Warm up the whole house with a cup of festive Mulled Apple Cider infused with cinnamon sticks, whole allspice and cloves - the perfect drink for fall nights, holiday festivities or warming yourself up on a comfy couch at home.
With only a few ingredients and little effort, this hot apple cider recipe delivers big flavor. With only 5 minutes of active work, you can have the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas drink.
A Quick Glance At This Mulled Apple Cider Recipe
- ✅Done in: 2 hours (but hands off!)
- 🛒Ingredients: Just 4.
- 🍽️Serves: 16 but could be doubled in a large crockpot.
- 💪Difficulty: Easy - Perfect for any gathering.
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Stovetop
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes! You can easily reheat this.
Analyze & Summarize This Content On
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Totally hands off, especially when using the crockpot. This makes it perfect for parties!
- Great for all ages as it's non-alcoholic, but easily customizable with liquor for adults. Bourbon Apple Cider is one of our favorites!
- No added sugar + flexible for different crowd sizes.
Jump to:
Recipe Ingredients
- Apple Cider: Make sure you are picking up fresh apple cider from a local market or the refrigerated section of the store, which can also be used in this Dutch Apple Pie Recipe. There is a noticeable difference in quality between the fresh and the shelf stable apple cider.
- Spices: Available in the spice section of your local grocer. Whole spices provide clear, strong flavor. You'll want to use whole over ground spices when making hot apple cider to keep the grounds from floating around.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Try floating some orange slices and fresh cranberries during the last 20 minutes of the simmer time for fragrance and eye appeal. The aroma lingering throughout the house is nostalgic of holidays.
- If extra sweetener is desired, brown sugar or maple syrup can be added in ¼ increments until desired sweetness is achieved.
- Add fresh ginger slices or star anise to the pot while simmering.
- Make more of a chai spice taste with cardamom pods, black peppercorns, and fresh ginger. I love enjoying this version with soft molasses cookies!
- Does your shop have pear cider? That's a great base for an exciting new drink instead of apple cider!
- A crockpot is a great option if you're running to work or out to the store, as you can let it cook low and slow while you're gone and also store it in the same vessel.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Mulled Cider
Step 1: Wrap whole spices in a few layers of cheesecloth and secure by tying a not or tying tight with butchers twine.
Step 2: Simmer hot apple cider for 2 hours on stovetop. Cool slightly before serving.
Expert Cooking Tips
- Tie the cheesecloth tightly either knotting the fabric if you can or using kitchen twine. This way you don't have to go fishing for the spices at the end!
- Strain hot apple cider through a chinois or fine mesh strainer afterwards to filter out any residue if desired.
- You'll want to simmer the mulled cider rather than boil to avoid too much evaporation, breaking down of the spices, and a bitter taste.
- If adding orange slices, add during the last 20-30 minutes of the simmer to avoid getting a bitter flavor from the pith of the orange.
Mulled Apple Cider Recipe FAQs
When you mull something you are adding heat and spices. This infuses the flavor of whatever you are adding to the original liquid. You can think of it almost like steeping tea because you are steeping the spices in the apple cider. Mulled wine is made with the same method.
Mulled Apple Cider is a strong tasting drink on its own so you'll want strong flavors to stand up to it! Try bourbon, whiskey, brandy or a dark rum.
Yes, it's no problem! You can simmer it, then remove the spices or other additions, and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight jar or airtight container that is heat proof, in the fridge for up to 7 days. Gently reheat on the stove when you're ready to serve. You can enjoy it cold as well as hot apple cider if you like.
Hot apple cider can be served hot or cold. If serving hot, serve in a mug. If cider is cold, serve in a wine glass or cocktail glass. Either can be garnished with orange slices, fresh or frozen cranberries, cinnamon sticks, star anise or rosemary. Mulled apple cider can be served from the stove top, crockpot or a beverage dispenser.
Add all mulled cider ingredients to the slow cooker then turn on low for 8 hours-10 hours while covered. It's that simple!
🧁Krista's Food Truck & Mom POV
Whether selling hot apple cider on the food truck or trying to make recipes for holidays with kids running around - I'm looking for something quick and easy that packs a punch in the flavor department.
Mulled Apple Cider is great for either. Bring it to a simmer then forget about it for 2 hours. Tell Siri to set a timer on your watch 'called apple cider', then you know exactly when to go back and get it!
This recipe is also perfect for holiday gatherings and food truck events because it's soooo easy to double or triple the batch without extra work!
More Recipes You'll Love
Have you tried this recipe? Share it with me! Tag @inkristaskitchen on Instagram & Facebook and leave a star⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review below! Sign up for our Newsletter to follow along with new recipes & news!
📖Recipe
Mulled Apple Cider
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven or crockpot
- 1 piece of cheesecloth cut a large piece off the roll
Ingredients
- 1 gallon fresh apple cider in the refrigerated section
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 10 pieces whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon whole allspice
Instructions
- Pour apple cider into Dutch oven
- Add spices to cheesecloth, fold and tie tight
- Bring cider to a simmer then turn down slightly and allow to cook for 1½-2 hours
Tammy
This mulled cider is so flavorful and so easy to make! It is has a wonderful aroma and great for all ages. Simply delicious!
Zach
This recipe is easy to follow and takes no effort at all. Perfect for the holidays!
Krista Stechman
The best easy holiday recipe!
Krista
A childhood favorite! Such an easy recipe with little to no effort put in. We always drink this at the holidays and occasionally add alcohol for the adults.