With only 4 simple ingredients, this is the easiest Crock Pot Mulled Apple Cider recipe ever! It’s also the tastiest.

With notes of cinnamon, cloves, and orange, this cozy spiced hot apple cider is perfect for sipping all fall and winter long. You can make it in the Crock Pot for hot apple cider that’s ready whenever you are, or brew up a batch fast on the stovetop. I’ll show you how to make hot apple cider both ways!

Two mugs of hot spiced mulled cider in clear mugs with a cinnamon stick in as garnish. Sliced oranges and apples are in the background.

Table of Contents

The Story Behind the Recipe

I’ve been making this hot apple cider recipe for decades. Seriously. If I recall correctly, my sister first started making it something like 30 years ago, and it quickly became a fall and winter staple for me, too.

There’s just something about having a warm batch of spiced cider steaming away on the stovetop or brewing up in the slow cooker. It makes the entire house smell amazing!

Why You’ll Love Hot Apple Cider

Not only is this mulled apple cider recipe seriously easy, it’s also quintessentially autumn and winter. It looks cozy. It tastes cozy. It IS cozy!

This mulled cider, with all its wonderful spices, makes the entire house smell like a palace of coziness. (That can be a thing, right?)

Two mugs of hot spiced mulled cider in clear mugs with a cinnamon stick in as garnish. Sliced orange, cloves, and cinnamon sticks are in the background.

It warms you up after an hour or two of kicking around in the fall leaves or picking out that perfect pumpkin or trick-or-treating on a perfectly frosty night when you can see your breath.

And then, basically all of December is spiced apple cider season. What’s better than loading up a travel mug with spiced cider and heading out to find your Christmas tree? The smell of frosty pine + the aroma of hot spiced cider.

I LOVE this time of year!

Ingredients for hot spiced apple cider.

Ingredients

This spiced cider is special because it takes only four whole ingredients – no special mulling spices required. We’ve got:

  • Apple cider – can’t have spiced apple cider without that!
  • Cinnamon sticks – because apple cider and cinnamon are BFFs.
  • An orange – yep, it’s true! Trust me.
  • Whole cloves – you stick them in the orange and float it in the cider.

Adaptations/Variations

  • Spiked Hot Apple Cider: For a boozy hot spiced cider, add a splash of rum, bourbon, or brandy. I’m partial to rum. But please wait until AFTER you heat your cider before adding or most of your spirits will evaporate. I like to add any alcohol to the mugs when serving.
  • Spiced Pear Cider: Swap out some or all of the apple cider for pear cider.

How to Make Your Clove Orange for Cider

My favorite part about this spiced apple cider recipe is, in fact, the clove-studded orange. It just looks so festive, and the tiny amount of orange juice that comes out, the oils from the peel, and the cloves impart the most wonderful, heady flavors – both into your cider and wafting about your home.

I used to just stick the cloves directly into the orange, but would break off every other clove and they’d crumble … super frustrating. I get around this by first poking the orange with a toothpick, then inserting the cloves.

To make your clove orange, just poke your orange all over, then insert the cloves, and plop it in with the other ingredients.

Cloves are inserted into an orange for a clove orange that will go into hot spiced cider.
hot spiced apple cider brewing in a slow cooker.

How to Make Hot Spiced Cider

I make mine one of two ways: Crock Pot or stovetop. The slow cooker method is great, because it’s so easy to just pour everything in, walk away, and come back in four hours to mulled cider goodness. Plus, you can just switch it over to the “warm” setting and have hot apple cider on the ready all glorious evening long. Perfect for when you have company over, when you’re busy decorating the Christmas tree, or you just want a steady stream of goodness at the ready.

On the other hand, it’s handy to know you can whip some hot apple cider up on the stovetop whenever you have a craving and haven’t had the chance to plan ahead. So I’m showing you how to make it both ways!

Crock Pot Spiced Cider

  1. Add your clove-studded orange to your slow cooker along with a few cinnamon sticks and apple cider.
  2. Turn it on.
  3. Wait four hours.

You have Hot Apple Cider! The mulled cider of your dreams. A wassail wonderland. (And your house smells wonderful, too.)

Stovetop Hot Apple Cider

  1. Add the clove-studded orange to a large pot set over low heat, along with a few cinnamon sticks and the apple cider.
  2. Cover and keep the cider just below a simmer for about 30 minutes
  3. Enjoy!
A ladle scoops hot spiced cider out of a slow cooker.

Tips for Success

  • Don’t slice your orange! Keep it whole and poke your cloves into it. I’ve found that sliced orange in mulled cider can often lead to an unpleasant bitter taste because of the exposed pith. Instead, this hot apple cider recipe calls for poking cloves directly into the orange. It helps keep the cloves contained so you don’t have to fish them out later, it helps release the oils from the orange peel without exposing the pith, and it looks festive!
  • Don’t let it boil! Depending on the type of apple cider you buy, the solids in the cider can cause the solids to cook and separate. Keep it at just below a simmer for best results.
Top view of hot spiced cider with a cinnamon stick on a wooden board.

Make-Ahead Notes

If you want to make hot apple cider beforehand then reheat when I want to serve it, you totally can!Yes, absolutely. When we do this, we either just cover the cooled Slow Cooker crock with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge or we will even pour the cooled cider back into the cider bottle to store it.

Then just reheat it gently in the Crock Pot or over the stove.

Two mugs of hot spiced mulled cider in clear mugs with a cinnamon stick in as garnish. Sliced orange, cloves, and apples are in the background.

More Cozy Fall & Winter Drinks

Two mugs of hot spiced mulled cider in clear mugs with a cinnamon stick in as garnish. Sliced orange, cloves, and apples are in the background.
4.43 from 7 votes

Mulled Hot Apple Cider Recipe (4 Ingredients!)

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 10 minutes
Author: Kare
Yield: 8
With just four ingredients – okay, five if you spike it with your favorite rum – this hot spiced apple cider recipe couldn't be any easier to make. It's the perfect excuse to get out there and rake the leaves. Crock Pot AND stovetop instructions!
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Ingredients

  • 2 quarts apple cider (64 ounces or 8 cups)
  • 6 cinnamon sticks (I use 3-inch sticks, but you can use longer ones + more for serving)
  • 1 orange (medium; I prefer naval oranges and I tend to go with organic)
  • 2 tablespoons whole cloves

Instructions

Make Your Clove-Studded Orange

  • With a toothpick, poke holes all around the orange, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart. Carefully poke the cloves into the toothpick holes in the orange. Set aside.

Hot Apple Cider in the Crock Pot

  • Pour apple cider into a 2.5-quart or larger Crock Pot or other slow cooker. Add cinnamon sticks and your clove-studded orange.
  • Cook on low until hot and fragrant, about 4 hours.

Hot Apple Cider on the Stovetop

  • Place a 3-quart or larger pot on the stove. Add apple cider, cinnamon sticks, and your clove-studded orange.
  • Cover and cook over low heat, keeping the cider just below a simmer (boiling your cider can cause the solids to cook and separate). Heat gently until spiced through, warm, and fragrant, about 30 minutes.

Serve!

  • Ladle into mugs along with an ounce or so of rum if using. Place a cinnamon stick in each glass if desired and serve.
  • If you and yours aren't drinking it all at once, you can keep your hot spiced cider warm by flipping your slow cooker setting to low or keeping your pot on the very lowest setting on your stovetop.

Notes

Doubling the recipe

Doubling or tripling notes: No need to add more than one orange! I’d would add a few more cloves to the orange for oomph though.

Make-ahead notes

To make hot apple cider beforehand then reheat when ready to serve, just cover the cooled Slow Cooker crock with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Pull it out and rewarm when ready to serve. We will even pour the cooled cider back into the cider bottle to store it. It keeps for 3-4 days. 

Adding spirits

To spike your cider, add a splash of rum or brandy are AFTER you heat your cider – or most of your spirits will evaporate. I like to add any alcohol directly to the mugs when serving.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 125kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 12mg, Potassium: 288mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 24g, Vitamin A: 45IU, Vitamin C: 11mg, Calcium: 57mg, Iron: 1mg

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