Cozy Up Your Space: 3 Fresh DIY Simmer Pot Recipes
Use herbs, fruit, and extracts to make simple stovetop potpourri for a natural, heavenly home scent.
Ready to make your home smell fresh and cozy? Freshen your space with these three DIY natural simmer pots! They’re a cozy, eco-friendly way to use herbs, extracts, and leftover citrus peels.
The directions for all three of these recipes are the same. Simply fill a simmer pot with 4-5 cups of water, add the ingredients, bring to a light boil, then simmer on low. Refill water as needed and enjoy the amazing aroma! Prefer hands-off? Use a slow cooker method.
Here are my top 3 favorite homemade stovetop potpourri scents that I personally enjoy using in my home!
1.) DIY Williams Sonoma Scent Stovetop Potpourri
When you walk into a Williams Sonoma store, it’s filled with an appealing citrus rosemary aroma. Their signature simmer pot scent is easy to recreate at home and smells so fresh and amazing.
I happen to have a rosemary plant in my backyard so I make this one often. Consider saving your lemon scraps when cooking to utilize for this.
For the Williams Sonoma simmer pot you’ll need:
- 2 fresh lemons, sliced
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorn
2.) Pumpkin Spice Stovetop Potpourri
If the warm scent of apples and cinnamon is your jam, create this easy pumpkin spice scent for cozy fall vibes. This makes your space smell inviting and is perfect for cooler weather.
Consider using an apple that is past its prime, or you can always swap in some apple cider instead for a similar scent.
For the pumpkin spice simmer pot you’ll need:
- 1 apple sliced
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
3.) Merry Christmas Stovetop Potpourri
Get your home holiday-ready with this glorious smell. My favorite simmer pot is this holiday scent. The clove and cinnamon smell so great together and it really does smell like Christmas! Plus, this one is so pretty and festive looking.
For the merry Christmas simmer pot you’ll need:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon whole cloves
- 2-3 star anise
- 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Tips for making homemade stovetop potpourri:
- Simmer pot ingredients can make fun homemade gifts in a jar. I packaged the Christmas potpourri in jars last year as gifts and it was a fun and easy project!
- If you are buying ingredients in the grocery store, look for the more inexpensive brands sold in packets rather than spice jars. In my store, there is a Hispanic foods section with inexpensive packets of cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and anise.
- Have fun and create scents using things that naturally grow around where you are. The best part is you can improvise and come up with your own variations too.
- You can reuse your stovetop potpourri ingredients if you’d like. Remove them from the water and place them in a jar in the fridge. Then throw it in some fresh water the next day. I have done this and it works!
What’s your favorite stovetop potpourri scent that you use? Be sure to share your simmer pot recipes in the comments to inspire us all!
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Awesome! I was recently looking for new recipes to try. I’m going to add these to the list.
YAY! So glad you found some new ones to try, Sarah! They make your whole space smell amazing while they simmer. š„° Hope you find a new favorite combo!
Many of these ingredients are in the mulled wine I made on Halloween, unlike these, it smells great and you drink it. It was amazing, Iām making more! Ingredients 1 (750-mL.) bottle red wine 1 orange, sliced into rounds, plus more for serving ā¢6 whole cloves 3 (3′) cinnamon sticks, plus more for serving 3 star anise pods 1/2 cup brandy 1/4 cup honey Simmer 30 min or longer, serve hot.
Thanks for sharing your recipe, siena95! I love enjoying mulled wine over the holidays! š¤š