Bring on the flavors and aromas of fall with this Instant Pot Pear Apple Cider recipe! It’s the time of year to enjoy a mug of hot apple cider.
However, we added a twist to ours and combined pear cider and apple cider in this easy Instant Pot cider.
This Pear Apple Cider offers a wonderful spicy flavor because it is made with fresh fruits, including sweet pears, fresh apples, and citrusy fresh oranges, orange peel, juicy apples, tart cranberries!
It is then mulled with various warm spices such as nutmeg, star anise, and cinnamon sticks. Instead of brown sugar, this recipe instead includes maple syrup, which adds a deep flavor to this cider without being overly sweet while adding to its overall stunning amber hue.
This easy Instant Pot Pear Cider recipe is the ideal non-alcoholic beverage to serve to kids and adults yet it can also be adapted to cater to those who enjoy a boozy twist to this delicious fall drink.
It is that time of year when you want a cozy hot drink on a cool evening. Your homemade pear apple cider is the perfect drink whether served warm or chilled.
Either way, it’s a deliciously aromatic drink – the perfect option when celebrating the start of the fall season and the holiday season! Imagine how wonderful you’ll feel when you have made your own homemade pear apple cider!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Grocery Store Ingredients: You can find all the ingredients you need at most large grocery stores.
- It stores well: Leftover pear apple cider stores well for up to a week in the refrigerator and can even be frozen for an extended amount of time.
- Easily customizable: For the best results, vary the flavor profile of your homemade pear apple cider with simple ingredient tweaks and the addition of warm spices to suit your preferences.
- It’s as simple as 1-2-3: Just add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot or any electric pressure cooker, set, sieve, and serve! It has become one of our favorite fall Instant Pot Recipes.
- Provides amazing aromas throughout the house: The best part is that you won’t believe how good your whole house smells after making this easy pear apple cider recipe. The pressure-cooked fruit is like potpourri that you can drink!
Why This Recipe Works
- This Instant Pot Apple Cider has been tested numerous times in my kitchen, enabling me to guide you through the process effortlessly with the aid of simple recipe instructions and step-by-step recipe images.
- There’s no standing over the stovetop when it comes to making this homemade pear apple cider, allowing you to set your Instant Pot and get on with whatever you’re busy with.
- This is a non-alcoholic beverage that’s perfect to serve to kids or adults who don’t drink. Of course, if you’d prefer a boozy cider, that’s a possibility too!
- This pear apple cider recipe includes frequently asked questions and helpful recipe tips.
- Customization ideas have been provided as well as suggestions of how you can use this easy pear apple cider recipe. In fact, this beverage can be used as an ingredient in other recipes too!
How To Make Instant Pot Pear Apple Cider
Equipment
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- Instant Pot Electronic Pressure Cooker – I use this Instant Pot Duo 7 In 1 Pressure cooking for my recipes.
- Large Bowl – You’ll need a large bowl when you strain the fruit.
- Fine Mesh Strainer – This is necessary to strain the fruit. I like to buy a set so I’ll always have the size I need for any recipe.
- Airtight container – I like this set because they are freezer-safe, microwave-safe, and dishwasher safe and they are clear so you can easily see the contents.
Ingredient Notes
Below, I discuss the ingredients and possible substitutions if you don’t have a specific ingredient. However, if you are looking for the specific measurements of each ingredient, scroll down to the bottom of this article, just above the comments, for the printable recipe card, which includes all the ingredients and the specific amounts of each one.
- Apples -Use 3 large apples or 5 medium apples. You can adjust the sweetness based on the kind of apples you use. If you enjoy a sweeter tasting cider then make use of your favorite apples, such as Golden Delicious apples, Gala apples, Honey Crisp, or Fuji. For a cider with more of a tart flavor, your best bet is to use tart apples like Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Braeburn, McIntosh, or Jonathan apples. Better yet, use a variety of apples to create your own unique flavor.
- Pears -Use 3 large pears or 5 medium pears. The type of pear won’t make much difference to this homemade pear apple cider so use whatever you have available. In fact, this recipe is also a great opportunity to use up any bruised pears that no one in the house wants to eat!
- Oranges – I highly recommend using fresh oranges. I’ve peeled my oranges, although you could leave the orange peels on if you desire more of a sour taste to your pear apple cider.
- Cranberries – The tart fresh cranberries cut through some of the sweetness from the other fruits and add a depth of color to the drink too.
- Cinnamon sticks – I love using cinnamon sticks – it reminds me of potpourri but you could use ground cinnamon instead if you like.
- Star anise -This spice provides a peppery warmth combined with a sweet licorice flavor.
- Whole nutmeg – Another fall-favorite spice that’s a must for this homemade pear apple cider.
- Maple syrup – Maple syrup has a naturally rich flavor that’s perfect for this pear apple cider. That said, you can use your sweetener of choice, whether it be white or brown sugar, coconut sugar, honey, or agave can be used instead.
- Water – A simple yet important ingredient for this homemade pear apple cider. Use about 6-8 cups or enough to cover the quartered fruits.
Easy Instructions with Step By Step Photos
For more detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post, just above the comment section.
- Cut the apples and pears in quarters. You don’t need to peel the apples and the pears
- Place the apples, pears and the rest of the ingredients, except water, in the instant pot.
- Add enough water to cover the cut apples and pears, about 6 to 8 cups, but be sure to not go over the fill line in the instant pot. Close the lid of the instant pot, place the valve on sealing and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. It will take about 20 minutes for the pressure to rise and start the cooking process. Once cooking is over, release the pressure naturally.
- Remove the orange, the cinnamon stick, and the star anise from the pot. With the help of a potato masher, mash the rest of the fruits.
- Strain the leftovers of the fruit with a fine-mesh sieve. With the back of a wooden spoon press out the rest of the juice from the leftovers
- Serve warm with fresh cranberries, a slice of orange, and a sprig of rosemary.
Pro Recipe Tips
- This Instant Pot Apple Cider can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months once completely cool. When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw your cider overnight in the refrigerator and heat it slowly on a medium stovetop heat.
- Most store-bought pears are already quite sweet which means that you could opt to reduce the amount of maple syrup added to your cider if you prefer a less sweet drink.
- I hate wasting good produce! Make sure to press your fruit against the sieve so that you get as much juice as possible for your efforts.
- This homemade pear apple cider always tastes the best the first day that it’s made but you can also keep any leftovers in the refrigerator or make it a day or two in advance to be stored in the fridge.
- Leftover pear apple cider can also be used as an ingredient in baked goods, sauces, and homemade cocktails.
Recipe Variations
- If you have mulling spices on hand already from previous recipes, like whole cloves, you could use this in place of the spices listed in this pear cider recipe.
- Convert this easy pear apple cider recipe into an Instant Pot apple cider by replacing the pears with additional apples.
- Make a boozy hard pear apple cider drink for the adults! Add a shot of bourbon to each pear apple cider serving; 2 cups of dark rum to the entire cider; or white or sparkling wine to the batch of cider for a sangria-inspired drink!
- Serve this pear apple cider cold instead of warm. A great example of this would be to make a slushie by adding frozen bourbon or crushed ice to each glass of cider!
What To Serve With Hot Apple Cider
This homemade pear apple cider can be served with additional whole fruit such as cranberries and a thin wedge of orange placed on the rim of each glass as a decorative garnish.
Serve a shot or two of your favorite alcohol in each serving of this Instant Pot pear apple cider for a delicious cocktail.
You can also serve this homemade pear apple cider with crushed ice as a slushie.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPLE JUICE AND APPLE CIDER?
Apple juice is essentially apple cider that’s been filtered (where all fruit pulp or remaining pieces of fruits are removed). It’s due to this filtering process that apple juice appears clear and lighter in color. Apple juice also gets pasteurized (another process that extends its shelf life for commercial purposes).
Apple cider, on the other hand, is the unfiltered and unpasteurized version of apple juice. It’s often referred to as raw apple juice which still contains some pulp or larger pieces of fruit and is therefore somewhat ‘murky’ looking. Naturally, it has a shorter shelf life than filtered apple juice – about 5-7 days in the refrigerator before it starts to ferment.
HOW LONG DOES PEAR APPLE CIDER LAST?
This pear cider recipe can be stored for up to 7 days in the refrigerator. You can store it in the inner pot, tightly covered with plastic wrap, or you can transfer it to a sealable jug or glass jar.
The longer you leave your cider in storage, the more likely it is to turn slightly fizzy from fermentation. That shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t mind the added ‘fizz’, otherwise, make sure to consume it within the first couple of days after making it.
To extend the storage life of your pear apple cider significantly, consider freezing it for up to 3 months. This is a good option if you plan on making a batch well in advance of holiday plans or you don’t envisage using up leftover cider within the week.
CAN I MAKE THIS CIDER IN A CROCK POT?
Absolutely! The steps for making this pear apple cider in a slow cooker are exactly the same as in an Instant Pot. The only difference is in respect to the actual cooking time!
Once you’ve added all the ingredients to the slow cooker pot, set it to cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours. Once the cooking time is complete, allow the cider to cool for about 20 minutes before you proceed with the rest of the recipe steps (such as straining the cider).
HOW SHOULD I REHEAT LEFTOVER PEAR APPLE CIDER?
There are 3 ways you can reheat this pear apple cider:
- Slow cooker – Reheat on a low setting, allowing the cider to simmer and heat throughout.
- Stovetop – Reheat the cider in a large saucepan on the stovetop. Set the heat to a low setting, allowing it to simmer.
- Microwave – place your cider in a microwave-safe bowl or in individual mugs for 60 seconds at a time, stirring the cider after each minute until warmed through.
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Recipe
Instant Pot Pear Apple Cider Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 larges apples (or 5 medium apples)
- 3 larges pears (or 5 medium pears
- 2 oranges
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 stars anise
- 1 whole nutmeg
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 8 cups Water (enough to cover the fruit)
Instructions
- Wash the apples, the pears, and the oranges, you don’t need to peel the apples and the pears
- Cut in quarters and place in the instant pot
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Close the lid of the instant pot, place the valve on sealing and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. It will take about 20 minutes for the pressure to rise and start the cooking process. Once cooking is over, release the pressure naturally.
- Remove the orange, the cinnamon stick, and the star anise from the pot. With the help of a potato masher, mash the rest of the fruits.
- Strain the leftovers of the fruit with a fine-mesh sieve. With the back of a wooden spoon press out the rest of the juice from the leftovers
- Your cider is ready to serve!
Video
Notes
- You can keep the cider in the fridge for up to a week, it also freezes very well.
- Add all ingredients into the crockpot.
- Cook on High for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.
Teodora Grujic says
This looks so nice! I can imagine what are the smells when making this! Can’t wait to try it this fall!
Nathan says
I’ve never made apple cider myself, and I’ve never seen it flavored with pears before either! Now that the weather is getting chilly I’ll have to try this out!
Emily says
What a gorgeous cider recipe! Flavorful, beautiful and so festive! I love pear season.
Rika says
This recipe is both easy and tasty! I love the combination of pear and apple, they go well together very nicely.