This Instant Pot Apple Cider is a homemade treat for fall made in the Instant Pot with fresh apples, orange, lemon, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The wonderful aroma will fill the house with joy.
You’ll see just how easy it is to make your own warm spiced apple cider in the Instant Pot. It’s almost too easy to believe. With all those fall apples, you can make up a batch of this apple cider whenever you feel like it.
Why You’ll Love It
- The Instant Pot is a great way to make batch drinks for a crowd. Try this Instant Pot eggnog or hot chocolate for your next holiday gathering.
- When you make apple cider yourself, you get the option to decide what you put in it. You can keep these ingredients on hand and make up a batch of cider whenever you need it.
- It takes just about 45 minutes from start to finish.
» Pair this with other fall favorites: Instant Pot Chili or Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup.
Ingredients You Need
- Apples – Granny Smith and another sweeter apple, like Honeycrisp, make a great combination for this cider. The two different flavors give a good balance of sweet and tart.
- Citrus – I use one orange and one lemon, which together also give a balance of sweet and tart. The extra flavor from these fruits help round out the flavors in the cider.
- Spices – Add a cinnamon stick, star anise and nutmeg to the mix. You can also add clove, if you like it. I’m not a big clove fan.
- Sweetener – You can choose whatever sweetener you like for this cider. I usually use brown sugar, but you can also use honey or agave, stevia, or a sugar substitute like allulose or erythritol.
Tips & Notes
- Granny Smith and another sweeter apple, like Honeycrisp, make a great combination for this cider. You can also use Pink Lady, McIntosh, Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious.
- To store, refrigerate in a covered container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- If you like to grate your own nutmeg start with a 1/4 of a grated nut and then adjust the flavor from there. If you are using ground nutmeg add 1/4 teaspoon and adjust the flavor to your liking.
How to Make Instant Pot Apple Cider
Step 1: Wash and cut the fruit
I don’t bother removing the skins of the apples because it gives extra flavor and tannins to the cider. They’re just going to be strained out at the end anyway. I also remove the rind and pith of the citrus fruit, as they can add bitterness.
Step 2: Put ingredients in the Instant Pot
Pour the fruit into the inner pot of your Instant Pot. Add the cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and star anise.
Pour in the water and sweetener. Stir it all up. Lock the lid and set the vent to sealing.
Step 3: Pressure Cook
Press the pressure cook button and set the time to 15 minutes on high pressure. After time is up, allow a natural release for 20 minutes, or until the float valve drops.
Step 4: Smash & strain fruit
Open the lid and smash the fruit with a masher. You don’t have to be really thorough with this, just give it a couple presses to release the remaining juices from the pulp.
Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. I don’t mind a bit of pulp in my drink, so a strainer works really well. If you want it to be really clear and without any particles, you might have strain it twice through cheesecloth.
When you’re done, you can put it in a pitcher, pour it directly into mugs to drink, or put it back in the Instant Pot to keep it warm.
This is near the same way we make Instant Pot Apple Butter but we use the solids and puree it. If you’re looking for a way to use those apples, follow this recipe.
How to Serve and Store
I like to serve the apple cider directly out of the Instant Pot when we have guests over. Just keep it on warm and leave a ladle nearby so guests can serve themselves directly from the pot.
You can also serve the cider cold. Or use it in cocktails like this caramel apple martini. So many options!
To store, refrigerate in a covered container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
Variations and Add-ins
- Add whole fresh cranberries to the pot before cooking.
- Add caramel sauce and whipped cream to your mug as you ladle it up.
- Garnish each mug with a fresh apple slices or fresh cranberries along with a cinnamon stick and a star anise.
- Change up the spices by using apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice.
- Make it spiked cider by adding 1 cup of rum, brandy, Whisky, or bourbon. Even red wine is good, though you may have to add more than 1 cup.
Related Posts
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Potatoes & Carrots
- 6 Must-Know Instant Pot Tips For Beginners
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Like this recipe? We’d love for you to share it on your Pinterest boards! Click to follow our Pinterest boards so you can find all our recipes! You can also find us on Facebook!
Instant Pot Apple Cider
Note: Made in a 6-qt Instant Pot
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
Ingredients
- 6 apples cored and cut in half (2 1/2 to 3 lbs)
- 1 orange peeled and quartered
- 2 slices lemon
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) nutmeg
- 6 cups (1.42 l) water
- 1/4 cup (55 g) brown sugar
- 2 pieces star anise optional
Instructions
- Wash and cut the fruit. Pour the fruit into the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Add the cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and star anise (if adding). Pour in water and brown sugar. Stir to combine.
- Lock the lid and set the vent to sealing.
- Press the pressure cook button and set the time to 15 minutes on high pressure. After time is up, allow a natural release for 20 minutes.
- Open the pot and smash the fruit with a masher.
- Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
- Serve the cider hot or cold.
Video
Notes
- Granny Smith and another sweeter apple, like Honeycrisp, make a great combination for this cider.
- To store, refrigerate in a covered container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- If you only have ground cinnamon and nutmeg, it’s fine to use because you strain the liquid at the end, which will remove the particles.
Nutrition
Pin it for later
Laura is a passionate home cook and the owner of A Pressure Cooker Kitchen. She is dedicated to helping people create delicious Instant Pot meals with ease. Laura is an expert at developing recipes that can be prepared quickly and easily using a pressure cooker.
I really like that this is just made with fresh apples. Avoids all the preservatives in store-bought cider.
I didn’t put the cinnamon or nutmeg in it since I only had powdered versions. It was good still but needed those flavors, so I would recommend anyone making this to be sure you have sticks first.
Hi Paige, sorry for not being more specific. For a full pot of apple cider we used about 1/4 of a nutmeg. Start with that and then adjusted to your liking.
1/4 what? Tbsp? tsp? she was asking what unit of measurement.
Sorry for the confusion. You can use a 1/4 tsp. If grating fresh nutmeg use a 1/4 of the nut.
Hi there, Is this recipe suitable for children or is there an alcohol content please?
Hi Siobhan, it is definitely suitable for kids. There is no alcohol in it.
Can you serve the strained solids as applesauce?
Sure, but you might need to sweeten it a bit more.
Great fall treat. We loved it.
I just got an Instant Pot for my birthday and this was my first recipe. Yum.