Apple Cider Sangria
Posted: 10/10/23
Updated: 12/11/24
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The perfect mixed drink for tailgating, bonfires, Thanksgiving, or just enjoying with a friend, this apple cider sangria is chock-full of incredible autumn flavors. Sweet white wine is mixed with apple cider, a simple spice blend, apples, oranges, and maple syrup. It’s light, sweet, and cozy, the perfect adult beverage for celebrating the season.
🍷 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- It’s full of incredible autumn flavors! Apple cider, crisp apples and juicy oranges, warm spices, and sweet maple syrup are reminiscent of flannel shirts, bonfires, apple orchards, and hayrides, making you feel like you’re drinking autumn in a glass. Not to mention it’s deliciously seasonal while giving everyone a break from all-things-pumpkin-spice.
- This apple cider sangria is a little toned down when it comes to the alcohol content. We offset the booziness by mixing white wine with apple cider and carbonated water, so there’s plenty of liquid to serve a group without being over-the-top on the ABV. Of course, you’re welcome to add your own spirits if you like. Brandy would be incredible – I’d recommend sticking to plain brandy or opting for a flavor like apple or spiced. Other solid options would be whiskey (plain, apple, maple, or cinnamon flavors), caramel liqueur, or Grand Marnier.
What is Sangria?
Sangria is a mixed alcoholic drink, basically like a punch, that originates in Spain and Portugal. It’s traditionally made with red wine, though you can typically find white wine sangrias, too.
There’s no one “true” sangria recipe, but most start the same way. To make the punch, wine is generally mixed with chopped fruits (peaches, apples, blackberries, and apples are popular choices) and then sweetened with sugar or simple syrup.
More often than not, you’ll see this simple sangria base amped up with other spirits (brandy is a popular mix-in!), fruit juices, or sparkling water.
Rather than mixing up individual servings like you might with other cocktails, sangria is more of a batch cocktail, meant to be served from a pitcher, carafe, or punch bowl.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Make sure you allow the sangria to sit for several hours prior to serving! This gives the juices from the orange and apples time to mix with the spices, the wine, the apple cider, and the maple syrup, ensuring you get the most flavorful apple cider sangria possible.
- Don’t add ice to the pitcher or the punch bowl! Over time that ice will melt and water down the entire batch of sangrias. Instead, use ice in the individual glasses. You can also freeze orange slices, apple slices, and/or grapes, then add those to the pitcher or to the individual glasses. As they defrost, they’ll release more fruit juice into the drinks, rather than just water. If you go this route, use extra oranges and apples, rather than the ones required for the recipe. That way, you’re not losing any flavor from the original batch!
🥂 More Refreshing Drink Recipes You Have to Try
- Perfect Cinnamon Apple Cider Mimosa
- Cranberry Margaritas (by the Glass or by the Pitcher)
- Paleo Sangria (Spanish Style)
- Peach White Wine Sangria
- Champagne Jello Shots
- Elderberry Hot Toddy
- POG Juice Mimosas
- Halloween Margaritas “Monsteritas” (Cucumber Jalapeño)
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Apple Cider Sangria
The perfection combination of spices, booze, and warm autumn flavors, this sangria is great for potlucks, holidays, parties, or just enjoying with a friend!
sangrias
Ingredients
For the Apple Cider Sangria
- 1 medium orange approximately 4-6 ounces
- 2 medium apples any variety, approximately 5-6 ounces each
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 750-milliliter bottle white wine any type, sparkling or not
- 1 32-ounce bottle apple cider
- 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup plus more to taste
- 3-4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 cup carbonated water seltzer or sparkling water
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- 1 medium orange approximately 4-6 ounces
- 1 medium apple approximately 4-6 ounces
- 8 cinnamon sticks 1 per glass
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- large pitcher or punch bowl, or drink dispenser
- long-handled spoon
- Plastic Wrap or lid for pitcher, punch bowl, or dispenser
- Refrigerator
Instructions
- With sharp knife, slice 1 medium orange and 2 medium apples into very thin discs, approximately ⅛-inch thick. Place orange slices and apple slices in large pitcher or punch bowl.
- Add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground clove, and ½ teaspoon ground ginger to pitcher or punch bowl. Using long-handled spoon, stir fruit and spices together until fruit is completely coated in spices.
- Add 1 750-milliliter bottle white wine, 1 32-ounce bottle apple cider, and 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup. Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated, then add 3-4 cinnamon sticks.
- Cover pitcher or punch bowl with lid or plastic wrap and place in refrigerator. Chill at least 2 hours.
- Just before removing sangria from refrigerator, slice remaining 1 medium orange or 1 medium apple into small wedges to garnish glasses.
- Remove pitcher from refrigerator. Add 1 cup carbonated water and stir well to incorporate. Once incorporated, taste sangria and stir in additional maple syrup if desired.
- When satisfied with mixture's sweetness, pour sangria into glasses. Add 8 cinnamon sticks to glasses if desired, then garnish glasses with orange wedges or apple wedges and serve immediately.
Notes
- Apples: We used a combination of honeycrisp and cosmic crisp apples.
- Alcohol: Feel free to increase the amount of alcohol in your sangria if you want! In addition to the white wine, I recommend using brandy (in plain, ginger, apple, or spiced flavors), whiskey (in plain, apple, maple, or cinnamon flavors), caramel liqueur, or Grand Marnier. Note that adding a dark liquor will deepen the color of your sangria, so it won’t look exactly like mine.
- Ice: Don’t add ice to the batch of sangria! Instead, use ice only in the individual serving glasses – that way the entire batch won’t be watered down when the ice melts. You can also freeze extra orange slices, apple slices, or even grapes and use those to keep the drinks cold instead of ice. As they defrost, they’ll release juice into the drinks rather than just water.
- Leftovers: Refrigerate any leftover sangria can be stored in an airtight container (like a mason jar) up to 1 week after preparation. The carbonated water will lose its carbonation over time but the drink will still taste great!
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1sangria | Calories: 165kcal | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Total Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Net Carbs: 23g | Vitamin C: 10mg | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 255mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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