Hot spiked apple cider is a tasty and seasonally spiced drink that is perfect for everything from an evening around the fire pit to sitting in your pj’s watching it snow to a holiday dinner with friends and family.

close up of two glasses of hot apple cider with star anise floating on top with garnish on a wood tray with a black background

Fall is a great season! It is filled with fun and change. Leaves fall, temperatures drop and there are many exciting events and holidays. Just the word fall seems to have it's own flavor. Some sort of mixture of pumpkin, apple and cinnamon.

This drink screams fall and is perfect for so many of falls unique moments. A warm up around the fire pit on a cooler night. An indoor sofa snuggle on a rainy, cold and raw weekend. And, of course a wonderful drink to serve to guests during any sort of gathering or holiday celebration,

How To Make Mulled Apple Cider

This is such an easy recipe to throw together, but yet somehow, it seems to elevate any gathering where you chose to serve it. To get started, you will need the following:

Apple Cider
Whole Cloves
Cinnamon Sticks
Orange Peel
Apple
Anise Stars
Tequila
Triple Sec

A few hours before you plan to serve, place cider, cloves, cinnamon, orange peel, apple and anise stars in your slow cooker. Cover and cook 1 hour on high or 2 hours on low. You can then turn to warm until you are ready to serve.

cinnamon sticks, apple wedges, orange slices and cloved in a lined slow cooker

If would prefer the alcohol free version of this drink, just use a ladle to fill heat safe glasses and your drink is ready to go! For the full hot spiked apple cider version, about 10-15 minutes prior to serving, turn your slow cooker up to high. Add in tequila and triple sec. Once heated, you can turn back down to warm.

How To Serve This Slow Cooker Drink

Since your drink will be hot, it is best served in a mug or glass with a handle - or an insulated, heat safe cup. To make it festive, serve with a cinnamon stick, one or two whole anise stars and an orange or apple wedge garnishing each cup. I suggest using a ladle and serving directly from your slow cooker.

This dish is great at a party as you can keep your crockpot on warm and allow your guests to refill their own glasses as they wish.

two glasses of hot spiked apple cider in a glass with garnish on a wooden tray with a rope handle

Why Use a Crockpot For This Recipe

Slow cooking tends to bring out a different flavors. In the case of this drink, the slow cooked flavors of cinnamon, anise and cloves really add to the overall taste.
When cooking in your crockpot you can choose to use a slow cooker liner leaving you with virtually zero clean up.
Crockpots are a great way to cook with children (In the case of this drink, I would suggest you keep it to the non-alcoholic version!). Since they don’t get super hot the way ovens do AND since you generally don’t turn them on until all ingredients are in, they are very family friendly. (Please note that you CAN still burn yourself with a slow cooker so always supervise children carefully anytime you are in the kitchen!).
Using your crockpot to make hot spiked apple cider is great for when you don’t have the time to babysit a dish on the stove. Since crockpots are slow and steady, they are a little more forgiving of people who (like me) sometimes run late or lose track of time. You don't have to worry about anything burning or boiling over.

close up of a finished glass of spiked hot apple cider with fruit and cinnamon stick garnish

Hot Spiked Apple Cider Hints & Hacks

I always recommend the use of a slow cooker liner. This is, of course, an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price. Here are the liners I buy.
In the market for a new slow cooker? Here is the one I am currently lusting after.
The fruit that cooks in this spiked apple cider will be delicious after the drink itself is gone. While some of the alcohol will have cooked out by then, I would still recommend keeping children away from eating it.