This crockpot wassail recipe is a delicious traditional wassail full of citrus, spices, apple cider, and cranberry juice! Not only will you love how tasty this is, but it will fill your home with the most wonderful aroma! Oh, and it serves a crowd, so it's the perfect holiday drink to serve the whole family or bring to a large gathering!
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Best Wassail Recipe Ever!
Perfect for a Party. Wassail is a hot spiced punch that is perfect for the upcoming holidays--Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's; the options are endless! Easily double the recipe if needed for a larger party as well.
Traditional with a Twist. Traditional wassail combines mulled spices, apple cider, and citrus, and you can add wine, brandy, or any other alcohol or malt beverage. In this recipe, we add cranberry juice for the best combination of flavors.
Delicious! In this recipe, we combine all the classic combinations of cranberry, citrus, apple cider, spices, and sugar. Add any other ingredients you would like and adjust the spices as desired for a perfectly tailored punch for your party.
What is Wassail?
Wassail is a delicious hot, mulled punch that is usually a combination of apples, oranges, mulled spices, sugar, and other fruit juices. It usually includes alcohol such as red wine, brandy, sherry, or other liquors but can be served non-alcoholic as well (we kept our non-alcoholic).
Slow Cooker Cranberry Wassail Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this slow cooker wassail:
- Cranberry Juice: you can use regular, diet, or zero sugar if desired.
- Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate: thawed.
- Apple Cider: use store-bought or fresh orchard apple cider--either works great!
- Sugar: brown sugar, granulated, or sugar substitute based on your preference.
- Lemon Juice: you may need 2 lemons to make ¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Water
- Ground Nutmeg
- Cinnamon Sticks: purchase additional cinnamon sticks to use as a garnish and infuse cinnamon into the punch.
- Whole Cloves
- Optional: star anise pods.
- Serving: orange slices, apple slices, fresh cranberries for garnish.
For exact ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card below!
Substitutions and Variations
- Brew two cups of black tea and use it in place of 2 cups of the water.
- Spike your punch with red wine, brandy, bourbon, whiskey, sherry, or spiced rum!
- Additional spices such as ginger or ground cinnamon can be used to add extra flavor and spice!
- Use low-sugar or zero-sugar juice options to lower the sugar content. You can also use a sugar substitute in place of granulated sugar.
- Use plain cranberry juice or use a blended variety, including cranberry with apple.
- Adjust any spices to your liking.
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How To Make Wassail in Crockpot
- Add all ingredients to a large crockpot and stir.
2. Cover and cook on low until hot. Remove spices with a sieve before serving if not using the cheesecloth.
Tip: To remove spices later, wrap them in a cheesecloth tied with a string. Hang the string on the pot's side and use the crockpot lid to hold it in place.
How To Serve It
- Serve this wassail hot, directly out of the crockpot with a ladle.
- Float thinly sliced apples and oranges for garnish.
- Set up a serving station near a plug and keep the crock pot on the warm setting with the lid. Provide mugs and napkins and slices of citrus fruits and cinnamon sticks for stirring.
Kori's Tips
- Please feel free to adjust any of the ingredients to your taste preferences - this is a very adaptable recipe! 🙂
- You can cook your wassail on high in the crockpot to warm it faster if you are in a hurry. Be sure to keep a close eye if cooking on high to prevent burning. Turn to keep warm once your desired temperature is met.
- You can use an Instant Pot instead of a slow cooker for this recipe. Be sure to adjust your settings and time to prevent burning.
FAQ's
Once cooled, you can transfer it to an air-tight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can reheat your punch in the microwave, in a pot on the stove, or if you need to warm a larger amount, you can reheat it in a crockpot. Warm until your desired temperature and serve.
Typically wassail is made of hot mulled apple cider with added spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), citrus fruits, and juices. It often has alcohol added, such as brandy, spiced rum, or other favorites.
Apple cider and wassail are very similar in flavor profile. The primary difference between the two is that traditional cider is almost always served nonalcoholic, while wassail is a spiced or mulled spice beverage with a variety of fruit juices and often has alcohol added.
You can substitute apple juice for apple cider in this recipe. Because apple juice does not have any spices added you may need to increase the cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg that this recipe calls for.
📖 The recipe.
Slow Cooker Wassail
Equipment
Ingredients
- 32 ounces cranberry juice
- 8 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1½ cup sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 4 cups water (2 cups hot brewed black tea can be used in place of water)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 2 (optional) anise star pods
- (optional: add in or serve with alcohol such as red wine, brandy, sherry, rum, or other to taste)
- for serving: a few orange and apple slices to float on top
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a 6-quart crockpot. Stir. (Tip: For easy removal of spices later, wrap them in cheesecloth tied with a string. Hang the string on the side of the pot and use the crockpot lid to hold it in place.)
- Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or until hot. Remove spices with a sieve before serving.
Video
Notes
- Don't miss all of our helpful hints, substitution ideas, cooking tips, and other delicious recipes that can be found in our post. Check it out!
- TOP TIPS: Otherwise, use a sieve to remove the spices. Adjust any ingredient to your tastes - this is a very flexible recipe!
- VARIATIONS: Brew 2 cups of black tea and use in place of water. Spike it with brandy, bourbon, whiskey, or spiced rum. Additional spices such as ginger and nutmeg may be used (add a little at a time).
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve directly out of the crockpot, keeping it warm pn the low or warm setting. Float apple and orange slices for garnish.
Nutrition
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