In this study, nettle (Urtica dioica L.) bioactives was extracted using an environmentally friendly method, and then encapsulated in alginate via ionic gelation. The research aimed to optimize encapsulation efficiency (EE), antioxidant activity (in vitro DPPH scavenging activity), and bead morphology (sphericity factor (SF) and the roundness (Rn)) with Box-Behnken design under Response Surface Method (RSM) based on 3 parameters (CaCl2 and sodium alginate concentration, and time). The optimal points were determined as almost 12% CaCl2, 2% alginate and 10 min for bead hardening in order to obtain the best quality product (31.52 % of EE, 7.31 mg-TEAC/g-DB of antioxidant activity, 0.01 of SF and 0.804 of Rn). The most critical factor of EE and Rn was hardening time at p<
0.0001, while sodium alginate concentration was the most significant factor for antioxidant activity and SF at p<
0.0001. The findings demonstrate that the proposed method is practical and efficient in producing nearly spherical and stable beads with significant antioxidant properties. This work highlights the potential for alginate-based microencapsulation to enhance the stability and functionality of plant-derived bioactives.