Have you ever wondered if you could make your own apple cider? I wondered this myself, and quickly found out that in fact, its extremely easy and hands-off! I was able to make nearly a quart of apple cider for Thanksgiving this year that was not only delicious, but also had no preservatives, thickeners, and very little added sweetener. Read below to get my customizable homemade apple cider recipe!
Homemade Apple Cider Recipe Ingredients
Essentially, at it’s most basic – Apple Cider is just apples & water boiled for a long period of time, and then strained.
Sweeteners
The great part about making your own from scratch, is that you have a chance to customize this as much as you would like. Want a sweeter apple cider? Add more sugar or maple syrup and use a sweeter apple. Looking for a more tart cider? Use green apples without sugar. Want a really warm and well-spiced cider? Load up on those spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc.
I’m not big on sugars – especially added sugars. I used about 2 tablespoons of maple syrup in my first batch, but will definitely be trying it without any maple syrup or sweetener for my next batch! I found that the apples were sweet on their own (I used honeycrisp).
The beauty of making your own apple cider, is that you can taste it throughout the process to adjust the flavors to your liking. Once the first hour/two hours have passed, the flavors begin to develop and you can easily tell if you’d like to add more sugar, more cinnamon, whatever!
Find on Amazon below (link takes you to Amazon):
Spices
In my homemade apple cider recipe, I used:
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Ground Nutmeg
- Whole Allspice Berries
- Ground Ginger
- Whole Cloves
This can be completely customized based on your preferences, and what you have on hand. If you only have ground cinnamon or allspice, it works just fine! Maybe you just want to do cinnamon and nutmeg without anything else. Maybe you’re looking for something a little more ‘intense’ – maybe you put in some fresh ginger, lots of cloves, and lots of allspice.
You can also buy pre-packaged mulling spices or apple cider spice packs to take the guesswork out of it. I’m including a few below! Since I often use these spices in cooking & when making tea, I have a lot on hand and didn’t need to worry about getting a packet.
Individual Recommended Bulk Spices
(can often be found at the grocery store)
Straining Your Homemade Apple Cider
No Waste – Save Your cooked Apples!
Homemade Apple Cider Recipe
Make your own Apple Cider. Easy, hands off, and customizable. Spice & sweeten to your liking - no processed sugars!
- 10 Apples Honeycrisp or Other
- 1-3 tbsp Maple Syrup (optional)
- 1 tbsp Nutmeg ground
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks (or 1-2 tbsp ground cinnamon)
- 1-2 tbsp Allspice Berries whole
- 1-2 tsp Cloves Whole
- Star Anise (optional)
- Ginger (optional)
- Filtered Water
-
Wash your apples & quarter them. If you want to save the cooked apples for apple sauce, I recommend coring them too. No need to peel.
-
Add your quartered apples to a very large stockpot, and fill with water enough to cover the apples by a few inches. They will float, so push down to be sure there's sufficient water in the pot. You can always add more as they cook down if needed.
-
Heat over high heat until boiling, then reduce to a simmer. Add your spices and maple syrup if desired. You can customize this to your liking. At minimum, I recommend lots of cinnamon & nutmeg. (The apples - in my opinion - are sweet enough without added sweetener. You can always add more as they cook down if you want it sweeter. I went with 1-2 tbsp in my recipe, and probably won't use any in my next recipe.)
-
Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed.
-
Cover the stockpot and simmer for 2 hours.
-
Let cool. Once cool, strain through a fine mesh sieve, cheese cloth, or nut milk bag. Squeeze out all the remaining liquid (remaining apples will still be very wet). Discard the cooked apples, or save to process and eat as apple sauce (or add to oatmeal).
-
Serve warm or cool.
Other Recipes you may enjoy:
Did you enjoy this recipe? Have photos to share? Show us on Instagram #homewithwillow, or join our Facebook group!