Christmas Simmer Pot (Holiday Stovetop Potpourri)
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Have you ever wondered how to make your house smell like Christmas? The secret is in this Christmas Simmer Pot! It takes less than 5 minutes of prep and will leave your entire house smelling amazing all day!
If you’re looking for more fun holiday recipes (the edible kind), check out my recipes for Peppermint Hot Cocoa, Grinch Cookies, Christmas Cookie Dip, and Christmas Moscow Mule.
This post also includes tips for using alternate ingredients, making a simmer pot in the slow cooker, and giving them as gifts. Keep scrolling (or choose where to go with our easy drop-down menu below).
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❤️Why You’ll Love This Recipe
A Christmas simmer pot allows you to fill your home with the delicious smell of the holidays. Once the ingredients are added to the water and come to a boil, it releases all of the fragrances that the ingredients have to offer. With the right combination, you can fill your home with a beautiful holiday-themed aroma.
A simmer pot, sometimes called stovetop potpourri is an easy and natural way to bring the smells of Christmas into your home.
This recipe uses a handful of natural ingredients including fresh citrus fruit, whole spices, and pine branches.
Simmer pots are a great way to make your home smell great! They give you that whole house smell with just a handful of ingredients you can easily find at the grocery store (or may already have on hand)
Christmas potpourri is also an alternative to candle burning. It is safer than traditional candles (especially if you have small children running around). Plus many candles on the market have chemical additives used to achieve their Christmas smell.
Simmer pots use 100% natural ingredients that still give you the scents of the season.
Today, I am presenting you with the best Christmas Simmer Pot out there! I can’t wait to show you how it’s done.
📋Ingredients
Pink Grapefruit
Blood Orange: I used blood orange for the pretty color but regular oranges work as well.
Red Apple: Fresh apple slices work best.
Lemon
Fresh Cranberries
Fresh Rosemary
Cinnamon Sticks
Scroll to the bottom for the complete list of ingredient measurements and printable recipe card.
📖 Ingredient Swaps
Spices: If you want to add more spices to your simmer pot, try adding whole cloves or allspice berries. You can also sub out ground spices such as allspice, nutmeg, or cinnamon.
Pine Needles: If you have a fresh Christmas tree, adding a few pine needles or even a branch to your simmer pot will make it smell lovely.
Other fragrant ingredients you can try are star anise, cardamom pods, and fresh ginger.
🔪Step-by-Step Instructions
👩🏻🍳Expert Cooking Tips
Slow Cooker Simmer Pot
This simmer pot can be made in your slow cooker! Simply combine all of the ingredients inside your slow cooker and fill it with water. Cover and cook on high until the water begins to steam. Remove the lid and enjoy the wonderful scent.
Easy DIY Christmas Gifts
Simmer pot ingredients make fantastic gifts! Place all ingredients (minus the water) in a mason jar or cellophane bag. Add a handwritten note and some festive ribbon. They make great hostess gifts, teacher gifts, and neighbor gifts.
Can I Re-Use a Simmer Pot?
Absolutely! All you have to do is cool down your simmer pot’s ingredients and store them in an air-tight container.
Whenever you’re ready for another Christmas simmer pot, all you have to do is add them to a saucepan filled with water and bring it to a boil. We recommend keeping the ingredients for up to 5 days.
💭Recipe FAQs
A holiday simmer pot allows you to fill your home with the delicious smell of the holidays. Once the ingredients are added to the water and come to a boil, it releases all of the fragrances that the ingredients have to offer. With the right combination, you can fill your home with a beautiful holiday-themed aroma. It’s perfect for a Christmas party or Christmas morning.
Any combination of winter scents like cinnamon sticks, pine branches, rosemary, cardamom pods, orange slices, and whole cloves will give you a festive scent throughout your home.
The simmer pot can be drained and ingredients can be stored and reused for up to 2-3 days.
🎄More Christmas Recipes…
If you tried this Christmas Simmer Pot or any other recipe on my website, I would love it if you could leave me a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below. ❤️
Christmas Simmer Pot
Equipment
- 1 Large Stock Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pink grapefruit sliced
- 1 blood orange sliced
- 1 red apple sliced
- 1 lemon sliced
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 2-3 pine tree branches
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Fill a large pot half way with water.
- Combine all ingredients into the pot.
- Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer to allow the liquid evaporate into your house. (This is where the yummy smell happens!)
- The Christmas simmer pot ingredients can be cooled down and stored in a container to be re-used one more time within a few days.
