Homemade Apple Cider in the Crockpot

Homemade apple cider make in a crock pot, perfect to drink on a cold winter day. Can customize to your tastes, and is a great homemade treat for everyone!

What is the perfect way to stay warm when it’s cold outside? Drink something hot!

Usually on an extra chilly day I’d opt for hot chocolate but I thought I’d try my hand at some homemade cider.

Funnily enough (did you know funnily is a word?), when I looked up how others have made homemade cider I came across a lot of recipes that listed “apple cider” as one of the ingredients. (Insert confused face here.)

Turns out that a lot of folks like to add more spices and things to store bought apple cider, so I was actually seeing recipes for “Spiced Apple Cider.” The things I learn. This stuff here though, this is the real deal. Homemade all the way. Which means customizable all the way.

The recipe I adapted had the great idea to use an orange to bring a nice citrusy flavor to the drink, which I loved. Basically all you’ll need to do is throw an orange in with a bunch of apples, top it off with water, then add spices and sweetener to taste.

If you’re a person who likes exact measurements, I included what I did below! Make sure you just use a big enough size – I used a 4-quart size which worked nicely, adjust accordingly to your measurements.

Once the apples are soft (after 2-3 hours of cooking on high in the crockpot), mash those babies up to get all the juices out. Then let it sit and cook for another hour or two until you’re ready to strain out the pulp.

If you want to be extra resourceful, save those mashed up apples you strained out and use it in something like a soup. It would work well in this butternut squash apple soup for some extra flavor!

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Yield: 6

Homemade Apple Cider

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Simple homemade apple cider to drink on a cold winter day. Can customize to your tastes, and is a great homemade treat for everyone! Make in a crock pot / slow cooker - See note for sizes.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 7 cups water
• 6 medium apples, (I used organic Gala apples, but use whichever variety you like)
• 1 orange, organic if possible
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, (or other sweetener of choice: honey, agave, maple syrup), to taste

Instructions

1. Add water to crock pot. Thoroughly wash apples and orange, slice them and place them in water. Top off with spices (you can always add more later).
2. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. About halfway through the cook time, mash the fruit with a potato masher.
3. When finished cooking, strain the cider with a fine-mesh strainer. (Tip: save the mashed apples to add to soup - would be great in the Butternut Squash Apple Soup recipe!)
4. Add sweetener to taste and more of chosen spices if desired. Serve hot.

Notes

*To use the measurements as provided make sure your crock pot or stove pot is at least 4 quarts.
Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 139Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 15mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 5gSugar: 28gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information is calculated automatically by an online tool at Nutritionix. It is not always accurate. Please use your own tools to check if you rely on this information.