Homemade Stovetop Potpourri: with Essential Oils

Making a homemade stovetop potpourri with essential oils is a fun project that makes a wonderful handmade gift. Learn how to make homemade stovetop potpourri with fresh and dried ingredients with these easy tutorials.

Homemade stovetop potpourri with essential oils will make the perfect gift for anyone on your list this year. It’s easy to make and anyone will enjoy the lively scent stovetop potpourri brings to the home!

You can stick to a spicy Christmas scent or switch it up to be any scent you want. We share all of our favorite blends below!

We love the smell of Christmas, and a stovetop potpourri is one of the best ways to fill your kitchen and entire house with that Christmas smell fast.

We had a batch going on the day we decorated the Christmas tree, and we're pretty sure it will become a new tradition. It smelled so good!

Why You’ll Love It

Waste-free: The older we get, the more we love gifts that are clutter-free and waste-free. This lovely stovetop potpourri can be used, enjoyed, and then composted so the recipient isn’t left with anything to store afterward! It’s the perfect hostess gift or holiday gift that anyone would love.
Natural fragrance: Stovetop potpourri makes the home smell warm and welcoming without any harmful air pollutants that are found in conventional candles and air fresheners. It uses the natural smell of herbs, spices, fruit, and essential oils to make a space smell amazing!
Easy: Stovetop potpourri comes together in about 5 minutes, making it the easiest homemade gift ever!
Customizable: You can make these stovetop potpourri gifts any way you like! First, you can choose whether you’d like a convenient mason jar potpourri or a shelf-stable dried potpourri. From there, you can choose any fruits, herbs and spices, and essential oils you enjoy to make a fully customized scent.

Ingredients

Fruits, herbs, and spices: Use fresh fruits and herbs for a mason jar stovetop potpourri. For a shelf-stable version, use dried fruits and herbs. Keep reading for suggestions on what to use or see the recipe card for an exact recipe!
Water: You will skip this if you’re making dry, shelf-stable potpourri.
Essential oils: You can use any essential oils that you love! See our suggested blends below for some ideas.

How to Make Stovetop Potpourri in a Mason Jar

Mason jar stovetop potpourri is the perfect gift if you want to make it easy for your recipient! All they have to do is pour the contents of the jar into a pot and get it simmering.

The downside of this convenience is a limited shelf-life. It’s best to make this stovetop potpourri the night before you gift it at the earliest and advise your recipient to use it within a couple of days.

Step 1. Combine fresh herbs, fruit, and spices in a clean quart mason jar.

Step 2. Fill the jar with water, leaving a 1/2 inch of space at the top.

Step 3. Add your essential oils to the jar.

Step 4. Secure the lid and add a gift tag label. Use within 2-3 days.

How to Make Dry Stovetop Potpourri

If you’d rather make a stovetop potpourri with a long shelf-life, you can make the potpourri mixture with dried ingredients! This can include dehydrated fruit, dried herbs and spices, and essential oils.

Attach instructions for making stovetop potpourri by adding water and simmering the mixture. When your recipient adds water, the potpourri will rehydrate and release its scent. Package the potpourri ingredients in a small bag, box, or jar without any water.

Be sure that your ingredients are completely dry so they don’t get moldy.

Stovetop potpourri in a glass jar with sliced oranges and fresh cranberries.

Ingredient Ideas for Stovetop Potpourri

You can get very creative with your stovetop potpourri ingredients. Try different herbs, spices, fruits, and even other ingredients such as pine sprigs or dried flowers.

For Christmas, we like cranberries and pine and for fall, we like to use apples, ginger, and nutmeg (similar to our Thanksgiving potpourri recipe). During the summer, we might use sunflower petals and citrus fruits.

To dry your own flowers, it is best to use a dehydrator. You can also dry them out by baking them in the oven for a couple of hours at a low temperature.

Keep reading for a few suggestions for what to put in your stovetop potpourri.

Fruit

Cranberries
Oranges
Apples
Lemons

Spices

Cinnamon sticks
Cardamom Pods
Star Anise
Clove Buds
Vanilla Beans

Herbs

Rosemary
Fresh Ginger
Nutmeg

Essential Oils

Wild Orange
Clove
Cinnamon
Cassia
Eucalyptus
Siberian Fir

Essential Oil Blends for Stovetop Potpourri

Adding essential oils to your potpourri will add a lot more scent and give off aromatherapy benefits.

Christmas Blend

5 drops wild orange
3 drops cinnamon
2 drops clove

Find more Christmas blends here.

Fall Blend

5 drops wild orange
3 drops ginger
2 drops cardamon

Find more fall blends here.

Cheerful Blend

5 drops bergamot
3 drops peppermint
2 drops lime

Citrus Blend

5 drops lemon
3 drops wild orange
2 drops tangerine

Find more citrus blends here.

Soothing Blend

5 drops lavender
3 drops sandalwood
2 drops Roman chamomile

Want to pick out your own oils individually? Shop here.

How to Use Stovetop Potpourri

Add potpourri ingredients (fresh or dried) and water to a pot.

Turn the stove burner to a medium heat setting. Once the water almost reaches a boil, turn the temperature down to low to emit the scent for a long time without the pot burning dry.

Make sure the pot doesn’t run out of water by adding more periodically. If the stove is turned up too high, the water may boil off faster.

Looking down into a pot of stovetop potpourri.

Expert Tips

If you prefer a stronger scent, you can always add more essential oils, spices, or herbs.
Be sure to keep an eye on the stovetop potpourri to ensure it doesn’t run out of water and burn.
For a shelf-stable stovetop potpourri kit, be sure the ingredients are completely dry so they do not mold.
Stovetop potpourri can be used multiple times if you store it in the fridge between uses! Add more water as needed and feel free to refresh the scent with more essential oils.

Recipe FAQs

How much water should we add to our potpourri?

You will want to fill the pot almost to the top before adding in the potpourri. Having enough water is crucial because you don’t want it to run out and burn.

How long will stovetop potpourri last?

Most stovetop potpourris will last for several days, but you may need to add extra water as it evaporates. At the end of the day, place the pot of potpourri in the refrigerator, and then you can reuse it the next day.

If you make a stovetop potpourri ahead of time as a gift, you can store it in an airtight container for two days. If you’d like a shelf-stable potpourri, make it with dry ingredients, and don’t add water.

Stovetop Potpourri with Essential Oils

By the studio Ascher Prep: 10 minutes minsTotal: 10 minutes mins Stovetop potpourri in a glass jar with sliced oranges and fresh cranberries.

SaveSaved Pin Print Love making potpourri with essential oils! It's a fun project that becomes the perfect handmade gift. We'll show you how to make both dry and fresh simmering potpourri at home!

Equipment

Mason jar

Ingredients

Fresh Stovetop Potpourri

½ cup cranberries, fresh or dried
4 orange slices, fresh or dried
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon cardamom pods
1 tablespoon whole clove buds
5 drops wild orange essential oil
3 drops cinnamon essential oil
2 drops clove essential oil
water, (skip this if you're making dry potpourri)

Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For Fresh Stovetop Potpourri

Place all the ingredients (except essential oils) into a 16-ounce mason jar.
Fill with water.
Add in essential oils and secure lid.
Decorate with ribbon, hemp, or burlap. Add a gift tag.
Use within 2-3 days. Pour contents from the mason jar into a large pot. If needed, add more water to the pot.
Turn the stove burner to a medium heat setting. Once the water almost reaches a boil, turn the temperature down to low to emit the scent.

For Dry Stovetop Potpourri

Combine dry ingredients in a jar, bag, or box.
Drop essential oils onto the dry ingredients.
Decorate with ribbon, hemp, or burlap. Add a gift tag.
If the ingredients are dry, this potpourri is shelf stable for months. To use it, add the potpourri to a large pot of water. Turn the stove burner to a medium heat setting.
Once the water almost reaches a boil, turn the temperature down to low to emit the scent.

Notes

- If the scent is weak and you prefer it stronger, you can always add more essential oils, spices, or herbs.

- Be sure to keep an eye on the stovetop potpourri to ensure it doesn’t run out of water and burn.

- For a shelf-stable stovetop potpourri kit, be sure the ingredients are completely dry so they do not mold.

- Stovetop potpourri can be used multiple times if you store it in the fridge between uses! Add more water as needed and feel free to refresh the scent with more essential oils.
- See the post above for additional ingredient suggestions and essential oil blends!

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