6 Simmering Stove Top Potpourri Recipes Perfect for The Holidays

Holiday stove top potpourri is wonderful way to bring the smell of the holiday season to your home. Whether you're searching for fall scents, or Christmas aromas, these 6 holiday recipes will have your home smelling wonderful and welcoming, without any added toxic chemicals.

How to Create These Wonderful Holiday Stove top Potpourri Recipes

Simmering potpourri are a great option in that they are non-toxic and can last for a few days. Using the best ingredients possible will ensure the most potent aromatic qualities of the potpourri.

Tips for Simmering

When simmering ingredients for your stove top potpourri, it's best to keep your pot on low/med heat. This allows the smell of the ingredients to escape without being cooked through too quickly. If the heat on your pot is too high, the scent will be strong but won't last more than a few hours. These recipes can also be used in your crock pot on high!

Keep an eye on the potpourri every so often. If water gets low, just add more water to pot, enough to cover the ingredients. These simmering pots can be used for a couple days on low heat.

Citruses can be swapped for other citrus options. Oranges have a very distinct scent, however, other citrus smells will still provide a wonderful aroma. If you don't have a certain citrus on hand, swap it out for another one.

Related: DIY Cinnamon Scented Pinecones

Fall Stove Top Potpourri Recipe

• 2-4 cinnamon sticks
• 2-3 orange slices (or the orange rind from 1 orange)
• 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp of vanilla extract)
• 3-5 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
• 1 tbsp whole cloves

Place all ingredients in a pot and cover with water (about 2-3 cups), simmer on low to medium heat. This is a very aromatic potpourri, so adjust the amounts if it becomes too strong. I always start on the lower end of the ingredients and add more if I think the smell needs to be stronger.

Apple Spice Stove Top Potpourri

• 2 small apples
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 8 anise stars
• 1 tbsp allspice berries
• 1 tbsp cardamom pods
• Lemon rind from 1 lemon (or slices of one lemon)

Cover all ingredients with water and simmer on low. This recipe is sweet and spicy, a perfect option for fall and slightly different that the more common potpourri options.

Pumpkin Spice Stove Top Potpourri

• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (or one vanilla bean)
• 2 cinnamon sticks

This recipe is easy and smells really pleasant, simmer on low in a pot with water (about 2-3 cups). If you're looking for a little more spice, feel free to add a little nutmeg or clove to the simmering pot.

Coffee Cake Stove top Potpourri

• 2-4 cinnamon sticks
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean)
• 1 cup coffee grounds

This recipe is great for those who love the smell of baking but aren't wanting to bake anything. The coffee cake potpourri smells delicious and homey.

Christmas Stove Top Potpourri Recipe

• 1 orange rind (you can also use orange slices too)
• 1 lemon rind (just like the orange, you can use lemon slices instead of the rind)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• Small Christmas tree branch
• Cranberries

Place all ingredients in a pot, add enough water (about 2-3 cups) to cover the ingredients and simmer on low/med heat. If you don't have any pine or Christmas tree branches available, you can substitute the tree branches for a couple sprigs of rosemary. 

Christmas Tree Stove Top Potpourri

• Small pine tree branch
• 1 lemon rind (or slices of fresh lemon)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp nutmeg

The pine and the lemon really deliver a beautiful clean smell, much like that of a Christmas tree. Although you can substitute rosemary, it won't smell as authentically Christmas as it would if you kept the pine branch. This is one of my favorite scents because it smells wonderfully delicious without becoming overwhelming.

Gift Giving

Holiday potpourri recipes can be placed in cute little Christmas or Fall-themed baggies and given as seasonal gifts. Simply place each ingredient into a clear bag or mason jar and add a cute little bow and handmade gift tag! Fresh orange or lemon slices look better in gift backs than old rinds, however, they would need to be used right away.

These wonderfully scented stove top potpourris offer non-toxic, holiday themes aromas. Remember that they can be changed and substituted to fit your preference. If you don't like clove, use cinnamon instead, citruses can be swapped, and rosemary makes a great substitute for pine branches. Play around with the ingredients to make the stove top potpourri perfect for your home.

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST: Be sure to check out these lovely Homemade Vanilla Extract. Also feel free to read this great post on DIY Christmas Gifts in 15 Minutes or Less.

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