Fill your home with warm fall scents with this homemade Simmering Fall Potpourri! Simmered in a slow cooker or on the stovetop, this simple and natural mix of spices, apples, lemon, cinnamon, and vanilla will make you welcome Autumn and the coziness this season brings!
❤️ Why you'll love this fall potpourri mix
- all-natural: no artificial ingredients
- it helps to combat dryness: a simmer pot of potpourri can add a little moisture to the air when your heating system makes your house dry.
- inexpensive: this spice mix uses ingredients you may already have on hand.
- adaptable recipe: use up fruit that may be beginning to spoil or spices that are a little stale.
- treat yourself! There's no need to wait until you're having friends over to make this! Curl up with a cup of soothing lemon ginger tea, a cozy blanket and a good book and enjoy the scents of Autumn!
🍁 Perfect for Fall and Thanksgiving
Just in time for Thanksgiving, make this easy Simmering Fall Potpourri to gently heat in your slow cooker or in a pot on your stovetop. In only a few minutes, it will fill your home with your favorite aromas and elicit comforting memories you have of fall!
Fall weather brings us indoors. As the days get shorter and the nights become cooler and we spend more time indoors than outside, we tend to focus on creating a cozy home.
Familiar aromas and pleasant scents when we walk into a room can calm our emotions and elevate our mood. Science backs up what we already knew in this article Do scents affect people's moods or work performance?
Potpourri for Winter holidays
During the winter holiday time, I usually have a pot of Simmering Holiday Potpourri filling my kitchen with the smells of Christmas: dried orange slices, cranberries, warm spices, and fresh rosemary.
This week, however, this crockpot fall potpourri is making my home smell like freshly baked cinnamon apple pie!
Go natural this fall! Avoid store-bought potpourri or scented candles that use artificial scents. Keep it simple, use ingredients you have on hand, and make your home smell heavenly with this DIY homemade Fall Potpourri!
🛒 Ingredients
Gather your ingredients to make your home smell like fall! This Autumn Potpourri uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. Here's what you'll need to make this simple and natural slow cooker fall potpourri mix.
- a lemon
- an apple: any variety
- whole cloves
- cinnamon sticks
- whole nutmeg: or ground nutmeg if you can't find nutmeg seeds
- pure vanilla extract
🔪 How to make fall crockpot potpourri
- Partially fill a slow cooker, mini slow cooker, or a pot that you will simmer on the stovetop with water.
- Float the lemon and apple slices on top and add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, halved nutmeg seeds, and vanilla extract.
- Turn the heat to simmer and let this fall potpourri mix fill your home with the scent of apples and cinnamon!
- Watch carefully, as the water will evaporate as it simmers. Keep the water level topped up from time to time to avoid damaging your pot or slow cooker.
🔁 Possible variations
- Make this simmering spice mix your own! Use what you have on hand.
- If you don't like the aroma of vanilla, leave it out.
- Use leftover orange or lemon peels or even apple peels when you've made an apple pie or apple pecan crisp.
- You can use ground spices, like cloves, cinnamon, or nutmeg if you don't have whole, but it won't last as long, and it tends to get a little mucky! However, it will still give you the delicious aroma of applesauce cake fresh from the oven!
🗒 More helpful "how-to" recipes
- How to Make Paleo Lemon Curd
- Sugar-Free Rhubarb Compote or Stewed Rhubarb
- How to Make Balsamic Glaze
- How to Make Peanut Sauce and Why You Should
🌟 Did you make this stovetop potpourri?
When you make this potpourri, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I love hearing how my recipes turn out for you, or how you adapted them!
Simmering Fall Potpourri with Apples and Cinnamon
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium lemon
- 1 medium apple
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 nutmeg seed, or ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Partially fill a slow cooker, mini slow cooker, or a pot that you will simmer on the stovetop with water.
- Float the lemon and apple slices on top and add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, halved nutmeg seeds, and vanilla extract.
- Turn the heat to simmer and let this fall potpourri mix fill your home with the scent of apples and cinnamon!
- Watch carefully, as the water will evaporate as it simmers. Keep the water level topped up from time to time to avoid damaging your pot or slow cooker.
Heather Martin
Do you think dried apples would work? Thank you.
Elaine
Hi Heather, Using dried cranberries or dried apples in a potpourri mix will certainly last longer if you're giving these as a gift. While you may not have the same result, it will still look pretty and make your kitchen smell wonderful!
Elise
Love this for Thanksgiving! I made your Simmering Holiday Potpourri last year and will make it again for Christmas.
Paula
I made this today and love it! My kitchen smells so good!
Flavour & Savour
So glad you're enjoying it, too!
Flavour & Savour
Great idea to use up those bits! Even if he dips into it, lol, it's all edible!
Jackie
Brilliant timing for me! I was able to use some leftover lemon wedges found lurking in the fridge and an apple that was a tad past its best before date!! A win-win. Now I just have to make sure my other half doesn't decide to taste it when he comes home. 😏 It smells amazing.