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Fall Simmer Pot Recipe | Simmering Potpourri for Fall & Christmas

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, please visit our advertising disclosure.

Christmas· Cleaning Tips

13 Oct

Want to make your house smell like you’ve been baking all day, but don’t actually want to bake all day? This fall simmer pot recipe is for you! Using fruit and spices, you can create a simmering potpourri with the warm, cozy scents of fall and Christmas. Your house will smell amazing with hardly any effort.

If you happen to find this recipe during the spring or summer months, check out our summer simmer pot recipe here.

Adding water to fall simmer pot
 

I simply love the scents that go along with fall and the holiday season: pine, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, hot apple cider; they’re warm, cozy and inviting. Simmering potpourri is simply the addition of various fruits and spices to a pot of simmering water. As the simmer pot steams on the stovetop, the aroma from the mixture fills the air. Today I’m sharing a fall simmer pot recipe that will make your home smell like you’ve been baking all day, but it only takes a minute to throw together.

What You Need for A Fall Simmer Pot

Fall simmer pot ingredients: orange slices, cranberries, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and vanilla
 

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Ingredients for Fall Simmering Potpourri

The following amounts are simply suggestions, you can put in as much or as little of the ingredients as you wish.

  • 3 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 2 Tbsp. Whole Cloves
  • 1 Naval Orange or 2 Cutie Oranges (you can use the whole orange and cut it into slices, or just use the peels)
  • 1/2 Cup Cranberries
  • 1 Vanilla Bean (or 1-2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract)

Supplies Need for A Fall Stovetop Simmer Pot

  • Stock Pot

Other Fall Simmer Pot Ideas

While I am using cinnamon, cloves, oranges, cranberries, and vanilla to make this simmering potpourri recipe, you can certainly experiment with other ingredients as well.

Fruit for Simmering Potpourri

Lemon | Apple | Apple Cider

Herbs for Fall Simmer Pot

Rosemary | Bay Leaves | Thyme

Spices for a Christmas Simmer Pot

Star Anise | Nutmeg | Allspice | Ginger– Fresh slices or grated

So many possibilities!

How to Make A Fall / Christmas Simmer Pot

Choose your combination of ingredients and place them into a stock pot. If you are using pure vanilla extract, wait until you have reduced the pot to a simmer before adding.

Ingredients for Christmas Simmer Pot in Stock Pot
 

With the ingredients add, fill the pot about 2/3 full with water.

Adding Water to Fall Simmer Pot
 

Place the pot on the stove top and heat (on high) until the mixture comes to a boil, then lower the heat to keep the pot at a slow simmer. Once the mixture is simmering, you can add the pure vanilla extract (if using).

Allow the pot to continue simmering as long as you’d like.

IMPORTANT: Always keep an eye on your simmer pot! As the water burns off, you will need to add more to the pot. If do not continue adding water, your potpourri will burn to the bottom of the pan… and your house is not going to smell so cozy anymore. Also, never leave your house with the potpourri simmering!

Want more ideas for creating cozy scents for your home? Check out these ideas!

Homemade Room Spray | DIY Wax Melts | Fall Diffuser Blends

 

Common Questions About Homemade Simmering Potpourri

How long Can I Simmer Potpourri on the Stovetop?

This will depend on the size of the pot you are using. The larger the pot, the longer it will last. As mentioned above, you need to watch your simmering potpourri very carefully; as the water level gets low, make sure to add more water to the pot to avoid it burning to the bottom. As long as you continue to add water, you can keep the simmer pot going. As an extra reminder, never leave your house with the simmer pot simmering on the stovetop!

Can I Reuse My Simmering Potpourri Ingredients?

You can continue using the same potpourri several times. Make sure to store the ingredients in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you use it again. (Remember to add more water each time you decide to simmer). If you notice the smell is off, or if the ingredients are molding, it’s time to toss them and start fresh.

Can I Simmer Dry Potpourri?

While I would never simmer potpourri found at your local retailer (as there are added perfumes and I’m not sure they would do well with simmering), there are simmering potpourris you can buy online if you’d prefer. Here are a few I found on Etsy:

 
Ingredients for Christmas Simmer Pot in Stock Pot

Fall Simmer Pot Recipe

This simmer pot recipe is perfect for fall and Christmas as it uses seasonal fruit and warm spices to create a perfectly cozy scent for your home
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 2 Tbsp Whole Cloves
  • 1 Orange
  • ½ Cup Cranberries
  • 1 Vanilla Bean

Supplies

  • Stock Pot

Instructions
 

  • Place all ingredients into a stock pot and fill pot with water (until there is about 1 inch to the rim)
  • Heat pot on high heat (on stovetop) until the mixture starts to simmer
  • Turn the heat to low and allow the potpourri to simmer
  • Keep an eye on the simmering pot as you will need to continue adding water to prevent the contents from burning to the bottom of the pot
 

Love it? Pin it!

 

7 Comments

« Fall Diffuser Blends | Perfect for The Holidays
DIY Shower Steamers Recipe | How to Make Shower Bombs at Home »

Comments

  1. Lori says

    December 6, 2023 at 6:27 AM

    Can I use my crockpot or instant pot without the lid for this?

    Reply
  2. Mary Engstrom says

    September 16, 2020 at 10:51 AM

    Hi Erin!
    Can you tell me if these wax melts really smell up the house? I have been buying wax melts for years and this past year
    none of them, and I mean none of them, seem to have the fragrance they had years ago.

    Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Margaret says

    August 24, 2016 at 11:50 PM

    I love the smells of Christmas and have been trying to find candles or melts that will give me this as I live in Australia and I could not stand the stove going all day. Any recipes for Christmas melts?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      August 25, 2016 at 6:34 AM

      Hi Margaret- I do have a recipe for wax melts that you can find using the link below. However, instead of using rosemary and lavender essential oils, you could replace them with orange and thieves essential oils (Thieves has both cinnamon and cloves in it and smells amazing!) Also, if you have a diffuser for essential oils, you could just add these 2 oils to it and it would work as well. Hope that helps 🙂

      Here’s the link to the wax melts: https://www.lemonslavenderandlaundry.com/rosemary-lavender-wax-melts/

      And here are some affiliate links to the oils if you are interested:
      Orange Oil: http://amzn.to/2bQKZf7
      Thieves Oil: http://amzn.to/2bixzax

      Reply
      • Margaret says

        August 25, 2016 at 5:47 PM

        Thank you I will be trying these this Christmas

        Reply
  4. Stephanie @ Casa Watkins says

    November 24, 2015 at 5:06 PM

    OMG! I love this recipe. I often have one simmering when I’m making fish or frying anything. I love this aromatic combination and am thinking it’ll be simmering on my stove this Thursday for Thanksgiving!! Pinning and sharing. 🙂

    Reply
    • Erin says

      November 27, 2015 at 11:28 AM

      Great idea to simmer something wonderful when you’re cooking not so pleasant smelling food, like fish! I have been using this recipe every day recently. Gotta love the smells of Christmas!

      Reply

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Hi there! I'm Erin. Welcome to Lemons, Lavender & Laundry, where we believe that creating a clean home should be done as simply and naturally as possible. [Read More...]

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