Homemade apple cider is one of those slow-simmered comforts that fills your kitchen with the best kind of fall magic — the real-deal, not-from-a-jug kind. This Crockpot version is made entirely from fresh apples and spices, slow-cooked to bring out every bit of natural sweetness.
Unlike store-bought cider (which can taste flat or syrupy), this recipe gives you full control over the apple blend, spice level, and sweetness. And the crockpot does all the work — no babysitting a pot for hours.
Ingredients Needed For Homemade Apple Cider
How to Get the Best Flavor
The biggest secret to great apple cider is the apple mix itself. You want layers — not just one kind of sweetness. Use a few varieties for balance:
- Sweet apples: Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious
- Tart apples: Granny Smith, Pink Lady
Adjusting Sweetness and Spice
Think of this as your base recipe. You can adjust it to suit any taste:
- Less spice – Skip cloves and allspice for a milder cider.
- More kick – Add a pinch of nutmeg or extra cinnamon before the final hour of cooking.
- Sweeter – Stir in a tablespoon or two of maple syrup or honey right before serving.
If you’re making it for a group, err on the milder side — everyone can customize their mug later.
How To Make This Homemade Apple Cider Recipe
Mash and Strain Like a Pro
Once your apples and orange slices are soft, don’t skip the mash. This step removes pulp and spice bits that can make cider murky, leaving it beautifully smooth and sippable.
Why Time Is the Real Ingredient in Perfect Apple Cider
After testing this recipe multiple times with different apple varieties and cook times, the biggest lesson was this: time equals flavor. Letting it simmer low and slow is what transforms plain fruit and water into real cider — layered, fragrant, and deeply comforting.
Once you’ve made it from scratch, you’ll never go back to the bottled kind.
Serving Cider
For serving a crowd, strain the cider into a clean slow cooker, switch it to WARM, and let guests ladle their own. Keep extra cinnamon sticks nearby for garnish — they look festive and subtly boost aroma as they sit in each mug.
For a Spiked Version
For adult gatherings, stir in 1–2 ounces of dark liquor per cup right before serving — bourbon, rum, brandy, or whiskey all complement the spice perfectly.
If you’re making both versions, keep the base cider alcohol-free and set up a little “spike-your-own” bar with small bottles and labels.
Storing & Reheating
Homemade cider keeps well:
- Fridge: Up to one week (in a sealed glass pitcher or jar).
- Freezer: Up to two months. Thaw overnight, then reheat to 145–155°F for safe drinking temperature.
To reheat, warm it slowly in a pot over medium heat or return it to your crockpot on LOW for about an hour.
More Apple Recipes
- Apple Pie Recipe
- Apple Pie Bites Recipe
- Apple Cinnamon Granola Recipe
- Hasselback Apple Recipe
- Crockpot Applesauce Recipe
- Apple Fritter Ring Recipe
Apple Cider
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red sweet-tart apples, quartered and cored (Honeycrisp and Gala apples used)
- 1 medium navel orange, sliced into wedges
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 cinnamon sticks, plus additional sticks to garnish individual serving glasses (approximately 2 ½ to 3 inches in length)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves (approximately 18 to 20 whole cloves)
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- Add the apples, orange, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon, cloves and allspice to the insert of a 4-5 quart crockpot. Cover the fruit and spices with the water. There should be enough water to fully submerge the apples.
- Add the lid to the crockpot, set to LOW and cook for 6-7 hours (3-4 hours on HIGH) or until very soft.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks from the crockpot. Using a potato masher, gently mash the softened apples and oranges to release more flavor. Allow the cider to cook for an additional 1 hour.
- Place a large fine mesh strainer over a large pitcher or bowl, strain the mixture to remove the apple peel, orange slices and spices from the apple cider. Press as much liquid from the mashed fruit as possible using the back of a wooden spoon or a ladle. Discard the solid pieces. You may need to strain the cider in batches to prevent overflow and allow for easier pressing. For an extra smooth cider, place a cheesecloth over the fine mesh strainer and strain a second time to ensure no pulp or spices remain in the final apple cider.
- Serve warm (ideally between 145°F-155°F) in individual mugs, garnished with a cinnamon stick for a festive touch, if desired.
Notes
- The best apples to use that will yield a slightly sweet-tart flavor for the apple cider will be the Honeycrisp, Gala, Cosmic Crisp, Fuji, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith apples. You can use any combination of these apples for a more complex flavor.
- Depending on the desired level of spice you prefer for your homemade apple cider, you can adjust the amounts of spices added when cooking your apples in the crockpot. If you do not want a spiced apple cider, leave out the cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice when slow cooking the apples and orange in the crockpot.
- If you do not have a crockpot, you can use a large stock pot over medium-high heat to bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2-3 hours or until the apples are soft and tender. Mash, strain, and store the apple cider according to the recipe instructions.
- If your crockpot has a warm setting, you can wipe out the crockpot insert, to ensure no mashed apple remains, then add the strained apple cider back to the crockpot for serving as a warm drink.
- If you want to use the apple cider to make a spiked cocktail, you can add up to 2 ounces of your favorite dark liquor to a 1 cup serving. Whiskey, Bourbon, Rum or Brandy are all great options.
Nutrition
Comments
Gloria says
Completely gorgeous and makes the house smell incredible!!!
Maxine says
A great hot beverage to keep you warm and happy in a cold day…or any day!