktails!

Here are our 10 EASY and HEALTHY recipes you can make today containing CBD.

The Five Golden Rules of Cooking with CBD

Because cannabidiol extracts have not been around that long, cooking with CBD is still relatively new territory. Still, culinary geniuses and everyday cooks have learned quite a bit about cooking with CBD in a short amount of time. In fact, four Golden Rules of cooking with CBD have already emerged.

1. Never waste expensive tinctures on cooking

Instead, buy CBD-infused oils, which are a much more cost-effective way to cook with CBD.

2. Watch your temperatures

CBD oils can burn at moderately high temperatures. To maintain potency in foods cooked at higher temperatures, add CBD oil after removing the food from the heat. For example, you can incorporate CBD oils into sauces, gravies, and dressings, which cook at a lower temperature; you can also add CBD oil to frosting instead of the cake batter.

3. Incorporate healthy fats into the dish

CBD is fat-soluble, which means your body does a better job of absorbing CBD when you pair it with fat. Almost any type of oil will attract CBD, including olive, coconut, MCT, and avocado. There are differences between the various oils, though, especially when it comes to taste, health benefits, and cooking temperatures.

4. Be patient

It takes longer for your body to process CBDs from food than from tincture under your tongue. When you eat food, anything digestible has to go through your gut and liver before it gets into your bloodstream. When put under your tongue, the CBDs bypass your gut and liver, and go straight into your bloodstream.

5. Be mindful of your consumption

As tempting as it might be to go back for seconds or even thirds, eating extra helpings increases your dose of CBD. Furthermore, it can be tempting to eat several sweet CBD treats every day as a way to get your cannabinoid dosage in, but this can lead to unwanted weight gain (especially once you find out how easy it is to cook with CBD oil!)

It also goes without saying that you should never drink and drive after mixing CBDs with alcohol, and to always tell dinner guests in advance that the food contains CBD.

Written by Jenny