5 Fall Simmer Pot Recipes

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Fall is definitely in the air! And if you want to bring that sentiment inside (in an all-natural way), these simmer pot recipes are perfect for the season. They're warm and cozy and designed to make your whole house smell lovely and full of fall. See these recipes and tips for simmer pot success below.

Simmer pots are such a budget-friendly way to make your entire home smell fantastic. When I was working on these recipes (some are old from my mom, but a couple are ones I created), I had a simmer pot going in my kitchen all day long. My office space is not exactly adjacent to the kitchen and I could smell the fall scents all the way in there! While I love a good candle, a simmer pot just can't be beat for making your entire home smell like an explosion of fall. See these recipes below to make your own space smell heavenly.

Today is also our monthly Thrifty Style Team day. At the bottom of the post, I've got lots of ideas for thrifty fall decor and home keeping from some of my favorite bloggers. 

Fall Simmer Pot Recipes

If you're not familiar with a simmer pot, it's basically a concoction or herbs, spices, extracts, fruits, and water to create a lovely aroma in a space as it simmers. It's an all-natural way to fragrance a space. And the process of concocting one is truly a way to get creative in the kitchen, without actually cooking. I'm sharing some of my favorite recipes below, but be sure to place around with your own favorite fall ingredients.

Simmer Success Tips

• I truly think the biggie here is to watch your pot as much as you can while it's simmering...that water will reduce and you can ruin a good pot quickly (and have a fire hazard on your hands). Top off your simmer pots with additional water as often as possible. Never let them boil to less than two inches in the pot. And never leave them on when you're sleeping or away from the house.
• The fresher the ingredients, the better! I use my garden for rosemary, sage, and other simmer herbs. But, just walking my neighborhood, I see dozens of homes with large rosemary and lavender bushes, too. If you don't have your own herbs on hand, ask your neighbors...they'll probably appreciate a bit of herbal pruning!
• Slice fruits thin for these kinds of pots...not only is it attractive, it disperses more of their juices.
• While most folks just create a new pot every day, I am fairly frugal and will just top the same pot with more water the next day and simmer it for another few hours. Typically, I try not to let it boil for longer than four hour stretches, but I will get quite a few four hour stretches out of one simmer pot. 
• Do not compost the simmered items...since they're technically cooked, they won't work to compost.
• I prefer to avoid nonstick cookware for these. The food items get gummy after simmering for hours and can leave a film on nonstick surfaces. I like to use stainless steel or copper pots. 

Simmer Pot Recipes

1. Cozy Citrus Simmer Pot

This recipe is an autumnal take on what is commonly referred to as the "Williams Sonoma Simmer Pot". To bring it into fall, I switched out the classic lemon slices for seasonal clementines (or oranges). 

Ingredients:

• slices from 1-2 oranges or clementines
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 5-6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 8 cups of water (plus extra for topping off)

Directions:

• Add citrus and vanilla to medium-large pot (at least three quart size, if not larger). 
• Slightly crush the rosemary with your hands and place in pot (I think crushing it helps release its scent).
• Cover the mixture with water (may take a bit more than 8 cups if your pot is larger). 
• Bring water to a simmer and keep on low.
• Simmer on stovetop for 4-5 hours, but watch it carefully and add water as needed (I top my pot off at least every hour). 

2. Thanksgiving Simmer Pot

The addition of sage to this mixture makes me think of Thanksgiving. We use a bunch of fresh sage in our turkey brine and it just smells like Thanksgiving. Combining sage with some sweeter ingredients creates the perfect combination for fall aromatics.

Ingredients:

• slices from 1-2 oranges or clementines
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• a good handful of fresh sage leaves (if you need to measure, I'd estimate a cup)
• 8 cups of water (plus extra for topping off)

Directions:

• Add citrus, vanilla, and cloves to medium-large pot (at least three quart size, if not larger). 
• Slightly crush the sage with your hands and place in pot (I think crushing it helps release its scent).
• Cover the mixture with water (may take a bit more than 8 cups if your pot is larger). 
• Bring water to a simmer and keep on low.
• Simmer on stovetop for 4-5 hours, but watch it carefully and add water as needed ((I top my pot off at least every hour). 

3. Apple Cinnamon

This is such a classic fall scent, but it's fun to play around with it, too! 

Ingredients:

• slices from 1-2 apples (you can use the core, too!)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 3-4 whole cinnamon sticks
• 8 cups of water (plus extra for topping off)

Directions:

• Add apple slices, vanilla, and cloves to medium-large pot (at least three quart size, if not larger). 
• Cover the mixture with water (may take a bit more than 8 cups if your pot is larger). 
• Lay cinnamon sticks on top of water.
• Bring water to a simmer and keep on low.
• Simmer on stovetop for 4-5 hours, but watch it carefully and add water as needed (I top my pot off at least every hour). 

4. Cranberry Orange

This *almost* feels like you're about to prepare the Thanksgiving cranberry sauce...but it smells even better (if that's possible!). 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• slices from 1-2 oranges or clementines
• handful of whole star anise
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 2-3 whole cinnamon sticks
• 8 cups of water (plus extra for topping off)

Directions:

• Add cranberries, rosemary, oranges, anise, and cloves to medium-large pot (at least three quart size, if not larger). 
• Cover the mixture with water (may take a bit more than 8 cups if your pot is larger). 
• Lay cinnamon sticks on top of water.
• Bring water to a simmer and keep on low.
• Simmer on stovetop for 4-5 hours, but watch it carefully and add water as needed (I top my pot off at least every hour)

5. Orange Spice

A few years ago, I went on a fun (and informative) blogging ambassador trip to the Bigelow Tea headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut (read about the trip here). The day we were touring the plant, they were creating the Bigelow Orange and Spice Tea and the entire place smelled dreamy (it happened to be fall, so it was really fantastic). This scent always reminds me of that trip. I also created this Orange and Spice Pound Cake Recipe that smells (and tastes) really wonderful, too! 

Ingredients:

• slices from 2-3 oranges
• handful of whole star anise
• 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (optional)
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 2-3 whole cinnamon sticks
• 8 cups of water (plus extra for topping off)

Directions:

• Add oranges, anise, ginger, and cloves to medium-large pot (at least three quart size, if not larger). 
• Cover the mixture with water (may take a bit more than 8 cups if your pot is larger). 
• Lay cinnamon sticks on top of water.
• Bring water to a simmer and keep on low.
• Simmer on stovetop for 4-5 hours, but watch it carefully and add water as needed (I top my pot off at least every hour)

Thrifty Style Team

And don't forget...it's our monthly Thrifty Style Team day. I love getting "together" with this talented group of bloggers to bring you loads of thrifty and budget friendly ideas for making your home a special place. See all of my friends' goodies below:

• Redhead Can Decorate –Cozy Fall Corner
• Our Crafty Mom –Ghost Mug Pottery Barn Dupe
• The How to Home –Dollar Store Halloween Apothecary Jars
• DIY Beautify –Anthro Minka Pot Dupe for Under $5
• 2 Bees in a Pod –Olive Topiary Ballard's Dupe
• The Tattered Pew –Simple DIY Halloween Ghost Pillow
• Cottage on Bunker Hill –Where I Find Free Art to Print at Home
• My Family Thyme - How to Make a Dried Hydrangea Wreath
• Amy Sadler Designs –Felt Bookmark with Embroidered Initial
• Songbird –Decorating Lanterns for Fall