How to Make Tallow Candles in 7 Easy Steps

You can easily make your own diy aromatherapy candles for aromatherapy, or just emergencies!

We usually order a full cow every 12-15 months, and when we do, we order “everything but the moo”. If I could figure out how to fix “moo”, I would get that as well.

The butchers are awesome enough to allow us to get all of the fat off the cow, turning into a years worth of tallow for frying, cooking, and soap making.

However, there are many other uses for tallow, especially for emergency situations.

During the storm seasons, in the Spring and in the Winter, we are likely to lose power. Not my favorite scenario, but one that I need to be prepared for. What if we lost power and didn’t have batteries in the flashlights, or we had lost them?

I got tired of buying batteries and having them go into remotes or other items, and the flashlights being used outside and left out in the rain by my kids.

I know, I know…but I had to make adjustments to reduce the stress of items being lost. I tried out some candles to see what I could do with them.

By making tallow candles, you are able to use up all the fat of the cow, the beef tallow, like our prairie dwelling ancestors did.

You can also add essential oils to the candles to make aromatherapy candles, or mosquito reducing candles. These particular homemade candles are in 1/2 pint jars. You can use old jelly jars, recycled jars, or mason jars.

The solid fat burns about 8-10 hour for each candle, making them a long lasting item in our storm preps. They are also rather romantic, as they give off a soft glow.

Making Tallow Candles Step by Step

To begin making your own scented tallow candles:

Step 1. First, render the fat down. You can use any animal fat with this, from beef tallow to deer tallow. Lard will also work to make these.

Step 2. Then, take your wicking and cut it about an inch taller than your desired candle holder.

Step 3. Wrap the wicking around a stainless steel straw or a pencil so the wick stays in the middle:

Step 4. Carefully filter the melted tallow to reduce as much sediment as possible:

Step 5. Pour the hot oil into the candle holder:

Step 6. As the oil begins to cool, you can add essential oils to it as desired.

You want to add the essential oils to the cooling tallow oil and stir gently to mix them in. Essential oils are highly volatile and can burn quickly or start a huge fire if they are not stirred in well.

Step 7. Allow the tallow to cool completely, and cut the wick about 1 inch above the tallow.

Scented Tallow Candles with Essential Oils

Bug off candle:

• 25 drops lemon citronella
• 25 drops mandarin orange oils

For a soothing aromatherapy candle

• 25 drops of lavender
• 25 drops of bergamot

For a memory boosting candle

• 25 drops of rosemary
• 25 drops of cedarwood
• 10 drops lemon

Enjoy Your Scented Candles!

They store nicely on a shelf, and I haven’t had any melt in the summer heat just on the shelf or get moldy. If you are concerned that they may get moldy, you can store them in the fridge or freezer.

Have you ever made tallow candles before? Will you try these? Be sure to pin this for later!