In this blog post, you’ll learn how to make this simple dried stovetop simmering potpourri using dried herbs, spices, and citrus!

This Christmas stovetop potpourri recipe is a great idea for the holiday season, featuring warm spices and fresh ingredients like dried orange slices, fresh cranberries, and whole nutmeg.

A variety of simple seasonal ingredients make up this handmade Christmas gift complete with darling free printable gift tags! This simmering potpourri will make your entire home smell festive and delicious, all-naturally!

Whether you’re hosting a holiday party or looking for thoughtful gift ideas, this recipe is the perfect way to share the scents of the season with your loved ones.

Read below for tips on dehydrating citrus, the perfect simmering potpourri blend, and how to batch it all up into the perfect handmade gift!

Table of contents

Learn how to make your own Christmas stovetop potpourri gifts to give as a beautiful handmade Christmas gift! This recipe is the perfect DIY Christmas gift that will fill your whole house with amazing scents, creating a cozy holiday spirit. Download my free printable tag to go along with this lovely holiday gift!

What ingredients are in stovetop potpourri? 

The amazing thing about making your own homemade stovetop potpourri is that you can customize it with an array of ingredients!

I like to use seasonal fruit, herbs, and spices to make a blend that smells amazing! Some of the best spices to use are cinnamon, cloves, and allspice! These warm spices produce a wonderful aroma that naturally makes your home smell just like Christmas!

The best part is that you can use ingredients like citrus fruits, ground spices, and fresh oranges to create your signature blend. A simmer pot filled with these seasonal elements will leave your own home smelling incredible.

Some ingredients to try in homemade stovetop simmering potpourri: 

Cinnamon

Whole Cloves

Whole Allspice 

Dried Citrus 

Dried Cranberries

Dehydrated Apples 

Dried Rosemary 

Dried Thyme

Dried Orange Slices

Fresh Cranberries

Whole Orange or Orange Peels

Pro Tip: For a stronger scent, consider adding a few drops of essential oils like orange or cinnamon to enhance the fragrance.

How to Dry or Dehydrate Potpourri Ingredients

  1. Slice the fruit into uniform pieces, the smaller and thinner – the quicker it will dry.
  2. Set your oven on the lowest setting (around 175 F). Place the ingredients on a Silpat baking mat or parchment lined baking sheet in your oven spread evenly.
  3. This will take anywhere from 3-6 hours depending on the fruit, size, and humidity level.
  4. Be sure to dehydrate fully so that all moisture is removed preventing any mold from growing.

If you’re not up for dehydrating your own fruit, you can always buy dehydrated fruit! 

Or, if you want a simple simmering stovetop potpourri recipe that doesn’t require any dehydration you can always skip the dehydrating and simmer right away, it just doesn’t keep for gifting!

*Note: if you live in a very humid climate, it may take you longer than 6 hours to dehydrate the fruit.

Why I Love This Recipe

I really, truly love making things. Making my advent calendar this year was one of the highlights of the season, and creating this easy and beautiful gift seconds it. Compiling the fruit and spices into little glass jars with darling little labels was a gift to myself all on its own.

When making this recipe, I initially thought that since the ingredients were dry, they wouldn’t be as potent as my fresh stove top potpourri recipe. That simply isn’t the case! The dried simmering potpourri is equally as effective as scenting the home.

The great thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. Whether you’re creating Christmas gifts, party favors, or just looking for a way to enjoy the holiday spirit in your own home, this stovetop potpourri is a perfect gift option.

A Thoughtful Gift

This recipe is truly fantastic, and just as wonderful as a fresh recipe. I was amazed by the lovely scent that has lasted for days. I let my potpourri sit for a few days before tossing it, but by day two it doesn’t look as pretty, but it still smells just as nice! 

I cannot wait to give these as gifts. They are toxin free, which is a huge bonus, and they are very inexpensive to make. I plan on pairing them with linen tea towels and a holiday note. I hope you enjoy making these for your neighbors and friends! Don’t forget to save a batch for yourself!

The great thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. Whether you’re creating Christmas gifts, party favors, or just looking for a way to enjoy the holiday spirit in your own home, this stovetop potpourri is a perfect gift option.

Homemade Stove Top Potpourri

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5 from 1 vote

Handmade Christmas Gift: Stove Top Potpourri

Make this stovetop potpourri recipe as a great homemade Christmas gift idea! Dried fruit, herbs, and spices smell divine and look beautiful all jarred up!
Prep Time6 hours
Active Time1 hour
Total Time7 hours
Course: Christmas
Keyword: christmas gift ideas, diy gift, homemade christmas gift, homemade potpourri, natural potpourri, stove top potpourri, stovetop potpourri
Author: Chloe | Boxwood Ave.

Equipment

  • paper trimmer (optional)
  • kraft paper (optional)
  • glue dots (optional)
  • twine (optional)

Materials

  • 5-6 seasonal fruit such as persimmons citrus, or pomegranates
  • 1 bundle herbs such as rosemary thyme, or sage
  • 1 jar whole all-spice
  • 1 jar whole cloves
  • 1 jar whole cinnamon sticks
  • 8 oz mason jars
  • card stock optional
  • free printable tags optional

Instructions

  • Prepare the Potpourri: Slice fruit into uniform pieces. Place sliced fruit and herbs onto a lined baking sheet. Make sure to spread the fruit out so that it is not stacked on top of itself (as if you were making cookies), otherwise it may not dry completely. The fruit must be 100% dehydrated to prevent mold growth once it is jarred up!
  • Turn your oven to its lowest temperature, and dehydrate the fruit & herbs for 6-8 hours (Maybe even a bit longer if you have a lot of fruit or fruit that contains more moisture!). Make sure the fruit is 100% dry because mold can grow if there is moisture still present.
  • Remove from the oven, and save until you are ready to assemble the jars. You can expect the listed ingredients to make about 5 jars (possibly 6). I like to add 3 cinnamon sticks in each jar combined with dried herbs and the other ingredients!
  • Prepare the Jars: Print out the free labels, and using a paper trimmer, cut the strips of tags.
  • Place a varying amount of dried fruit, herbs, cinnamon sticks, and spices into small glass jars until full.
  • Cut rounds of kraft paper roughly 1″ larger in diameter than the glass jars. Use a glue dot to secure the kraft paper to the lids.
  • Use another glue dot to secure the tag to the kraft paper, and then add twine and other festive accessories to the jars. Enjoy gifting these to neighbors and friends!

Notes

If you want to speed up the process and skip drying your own ingredients, simply purchase already dehydrated fruit and herbs!

Tips

If you want to speed up the process and skip drying your own ingredients, simply purchase already dehydrated fruit and herbs!

More Recipes to Try

Try our delicious Chocolate Covered Marshmallows (The Easiest Christmas Treats!), our Easy Christmas Sangria Recipe (The BEST Sangria Ever)! or make these darling Easy Handmade Christmas Gift: Homemade Candles.

If you are in the mood for something warm, try our Best Hot Chocolate Mix Recipe; it also makes the perfect gift!

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Comments

  2. Very beautiful your potpourri, I can imagine the wonderful smell. If I received a gift like that, I would feel very happy. xo from Dominican Republic.

    Reply

  3. Hi Chloe! I would LOVE this as a gift but I will definitely try this again…last year I had a problem with the fruit so this year I’m going to set the oven on 200 and make this the actual day I buy the fruit.

    But I have made the stove top potpourri with cranberries and oranges and rosemary, I think cinnamon too. Boy was that heavenly!!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Janet! I am wondering if you had stacked the fruit on top of each other? Or perhaps it needed to dehydrate longer? It can be such a long process. I may even purchase a dehydrator this year to use for many things, but it would be great for this recipe!

      Reply

    1. I just updated the recipe because that has been a common question, I am sorry I didn’t add that to begin with! You can expect about 5 jars, perhaps 6. It depends on the size of jar you use how large you slice the fruit. If you want to stretch the recipe, add a few more cinnamon sticks and dried herb branches to fill the jars up!

      Reply

  6. What fruits did you use for your run? I am about to google seasonal fruit good for potpourri, because other than citrus I have no idea what will dehydrate well

    Reply

    1. I used persimmons, pomegranates, and oranges! Citrus works well as do persimmons. Dried apples would be great too!

      Reply

  7. Do you add water to the jars or leave it dry? I am giving these as gifts and I want them to persevere well incase they do not use them right away. Thanks!

    Reply

    1. What fun! Leave them dry, you want to dry them alllll the way out. Any moisture left over will cause mold.

      Then the recipient will add water only when ready to use, simmer on the stove in a large pot. Keep a close eye on the stove to make sure the water doesn’t evaporate all the way, it will burn!

      Reply

  8. Chloe is there a printable tag to attach to the jar? I think there is but I can’t find it. :) So excited to gift these beauties!

    Reply

    1. I am so sorry I don’t know what happened, but the link to the labels was missing!! It’s updated now! Just click the button below the recipe and it should open into a new window!

      Reply

  10. Hi Chloe,

    I am hoping to make these for holiday gifts this year but can’t seem to find the labels to print…

    Thank you,
    Ariel

    Reply

  11. Hi there! Thank you for sharing, love this idea…I made it this weekend but the herbs turned brown in the oven. Do you dry these for less time? Any suggestions how to keep these green?

    Reply

    1. Erin – I used herbs that I had dried over the summer from my garden – so I hadn’t put the herbs in the oven for this recipe. I am guessing that it is a natural process as they dry out (to loser their color)? Or perhaps mine were just extra green from the garden? Wish I had a better answer for you!!

      Reply

  12. Hi! Love this idea! I have a question tho, the jars of allspice and cinnamon and cloves, are those spice jar size? Like McCormick or did you order online? Thanks in advance!

    Reply

    1. Hi Susan, there is a large button above the steps that says: "download the free printable labels" – are you able to find it? Thank you!

      Reply

  14. Hi Chloe where did you purchase the spices used in this recipe? Did you just buy McCormick spices from the grocery store or bulk spices off of amazon? Thanks!!

    Reply

    1. Hi Allison – I did! However, I have linked to some bulk spices in the recipe card in case you’d like to make a big batch! xo

      Reply

  16. Hi. This sounds incredible! Is it a one time use? I read your response that the recipient adds water and simmers being careful not to let the water evaporate. What do they do with it once they are done for the day? Like if they have to leave the house and don’t want to leave the stovetop on? Is there a way to store it? Thank you.

    Reply

    1. Hi Stephanie – essentially it is “one time” although I leave mine out for 2-3 days before discarding it. I simply leave it out, uncovered – and haven’t experienced any problems. Of course, it’s not very pretty the 2nd or 3rd day, but still smells lovely!

      Reply

    1. Since it is all dried out – indefinitely :) just make sure it’s 100% dry or else mold can grow.

      Reply

  20. Hi Chloe, did you use up the entire jars of spices in making 5 potpourri jars? I’m trying to gauge how much of each spice to use in each potpourri jar. Thank you!

    Reply

  21. I absolutely love this idea! I’ve done this a zillion times for myself but I’ve never considered dehydrating everything and gifting it!! I’m totally doing this!! Thanks for the inspo!

    Reply

    1. I dried the slices, but they were more for show, they don’t have much of a scent – the herbs are the stars of the show :)

      Reply

  25. Hello! I found your printable sticker link but I can’t find what size label sticker you printed them on to purchase. Could you please share the label number? Thank you!

    Reply

  26. Hello! Do you dry your Rosemary sprigs? If so, how? Mine turned gray and dark when I tried to dry them at a very low temp. Thank you!

    Reply

  27. Hello! Do you dry your Rosemary sprigs? If so, how? Mine turned gray and dark when I tried to dry them at a very low temp. Thank you so much!

    Reply

    1. I air dry. I tie the stem ends together snd hang them from an upper cabinet handle snd leave until they are crisp. They are dark dusty green when dry.

      Reply

  28. I made these to share as gifts with friends/relatives this year and they turned out so well! I tested one of them myself last week and the smell is just heavenly. Nice to have a non-food option to hand out during pandemic times. I know the recipients will just love these. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  30. Hello! I am gearing up for the holidays and found this amazing diy! Im thinking neighbors. Might be a silly question, but what paper do you have over the lids? They are gorgeous! Thank you.

    Reply

    1. It’s just packing paper! Cut it into a circle and fold the edges to create that look. Your neighbors will love it!

      Reply

  31. Hi! These are so pretty and such a wonderful gift idea! Quick question, you mentioned the ingredients listed will yield about 5-6 8oz jars, are you using standard retail sized jars of whole all-spice/whole cloves? Or are you using 1lb jars of whole allspice/whole cloves to yield 5-6 8oz jars? Thank you so much!

    Reply

    1. Hello! I’m sure you can, I haven’t personally tried it. A quick google search might help give you some solid answers.

      Reply

    2. I have used my air fryer and it works wonderfully. : ) I have a smaller air fryer so I do the lowest temp and the longest time amount which is 30 minutes. if I do a big batch I will stick it in the oven.

      Reply

  33. Hi, I love this idea. But I am a little confused. Is this whole jar to be used as potpourri or does it have to be put in a pot with water to simmer on the stove?

    Reply

  34. Hi! Love this idea! I want to start drying the oranges now and assembling the jars for Christmas. Do you think it is too early?

    Reply

  35. Thank you for making it so easy to make thoughtful gifts for my work friends and people I will not see on Christmas! Your instructions and label were such a great help. Cheers! No problem with the tags

    Reply

  36. Hi! These are beautiful. Can you post a photo of how you put this together with the turkish towel as a gift. thanks!

    Reply

    1. Thank you! I would add them to a basket and layer the towels down so they are underneath and coming over the side with the jars on top. You could also get a cute gift bag and add the towel folded in the bottom with the jar on top and add a cute tag and bow to the handles.

      Reply

  37. Such a stunning setup! I had never used potpourri myself until I got my carpets cleaned the other day. Even though I love a clean smell, I was needing more of a holiday aroma for a dinner party that night. Luckily I had just dehydrated some fruit that morning and was able to test out your recipe! It was absolutely divine, and now I’m even more excited to gift them as neighbor gifts this year!

    Reply

  39. Great information joy & hope and peace all is so nice advice for us , thanks for sharing it give us the first opportunity to visit this website along with you .

    Reply

  41. I plan on making this for Christmas gifts this year. The instructions on how the recipient uses it is a bit vague. Do they tip all the contents into a pot of water or just some of it. Can it be reheated or is it just a one time use.

    Reply

  44. Hi there, this recipe looks beautiful! I’m still trying to find the link for the printable labels, though. Any tips on finding it?

    Reply