How to Make Your Home Smell Amazing: Simmer Pot Recipes -

Have you heard of simmer pot recipes? If not, you’re in for a treat! Full disclosure, this was not the blog post I set out to write today. I had something else outlined and ready to start, but while I was getting my morning chores done I came across a lonely lime that I had forgotten about. It was a little shriveled looking and I knew we wouldn’t be eating or juicing that poor little lime. I decided to make my favorite simmer pot recipe with it so it didn’t go to waste.

As I was slicing the lime into thin slices and clipping a few sprigs of rosemary from my rosemary shrubs, it occurred to me that my readers might enjoy my favorite simmer pot recipe as well. It’s so easy and it smells absolutely heavenly!

I do this often even if I’m the only one home to enjoy it but it’s also extra nice to do when you’re expecting company. Just imagine your guests walking into your home and smelling one of these amazing simmer pot recipes wafting through the air.

All-Natural Ingredients

One of my favorite things about simmer pot recipes is that you use all-natural ingredients. There are no weird chemicals or ingredients that are difficult to find, just basically foods and herbs.

Sometimes I use citrus fruits and other fruits that are past their prime like an apple that was too mealy or didn’t have great flavor. If my daughter gets a bumper crop of lemons, I know several will go into the simmer pot to make my home smell fantastic.

I grow a lot of herbs in my yard and in my garden so I always have plenty of herbs to choose from. Sometimes I don’t follow a tried and true simmer pot recipe but substitute what I have an abundance of if I think it will smell nice.

Pot or Slow Cooker?

You can use either one.

I find that the scent is a little stronger when I simmer a pot on the stove BUT you do have to watch it more often to make sure you haven’t simmered it down to nothing. Funny story that’s not really very funny….I once put on a simmer pot and then promptly fell asleep on the couch because I was very very pregnant (so yes, this was a long time ago). I awoke to the terrible smell of burnt citrus slices. I had let all the water boil down and my solid ingredients were quite burned onto the bottom of my pan. Simmer pot fail!

A slow cooker works great if you think you’ll get distracted and not pay attention to a pot on the stove. Just make sure whichever one you use can hold at least 1 quart of water while leaving at least an inch of space at the top.

Simmer Pot Recipe Matrix

a variety of citrus, sliced to use in simmer pot

I could recommend that you buy expensive herbs, cinnamon sticks and fresh fruits for these recipes, but the beauty of the simmer pot is that you can use whatever you have on hand. Do you have a couple of apples that got pecked by birds while on the tree? Maybe you have a few clementines that are too mushy and no one wants to eat them? In my case, I get a lot of citrus from my daughter and my friends this time of the year so I have an abundance of it and not all of it is in great condition which makes it perfect for the simmer pot recipes!

I don’t know about you but I don’t always have cinnamon sticks around…..I mean, who does?? BUT, I do buy ground cinnamon in bulk so I always have plenty which is why I generally use ground cinnamon rather than cinnamon sticks. If you’re looking for a picture perfect simmer pot, by all means use the cinnamon sticks! I just want you to know it isn’t necessary to get the amazing aroma flowing through your home.

Grow Your Own Herbs

I have an abundance of home grown herbs in my house, on my patio and in my garden so I generally make up simmer pot recipes by looking at what I have on hand, currently. This works for all seasons! In Southern Arizona I have herbs growing year round. If I lived somewhere colder, I would still grow herbs indoors because I love fresh herbs. Plus, they are so dang expensive at the grocery store! Those little fresh herb packages are several dollars each.

If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand for your simmer pot, you can use dried herbs, but you should consider picking up a few herb plants for your windowsill. My local Walmart always has small basil, mint, oregano, rosemary and thyme plants in the produce department.

If I wanted to make up a simmer pot recipe right now, with what I have on hand, I would choose from limes, lemons, oranges, apples, cranberry juice, rosemary, thyme, lavender, mint, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, pine needles (from my neighbors Ponderosa Pine) and vanilla. It just so happens that amongst those ingredients are the things I need for my very favorite simmer pot recipe of all time, as well as a few other recipes that I’ll share with you now.

Simmer Pot Recipes

My Very Favorite Simmer Pot Recipe of all Time: Lime, Rosemary and Vanilla

1 quart of water
1-2 limes, sliced
3-5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons of vanilla

I give the rosemary leaves a little squeeze before putting them into the pot to help release some of their lovely scent. Place all the ingredients in either a large pot or a slow cooker. If using a pot, leave the lid off and bring it to a gentle boil. Turn it down to the lowest setting and let it simmer on the stove, checking it regularly to make sure the water isn’t evaporating too much. Add water as necessary. If using a slow cooker or crock pot, do not put on the lid. Turn the temperature setting to high and enjoy the amazing smell. Heavenly!

Orange, Clove and Cranberry

1 quart of water
1-2 oranges, sliced
1 tsp of dried cloves
1 TBSP dried cinnamon
1/2 cup of cranberry juice
1 tsp vanilla

Place all the ingredients in either a large pot or a slow cooker. If using a pot, leave the lid off and bring it to a gentle boil. Turn it down to the lowest setting and let it simmer on the stove, checking it regularly to make sure the water isn’t evaporating too much. Add water as necessary. If using a slow cooker or crock pot, do not put on the lid. Turn the temperature setting to high and enjoy.

Lemon, Mint and Lavender

1 quart of water
1-2 lemons, sliced
5-7 sprigs of mint
1 TBSP of dried lavendar

I give the mint leaves a little squeeze before putting them into the pot to help release some of their lovely scent. Place all the ingredients in either a large pot or a slow cooker. If using a pot, leave the lid off and bring it to a gentle boil. Turn it down to the lowest setting and let it simmer on the stove, checking it regularly to make sure the water isn’t evaporating too much. Add water as necessary. If using a slow cooker or crock pot, do not put on the lid. Turn the temperature setting to high and enjoy!

Apple, Cranberry, Cinnamon and Vanilla

1 apple, sliced
1 cup of whole cranberries or 1/2 cup of cranberry juice
1 TBSP of any combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice
1-2 tsp of vanilla

Pine, Orange, Cinnamon and Cranberry

cinnamon sticks alongside ground cinnamon

3-5 snips from any pine branch
1-2 oranges, sliced
1 TBSP of dried cinnamon
1 cup of whole cranberries or 1/2 cup of cranberry juice

The Sky is the Limit

Try these simmer pot recipes and let me know what you think in the comments below! If you don’t have these exact ingredients, don’t worry about it. Make substitutions based on what you have on hand and what scents you think will go well together. I think you’re going to love these highly scented, all-natural simmer pot recipes today and for years to come.

How to Make Your Home Smell Amazing: Simmer Pot Recipes

All-Natural Ingredients

Pot or Slow Cooker?