12 Fall And Winter Simmering Pot Recipes To Make Today (2024)

It’s time to make your house smell amazing! Using a simmer pot to boil spices, orange peels, sliced apples, and more is an easy and natural way to fill your home with festive fall and holiday fragrances.

Many of those amazing-smelling fall-scented candles you can find on almost every store aisle this time of year have petroleum-based ingredients. As good as those candles may make my house smell, I try to steer clear of petroleum-based products in my home, as much as possible.

When I want my house to smell like fall, I turn to simmer pot recipes and essential oils to get the job done, in a healthier, more inexpensive way!

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“A change of season calls for a change of scent that is both energizing and refreshing.” — Hannah Bronfman

Confession time: I have this fear that a guest will walk into our home and say, “What is that horrible smell?”.

Read this amazing post on DIY Fall Scents, to make your home smell like fall. It turns out that nature has some pretty fabulous-smelling spices, herbs, and foods that will make your home smell just the way you want it to for fall and the holidays.

What Are Simmer Pot Recipes?

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If you are wondering “what is a simmer pot?”, I completely understand!

Basically, it’s a bubbling stovetop potpourri. You can use a traditional simmer pot that you buy at the store, a crockpot, or if you are home, then make it on the stove (on low heat).

What to Put in Your Simmer Pot

Toss orange peels, spices, and more into a pot of water on the stove, then turn the pot on, and let it simmer. Before you know it, your pot of simmering fruits, spices, etc add fragrance to every single room in your home.

This is a natural and fun way to dress up the scent of your home. They are addictive, trust me!

Also, check out these orange peel hacks, they will blow your mind!

I am always up for trying new simmering pot recipes that will make our home smell amazing. With so many possible simmer pot combinations, the fragrance options are nearly endless.

Simply toss the ingredients into a pot, add water, turn on your stove, and rich, warm, spice-filled scents make your home very inviting!

Once you have exhausted the obvious things to use as homemade potpourri, then you can try one of these sweet smelling ideas…

Best & Easy Simmer Pot Recipes for Autumn

These simmer potpourri recipes will fill your home with delicious smells and a few other benefits, as well. Find your new favorite sweet smelling recipe down below.

This vast variety of simmering pot recipes will truly transform your home. There’s something for everyone on this list, so you will easily find a mix the entire family will love.

1. Cold and Flu Fighting Stovetop Potpourri

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This simmer pot recipe is great to simmer on the stovetop when someone in your home is sick. It’s comforting, soothing, and healing to the body as you breathe it in.

Citrus, rosemary, clove, cinnamon, and eucalyptus are an unbeatable germ-fighting combination and are often found together in essential oil blends. This stovetop recipe is a great way to stay healthy over the winter months!

2. Fall Crock Pot Recipe forPotpourri

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Simmer pots aren’t just for the simmer pots. Check out this easy, chemical-free autumn slow cooker simmer pot recipe. Instead of the stove, they created their simmer pot in the slow cooker. Using the slow cooker means you don’t have to replenish the water supply quite as often.

I love this idea and the ingredients—apples, oranges, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon sticks. This combination will surely dress up the scent of your home this year.

And if you store it in an airtight container when you’re not actively simmering it, it will last for as long as four days!

3. Citrus Scented Simmer Pot

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Get a burst of energy with this citrus simmering pot recipe. The orange and ginger together add an invigorating fragrance that is so fresh and clean. Pop the mixture into a pretty mason jar, and you have a beautiful gift you can share!

This recipe is not only perfect for the fall, it’s great for any time of the year.

4. Stovetop Potpourri with Pears

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This pear apple simmer pot recipe is really good! You get that sweet, fruity aroma, paired with the warm and comforting scent of clove and cinnamon. As an alternative to simmering it in a pot, you can also use it as a dry potpourri.

This is one of my favorite fall simmering potpourri recipes. And it would make a splendid gift for someone who loves the scents of fall and winter!

5. Fragrant Homemade Potpourri with Dried Fruit

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Give the gift of dried fruit and spices so that loved ones can put it in a pan with water to create their own simmer pots for their homes this season.

Homemade potpourri makes a great gift that is thoughtful, affordable, and unique. You can customize the potpourri in many different ways to match your loved one’s favorite scents.

6. Holiday Simmering Potpourri Recipe

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Get ready for the holidays with a festive citrus simmer pot recipe. Cloves, anise, dried oranges, and more give this a citrus and spiced scent. And it’s so easy to make!

If you want to give this potpourri mix as a gift, there are printable gift tags that explain to the receiver how to use their gifted simmer pot ingredients!

7. DIY Christmas Potpourri for Your Simmer Pot

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This homemade potpourri includes a free printable label to use to create your own gift of simmering potpourri. The red cranberries add a beautiful touch of holiday color. And the lovely, long-lasting fragrance is the perfect addition to your home this holiday season.

As a bonus, this potpourri simmer pot recipe is perfect for holiday get-togethers! You can leave it simmering in the background, adding a comforting element to your gathering.

8. Winter Pine Simmering Pot

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Oh, I love this winter simmering pot recipe. It really feels like you bring the outdoors in, as the pine scent plays off of the spices and citrus. It’s a simple way to make your home smell amazing, and you’re doing so without the use of harmful chemicals.

If you have an artificial tree, this is a homemade potpourri recipe you definitely want to use to give your home the feeling of a real, live Christmas tree.

9. Stovetop Potpourri Idea

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This stovetop potpourri is not only super pretty, but it will make your home smell like Christmas in minutes. She even shares tips on how to give this as a gift to loved ones. They’ll love the scents of orange, cranberry, cloves, and cinnamon!

10. Homemade Orange Spice Potpourri

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Orange spice potpourri is a very popular scent, as oranges work really well in a simmering pot, and they help bring out the fragrance of the spices you used to go with it. This potpourri is another simmer pot recipe that would make an excellent Christmas gift for a loved one.

11. Fall Simmer Pot Recipe

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This fall simmer pot recipe gives you a hint of apple, cinnamon, clove, and more. Ahhhh, I can smell it right now!

It’s an amazing combination that helps to give your home a holiday season vibe in just a few minutes. You’ll want to mix up a batch this afternoon!

12. Simmering Christmas Potpourri

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Can’t wait till Christmas? I get it! This simmering pot Christmas recipe uses a handful of citrus fruits, cranberries, and more to really capture the scents of the season.

If you put up an artificial tree, but miss the smell of a real live tree, this recipe will more than make up for it!

Simmer Pot Recipes to Make Your Home Smell Amazing This Fall & Winter

Aren’t these simmer pot recipes simply beautiful to look at? Not only do they look amazing, but they will make your house smell unbelievably fragrant and festive.

Simmer pot recipes are an easy way to sprinkle the fragrance of the season throughout every room in your home. I love that it takes minimal effort–beyond dumping a few household ingredients into a kitchen pot, and covering them with water. It’s a simple, cost-effective, and healthy way to enjoy the wonderful scents that make fall and winter so special.

Since there is such a wide variety of ingredients in each of these recipes, you are sure to find a favorite for every member of your family. You can use a citrus blend one day, and a pine blend the next. You can easily vary the scent based on your mood, the temperature outdoors, or the activities you have going on that day.

Which of these simmer pot blends are you most excited about trying first?

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More Fall Fun Ideas From One Crazy House:

  • 15 Farmhouse-Style DIY Fall Decor Ideas Anyone Can Make
  • Ultimate Fall Activities For the Entire Family
  • 16 Fun Things to do With The Family This Fall
  • 19 Decadent Recipes to Pumpkin Spice Up Your Taste Buds
  • Stunning Fall Wreaths That Are Easy to Make
12 Fall And Winter Simmering Pot Recipes To Make Today (2024)

FAQs

What items are best for simmer pot? ›

CLASSIC SIMMER POT INGREDIENTS
  • Citrus fruits like orange, lemon, lime.
  • Apples.
  • Cranberries.
  • Cinnamon sticks.
  • Whole cloves.
  • Nutmeg.
  • Rosemary.
  • Pine or other conifers.
Nov 30, 2022

How long do you let a simmer pot simmer? ›

Fill a large pot 3/4 full with water and place over high heat. To the pot, add all of the ingredients. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on low for 2-3 hours. Add more water, as needed, so there is always some liquid in the pot.

Do you put a lid on a simmer pot? ›

Simmering and Boiling

In the event that your goal is to keep moisture in—like when your pot of soup, stew, or sauce is already at the right consistency, but you want to keep cooking the vegetables and melding the flavors—leave the lid on to keep any more liquid from evaporating.

What can I boil on the stove when sick? ›

Simmering potpourri on the stove releases moisture into the air, which can relieve coughing and congestion. Citrus, clove, rosemary, cinnamon and eucalyptus are an unstoppable germ-fighting team, and are often found together in essential oil blends.

What can I cook to make the house smell good? ›

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil, then add ingredients like apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks, cloves, ginger, cranberries, nutmeg, vanilla, and more, and keep the water at a simmer to fill your home with a beautiful autumnal aroma.

How many times can you reuse a simmer pot? ›

A: Depending on what ingredients you've used in your simmer pot, you can reuse the same one for several days! Simply continue to replace the water as needed.

Do you leave a simmer pot on all day? ›

You can keep you Autumn Simmer Pot on the stove all day long if you like! Just remember to keep adding water to prevent the ingredients from burning, and never leave the house while it's simmering on the stovetop.

How many days can you use the same simmer pot? ›

If there are no fresh fruit slices in your recipe, simply turn off the stove and cover the pot with a lid in between uses. Reheat when you need another dose of stovetop potpourri. According to the Happier Homemaker, with this method, your simmer pot can last four days.

What to do after making a simmer pot? ›

What do you do with a simmer pot after cooking? It is possible to reuse a simmer pot a second time. To reuse, drain water from the simmer pot ingredients. After the ingredients are drained and have cooled, store them in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, depending on what ingredients you used.

Can you use a crockpot as a simmer pot? ›

Simmer pots, or stovetop potpourri, can be made in the crockpot too!

Can I use dried cranberries in a simmer pot? ›

Here's how to make and use your simmer pot: Slice a piece of fruit (lemon, orange, apple, pear, whatever you want- you can also use dried fruit and fresh or dried cranberries!) Add some fresh or dried herbs or flowers (rosemary, lavender, rose, bay leaf) Add dried spices such as a cinnamon stick or a teaspoon of cloves.

What can I boil to disinfect the air? ›

Be sure to choose herbs rich in essential oils such as rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint, lemon balm, basil, sage, cinnamon, and cloves. The simmering water releases the essential oils from the herbs into the air and the essential oils being anti-viral and anti-bacterial in-turn clean the air.

What spices can you boil to make your house smell good? ›

Natural way to make your home smell amazing. For this recipe you need 3 cups of water, one sliced lemon, one sliced lime, 2 cups of fresh Rosemary, one and 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract. and 2 cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce to simmer and continue to simmer on low.

What can I boil to get rid of germs? ›

If you don't have safe bottled water, you should boil your water to make it safe to drink. Boiling is the surest method to kill disease-causing germs, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. adding a pinch of salt for each quart or liter of boiled water.

How many times can you use a simmer pot? ›

Depending on what ingredients you've used in your simmer pot, you can reuse the same one for several days! If you've included fruit in your recipe, then it's best to use that pot for only 1 day.

Are simmer pots better than candles? ›

Plus, candles can also be a fire hazard, especially around children. But simmer pot recipes are a fantastic solution. Because they use natural ingredients without any additives or chemicals, you won't have to worry about any toxins being released into your home. And the scent will linger for longer.

Why doesn t my simmer pot smell? ›

For the most fragrance, simmer uncovered, adding water as needed. To keep moisture in, you can keep it covered, but of course the fragrance won't be as strong throughout the room.

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