Instant Pot Apple & Pear Cider is a fun and festive holiday drink that will warm you from the inside out! Plus it makes you house smell divine!
Having something special to sip makes any occasion more memorable. Some of our other favorite and family friendly options are Homemade Eggnog, European-Style Hot Chocolate, and Pumpkin Juice.
It’s so satisfying to take fresh pears and apples and turn them into a delicious sipping cider to keep you warm on cool winter nights. Pears are in season all winter long and they add a deliciously sweet and unique dimension to a more classic apple cider.
Why this Recipe Works
- Prep is simple since you don’t even have to peel the fruit or remove any seeds. Just chop everything up and throw it into the Instant Pot and strain out the solids later!
- You can adjust the level of sweetness by adding more maple syrup, if needed.
- This gives the same delicious results as my Slow Cooker Homemade Apple Cider but in a fraction of the time.
Recipe Ingredients
- Fruit: The primary flavor of this beverage comes from the juice given off from the apples and pears, but oranges and cranberries also give it wonderful depth and a bit of tartness that is so good in a cider. Look for sweeter apples like Envy or Honeycrisp. Bartlett or Bosc pears are our favorite for this cider.
- Spices: Whole anise, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks add warmth to the cider without the grittiness that you get from ground spices.
- Sweetener: We like using maple syrup to sweeten this drink but you could also use granulated or brown sugar if you don’t have real maple syrup on hand.
How to Make This Recipe
The prep is really easy for this apple & pear cider recipe. Just wash and quarter your pears, apples, and oranges. Then add them to your instant pot along with enough water to completely cover the fruit, whole cranberries (fresh or frozen is fine), cinnamon sticks, star anise, nutmeg, and maple syrup.
Lock the lid into place and set the valve to seal, then cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Once the timer goes off, do a natural pressure release for 15-20 minutes, then open the sealing valve to release any remaining pressure.
Remove the lid and fish out the orange, cinnamon stick, star anise, and nutmeg. Mash everything else (the apples and pears) with a potato masher in the pot to break everything up into a pulp.
Strain the mashed pulp and liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Be sure to press all of the juice out of the pulp using the back of a wooden spoon. Enjoy warm or transfer to a pitcher and chill in the fridge for a few hours if you prefer your cider cold.
We like to garnish it with thin orange slices, some more fresh cranberries, and a sprig of rosemary for a festive look!
Recipe FAQ’s
For this recipe, it usually takes about 15 minutes for the Instant Pot to reach pressure before it starts the timer. So it’s about a 45 minute cook time altogether when you factor in the time for the Instant Pot to reach pressure, cook the cider, and do the natural release.
Recipe Tips
- If your apples and pears are on the smaller side, you might need to increase the amount to 4 or 5 of them rather than 3 of each.
- If you want an even spicier cider, you might consider adding a few whole cloves or allspice along with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise.
- Storage: Keep your cider in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can rewarm on the stovetop or in your instant pot using the saute setting if you like serving it warm.
- Freezing: This cider freezes well! Just let it cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe container. Be sure to leave an inch or two from the top of the container so the cider has room to expand as it freezes.
More Apple Recipes
- Instant Pot Homemade Applesauce
- Secret-Ingredient Baked Apples
- Easy Apple Oatmeal Muffins
- Classic Apple Cider Donuts
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Instant Pot Apple & Pear Cider
Ingredients
- 3 large apples
- 3 large pears
- 2 oranges
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 1 whole nutmeg
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- Water to cover the fruit (about 6-8 cups)
Instructions
- Wash the apples, pears, and oranges. No need to peel the fruit.
- Quarter the fruit and place it into the instant pot. Add the cranberries, cinnamon sticks, star anise, nutmeg, maple syrup, and enough water to completely cover the fruit.
- Close the lid and turn the valve to seal, then cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. It will take about 20 minutes for the pressure to rise and start the cooking process.
- Once the timer goes off, allow the pressure to release naturally, which will take 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and take out the oranges, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and star anise. Mash the remaining fruit with a potato masher.
- Strain the fruit and liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Use the back of a wooden spoon to press the rest of the juice out of the soft fruit pulp. Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
- If your apples or pears are on the medium to small side, increase the amount to 5 apples or pears.
- Storage: You can keep the cider in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezing: The cider also freezes very well for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely before transferring to a freezer-safe container. Leave at least an inch from the top of the container to the liquid has room to expand as it freezes.
Delicious! Made it for a gathering & everyone enjoyed it, even the one person that doesn’t like hot ciders. This recipe is nice & light as there are no cloves in it. The leftovers were really good cold too, very refreshing. I have fresh fruit now so I’ll be canning some to drink down the road.