Warm, comforting, and super easy, this Slow Cooker Wassail is a delicious cold-weather drink perfect for Fall and Winter or any holiday gatherings that you may have.
Made of super easy ingredients and the perfect drink to sip on while you cuddle up on under the blanket in front of the fireplace, this Slow Cooker Wassail is full of flavor.
Wassail is one of those recipes that we throw together whenever the weather dips in temperature, or we are just craving a nice non-alcoholic drink that is warm and comforting.
Easily available ingredients make this drink recipe exactly what you’ve been hoping for. Full of spices and fruit flavors, you absolutely cannot go wrong with this recipe.
Toss everything in the slow cooker and let it simmer for a few hours, and not only will you have a tasty drink, but your house will also smell amazing. It’s a win-win both ways.
We like to have this out for game days (for our non-drinking friends), holidays, or just cold nights. Honestly, we love this recipe so much that we will make it all year long.
I love that we make it in the slow cooker because it means that I can just let it simmer all by itself and not really tend to it while I can get other things done.
If you’ve been looking for that perfect throat-soothing, spice-filled, tasty drink- then you absolutely have to make a batch of my Slow Cooker Wassail.
Some of my other favorite drink recipes that we have on our site include: Christmas Mimosa Mocktails, Sparkling Citrus Pomegranate Punch and Apple Cider Rum Punch.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With easily available ingredients, this comes together in no time.
- Not only do you get a great drink, but your house will also smell amazing.
- This is kid-friendly and it also helps soothe the throat if you are having issues.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
Apple cider
Orange juice
Lemon juice
Light brown sugar
Honey
Star anise
Cinnamon sticks
Whole allspice
Whole cloves
Ground ginger
Ground nutmeg
Granny Smith apple
Honeycrisp apple
Navel orange
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER WASSAIL:
- Add the apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, honey, star anise, cinnamon sticks, allspice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg to an 8-quart slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Add the apple and orange slices, stir them in to coat them in the liquid.
- Add the lid and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours, occasionally stirring if you can. Place the slow cooker on the warm setting and serve.
DO I HAVE TO USE THE STAR ANISE?
I know not everyone likes the flavor of star anise as it has more of a licorice taste to it when using it for cooking.
This can absolutely be left out if you are not a fan of it, you do not need to replace it with anything else. This drink will taste just as good not using it.
DO I HAVE TO USE BOTH THE BROWN SUGAR AND HONEY?
I really enjoy using both of these for the flavor, but you can use one or the other. The honey really gives a nice soothing feeling to your throat when added.
But if you don’t have one or the other on hand, just use what you have and it will be fine.
CAN I MAKE THIS AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, this is great to make ahead of time, that is why we love to make it in the slow cooker. Mix everything together and let it simmer then, everyone can drink when it is done.
You can leave this on the warm setting for up to 4 hours, even though it is on the warm setting, it will still cook and the liquids will evaporate off and the spices will become stronger, so that is why I suggest only 4 hours.
HOW TO STORE?
This can be stored covered or in a lidded container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze this in a freezer container where it will keep for 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight until thawed, and you can reheat in the slow cooker, stovetop or microwave until heated through.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- We like to use a mixture of sweet and tart apples for this, but use what you’d like.
- If you are not a fan of star anise, you can leave it out.
- Make sure you use apple cider and not apple juice.
- This can be made ahead of time, but I only recommend keeping on the warm setting for 4 hours.
- Ground spices can be used in place of whole, use 1/4 teaspoon each of ground clove and allspice.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Make sure that you are using a large enough slow cooker, at least a 6 quart.
Love a good cool weather drink that takes minimal effort and the end results are amazing? This Slow Cooker Wassail is exactly what you’ve been looking for.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this SLOW COOKER WASSAIL let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Slow Cooker Wassail
Ingredients
- 2 quarts apple cider
- 1 quart orange juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup honey
- 5 star anise
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 Granny Smith apple sliced into rounds
- 1 Honeycrisp apple sliced into rounds
- 1 navel orange sliced into rounds
Instructions
- Add the apple cider, orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, honey, star anise, cinnamon sticks, allspice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg to an 8-quart slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Add the apple and orange slices, stir them in to coat them in the liquid.
- Add the lid and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours, occasionally stirring if you can. Place the slow cooker on the warm setting and serve.
Notes
- We like to use a mixture of sweet and tart apples for this, but use what you'd like.
- If you are not a fan of star anise you can leave it out.
- Make sure you use apple cider and not apple juice.
- This can be made ahead of time, but I only recommend keeping on the warm setting for 4 hours.
- Ground spices can be used in place of whole, use 1/4 teaspoon each of ground clove and allspice.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Make sure that you are using a large enough slow cooker, at least a 6 quart.
Nutrition
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