Warm yourself up from the inside out with this sweet crock pot caramel apple cider. Homemade apple cider with a caramel twist. Fresh apple juice, caramel syrup, cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, and more. Pour in a glass, top with whipped cream, and caramel sauce, and sip away.
This crock pot apple cider recipe is great for serving a crowd, or whip this up and have it for sipping as you carve pumpkins or watch holiday movies as a family. No matter when this apple cider is bursting with warm spices that tickle the tastebuds.
Consider trying my mulled apple cider as well for another slow cooker drink recipe. Or try out the apple pie jello shots for a fun apple boozy treat for adults.
Reasons You Will Love This Crock Pot Caramel Apple Cider Recipe
- A warm and cozy drink that will warm you up from the inside out. This is great for chilly days when you want to warm up a bit.
- Easy to make and minimal effort is needed on your part. Just dump items in the slow cooker and let it handle the rest.
- This caramel apple cider will fill your home with warm spices, that create an aromatic experience that will leave your home smelling incredible.
- Sweet and delicious flavors of sweet caramel and warm spices, and that sweet and tart apple flavor.
- Making crockpot apple cider is great when you want a drink to serve a crowd. The slow cooker keeps the liquid warm as guests ladle up the cider.
- The toppings for the apple cider are endless. Dress up your glasses any way you find fitting.
Ingredients You Will Need
Apple Juice – Fresh apple juice will offer the best flavor to the cider. You can find this at most grocery stores or even head to your local apple orchard if it is open for the season.
Caramel Flavor Syrup – This syrup is going to help add flavor and deepen the caramel flavor in this drink tremendously.
Sugar – A little sugar is used to help balance out the tart from the apple juice.
Vanilla – Vanilla extract is used to really help create more dimension and flavor to the drink.
Spices – Cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, cloves, and all-spice are used to really create warm spices to infuse the apple juice mixture to transform it into cider.
Toppings – I topped my drink with whipped cream, caramel sauce, and cinnamon sticks. Feel free to adjust as you see fit.
Variations to Recipe
I wanted to share a few ways you can change up the recipe a bit. Feel free to make it as the recipe states or tweak it a bit.
- Leave out the caramel sauce to create a more traditional apple cider.
- Add in some orange or even lemon zest to create more dimension to the drink. It will create a citrus pop of flavor.
- Add in 1 cup of cranberry juice or even 1 cup of orange juice for a fruity pairing along with the apple flavor.
- Adjust the spices as you see fit. This can be used to make it stronger or lighter in flavor.
- Swap the caramel syrup for 1/3 cup of honey for a more natural sweet flavor. Therefore you have a different flavor to add to your drink.
- Pour your cider into glasses then spice with Brandy, rum, whiskey, etc. Make it as strong or as light as you would like.
- Add a splash of heavy cream to make it a creamy apple cider recipe.
Pro Tips
Stovetop or Crockpot
You can make this on the stovetop or crockpot. The methods for both are in the recipe card below. The key is to make sure that if you use a stovetop method to use a heavy-duty pot there are no hot spots and nothing burns on the bottom by stirring it. The crockpot version is more hands-free.
Strain
Once you are ready to serve strain off or use a slotted spoon to remove the spices from the mixture. I tend to use a spoon to remove the cloves and such from the mixture. But you could strain it through a fine mesh or cheesecloth-lined strainer.
Slow Simmer
Allowing the mixture to slowly simmer or cook on low is going to help blend and infuse all the flavors together. The flavors will intensify as they cook longer. If you do the stovetop version avoid boiling as it can cloud up the apple cider if that happens.
Spices
You can add or take away spices to fit the flavor profile you are going for. Have fun and experiment with adding more cinnamon or less nutmeg if you want. Start small and work your way up to find what is the perfect amount.
Serve Warm or Cold
Did you know that you can drink apple cider cold or hot? So just know with any that you have left over you can serve up cold once it has chilled in the fridge. It will have a bit of a different flavor profile but it is still so refreshing.
Storing
Refrigerate any of the caramel apple cider in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week. Then before each serving, stir well. Then pour in a glass and drink chilled, or warm it up in the microwave or on the stovetop. Either will work!
You will find that as your cider sits it will create a bit more flavor to the drink and the spices will become more defined.
FAQs
Can I Spike Apple Cider with Alcohol?
Yes! You can add in rum, bourbon, whiskey, or even a splash of brandy to the cider. You can pour a shot in each cup or add to the crockpot at the end of cooking.
What Spices Can I Add to Apple Cider?
If you want to add more flavor feel free to add in extra allspice, cinnamon sticks or even ground cinnamon, cloves, and of course nutmeg.
What’s the Difference Between Sweet Cider and Hard Cider?
You will find a sweet cider is sweeter in flavor and contains no alcohol. Whereas hard cider is made with alcohol and often fermented. You can buy hard cider at the liquor stores in a few different brands depending on where you live.
Is Apple Cider the Same as Apple Juice?
Apple juice and apple cider are not the same. Apple juice is a less processed form of juice from the apple. Where cider is infused with warm spices, and has more of a cooking process that takes place.
Can I Use Apple Cider in Cooking or Baking?
Go right ahead and use the apple cider you make in baking. From adding to glazes and marinades to mixing in cakes, pies, and more. This is liquid gold when it comes to flavor!
Enjoy the flavors of fall with my famous Caramel Apple Cider thats a close copy to the very popular Starbucks caramel apple cider!! a must make!
Craving More
Crock Pot Caramel Apple Cider
Ingredients
- 8 cups 1.9 L fresh apple juice
- 1 cup 236 mL caramel flavored syrup
- 1 Tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 2-3 inch/5-7 cm cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons whole all-spice
- Whipped topping caramel ice cream topping, and cinnamon sticks for serving (optional)
Instructions
Crock Pot Directions
- Add ingredients into your Crock Pot. Stir and then set on low for 4 hours. Stir in between, and you can cook for longer if you need.
- Once done turn to warm and then remove the spices. Then ladle up and enjoy.
Stove Top Directions
- Add the apple cider, white sugar, vanilla extract, 4 cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg, whole cloves, and whole all-spice to a large pot.
- Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
- Strain out the whole spices and stir in the caramel flavored syrup.
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