Holiday season means entertaining. This slow cooker spiked cider recipe using all-natural fruit will have your house smelling amazing while adding a nice ‘spike’ to your punch.
Let’s be clear – by spiked, I mean alcoholic. This is an alcoholic beverage so this is an adults-only post. Funny my first beverage post contains rum because I actually don’t drink hard alcohol. Just wine. Anyway, with Christmas right around the corner I think it’s time I venture into some holiday treats. If alcohol isn’t your thing, simply omit the rum from this recipe and you’ll still have a healthy, homemade cider.
Here is an optional step – once everything has cooked in the slow cooker for a few hours, to release more flavor into the cider you can open the lid (yes, this is usually a no-no) and mash the fruit up into the liquid using the back of a large spoon. The fruit should be so soft that it should mash easily. If not, let it cook some more. Yes the cider will be full of fruit pulp but you have to strain it anyway.
For the alcohol, try to find a spiced rum and definitely don’t get an expensive bottle. This is going in cider doesn’t need to be anything fancy. Now the important part – not what kind of rum but how much rum to use? How buzzed do you want to get? For me, most times I use 10 ounces.

Slow Cooker Spiked Cider
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 apples, cored & sliced
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 orange, sliced
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3–4 cinnamon sticks
- 10–12 ounces spiced rum
Instructions
- Add apples, sweetener of your choice, cranberries, orange, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg the slow cooker.
- Pour in enough water to cover all the ingredients. Approx 6-7 cups.
- Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.
- Strain fruit using mesh strainer. Pour strained cider back into the slow cooker.
- Stir in rum. Cover and cook an additional 30 minutes.
Did I mention how good your house will smell? AAMMAAZZINNGG! Even if you don’t appreciate the drink, you’ll appreciate the smell.
Don’t like cranberries? Simply omit them from the recipe.

PIN FOR LATER
Making this today,1st time, for family Thanksgiving. Opppppsss, rum was supposed to go in at the end! Oh well, C”set le vie!!!
A bit tweaked. Used Clementines instead of oranges. Sliced apples like chips. Used burbon maple syrup. Added anise stars. I’ll post reveiw in a day or two.
I will be trying this for at my Christmas party.
I hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it turns out. xoShannon
Looks so good. Can’t go wrong with a good cider, thanks for sharing
Thank you so much! I agree, a hot cider is perfect this time of year. Cheers! xShannon