Instant Pot Apple Cider is a delicious drink to enjoy throughout the Fall holiday season. It comes together easily and is made with only fresh fruit and whole spices.
The Instant Pot works great for making beverages, like green tea and hot cocoa. Instant Pot apple cider is one of my favorite hot drinks to make in the pressure cooker during the chilly days of Autumn.
Homemade apple cider is an easy recipe- the prep boils down to only roughly cutting your fruits and dumping them into the pressure cooker with whole spices and water. Set the pressure cooker, let it cook, then strain out the solids and you have a huge batch of flavorful wholesome apple cider ready to go!
Enjoy this mulled apple cider throughout the festive Fall season. It's a delicious drink to take camping, to holiday potlucks, to sip on while nestled around your outdoor fire pit or snuggled on the couch watching holiday movies. Enjoy it with homemade apple cider bread, pumpkin muffins, or cranberry bread to bring those Fall vibes full swing!
What Is Mulled Apple Cider?
Mulled apple cider is made with whole spices that infuse the entire drink with it's signature flavor. Mulled cider is heated with spices and fruit which sweeten it and give it an intensely cozy and aromatic earthy flavor. It's meant to drink warm or hot, whereas "apple cider" is meant to drink cold.
Why You'll Love Homemade Instant Pot Apple Cider
- It's a healthy wholesome drink that is great for a variety of diets- it's gluten free, low carb, vegan and diabetic friendly.
- There is no added sugar! Traditional apple cider recipes are sweetened all naturally, as is this Instant Pot apple cider.
- It's quick and simple and you won't find any sneaky ingredients as you might in store bought apple ciders.
Ingredients
- Apples: Gala and Fuji apples are my favorite for making sweet homemade ciders. Granny Smith apples are an instant hit for those who love tart ciders.
- Oranges: popular navel oranges are perfect for cider recipes.
- Whole spices: star anise, nutmeg, allspice berries, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Make sure to use whole spices (easily found on Amazon if you can't find them in stores).
- Brown sugar (optional): mulled apple cider is not sweetened with any type of sugar so I don't use any. The sweet fruit and spices give it all the sweetness it needs, and it truly does turn out sweet in the end. But, if you really enjoy your apple cider sweetened, you can add up to a cup brown sugar once it's done. Make sure to add about ¼ cup at a time until reaching your desired sweetness.
Instructions
STEP 1: Wash the fruit and cut it into halves or quarters, leaving the skins on. Discard the apple cores.
STEP 2: Put the oranges and apples in the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Pour in the water and add the whole spices (star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries). Close the lid and seal. Set to pressure cook/manual on high for 15 minutes.
STEP 3: Allow the pot to complete a full natural release of pressure. Remove the lid and use a potato masher to press down on the apples and oranges. They will easily mash, releasing lots more flavor into the liquid.
STEP 4: Place a fine mesh strainer over a large heat-safe bowl. You can also place a cheesecloth over the strainer to catch as many fruit solids and spice residue as possible. Carefully pour the contents of the Instant Pot into the strainer to filter the solids out.
*If adding brown sugar, add it to the hot cider after straining out the solids.
STEP 5: Transfer the hot cider into a glass or heat-safe jug. Serve hot (or cold).
Substitutions and Variations
- Add a dash of lemon: a few squeezes of fresh lemon can work to take some of the sweetness out of your cider if it turns out a little sweeter than you wanted.
- Leave out the star anise: star anise gives cider a slightly sweet and licorice-like taste so if this isn't for you, leave it out.
- Add sweeteners: for those who love extra sweet apple cider recipes, add brown sugar, maple syrup or honey. Do this in small amounts because even without it, this recipe is pretty sweet!
- Try other fruits: Fall ciders are delicious with pears as much as they are with apples. Even peaches and plums make great additions!
Recipe FAQs
The variety of apples you use depends on if you want a sweet cider or a tart cider. For sweet ciders, stick with Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious or Red Delicious apples. For a more tart cider, opt for Pink Lady, McIntosh, Jonathan, Braeburn or Granny Smith apples. Feel free to use a combination of apples or a combination of sweet and tart apples to make a sharp sweet-tart cider.
There is no need to peel the apples. There is a ton of flavor in the skins, so it's best to leave them on to give your homemade apple cider the best flavor.
You should cut the fruit in half or in quarters so that's easier to mash once pressure cooked and so that more of the inner flavors are released into the water as it cooks.
You can but I don't recommend it. Ground spices will create cloudy cider whereas whole spices don't. The taste shouldn't be affected too much, but if you're looking for a clear appearance, it's best to use whole spices.
Apple cider will keep for about 10 days in the fridge. You can freeze it in freezer-safe storage containers for about 6 months.
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to give it a star rating and let me know what you thought in the comments! And follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for more delicious recipes!
Instant Pot Apple Cider
Equipment
- pressure cooker 8 or 10 quart
- large heat-safe bowl
- cheesecloth optional
Ingredients
- 12 cups water
- 8 large apples *see notes
- 2 oranges
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon allspice berries
- 1 whole nutmeg
- 1 star anise optional
Instructions
- Wash the apples and oranges and cut into halves or quarters, leaving the skins on. Discard the apple cores.
- Put the oranges and apples in the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Pour in the water and add the whole spices (star anise, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries). Close the lid and seal. Set to pressure cook/manual on high for 15 minutes.
- Allow the pot to complete a full natural release of pressure. Remove the lid and use a potato masher to press down on the apples and oranges. They will easily mash, releasing lots more flavor into the liquid.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a large heat-safe bowl. You can also place a cheesecloth over the strainer to catch as many fruit solids and spice residue as possible. Carefully pour the contents of the Instant Pot into the strainer to filter the solids out. Discard solids. *If adding sweetener, add it to the hot cider after straining out the solids.
- Transfer the hot cider into a glass or heat-safe jug. Serve hot (or cold).
Amy Liu Dong
I have never tried to make this kind of drink recipe but it looks delicious. I will def making this at home ❤
Nancy
I never thought to use my instant pot to make apple cider. What a great idea.