Slow Cooker Mulled Wine : Make Ahead Winter Warmer

This slow cooker mulled wine recipe couldn’t be easier to make and will be a hit at any cold weather gathering. And as it’s made in the slow cooker, you can put it on and forget about it.

Oh boy, my kitchen smells sooooo good right now!

In fact, this would be one of those recipes to make if you were trying to sell your house in the colder months :)

How to make Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

You’ll need to heat your mulled wine for a minimum of two hours in the slow cooker. This will warm the wine, dissolve the sugar and extract the flavour from the fruit and spices.

I’ll walk you through the recipe in photos, and you’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card down below.

1/ prep the fruit

Mulled wine is traditionally flavoured with citrus fruits and spices.

To this recipe I add one lemon, along with the peel and juice from 3 large satsumas. I particularly love the smell and flavour of satsumas, but you could of course swap them out for oranges or tangerines instead.

I prefer to peel my citrus with a potato peeler rather than a grater. When I use a grater, I’m not keen on the little teeny pieces of peel floating in my glass of hot spiced wine.

However, with the bigger peelings I can drink round them easily. Or they can be easily removed before serving.

Add the fruit peel to the slow cooker bowl, then squeeze out the juices from each fruit too.

2/ add the spices

To extract the most flavour from your vanilla pod, run a the tip of a sharp knife down the length of it before cooking. 

I recommend keeping the other spices whole as no one wants to be picking bits of broken cinnamon stick out of their teeth!

3/ add the red wine 

Now I’m no wine snob. But I truly believe that with the amount of flavours and sugar we’re adding to this mulled wine, no one would be able to taste the difference between using a cheap, or fancy bottle of red wine.

So honesty, save your money and go with a cheap bottle of supermarket red.

4/ add the sugar 

You could use any sugar you like for this. White, brown, heck honey would likely have been used in times gone by!

So add whatever sweetener you have on hand or your family prefers.

5/ gently cook your mulled wine

Then switch on your slow cooker. Turn the setting to LOW, and let ‘cook’ for a minimum of two hours.

If you want to prepare the mulled wine before going out for the evening, it will be perfectly safe to leave it on low for several hours.

All that’s left is to serve the hot, spiced mulled wine in mugs and enjoy! 

How do I make mulled wine on the hob?

Most people make mulled wine on a stove top.

To do this, simply add all the ingredients to a large saucepan or stock pot. Gently bring a simmer then reduce the heat so that you get the tiniest little bubble and leave for about 30 minutes.

Please note: I don’t recommend leaving stove top mulled wine unattended like you can with the slow cooker version.

Can I gift this mulled wine?

Yes! In fact this makes a lovely gift!

Rather than making a fresh batch of ready made mulled wine, why not tie the spices and sugar in a piece of muslin cloth and tie with a ribbon.

This can then be given to the recipient along with a bottle of red wine and the instructions written on a gift card.

Such a lovely gift that will no doubt go down a treat!

Down below is the full written recipe.

If you give it a go, please feel free to tag me in any photos you share online. You can find me pretty much everywhere as @hedgecomber :)

PS if you’re into the idea of spicing drinks with gorgeous exotic flavours, take a peek at my cardamom coffee recipe. It brings two of my favourite flavours together :)

Print

Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 10 mins

 

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: British

Keyword: slow cooker mulled wine

Servings: 10 glasses approx

Calories: 65 kcal

Author: Jane Sarchet

Ingredients

• 3 satsumas - zest and juice
• 3 cardamom pods - split open
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 vanilla pod - split down the length with the tip of a sharp knife
• 1 star anise
• 2 bottles red wine
• 120 g sugar

UK Measurements - USA Measurements

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker.

2. Plug in, turn on and switch to LOW.

   Leave to gently cook for a minimum of two hours. This will give the wine time to warm up, dissolve the sugar and extract the flavour from the spices.

3. If you are going out and want the mulled wine to be ready to serve on your return, switch on as above and safely leave it on LOW for up to 6 hours.

4. Avoid heating your mulled wine on the HIGH setting unless you wish to boil the alcohol off.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Mulled Wine

Amount Per Serving

Calories 65 Calories from Fat 3

% Daily Value*

Fat 0.3g0%

Saturated Fat 0.02g0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.02g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.03g

Sodium 1mg0%

Potassium 55mg2%

Carbohydrates 17g6%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 15g17%

Protein 0.3g1%

Vitamin A 182IU4%

Vitamin C 7mg8%

Calcium 20mg2%

Iron 0.2mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.