I grew up drinking apple cider and homemade wassail (a spiced cider/tea with citrus) around the holidays, so when I had kids of my own I wanted to come up with my own apple cider recipe to keep the tradition going. Plus, given the cost of a gallon of organic apple cider, I thought I could save some money making it at home for my brood.
Most recipes online called for huge amounts of apples (even too much for us) and required canning and special equipment. I wanted to find a way to make a batch without canning since we would probably want to drink it that same day.
I immediately thought of making cider in the Crock-Pot. I loved the idea of the smell of baking apples filling the house all day while it cooked. They say smells trigger emotions and memories in the brain, and I believe it! Hot apple cider does that for me.
It’s easy to make too!
5-Minute Apple Cider Recipe (from Scratch)
We usually also make fresh applesauce when apples are in season in the fall, so the first time I tried making this we had a mixture of different organic apples in the house. I used Fiji, Honeycrisp, and Gala, but any apples would work. I didn’t have to add any sweetener because those varieties were naturally sweet. If you use more sour apples, add a little honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar to the final product.
I was pleased with the hands-on time for this recipe. It took about 5 minutes to wash, peel, and cut 10 apples. (My kids are pretty good with knives in the kitchen thanks to this class so that helps!)
After prep it’s really just a matter of waiting and taking in the heavenly smell of baking apples and spices as they cook down. All that’s left is to strain and serve!
We like cider best served warm, but we refrigerate the leftovers (when there are any) in a stainless steel pitcher and it’s wonderful cold as well.
Make This Apple Cider Recipe Even Better … with Butter!
Every heard of butter in your coffee? On special occasions (and when it’s cold enough outside) we’ve also made this into grown-up cider with this Hot Buttered Rum recipe from Mommypotamus. (It does seem to be true that butter makes everything better!)
If you haven’t ever had cider this way, I seriously urge you to try it … it’s amazing! Cider, maple syrup, a touch of butter, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and a dash of rum!
Now it’s a tradition we happily keep and serve for company during any holiday gathering.
How to Serve Apple Cider … the Wellness Mama Way
Granted, this apple cider isn’t exactly a health recipe as it does contain about 30 grams of sugar per cup. (If you need that, check out this immune-boosting Fire Cider or Apple Cider Vinegar recipe.)
In typical healthy mom fashion, I serve this in smaller cups. I’ve even been known to stir in a few tablespoons of gelatin or collagen for an extra boost of protein to help my kids ride out the sugar rush. (They’ll never know as long as you serve it hot … let it get cold and they might notice!)
Put this apple cider recipe in the slow cooker in the morning and have it ready for a cozy night around the fireplace with the family. Or, keep it warm in the slow cooker for guests at a fall party.
On the flip side, make this at night before bed and cook on low in the slow cooker so it is ready for breakfast (on Christmas perhaps!). Bonus: your house will smell amazing all day!
Hot Apple Cider Recipe
Servings
Nutrition
Notes
- Add all ingredients to pot.
- Fill with water to just below max fill line.
- Set to 1 hour on high pressure.
- Allow natural release and strain.
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Which drinks are a family tradition at your house?
Thanks – really looking forward to making this at Christmas! 🙂
Should the orange be peeled or left skin on?
Skin on.
Hi Katie, I don’t have a slow cooker or instant pot. How Can I convert this recipe into an oven or stove top option? Thanks for all your amazing posts!
Can you eat the strained apples, orange, spices?
I would not.
Is there any way this can be made on the hob in a regular pot?
Hi, I just made this recipe and… something went wrong, I made it in the slow cooker last night, this morning I was so excited to have my apple cider but it was like just apple water, and a little bitter, how can I make it right?
Hello,
In the reciepe of the apple cider, you said, peel the apples if they are not organic, what about the oranges, you don’t mention if we peel them or not,
You can leave the peel if organic, too.
I have a gallon of organic frozen apple cider from our apple trees. If I thawed it out and out it in. My instant Pot could I just add the rest of the ingredients and let it cook as per recipe? It is raw cider. We just pressed the apples wth our old fashioned style apple press and froze it rather than canning it.
I haven’t tried that but give it a go and see how it works!
Sadly this did not turn out, I usually love your recipes (I have your cookbook!) but this is completely bland with the flavor of bitter orange rind, I wasn’t even able to get all of the water in the crockpot, would have been even more bland with all of the water. I saved it by adding in some homemade pumpkin ice cream to each cup which added a good spice and creaminess to it.
My mouth is watering!!! I’m so making this!!!
Sorry, should have read the comments first, found out my answer for the cinnamon sticks, so just answer about the water to use….thanks….sorry about that….
HI WELLNESS MAMA,
Have a couple of questions….can you use PURIFIED water instead of Filtered ?
Also, if I wanted to use ground cinnamon, instead of the sticks, how much would I use ? I usually keep them, but ones I do have are yrs. old, so afraid to use them, but I may pick up some before I do make this, but just wanted to know just in case I forget to pick up some…….
Thanks, this sounds great…..anxious to make this…..
Orange made mine super bitter ?
My wife just made this and its absolutely amazing! I would love to drink more but im scared of the nutrition facts? Anyone know how to get them?
What size slow cooker did you use?
A 6-quart. You can use any size 4-quart and larger.
Mine came out too watery, too. I put the whole thing in my Vitamix (minus all but one of the orange slices). It came out more thick but you get to keep all the fiber and goodies in the peel! Super tasty with a splash of bourbon 😉
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’m very excited to try it. Apples are at the farmer’s market now so I plan on stocking up and making it this weekend!
Sounds incredible. Look forward to trying this! Grateful you have provided a recipe where it is all made from scratch. Thanks!
Are you using a 6 or 7-quart slow cooker because when using my 6 quarts I was unable to use all the water in fear of an overflow? I quartered the apples should I have made them smaller? Apart from that problem, everything turned out fine I just stewed the reaming half gallon for 4 hours(probably should have gone for another 8 hours as oppose to just 4) with the apples which I mashed to release any leftover juice. Anyway, thank you for the recipe.
Use cranberry juice instead of water. yummy
Could make apple sauce with pulp