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.
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….
Picture yourself cozied up in front of the fire with a big snuggly sweater and comfy slippers on, while the wind and rain wails 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, but I am sure you can handle that!
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.
Also see Apple Persimmon Cider
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 Holiday feeling. Add some cheap red wine and you get a great mulled wine/cider concoction! I say this because this is going to be my signature ‘on the porch’ drink this Halloween for our friends to share while we hand 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!
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.
- 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)
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)
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
This is the perfect drink for the holiday season! Love the reddish hue the apple cider gets from the added cranberries. Makes it look even more festive!
I love this! It’s so perfect for the fall, and I’ll bet it smells fantastic!
Great recipe! Can’t wait to try this in my Instant Pot!
I made this for Thanksgiving yesterday, and it was a huge hit! I was too lazy to blend or strain it…just said it was, “with pulp” cider, and everyone still loved it 😀 So delicious…thanks for the recipe!
Hahaha love the ‘cider with pulp’ 🙂 You did better than me, I made it and then totally forgot I had it in the slow cooker until later that night when everyone had left! More for me 🙂
Looks delicious!! After it’s all cooked down how many servings are there?
Hey Megan, it is about 8 standard servings, although I always serve mine in huge mugs so it ends up being about 4 🙂
This looks fabulous. I ca totally see myself making a very batch of this for our Thanksgiving party and I’m sure everyone will love it. I love the festive flavors!
Haha love it!! It also adds a great smell to the house, which is always nice when you have guests coming over 🙂
I love that you are doing this in the slow cooker… its going to make my house smell so wonderful…. A definite added bonus!
I know right, the slow cooker is such a handy tool to have around. And you kill two birds with one stone – awesome warm drink and a delicious smell throughout the house!!
I love making cider in the slow cooker. It’s so convenient for holiday parties, and keeps it just at the right temperature for serving. I love that you’ve added cranberries to yours! So pretty and festive!
I make spiced slow cooker apple cider all the time, but I never thought about adding cranberries! What a great idea!!
I can almost smell this through my screen! This sounds delicious and I love the cranberry touch, makes it even more perfect for the holidays! Thanks for the inspiration!
How long will this keep in the warm crock, and in the fridge? Sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it.
It can keep warm in the crock for a good few hours, I had mine in for about 4 hours after it finished cooking. In the fridge it usually lasts about 4 days or so, but you probably don’t want any fresh fruit pieces in there as they may get soggy. Enjoy 🙂