American
Slow Cooker Spiced Apple Cider
Apple cider simmers with orange, cinnamon, and cloves until the kitchen smells like a holiday market. Serve it in mugs straight from the slow cooker.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 3 hr
- Total
- 3 hr 10 min
- Servings
- 10
- Difficulty
- Easy
Photo: alifayre (CC BY). Source
Why you’ll love it
- Hands-off warm drink for open-house guests.
- Whole spices strain out cleanly at the end.
- Low heat keeps the cider from turning bitter.
- Fills the house with scent while other dishes cook.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
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Instructions
- 1
Pour apple cider into a 4-quart or larger slow cooker.
- 2
Add orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, allspice, ginger, and maple syrup.
- 3
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
- 4
Taste and add another spoon of maple if you want it sweeter.
- 5
Strain out solids or ladle carefully around them.
- 6
Serve hot in mugs with a fresh apple slice.
Pro tips
- Keep the cooker on warm for serving so guests can refill.
- Tie spices in cheesecloth if you want easier removal.
- Use fresh cider, not apple juice, for fuller flavor.
Easy substitutions
- maple syrup
- brown sugar
- fresh ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- whole cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Storage and reheating
Storage
Cool, strain, and refrigerate up to 5 days.
Reheating
Warm on the stovetop over medium-low or return to the slow cooker on low until hot.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 120
- Protein
- 0 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
Budget friendly · Slow Cooker · Vegetarian
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A heavy 12-inch skillet
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An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
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A sharp chef’s knife
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A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
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An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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