The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (2024)

Home / Recipes / Drink Recipes

ByAnn Drake

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Fill your home with the scent of Christmas by making this homemade wassail recipe for family and friends in your slow cooker. Easy and delicious!

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (1)

Here we come a-Wassailing
among the leaves so green.
Here we come a-wand’ring
so fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
and to you a Wassail too,
And God bless you and send
you a Happy New Year,
God send you a Happy New Year.

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (2)

What Is Wassail?

We’ve all heard this familiar Christmas carol, but have you ever wondered what exactly is a wassail or wassailing? It turns out that they are two very different things. A traditional wassail recipe is an apple cider based drink that is made spicy with cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Even more flavor is added by including fresh fruit. This traditional holiday drink tastes very much like hot mulled cider.

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (3)

What Is Wassailing?

Wassailing is actually the centuries old, British custom of wandering around apple orchards singing to the trees, hoping all the while that the next harvest will be abundant, and that everyone will enjoy good health. This ritual eventually evolved into groups of people going from one home to the next, singing Christmas carols. Wassailing ceremonies typically take place on Twelfth Night (January 5th or 6th) depending on the tradition. Somewhere along the way, these small groups of people began carrying a bowl filled with wassail (the drink) to share with their neighbors.Traditionally, a wassail bowl was made from wood, and had a pedestal bottom.

Wassailing has enjoyed a revival in recent years, with families and communities bringing back the old customs as a way to connect with their cultural heritage, and celebrate the changing seasons.

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (4)

DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS!

How To Make This Hot Drink

  • Add to a 4 quart slow cooker: cranberry juice, apple juice, orange juice, ginger beer, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and fresh cranberries.
  • Stir until combined.
  • Thinly slice the orange and lemon.
  • Add orange slices and lemon slices to the slow cooker ingredients.
  • Cook on low for at least 2 hours before serving.

Helpful Tips

  • I tried to cut out as many calories from this recipe as I could. I used diet Ocean Spray cranberry juice, Trop50 orange juice, and diet ginger beer. Knowing it was a skinny 60 calories per serving made it even tastier and more enjoyable!
  • Other items that can be added/substituted: pineapple juice, lemon juice, apple slices, ground cinnamon, star anise, whole allspice berries, or any other fruit juices.
  • An added bonus to warming this delicious drink in a Crock-pot is that as it simmers, it makes your house smell wonderful.
  • If you don’t have a Crock-Pot, it works just as well to simmer the mixture on the stovetop in a large pot or stock pot, using medium-low heat.

Shop + Source

disclosure

Affiliate links included. See my disclosure statement. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Even if you don’t plan to go wassailing this holiday season, I enthusiastically recommend that you whip up a pot of this hot wassail recipe anyway! It’s a delicious and spicy treat that’s the perfect drinkfor Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day. Start a new family tradition by serving this warm drink at your holiday gatherings.It also makes a wonderfulcozy drink on a cold day!

More Festive Holiday Drinks

  • Crockpot Hot Chocolate
  • Cranberry Christmas co*cktail
  • Pomegranate + Lime Spritzer

Homemade Wassail Recipe

Fill your home with the scent of Christmas by making this homemade wassail recipe for family and friends in your slow cooker. Easy and delicious!

Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Ann Drake

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

EMAIL THIS RECIPE

Enter your email and I’ll send it your way!

I’d like to receive more ideas from On Sutton Place!

Equipment

  • 4 quart slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cranberry juice
  • 2 cups apple juice or apple cider
  • 2 cups orange juice
  • 1 1/2 cups ginger beer or ginger ale
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 orange
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries

Instructions

  • Add to a 4 quart slow cooker: cranberry juice, apple juice, orange juice, ginger beer, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and fresh cranberries.

  • Stir until combined.

  • Thinly slice the orange and lemon.

  • Add slices to slow cooker ingredients.

  • Cook on low for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

I used Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry, Tropicana Trop50, diet ginger beer, and apple juice (no sugar added.) When calculated with these ingredients, a 10 oz. serving has 60 calories.

This recipe can be doubled if a larger slow cooker is used.

Nutrition

Serving: 10oz. | Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 407mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 268IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg

Like this recipe?Follow me at @onsuttonplace

If you make this recipe, and love it, please come back to leave a comment and a 5-star review. I would really appreciate it, and it would help me so much. Thank you!

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (7)

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (8)

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
CHRISTMAS PLANNER

Get holiday stress relief with ten simple & timely tips. Conquer that to-do list and stay organized with the Home for the Holidays Christmas Planner!

get your planner

The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make biltmore wassail? ›

Combine wine and water in a pot and heat. Just before the mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat and add wassail spice blend, stirring until dissolved. Pour mixture into a coffee mug. Add bourbon, lemon juice, and bitters; use the teaspoon of honey to stir and blend the beverage while infusing the flavors.

What is wassail drink made of? ›

What is Wassail? Wassail is like the tastier sister to Apple Cider. Traditional wassail was made with hard liquor, apples, brandy, and other spices. This recipe is made with cloves, apples, cinnamon, lemon, orange, ginger, and nutmeg and is a nonalcoholic wassail recipe.

Is wassail good for you? ›

Not only is this a warming, festive drink, but the medicinal herbs provide multiple health benefits. During the mulling process, the cinnamon, ginger, and clove impart a spicy aroma as well as anti-inflammatory, immune supporting properties to the wassail.

How to make wasle? ›

Directions. Pour apple cider, pineapple juice, and cranberry juice into a stockpot. Place orange slices, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, and cloves in a muslin pouch or directly into the apple cider mixture. Bring apple cider mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, 15 to 20 minutes.

What is in Trader Joe's wassail? ›

A sweetened blend of black currant, apple, and lemon juices, with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and orange peel, Trader Joe's Winter Wassail is a fruit punch whose flavors and aromas evoke the holidays. You can serve it chilled, over ice with bourbon; or warmed, in a big mug, with a cinnamon stick garnish.

What country is wassail from? ›

In the cider-producing counties in the South West of England (primarily Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire) or South East England (Kent, Sussex, Essex, and Suffolk), as well as Jersey, wassailing refers to a traditional ceremony that involves singing and drinking to the health of ...

What does wassail mean in English? ›

noun. a salutation wishing health to a person, used in England in early times when presenting a cup of drink or when drinking to the person. a festivity or revel with drinking of healths. liquor for drinking and wishing health to others on festive occasions, especially spiced ale, as on Christmas Eve and Twelfth-night.

What are the two types of wassailing? ›

The tradition of wassailing (alt sp wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail.

Why do people drink wassail? ›

By wassailing their crops in the winter, it was said to ensure a healthy crop in the spring. As Christianity began to spread, this ritual evolved further into singing and drinking to the health of next season's crops on Twelfth Night; the last night of the traditional Christmas season.

What's the healthiest drink on the market? ›

8 healthy drinks besides water
  1. Green tea. ...
  2. Mint tea. ...
  3. Black coffee. ...
  4. Fat-free milk. ...
  5. Soy milk or almond milk. ...
  6. Hot chocolate. ...
  7. Orange or lemon juice. ...
  8. Homemade smoothies.

Is wassail only for Christmas? ›

Some traditions celebrated wassail on winter solstice while others celebrated on Christmas Eve; in the 8th Century, Beowulf wrote a poem heralding wassail on the 12th Night of Christmas, January 5th. Regardless of the date celebrated, wassail traditions have at least two things in common: Singing and drinking.

What to eat with wassail? ›

“Wassail” is a traditional English punch, consisting of mulled cider and spices. It's very easy to make, and is traditionally served with cinnamon sticks and apple cake, but is also a great complement to either a full meal or appetizers.

Why is it called wassail? ›

The word 'wassail' comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase 'waes hael', which means 'good health'. Originally, the wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. It was served from huge bowls, often made of silver or pewter.

How do you wassail? ›

And this is what you do
  1. Put on some music to create some Old Twelvey Night atmosphere.
  2. Soak a slice of toast in cider and hang it in the branches of your Wassail tree.
  3. Pour some cider around the roots of the tree.
  4. Chant the Wassail song.
  5. Make some loud noise with your pots and pans to scare away those evil spirits.
Jan 11, 2021

What's the difference between wassail and mulled wine? ›

There are very few differences between mulled cider and Wassail Punch. Both contain spices and some juice. One of the main differences is that mulled wine is often made with whole oranges. However, Wassail is traditionally made with apple juice.

Top Articles
4000 zł netto ile to brutto - umowa o pracę - wynagrodzenia.pl
Coca-Cola TM replaces its iconic front of pack logo with inspiring resolutions of hope and optimism for 2021 as part of its new ‘Open To Better’ campaign
Spasa Parish
Rentals for rent in Maastricht
159R Bus Schedule Pdf
Sallisaw Bin Store
Black Adam Showtimes Near Maya Cinemas Delano
Espn Transfer Portal Basketball
Pollen Levels Richmond
11 Best Sites Like The Chive For Funny Pictures and Memes
Things to do in Wichita Falls on weekends 12-15 September
Craigslist Pets Huntsville Alabama
Paulette Goddard | American Actress, Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin
Red Dead Redemption 2 Legendary Fish Locations Guide (“A Fisher of Fish”)
What's the Difference Between Halal and Haram Meat & Food?
Tyreek Hill admits some regrets but calls for officer who restrained him to be fired | CNN
Haverhill, MA Obituaries | Driscoll Funeral Home and Cremation Service
Rogers Breece Obituaries
Ems Isd Skyward Family Access
Elektrische Arbeit W (Kilowattstunden kWh Strompreis Berechnen Berechnung)
Omni Id Portal Waconia
Kellifans.com
Banned in NYC: Airbnb One Year Later
Four-Legged Friday: Meet Tuscaloosa's Adoptable All-Stars Cub & Pickle
Model Center Jasmin
Ice Dodo Unblocked 76
Is Slatt Offensive
Labcorp Locations Near Me
Storm Prediction Center Convective Outlook
Experience the Convenience of Po Box 790010 St Louis Mo
Fungal Symbiote Terraria
modelo julia - PLAYBOARD
Poker News Views Gossip
Abby's Caribbean Cafe
Joanna Gaines Reveals Who Bought the 'Fixer Upper' Lake House and Her Favorite Features of the Milestone Project
Tri-State Dog Racing Results
Navy Qrs Supervisor Answers
Trade Chart Dave Richard
Lincoln Financial Field Section 110
Free Stuff Craigslist Roanoke Va
Wi Dept Of Regulation & Licensing
Pick N Pull Near Me [Locator Map + Guide + FAQ]
Crystal Westbrooks Nipple
Ice Hockey Dboard
Über 60 Prozent Rabatt auf E-Bikes: Aldi reduziert sämtliche Pedelecs stark im Preis - nur noch für kurze Zeit
Wie blocke ich einen Bot aus Boardman/USA - sellerforum.de
Infinity Pool Showtimes Near Maya Cinemas Bakersfield
Dermpathdiagnostics Com Pay Invoice
How To Use Price Chopper Points At Quiktrip
Maria Butina Bikini
Busted Newspaper Zapata Tx
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Greg Kuvalis

Last Updated:

Views: 6036

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (55 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Greg Kuvalis

Birthday: 1996-12-20

Address: 53157 Trantow Inlet, Townemouth, FL 92564-0267

Phone: +68218650356656

Job: IT Representative

Hobby: Knitting, Amateur radio, Skiing, Running, Mountain biking, Slacklining, Electronics

Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.