There are two basic types of homemade potpourri recipes: dried and simmering. Making dried potpourri – the kind that sits around in a bowl, letting off its wonderful scent – is a great hobby.
It’s also a great way to use old candle holders, if you buy the bigger ones that have a lid. Just put your potpourri in those and either keep them or gift them that way. (Here are some tips for cleaning wax out of a candle holder.)
It costs less than buying it at a store, and you get to come up with your own custom fragrances and mixes. It also makes for a lovely and inexpensive gift. But there’s a lot to the process.
If drying and curing and stirring is more hassle than you want to get into, or if you just want to be able to whip up a lovely scent spontaneously, you should look at instant simmering potpourri recipes.
I’m going to cover recipes for both kinds here, starting with the easy kind.
Homemade Potpourri Recipes
You can make instant simmering potpourri from anything that smells good while it’s being simmered, and you probably have a lot of stuff on hand already that qualifies:
- Coffee
- Tea
- Cinnamon sticks
- Vanilla extract, almond extract, peppermint extract, etc.
- Dried spices and herbs – thyme, basil, rosemary, cilantro, parsley, nutmeg, clove, lemongrass, etc.
- Apple cider
If you don’t have these flavorings on hand, you can easily order them online.
Instant Simmering Potpourri Recipes
These recipes can be ridiculously simple. Just cinnamon sticks simmering in a cup of water on low heat makes a wonderful cinnamon smell.
Add vanilla extract to some clove and you’ve got vanilla spice. You don’t really need specific amounts – you just combine the ingredients slowly, letting your nose tell you when you’ve got the blend just right.
You may want to invest in a mini crock pot like the Crock-Pot Food Warmer. Instead of sitting on your stove, it can be plugged in anywhere in your home and release fragrance from your homemade potpourri for hours.
Most potpourri burners and simmer pots are designed for liquid and wax potporri, but a crock pot can handle anything. Plus, it’s more useful because you can also cook with it.
Here are some suggested recipe combinations for simmering on the stovetop in a saucepan, or in a potpourri burner:
Simmering Potpourri Recipes
1. Cinnamon Buns
- Cinnamon sticks
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Nutmeg (optional)
Add a little apple cider to your simmering water, and you get a whole new flavor.
2. Coffee Potpourri
- Fresh ground coffee beans (ideally – instant coffee will do, too)
- Optionally, any or all of the following: vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon sticks, orange peel, carob chips, chickory. Anything that tastes good in coffee will work, (except for dry ingredients creamer and cocoa powder, which don’t simmer very well).
3. Mint Potpourri
- Add a few drops of peppermint extract in a cup of water, and simmer.
- You could add lemon verbena or rosemary or almost anything, but it’s also delicious with just mint.
Fresh mint from the garden is another way to go. This can yield a slightly more “green” scent than you get from peppermint extract or oil.
4. Cilantro Mint Potpourri
Put mint extract and dried cilantro into your simmering pot. It makes one of those scents you can’t stop inhaling because it’s wonderful and fascinating.
5. Chai Tea Potpourri
- Black tea bags (get PG Tips – best tasting tea ever, and best smelling)
- Vanilla extract
- Chai spices include the following, so use any or all of them: cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper, ginger, coriander seed, mace, star anise, fennel, bay leaf.
When you’re done simmering, you could strain this into a cup, add some milk, and enjoy a chai tea latte.
6. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Sprinkle dried versions of these into simmering water and you get a wonderful green herbal scent.
Dried potpourri recipes
If you want to do a little more work, you can create dried potpourri which will let off scent just sitting a bowl, or wrapped in a sachet, or even from simmering. In fact, simmering is a great way to get one last burst of scent from dried potpourri that’s losing its aroma.
Dried potpourri is also great for gifting. Just put it in a little cellophane gift bag, tie it with a ribbon, add a printable gift tag, and you’ve got a gorgeous little gift. Or, again, put it in a cleaned candle jar.
If you want to up your game, a dehydrator will really speed up your dried potpourri projects, and also seal in more scent.
Here are some dried potpourri recipes to get you started:
Dried Potpourri Recipes
Recipes to make your own Pot-Pourri
Lemon verbena, lemon balm and lemon thyme, with marjoram and other common household spices and some essential oils
All Natural Crock Pot Air Freshener Recipe
Use not only the food and spices you already have in the kitchen, but even kitchen scraps like fruit peels, to make some delicious potpourri. These can be simmered in a crock pot to make your whole house smell wonderful.
Easy Homemade Potpourri Recipes
Perfect for sachets, great for Valentine's Day.
Easy Homemade Simmering Potpourri Recipe
Make a potpourri gift in a mason jar. Add simmering ingredients like cinnamon, orange peel and dried cranberries.
Orange Spice Potpourri Recipe Recipe | Group
Zesty citrus rinds, anise, cinnamon and cloves make for a lovely scent
Stovetop Potpourri
This stovetop potpourri recipe smells like pumpkin pie. It's so simple - you just simmer it on the stovetop and it makes your whole house smell delicious!
Essence of Rose
A colorful assortment of rose petals with chamomile, eucalyptus and rose oil
Fall Simmer Pot Recipe - Make Your House Smell Like Fall
Easily make this simple fall stovetop potpourri recipe by mixing all your favorite fall scents together.
Homemade Orange Spice Potpourri
This recipe shows you how to dehydrate oranges for the base of the potpourri blend. You can add whichever spices you like to it.
Potpourri Stove Top Recipe
This easy holiday Potpourri Stove Top Recipe will make your house smell unbelievably delicious!
Easiest Christmas Stovetop Potpourri (Best DIY Gift)
These Christmas stovetop potpourri is made to fill the house with all the scents of Christmas, like cinnamon, nutmeg and citrus!
Simmering Holiday Potpourri
DIY Christmas Stovetop Potpourri (& Mason Jar Gift) + Free Printable Gift Tag
If you love the smells of Christmas, this DIY Christmas Stovetop Potpourri is perfect! A mix of cranberries, orange slices, cinnamon and all kinds of Christmasy spices, your house will smell amazing! And it’s perfect to put together as a DIY mason jar gift! Instructions and free printable gift tag included!
DIY Christmas Potpourri with Printable Gift Labels
Fill your home with a wonderful, long lasting all-natural aroma from this homemade Christmas Potpourri. Or get in the gift-giving spirit with free Printable Gift Labels to complete the presentation.
Cranberry Stove Top Potpourri Recipe for the Holidays
This homemade cranberry stove top potpourri recipe will fill your house with the delicious scents of the season. By using a natural homemade cranberry stove top potpourri recipe, you can have all the yummy scents without worries about what you're inhaling.
Instant Pot Christmas Potpourri
This fragrant Instant Pot Christmas Potpourri recipe is an easy way to fill your house with the sweet smells of the holidays. Makes a great DIY mason jar gift too.