Do you want to learn how to make easy tallow candles? This recipe is so easy, it only takes a few steps and ingredients. The longest part is waiting for the tallow to harden, but other than that you can have yourself a beautiful candle in less than 10 minutes!
We love candles! Check out some more of our candle recipes like this charming pumpkin oil candle here. What we love most about making our own candles is that they don’t give you a headache and they actually purify the air instead of leeching out toxins!
What is Tallow?
Tallow is rendered fat from animals that can be used in baking, cooking, and making candles! Tallow has a high smoke point at 420 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it perfect for frying. I like to use tallow to season my cast iron skillet, as well as using it as a replacement of butter when sautéing ingredients for soups or anything, really! Some people even use tallow to make shampoo, soaps, and skin moisturizers. I have been meaning to try making whipped tallow balm myself!
Where Do I Get Tallow?
You can buy tallow online or from a local butcher. We got our tallow from my husband’s cow that we butchered last year. Our cow was very fat, so we got a LOT of tallow from her, which was great! I got to share tallow with my mom and sisters because we know all the benefits of tallow. It took me about a week to render all of the tallow that I got from her and have been using it in various ways. If you do not have your own cow that you can get tallow from, here are some options for you.
- Beef Tallow ready for cooking and baking from Amazon
- Grass Fed Beef Tallow from a small business owner on Etsy
- Tallow from Walmart
Obviously, tallow will be more expensive getting it from small shops in small quantities, but amazon has a pretty good price.
Disclaimer: As Amazon Associates, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at the same price for you! Thank you so much for your support!
Does Tallow Smell Bad?
Beef tallow does have a smell to it but it is not strong in my opinion. You can’t even taste it in cooking and the smell goes away when mixed with essential oils for the candle.
How to Make Tallow Candles
- Melt the tallow in a saucepan until it is liquid.
2. Mix in essential oils of your choice.
3. Wait for it to cool down for about 5 minutes. (If not, the glass jar can crack because of the high temperature of the melted tallow.)
4. Next, pour the melted tallow into your preferred jar.
5. Then, place the wick in the center of the jar. You can secure it with a clothespin from the top to keep it straight while the tallow candle hardens.
What Essential Oils Can I Use?
Throughout the year you can blend a variety of different essential oil mixes for the season. In the spring time, I love the more floral scents like lavender. Summertime screams grapefruit, lemon, and more fresh scents. I love the clove mixed with orange and cinnamon essential oils in the autumn. Here are some more ideas!
- Spring: lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus
- Summer: lemon, lemongrass, bergamot
- Fall time blend: orange, clove, and cinnamon
- Winter: pine, sandalwood
Tallow Candles
Do you want to learn how to make easy tallow candles? This recipe is so easy, it only takes a few steps and ingredients. The longest part is waiting for the tallow to harden, but other than that you can have yourself a beautiful candle in less than 10 minutes!
- saucepan
- empty candle jar/mason jar
- wick
- 1 cup refined tallow
- 40 drops essential oils
Heat up refined tallow in saucepan until melted.
Add 40 drops of your choice of essential oil.
Pour into your jar of choice.
Place the wick in the center and secure it with a clothesline pin until the tallow hardens.
Wait for tallow to harden, then burn and enjoy!
- Tallow takes a longer time to set than beeswax, so be patient. Ours took about 2 hours to harden but if you want to rush the process, when the tallow cools down to room temperature you can place it in the fridge until it hardens.
Conclusion
Thanks so much for stepping inside our online pod! We love sharing homemaking tips and tricks from non-toxic cleaning, to cozy decorating, and delicious recipes. This post was brought to you by Inna. Comment down below if you tried this candle recipe and what essential oil blend you used! <3 Inna & Irene
[…] Most people do not have beeswax or tallow on hand, so if you’re one of those folks, you can just buy purified beeswax or tallow. To purify beeswax, it takes melting it down multiple times in a double boiler until it is clean and a beautiful yellow color. A similar heating up process is necessary for tallow, except we used a crockpot. You can read all about making tallow candles here. […]