How to Make Stovetop Potpourri (DIY Christmas Gift)

By Alexandra Caspero on November 9, 2021
A fun and easy DIY holiday gift.
Makes 4 jars

Homemade potpourri is so easy to do and makes your house smell amazing! Stovetop potpourri kits are the perfect DIY Christmas gift.

I’ve got the perfect DIY holiday gift– stovetop potpourri gift jars! An inexpensive gift option that’s perfect for almost everyone and easy to make in bulk. 

You only need a handful of ingredients for these and are very customizable to whatever scents you like most. This specific recipe has dried orange peels, whole cloves cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves but the possibilities are endless. 

Dried cranberries, pine, rosemary and other herbs, dried lemon, lime or other citrus are all great additions or substitutions for your potpourri blend.

Simmering pot of potpourri ingredients

Christmas Stovetop Potpourri Ingredients

Last year, one of my good friends dropped off a jar of homemade potpourri, a jar filled with herbs, whole spices and citrus with instructions to dump into a pot and simmer on the stove for fragrance. 

Wow! Did my home smell amazing. It was such a thoughtful gift and I knew I wanted to make a bunch of jars to give out this year.

What you’ll need for this Stove Top Potpourri Recipe:

  • Whole bay leaves
  • Cinnamon Sticks
  • Whole Cloves
  • Star Anise
  • Purchased dried orange slices, or my simple DIY recipe below  

Homemade stovetop potpourri jars

Homemade stovetop potpourri jars

How to make dried orange slices

For the dried orange slices, you’ll need 4 large oranges but you can use any variety of citrus for this. Give them a good wash and dry, then cut into 1/4-1/8 inch slices. You want them to be as uniform as possible for even drying; you can speed up the drying a little by patting with paper towels. 

Place a wire rack over a large baking sheet and add the orange slices on top. If you don’t have a wire rack, you can line baking sheets with parchment paper and cook the orange slices directly onto the sheets. 

Place in a 175 degrees oven and bake for roughly 4-6 hours until dried, flipping the oranges halfway through. If your oven doesn’t have a lower setting, then preheat the oven to 300 degrees and turn on the stove light and turn off the the oven, then place the prepared orange pan in the oven overnight until dried. 

The slices are done when they are dry to the touch. Don’t over cook or they will turn brown. Cool completely before using, as they will crisp up as the cool. Store in an airtight container, like these jars, at room temperature for up to one month. 

Homemade stovetop potpourri jars

DIY Christmas Gift: Stovetop Potpourri

This potpourri recipe is great for gifting. Simple add instructions for how to turn this mason jar of goodies a simmer pot of perfume! 

Add contents of the jar and 4 cups water to a sauce pan and simmer over low heat. Add more water as needed. I love these for teacher gifts alongside a coffee shop gift card. 

Ingredients for Homemade stovetop potpourri jars

More DIY Gift Ideas:

Lemonade Scones
Chocolate Bourbon Balls
Vegan Molasses Cookies
Fresh Cranberry Bars
Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cranberry Orange Ginger Bread
Vegan Espresso Brownies
Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Homemade stovetop potpourri jars

If you try this one, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking! 

Print

How to Make Stovetop Potpourri (Perfect DIY Christmas Gift)

  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 jaars 1x
  • Category: holiday, christmas, gifts
  • Method: no cook
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Homemade potpourri is so easy to do and makes your house smell amazing! Stovetop potpourri kits are the perfect DIY Christmas gift. Full tutorial on how to make stovetop potpourri for the perfect DIY Christmas gift.


  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 jaars 1x
  • Category: holiday, christmas, gifts
  • Method: no cook
  • Cuisine: American
  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 jaars 1x
  • Category: holiday, christmas, gifts
  • Method: no cook
  • Cuisine: American
Scale

Ingredients

  • 2024 dried orange slices*
  • 24 star anise
  • 1/3 cup whole cloves
  • 8 bay leaves
  • 12 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 pint mason jars

Instructions

  1. Divide the ingredients among the 4 mason jars. Store with lid on top.
  2. To enjoy, place contents of the jar in a medium saucepan along with 4 cups of water. Simmer over low heat, adding more water as needed.

Notes

For instructions on how to dry oranges, see commentary above

did you make this?

Tag @delishknowledge on Instagram and hashtag it #delishknowledge

Meet Alex Caspero

Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.

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    1. Janelle
      December 15, 2022 AT 9:41 am

      Could you add cranberry and rosemary or pine to this?

      1. Alex
        December 22, 2022 AT 11:43 am

        I think that would be lovely!

    2. Katherine
      December 3, 2021 AT 6:52 am

      By the way, I used a dehydrator to dry out slices of some clementines that were past their prime and no one wanted to eat! It worked great!

    3. Katherine
      December 2, 2021 AT 4:32 pm

      I see cinnamon bark in the pictures but it isn’t in the recipe. How much did you use? And is it supposed to say jarred dried oranges? It’s a little confusing. But I’m super excited to give these as gifts! Thanks for the idea!

      1. Alex
        December 2, 2021 AT 7:34 pm

        Ah yes– forgot the cinnamon sticks– updated now!

        1. Katherine
          December 3, 2021 AT 6:47 am

          Thank you!!!