Homemade Hot Apple Cider

Name: Homemade Hot Apple Cider
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 pounds (3.6 kg) sweet apples or 8 cups (4 pints) good apple juice * see note; 5 sticks fresh cinnamon, plus extra for garnish; 2 whole oranges, cut into slices or wedges; ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 10 whole cloves; Apple wedges for garnish; Orange wedges for garnish

October 17, 2014 — last updated August 21, 2023

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My Homemade Hot Apple Cider uses juiced, fresh and sweet seasonal apples or store bought apple cider. It’s simmered with cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange wedges and nutmeg for the ultimate warm/fall drink.

A glass mug of apple cider garnished with an apple wedge, orange slice and cinnamon stick

Made in the same way as Mulled Cider, this fall/autumn treat is perfect for the whole family because you can easily make this an Apple Cider Hot Toddy.

It’s everyone’s favorite fall/autumn and winter comforting drink and this is the easiest recipe for hot apple cider you’ll find. It also serves as a wonderfully fragrant air freshener because your house will smell like Christmas has arrived early and give you that Christmas in a cup feeling!

What to serve with Hot Apple Cider

Hot apple cider is perfect served alone, but I also like to have it with a good dessert. I made this cider as an accompaniment to Easy Sticky Toffee Pudding.

If hot drinks are not your thing, I have a Sparkling Apple Punch that is also just as delicious (pictured below).

2 glasses of sparkling apple punch garnished with apple slice, cinnamon stock and orange zest with a pitcher and fresh apples in the background

Apple Cider Hot Toddy

My husband chose to make his cider ‘grown-up’ by adding a touch of whiskey. This is a delicious option and a very good one for up-coming holiday parties. You can also add cognac like my Cognac Apple Cider recipe.

Using apples for Apple Cider

You can’t beat freshly juiced seasonal apples. When I do this, I love to use delicious and sweet honey crisp apples. I think are the best apples of the season and it is because of their sweetness that there is no need for added sugar because the cooking concentrates the flavor.

Hot Apple Cider Ingredients

Good apple cider

Cinnamon sticks

Fresh oranges

Nutmeg

Whole cloves

Half an apple alongside a mug of apple cider and view from the top showing orange slice, apple slice and cinnamon stick

How to make hot apple cider

Add the apple juice to a saucepan with cinnamon, oranges, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour.

Apple Cider v’s Apple Juice

When you purchase apple cider (not to be confused with hot apple cider recipe) in the U.S., it is different than apple cider in the U.K. In the U.K. apple cider is ‘hard cider’, meaning it’s alcoholic. Apple cider in the U.S. is unfiltered often unpasteurized apple juice that is cloudy. Apple juice is filtered, pasteurized and clear.

Hot apple cider in the slow cooker

This apple cider can also be made in the slow cooker. This is a great option if you’re entertaining and want to have a big batch kept warm for people coming in out of the cold.

A pitcher of homemade apple cider with a glass mug full

If you’ve tried this Homemade Hot Apple Cider or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!

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Yield: 4