This slow cooker mulled wine recipe, my friends, comes with a warning.
CONSUME WITH CAUTION.
There is something oh-so very drinkable – and almost weirdly addicting – about this slow cooker mulled wine. I don’t know if it’s the tart/sweet combo, the cinnamon, the cloves, the wine, the brandy, its ability to warm you from the inside out, the magic of the season, all of it together, or what, but it is very easy to drink.
Possiblytooeasy to drink.
Contrary to how I may have represented myself here, I really am not that much of a drinker. I like co*cktails and wine (okay, and beer too) but most often, I stop at one – or half of one. Usually because, depending on the alcohol content, it’s put me half to sleep. Because I’m usually kind of lame. (Occasionally – like, once every couple of years – I will power through and keep drinking and then … well, hoo boy. And oy.)
But this slow cooker mulled wine, for some reason, compels me to keep sipping. And sipping. Others who have tried it have experienced the same thing. So: please, heed the warning.
A slow cooker might be a host/hostess’s very best friend in the kitchen, especially during the holidays – and especially when you’re serving a warm, seasonal drink like mulled wine. A Crock Pot filled with an irresistible warm-spiced drink, a collection of mugs, a ladle – they take up a little big of room on the counter, and that’s it. So easy when entertaining.
A fruity wine like Merlot or even a Zinfandel or jammy Cabernet Sauvignon will work best in this slow cookermulled wine recipe. But nothing too sweet, please, which could easily take the co*cktail from clink-worthy to cloying. If you’re not sure, just sure start off with less sugar, tasting and adding more until you’ve hit the right balance of (strangely addictive) tart/sweet.
More Warming Winter co*cktails
- Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Bailey’s Drink – so cozy!
- Gluhwein– hot mulled red wine. YUM.
- Hot Spiced Cider– so good with a splash of rum!
3.50 from 2 votes
Slow Cooker Cranberry-Orange Mulled Wine
Prep: 15 minutes mins
Cook: 3 hours hrs
Total: 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Author: Kare
Yield: 6
Get toasty! Red wine simmers in the slow cooker along with orange, cinnamon, cranberries, and cloves. A couple of glugs of brandy add a nice little kick, too.
PrintPinRate
Ingredients
- 1 750 ml bottle of Merlot or another fruity (but not too sweet!) red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel
- 2 cups orange juice (I either like squeezing my own or buying a 100% pure fresh-squeezed version)
- 1 cup fresh or frozen whole cranberries (rinsed and picked through)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar plus more to taste
- 1 medium orange (I like to use an organic orange for recipes like this because it will be soaking in the beverage, peel and all)
- 2 tablespoons whole cloves
- 2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 cup brandy
- Garnishes (if desired: cinnamon sticks, orange slices, and/or fresh cranberries threaded onto a co*cktail pick)
Instructions
Add wine, orange juice, cranberries, and sugar to a 3-quart or larger Crock Pot. Stir to help sugar begin to dissolve.
Wash orange thoroughly and stud the orange with the cloves – just stick the cloves directly into the peel, pointy end first. I like to poke it all over with a toothpick first to make holes for the cloves.
Add the clove-studded orange and the cinnamon sticks to the wine.
Cook on low for 2 – 3 hours, or until the berries are tender. You can cook it for an hour or two longer if you wish, but take care that it doesn’t boil.
Remove the orange and the cinnamon sticks, then VERY CAREFULLY pour the mulled wine through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heat-proof bowl. Using the back of the spoon, press on the cranberries to get all of the juices into the bowl. A berry or two may burst, so watch out!
Return wine to the Crock Pot and stir in the brandy. Taste and add additional sugar until it’s just sweet enough. I like it just past the pucker point; you may prefer a sweeter mulled wine.
Ladle into mugs and serve with a cinnamon stick, an orange slice, and/or fresh cranberries pushed onto a co*cktail stick, if desired.
Keep your Crock Pot on the “warm” setting to keep the wine nice and hot. If your Crock Pot doesn’t have a warm setting, try alternating between “low” and off.
Notes
A Crock Pot with a “warm” setting tends to work best for this recipe. Crock Pots do vary, but I’ve found if I keep it on low for more than three hours, it will boil – and you want to avoid boiling as it will burn off the alcohol.
Refined Sugar Free Option
Use pure maple syrup in place of the granulated sugar.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8ounces (1 cup), Calories: 211kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 1g, Sodium: 7mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g
This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a portion of the proceeds. More about this here.
Christmas co*cktail Hour Drinks Fall Slow Cooker Slow Cooker Drinks Thanksgiving Winter
About the AuthorKaren Troughton
Karen is a vegetarian home cook living among carnivores. She loves creating irresistible and flexible recipes that help multi-vore families like hers keep the peace - deliciously.
More About Karen »
Free Holiday eCookBook!
Get "Turkey Schmurkey" - a FREE eCookbook with our very favorite plant-based holiday recipes - by subscribing to the Kitchen Treaty email list.
« Previous PostUnbelievably Easy Crock Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Next Post »Hazelnut-Pistachio Granola with Dried Cherries and Candied Ginger
Leave a Reply
41 Comments on “Slow Cooker Cranberry-Orange Mulled Wine”
-
dishing up the dirt — Reply
You have my attention!! This is the kind of co*cktail we need to make to stay warm over here. Love the recipe!
-
Karen Troughton — Reply
I am SO HAPPY the weather has turned warmer! Of course, now comes the rain …
-
-
Pingback: The Chic Site
-
Nico — Reply
I wish you didn’t have a summary of instructions as the first step in making the wine… I dumped the brandy in the crockpot with everything else because i thought that was the first step. Other than that, good recipe.
-
Karen Troughton — Reply
Hi Nico, thank you so much for mentioning that. That first line was an error on my part; it shouldn’t have been there! Sorry about that! Thanks again.
-
-
kitty — Reply
I would substitute the sugar for honey, better for you and tastes better too.
-
Vebry — Reply
nice one there Michelle indeed our Abba Father sure does have taste. thats why i just lovoooooe Him. thank God 4 people like u
-
Amy — Reply
Hello! Can’t wait to try this recipe! Does it do well if it is made 1 day before serving?? Or should it only be made 2-3 hours before serving/drinking?
-
Karen Raye — Reply
Hi Amy, I’m sorry I’m answering this so late! I probably wouldn’t make it too far ahead of time just because I’m not sure how much of the alcohol would end up evaporating. And who wants virgin mulled wine? 😉
-
-
Pingback: Thanksgiving Dinner Menu: Mediterranean Style - Thanksgiving.com
-
Stephanie — Reply
Hi I am planning on making this recipe. Will it work if I decided to double it?
-
Kare — Reply
Should work just fine! 🙂
-
-
Val — Reply
Oh oh…I dumped everything in at once. Anyway to fix it?
-
Pingback: How to Make a Hot Mulled Drink Ten Ways
-
Mary — Reply
Is there a good substitute for the Brandy? My liquor cabinet is full, but it’s missing this one.
-
Kare — Reply
Hmmm … not really … cognac if you have that. It should still be good if you leave it out. Cheers!
-
-
Pingback: Get Warmed Up For Summer With These 25 Warm Drinks
-
Stephanie — Reply
Can this be adapted to a stove-top mulled wine?
-
Jane — Reply
Made this over the weekend for Friendsgiving. It was a HUGE hit. Delicious! I used brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.
Any tips for quadrupling the recipe for a larger and drinkier group? If I use 4 bottles of wine, how much should I alter the other ingredients? -
Jane — Reply
Made this over the weekend for Friendsgiving. It was a HUGE hit. Delicious! I used brown sugar instead of granulated sugar.
Any tips for quadrupling the recipe for a larger and drinkier group? If I use 4 bottles of wine, how much should I alter the other ingredients?-
Kare — Reply
You can just quadruple everything and you should be good – as long as you have a big-enough slow cooker. 🙂 Love the idea of brown sugar for added richness. Happy Thanksgiving!
-
-
Pingback: 35 Festive co*cktails
-
Audrey — Reply
Could you do this on the stove instead of the crockpot?
-
Kare — Reply
Absolutely! Super low heat and make sure it doesn’t boil. 🙂
-
-
Pingback: Best Mulled Wine Recipes to Make this Winter Warmer | FotStyle
-
Trisha — Reply
I am constantly browsing online for articles that can assist me.
Thx! -
Pingback: Thanksgiving Crockpot Recipes – Slow Cooker Side Dishes
-
Nancy Faye — Reply
I wonder how it would be to warm everything but the wine an then pour it into a glass or cup and top it off with the wine and brandy. It just seems to me like leftovers are worthless, but if I have the mix in the refrigerator, I could heat it up and mix the wine in at the last minute.
-
Kare — Reply
I’m not sure. One of the reasons I steep the wine with the orange and spices is that it flavors the wine. But if you try it, please report back! 🙂
-
-
Nancy Faye — Reply
I made this last night and it was a huge hit. I made a mix of everything except the wine, heated it good and then right before serving poured in the wine, seeping it only long enough to heat the wine. It was delicious. I’m actually taking the leftovers over to a neighbor and telling her that she can add more wine if she wants and heat it by cupful in the microwave. I didn’t top it with brandy, but I’ll mention that too.
-
Lindsay — Reply
Nancy, if you liked it your way you should definitely try it the original way with everything steeped together including the brandy; it has so much more depth of flavour. I’m European and this is a staple everywhere in December and it tastes far better mulled all together. Just how chilli always tastes better when it’s been left to meld together. There’s no leftovers because you can always heat it up again the next day. Or if you’re really stuck for what to do with any leftovers you can add gelatin and make a delicious festive jelly (jello) or soak cake with it and make trifle, turn it in to sorbet or freeze it in ice cube trays and then you can just reheat however much you want from frozen. Good luck!
-
Kare — Reply
Lindsay, love all these ideas! I think I need to try sorbet ASAP. 🙂 Happy holidays!
-
-
-
Pingback: The Weekend Reset – Doing our best to hustle Fall into place. – Celebrity Fashion News
-
Pingback: 25 Warm Drinks For Around The Fall Campfire | Anna co*ckayne
-
Audrey — Reply
Thank you!! Was excellent! I doubled the recipe and served at a neighbor get together, this was a hit! Only thing I did different was squeeze the juice from the orange back into the brew. I think I will get a nicer red wine next time.
-
Kare — Reply
I love that idea for stronger orange flavor! Thank you for sharing!
-
-
Pam Lawhead — Reply
Do you think perhaps you have too many cloves. We made this and found it to be overwhelmingly too “Clovey”. Perhaps two teaspoons rather than two Tablespoons. I had to dilute it with more wine and some hot water. We made it okay but it was initially too spicey.
-
Karen — Reply
Hi, did you use whole cloves or ground cloves? If they were whole I’m surprised it would have that much of an impact!
-
