Christmas is the season of gift-giving and cozy, warm scents! Make your house smell like Christmas with this Christmas Stovetop Potpourri that is the best combination of the two! It's quick to throw together, and you can even package it up and give pre-made stovetop potpourri bags as gifts to bring some extra cheer to your loved ones this year!
Christmas is one of the best holidays for the people in your life like friends, neighbors, or coworkers with homemade goods! Give my Homemade Vanilla Extract to all of your baker friends, or add some Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle to a gift hamper of other delicious treats!
The holidays are always full of warmth and spice when it comes to foods and aromas. Recipes are loaded with ginger, cranberries, orange, cinnamon, and rosemary, making everything taste like Christmas! But sometimes I just want to just have the scent of Christmas without turning on the oven. That's where this Christmas Stovetop Potpourri comes in.
This "recipe" is really simple to make. Just add all of the ingredients to a pot on the stove and let it gently simmer on the lowest heat settin for hours and hours, occasionally checking the water level. That's it!
Your house will smell AMAZING for such little effort! You could even toss everything in a slow cooker and let it work its magic all day.
This stovetop potpourri is the perfect way to bring some extra Christmas cheer into any home. Whether it's just you, you and family, or in the homes of friends, this amazing scent is sure to brighten up any cold, dreary winter's day.
You can also make this recipe for Christmas simmering potpourri as little gift baggies to give throughout the holidays! Just add the fruit (unsliced!) and spices to a gift bag along with instructions on how to simmer, and give it away! It's a thoughtful, cost-effective way of showing love at Christmas and maybe a nice change from plates of sweets that can get overwhelming!
What you'll need:
- Cranberries: You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries when you make this DIY Christmas stovetop potpourri. If you're giving it as a gift, use fresh cranberries, but if it's just for your own home, then by all means use frozen cranberries. Dried cranberries won't provide the same result though.
- Cinnamon sticks and cloves: Cinnamon and whole cloves bring incredible warmth and spice making this Christmas stovetop potpourri recipe extra cozy! I prefer using cinnamon sticks because the ground cinnamon makes a muddy mess and the fragrance never lasts as long.
- Rosemary: A few sprigs of rosemary elevates the aroma with a herbal touch that makes this simmer pot surprisingly festive. It also fancies up the mix when gifting this since it looks like similar to pine needles in the bag.
- Orange: Sliced or quartered, this seasonal fruit pops up in a lot of Christmas recipes. It complements the cinnamon and cloves so well in both food and scents. Alternatively, you could use lemons instead.
- Water or apple juice: These liquids are used to simmer everything together! You can use apple juice if you have it on hand to give an extra fruitiness to the potpourri, but water will work just fine, especially since you will need to periodically refill the pot throughout the day as the liquid evaporates!
How do you make Christmas Potpourri?
- Prep the fruit and herbs. Firstly, cut the orange into slices or quarters, and then cut off 2-3 sprigs of rosemary if they're not already pre-cut. I'm lucky to have a rosemary bush in my yard that is always in need of a trim.
- Simmer. Secondly, place all of the potpourri ingredients in a medium pot with 4-6 cups water or apple juice and bring to a simmer over the lowest possible heat.
- Refill. Finally, continue to simmer the Christmas Stovetop Potpourri over the lowest heat, refilling water as needed. Don't forget to check the water levels occasionally, and definitely don't forget and leave the house with your pot simmering away on the stovetop.
Can I add different ingredients?
Absolutely! Here are a few add-in and swaps you can try for this Christmas Stovetop Potpourri Recipe:
- Fruit: You can add pears, apples, tangerines, mandarins, lemons, and grapefruit along with or instead of the orange. It's actually a great way to use up fruit that hasn't been eaten and is bruised or a bit past it's prime so it doesn't go to waste.
- Spices: Whole allspice or anise also go really well in this potpourri recipe.
- Vanilla: If you've tried making my Homemade Vanilla Extract and have leftover vanilla beans once a batch is fully infused, throw those in as well!
How long does Stovetop Potpourri last?
Once you get it going, This Christmas Stovetop Potpourri will last up to 4 days on the stove. I usually let it simmer for a few hours and leave it covered on the stove for later if we're going out or overnight. It ends up looking a murky mess by day 4, but it still smells lovely!
Can you reuse Stovetop Potpourri?
Yes! When it's cool, just place the Christmas stove top potpourri in a jar in the fridge for later. You can keep reusing it for about a week. If it needs freshened up a little, just add some more fruit and spices!
Do you simmer Christmas Stovetop Potpourri with the lid on or off?
As you won't be paying too close attention to it, simmer the stovetop potpourri with the lid off on very low heat. This also allows the aroma to spread throughout the house more easily.
How do I make Christmas Stovetop Potpourri gifts?
It's really simple! To make Christmas stove top potpourri in a jar or bag, place the cranberries and a whole orange (or other whole fruit like an apple, pear or lemon), along with the whole spices together into the container of your choosing. Make sure you include instructions or just refer them back to this post for tips and ideas!
More Christmas Recipes Like This
- Easy Homemade Cranberry Bread
- The BEST Cranberry Orange Bread
- Easy Festive Sugared Cranberries
- Pomegranate in a Pear Tree Punch
- White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Fudge
- How to make Peppermint Ice Cream with Candy Canes
- Easy Homemade Eggnog
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Christmas Stovetop Potpourri
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 3-4 cinnamon sticks
- 2-3 sprigs rosemary
- 1-2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1 orange, quartered or sliced
- 4-6 cups water or apple juice
Optional:
- 1 apple, sliced or quartered
- 1 pear, sliced or quartered
- 1 lemon, sliced
- Whole allspice
- Whole anise
- Leftover vanilla beans from making homemade vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place all of the potpourri ingredients in a medium pot with 4-6 cups water or apple juice and bring to a simmer over the lowest possible heat.
- Continue to simmer over the lowest heat, refilling water as needed. Don't forget to check the water levels occasionally.
Notes
- This can also be done in a slow cooker rather than on the stovetop.
- The scent will typically last for up to 4 days before the ingredients need to be replaced.
- While technically edible, you would not want to consume this.
Will this stain my slow cooker? Have you ever used a slow cooker bag?
Hmmm I usually make this on the stove top and my slow cooker is black so I have not had any experiences with this staining anything. And I have never used a slow cooker bag for potpourri. But I don't see any harm in using one? But I honestly think your slow cooker will be fine without one.