Slow Cooker Apple Cider

This Slow Cooker Apple Cider recipe is perfect for fall! You’ll love the cozy and comforting aroma that will fill your house.

It’s made with a combination of gala and granny smith apples for the perfect sweet and tart flavor balance, and spiced with whole cinnamon and cloves.

Not only is this slow cooker apple cider recipe super easy to make, it’s also make-ahead and freezer friendly.

Making slow cooker apple cider at home is a great way to use up the abundance of apples from this year’s fall harvest.

To make it extra cozy, make this recipe along with other baked apple treats, such as apple cinnamon muffins, apple turnovers, fresh apple cake, or a classic apple pie to serve along with it. Or try my favorite puff pastry apple tarts!

There’s really nothing better than the aroma of cooked apples, cinnamon, and cloves in your kitchen during a cozy fall afternoon.

This slow cooker apple cider requires very little active time. It’s a great recipe to make to host guests too! Super easy and convenient. Below, I share everything you need to know to make this recipe, including recommended equipment and expert tips.

We love to serve it right in the slow cooker, garnished with tons of sliced apples, oranges, fresh cranberries, and spices.

Jump to:

• What Size Slow Cooker to Use
• What Types of Apple to Use
• Use Whole Spices
• Ingredient Notes
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Make Ahead Instructions
• Freezing Instructions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips for Success
• Slow Cooker Apple Cider

What Size Slow Cooker to Use

To fit in about 10 medium apples and about 10 cups of water, you’ll need a 7 or 8 quart slow cooker. This makes enough for about 8 people.

This slow cooker apple cider recipe is customizable when it comes to quantity changes, so if you have a smaller 4 quart slow cooker, for example, simply use half of the ingredients.

What Types of Apple to Use

The best apples to use for a sweet flavor profile are gala, honeycrisp, fuji, or even red delicious. For a more tart flavor profile, granny smith will be your best bet.

I’d highly recommend using a mix of both types of apples for a sweet and tart flavor profile. I use about 8 gala apples and 2 granny smith apples, so a 80/20 ratio.

Use Whole Spices

The key to making a fragrant slow cooker apple cider is using whole spices.

Whole spices will flavor the cider throughout in a subtle way, adding a subtle cozy taste and aroma that is pleasant. The spices are also easy to pick out or remove so it’s smooth.

On the other hand, using ground spices can make it overpowering. Plus, it will affect the texture – ground spices are hard to strain, even if you use a fine mesh strainer.

For our slow cooker apple cider recipe, we use whole cinnamon sticks and whole cloves. However, if you want a stronger taste, add whole allspice berries, a small nutmeg, fresh ginger or whole cardamom. Just keep in mind that too much can make the cider bitter.

Ingredient Notes

Below are a few helpful ingredient notes from recipe testing. As always, the full ingredient list and quantities can be found in the recipe card down below.

• Assorted apples: Use a combination of sweet and tart apples, such as gala and granny smith.
• Orange: An orange will balance out the sweetness and add aromatic tones to the cider.
• Cinnamon sticks and whole cloves: To subtly infuse with aromatic spices. For stronger, spiced up flavors, try adding allspice berries too.
• Brown sugar: ½ cup is all you need for this recipe, as the apples are sweet too. If needed, you can always add more sugar at the end.
• Water as needed.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This recipe requires very little active prep time. Here’s a quick tutorial.

Step 1 | Add ingredients into slow cooker

Add all the ingredients into a large 7 or 8 quart slow cooker. Stir to combine.

Step 2 | Slow cook for 4 hours

Cover and slow cook on HIGH for 4 hours until the apples are completely softened.

Step 3 | Mash apples and return to slow cooker

Remove the apples and mash them. Then return the mashed apples into the slow cooker, and continue cooking on HIGH for 1 more hour.

Step 4 | Strain and serve

Using a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth, strain into a large pot or serving container. After this, you can either return it the slow cooker or serve.

Return to the slow cooker and keep it warm (change to the “warm” setting). For presentation, garnish with sliced apples, oranges, fresh cranberries, and whole spices.

Make Ahead Instructions

You can make it up to 3 days in advance and reheat prior to serving. I’d recommend reheating over the stovetop if serving it warm.

Most of the time, I make it in the morning and keep it warm through the afternoon when I’m hosting guests.

How to keep apple cider warm: Once you have strained the apples and spices, transfer everything back to the slow cooker and switch to the “warm” setting until ready to serve the same day.

Freezing Instructions

This slow cooker apple cider recipe is conveniently freezer-friendly!

Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving, warm or cold.

If you’d rather reheat frozen cider straight on the stovetop, pre-portion it into smaller containers. I like to use these Souper Cubes.

Recipe FAQs

This recipe was published in 2019 and updated in October 2022 to include new photos and information, plus a few recipe modifications.

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