Make your home smell amazing for the holidays with these 3 simple stove top potpourri recipes; all you need are a few spices and a pot of water on the stove!
Stove top potpourri is a great way to make your home feel warm and inviting, and make it smell wonderful! Plus they help keep a bit of moisture in the air, which is great during the dry winter months. If you want to make your house smell good, here are three fall and holiday simmer pot recipes you should try!
Stove top potpourri is easy to set up: all you have to do is put all of the ingredients in a pot on your stove, fill the pot with water, and turn the burner on low. The pot will gently simmer away, releasing the scent into your home. Just make sure you refill the water every once in a while so it doesn’t boil dry!
How To Make Stove Top Potpourri
- 5 minutes (time spent doing stuff)
- 0 minutes (time spent waiting around)
- 5 minutes (total project time)
Supplies
- a large, heavy pot (I love this cast iron pot for my simmer pots!)
It’s best to make your stove top potpourri in a heavy pot, like cast iron. The thickness of the pot itself will help the simmer pot retain heat and allow it to simmer slowly rather than just boil dry after an hour.
The three stove top potpourri recipes below are my favorites that we use in our home. But they’re just guidelines; feel free to switch around the ingredients and create your own perfect combination of scents! And if it doesn’t smell strongly enough, add more ingredients. You can’t “mess up” a simmer pot; as long as you keep the water level full, and you like how it smells, you’re good to go!
Fall Stove Top Potpourri
This fall variation is the perfect way to welcome the changing season, and will fill your home with classic fall scents!
- 1 orange, zested and then sliced into thin slices
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 5 star anise
- 9 whole allspice
- 9 whole cloves
Note: You can substitute ground spices instead of whole, but you may need to use more ground spices to get the same amount of aroma. It will make the water dirty-looking, but it will still smell great!
Christmas Stove Top Potpourri
This simmer pot has a wintry scent that is perfect for the holidays!
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg (or grate a whole nutmeg)
- 5 star anise
- pine twigs
- 9 juniper berries (gently crush before adding to the pot to release the scent)
Note: Cut a few twigs off your Christmas tree for this simmer pot; it’s the perfect way to keep your home smelling like Christmas even after your tree is gone!
Everyday Stove Top Potpourri
This simmer pot has a light and refreshing scent that’s perfect for everyday use!
- 1 lemon, zested and then sliced into thin slices
- 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 10 fresh mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Erica says
Sounds good! I once did stovetop potpourri. It was an apple and spice blend. It smelled so delicious that my mom was mad at me for making me hungry!