It’s easy to make a batch of hot homemade apple cider in a slow cooker. You control the ingredients, so you can make it sweeter or spicier according to your taste. Youโll savor its aroma as it cooks, the delicious ways you can serve it all season long, and the fact that itโs made with real ingredients. I have a feeling youโll make this recipe an annual fall tradition!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and more success tips.
When it comes to cozy, comforting fall drinks, warm spiced apple cider reigns supreme. And making it at home is a lot easier than you think!
It’s wonderful as a hot beverage, but you can also use it to make apple cider sangria or honeycrisp apple sangria, apple cider donuts, apple cider muffins, and apple cider French toast.
Tell Me About This Homemade Apple Cider
- Consistency: The cider is smooth once you strain out the fruit.
- Flavor: This is nonalcoholic apple cider made with just apples, citrus, cinnamon sticks (just like we use in pumpkin coffee creamer), cloves, sugar, and water. I usually make it so itโs more focused on the spices and not the sweetness, but you can sweeten it to your taste.
- Ease: This is a very simple drink recipe requiring just 6 ingredients.
- Time: Set aside 20 minutes to slice and prep, plus 8 hours for slow cooking.
One reader, Meaw, commented: “My husband initially told me that for the number of apples, the recipe wasn’t worth it… and then he tasted it. He drank his words! This is, hands down, the BEST apple cider we’ve ever had. Simple to make, with a maximum flavor punch. We took it next level with your cinnamon sugar donuts to go along with it, and woah… so delish! โ โ โ โ โ “
Ingredients You Need
It’s not much! Perfect after a day of apple picking, or if you have a surplus of fall’s favorite fruit hanging out in the refrigerator.
Best Apples to Use to Make Apple Cider
For the best flavor, we strongly encourage using a variety of applesโsome sweet, some tart. We recommend a variety when making apple pie, too!
- Sweet apples we love: Jazz, Honeycrisp, Sugarbee, Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji, and Cortland
- Tart apples we love: Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose
Why the orange? A little citrus balances out the apple flavor and pairs wonderfully with the spices.
You Control the Sugar
Sweeten to your taste. What I love most about homemade apple cider is that you can control the amount of sugar and spices. We all have different preferences, so make sure that you add enough sugar to suit your tastes. We usually add 6 Tablespoons (75g). If you’d prefer it less sweet, use 1/4 cup (50g), or more sweet, use 1/2 cup (100g).
Overview: How to Make Homemade Apple Cider
This is *mostly* a set it and forget it crockpot recipe. The full printable recipe is below, but letโs walk through it so you understand each step before you get started.
- Place everything in the slow cooker.
- Add water. The amount varies depending on the size of your slow cooker; use just enough to cover the fruit.
- Cook. 6โ7 hours on low heat, or 4 hours on high heat.
- Mash the fruits. Use a big sturdy spoon or potato masher and begin mashing up all those warm apples and oranges. (At this point, they should be super soft.)
- Simmer. Allow this liquid mash to cook for another hour.
- Strain. Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the cider. You may want to strain it twice if there are still some solids left behind.
- Serve warm.
You can freeze leftover apple cider. I usually freeze some in an ice cube tray, then thaw small amounts when I want an individual serving, or to make this quick and easy apple cider chicken for dinner!
Here’s what the mixture looks like after cooking all day, and before mashing:
And here’s what it looks like as you mash it:
No Slow Cooker? No Problem.
If you donโt have a slow cooker, use a large stock pot instead. Place all ingredients into your pot and bring the mixture to a simmer over high heat. Once it’s simmering, reduce the heat, cover, and let it cook for 2 hours. Continue with mashing the fruit, cooking for an additional hour, and straining as instructed in the recipe.
Homemade Apple Cider
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: about 1 and 1/2 quarts
- Category: Beverage
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
Warm apple cider is a quintessential fall drink and you can make it at home in a slow cooker. For the best flavor, we strongly encourage using a variety of apples such as some sweet and some tart. For stovetop instructions, see recipe Notes below.
Ingredients
- 10ย medium apples (use a varietyโI use Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
- 1 orange
- 4 cinnamon sticks (or 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon)
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 6 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar*
- waterย
Instructions
- Peel the orange and place the segments in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Rinse the apples and cut into quarters (discard the cores), and place in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, and sugar. Add just enough water to cover the fruit.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 6โ7 hours, or on high heat for 4 hours. (If you have the option, low heat is better.)
- After this time, the fruit should be very soft. With tongs or a large slotted spoon, remove the cinnamon sticks. With a large sturdy spoon or a potato masher, mash the fruit. Return the cinnamon sticks to the mixture and cover.
- Cook on low heat or high heat for 1 more hour.
- Very slowly strain the chunky liquid though a fine mesh sieve into a large pot or heat-safe pitcher. You can discard the solids. Strain the cider one more time to rid any other solids. Serveย the cider warm.
- Leftover cider keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5โ7 days. Warm up on the stove before serving or enjoy it cold.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cider can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย Slow Cooker (4-quart or larger) | Large Wooden Spoon | Potato Masher | Fine Mesh Sieve
- Sugar: Adjust the sugar to your taste. Use 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar for a spicier cider, or 1/2 cup (100g) for a sweeter cider. If you prefer your apple cider on the sweeter side (like the kind you buy at the store), use 1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar.
- No Slow Cooker? No Problem! In step 1, place all of the ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a simmer over high heat, stirring occasionally. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Mash the fruit as instructed in step 3, re-cover, and continue with step 4.
- Can I Make This in an Instant Pot? I’m sure you could! I don’t have one, and I have not tested it. Let us know what you try.
- Can I Use Whole Cloves Instead of Ground? You can use 2 teaspoons of whole cloves instead of 1 teaspoon ground cloves. However, we’ve found the color of the cider is much lighter. Of course the flavor does not change, just the appearance.
Reader Comments and Reviews
If I wanted to change to granulated sugar to brown sugar, would it be the same ratio?
Yes, same amount.
I used a half and half mix of Granny Smiths and Cosmic Crisps (they make Honeycrisps taste watered down).
I sliced them with an apple slicer instead of in half so more of the inside was exposed to the water.
I used half a cup of sugar and the recommended amount of ground cinnamon.
This is the best cider I’ve ever had.
What ratio of honeycrisp to granny smith do you use?
Hi Jacob, about half and half, but feel free to use more or less of each depending on your preferences. Enjoy!
So easy and so good! I followed the directions exactly. Canโt wait to take it out and about for our chilly Halloween evening tomorrow!
This was a great recipe to use up some mealy apples that weren’t fit for eating or baking. Sadly, I was a little underwhelmed. Perhaps my apples didn’t have much flavor or I added too much water. Either way, the resulting liquid looks a lot like cider but doesn’t have much flavor. I could probably reduce it down to improve the flavor. I plan to freeze it to use in baking and soups this winter instead of drinking it.
Just made this in the slow cooker. I strained the leftover mash out, ran it through the food processor, strained it again into a pot on the stove and cooked it down further with some added brown sugar to make apple butter!
Planning to use the cider and butter byproduct for doughnuts.
The house smells great!
Loved that I was able to make cider using wholesome ingredients. I went with 75gm of sugar as recommended and it wasnโt as sweet as I wanted, so I added more into my cup and itโs delish! Iโll have to play with the sugar component in the next batches
Made this for our Canadian Thanksgiving and it was outstanding! Huge hit! Thank you
Unfortunately, this recipe was not good. I followed the exact directions. I found it to be sweet but awfully bitter. I donโt know what went wrong. I usually like the recipes from this site, so this was disappointing.
I don’t work for the website, but I am curious if you removed the apple cores and/or the orange peel? Orange peel or even the white pith can be very bitter
I saw in the reading that she peeled and just added the orange segments and she did not add the apple cores. Hope that helps.