Spiced Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider

Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider makes for the perfect Holiday drink. It is fragrant and delicious, requires only a handful of seasonal ingredients and about 2 minutes of hands-on time. Come home to Fall in a glass and get the warm and fuzzies without much effort at all. After you try this one you should check out this Fall Harvest hot apple cider which is perfect for using up leftover Fall fruit that might be about to go off.

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Spiced Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider

I came home from the store today to the smell of this Spiced Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider smacking me in the face as soon as I opened the door.

My house smelled like a bunch of apple cinnamon candles had been left burning all day, instantly making the house more homely and giving me the warm and fuzzies.

It also left me craving some apple pie….that particular craving will have to be satisfied on another day…

How Much Skill Does It Take To Make Homemade Apple Cider?

Not much.

Picture yourself cozied up in front of the fire with a big snuggly sweater and comfy slippers on, while the wind and rain wail outside.

That’s exactly what Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider tastes like! And it requires no effort at all.

Well two minutes of chopping fruit, and then throwing everything into the crockpot and leaving it to cook away, but I am sure you can handle that!

What Ingredients Are Needed?

Just pop a handful of ingredients, all of which you will either have on hand or can easily find at your local market, into the slow cooker, set for 4 hours and walk away. Come home to a flavorful and antioxidant-rich, body-warming drink.

You will need:

• apples
• cranberries
• lemon
• unsweetened apple cider
• cinnamon sticks
• mulling spices
• honey or maple syrup to sweeten

See nothing hard.

Mulling spices can be found in the spice section of your local store, or if you can’t find any then you can grab some online here.

Same with cinnamon sticks. They can tend to get a little bit expensive, so I usually buy them in bulk when they have them in stock at Costco, or you can grab some from Amazon here.

    Also see Crockpot Apple Cider  

Ok, Now For The Easy Bit: How To Enjoy Your Homemade Cranberry Apple Cider

This is the part you have been waiting for.

Set the slow cooker to ‘keep warm’, pop on a lid, and you have a nice warming drink to soothe sore throats, warm cold hands, and bellies and give everyone that comfy Holiday feeling.

Add more honey or maple syrup until you get the level of sweetness you like. The kids usually like to put an extra little swirl in there for theirs.

For the adults, you can add some cheap red wine and get a great mulled wine/cider concoction! I say this because this is my signature ‘on the porch’ drink at Halloween for the neighbours to share whilst handing out candy. 

And yes I will have the slow cooker plugged in outside, lets hope it’s actually cold, unlike the last time I tried this out!

What To Do With Leftover Cider

After you have enjoyed your hot apple cider, store it in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge.

You can reheat in the microwave or the slow-cooker when you want to serve it up again, however, I would probably replace the fruit as it can get a bit sluggish after the first batch being warmed up.

Happy drinking

xx

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Spiced Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider

Slow Cooker Cranberry Apple Cider makes for the perfect Holiday drink. It is fragrant and delicious, requires only a handful of seasonal ingredients and about 2 minutes of hands on time. Come home to Fall in a glass and get the warm and fuzzies without much effort at all.

Prep Time2 mins

Cook Time4 hrs

Total Time4 hrs 2 mins

Course: Drink

Cuisine: Drink

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 141kcal

Ingredients

• 4 apples cored and quartered
• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 lemon sliced
• 2 cups unsweetened apple cider
• 7 cups water
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 tbsp mulling spices
• honey or maple syrup to taste (optional)

Instructions

• Pop all of the fruit, along with the apple cider, water, cinnamon sticks and mulling spices (tie these into some cheese cloth so that they are easily removed), into the slow cooker. 
• Set on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours
  
• Once cooked, remove the cinnamon sticks, the mulling spices and as much of the fruit as possible
  
• Pour the remaining liquid into a blender (I do this in 2 batches), blend, and then pour through a fine mesh sieve (I actually used a nut milk bag), into a clean container
  
• Pour the cider back into the slow cooker, and set to keep warm
  
• Serve warm, and use some honey or maple syrup to sweeten if required (I usually find you don’t need to as the fruit makes it sweet enough). Garnish with some cranberries and apple slices to make it pretty (optional)
  

Notes

Remember to tie the mulling spices into a little square of cheese-cloth to make it easily removable. If you don’t have any, that’s fine – just be sure to use a super fine mesh sieve to get all the ‘bits’ out of the cider

Nutrition

Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.9g | Protein: 1.1g | Fat: 2.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 59mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 21.1g

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If you enjoyed this recipe then you might want to try these:

• Slow Cooker Potato Leek and Cheddar Soup
• Clove and Cranberry Apple Sauce In The Instant Pot
• Cranberry Apple Crisp

If you tried this recipe please comment and rate it. I love hearing your feedback and answering your questions! And if you make this please tag me on Instagram with @wholefoodbellies so I can share it <3