This Homemade Spiced Sugar Free Apple Cider is truly the flavor of fall! Make it super easily with just a few ingredients in a stockpot on your stovetop. Sweeten this spiced fall beverage with your favorite sugar replacement of choice to cut back on the carbs, while still keeping that delicious crave-worthy flavor.
Combine your favorite apples with orange, fresh ginger and your favorite warming fall spices for a delicious fall flavor. Enjoy this low carb apple cider warm or chilled all season long.
Is there anything better than a glass of cider on a fall day after the pumpkin patch? To us, the answer is no. Apple cider truly embodies that fall flavor and feeling. Sadly, anything you buy from the cider mill or pumpkin patch is going to be loaded with sugar and carbs.
Our yummy and easy apple cider can definitely be enjoyed as a part of a low carb diet! Regular store bought (or from a cider mill) apple cider usually contains between 30g and 40g of net carbs per every eight ounce serving. Our version has 11g of net carbs for an eight ounce serving, and only 6g of sugar. Not bad right!?
We really think this recipe will be a game changer for all of your fall recipes.
You can find a use for this apple cider in our super delicious low carb fall harvest bourbon whiskey sangria or this apple cider bourbon cocktail! Or simply enjoy it plain for the perfect autumn treat!
You may also like our sugar free apple crisp recipe, these keto apple crisp bars, and these Instant Pot apple butter!
Sugar Free Apple Cider Ingredients:
- Apples of choice, quartered (we used a mixture of honey crisp, granny smith and gala)
- Orange, quartered
- Fresh ginger, cut into slices
- Cinnamon sticks
- Whole allspice
- Cloves, whole
- Nutmeg, whole
- Star anise, whole
- Brown sugar replacement (Swerve Brown)
- Water
- Apple slices & cinnamon sticks for garnish
How to Make This Sugar Free Apple Cider:
Wash your apples and oranges, then quarter all of them. Place them in the stockpot with 1 gallon (20 cups) of water, and your spices. Leave uncovered, then bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer. We used a mixture of tart and sweet apples. Use whatever your favorites are. Honey crisp, gala and granny smith all made it into our low carb apple cider.
Allow the mixture to simmer on low for about 2 to 2.5 hours, until your can easily mash the fruit. Once it's soft, strain away the fruit and whole spices, then discard. Now, over low heat, stir in sweetener until it dissolves. Taste regularly until your desired sweetness level is reached.
Pour into glasses, and enjoy hot or cold!
That's it, your low carb apple cider is ready! This will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 7-10 days.
More Fall Recipes You Will Love:
- Apple Cinnamon Whiskey Sour
- Sugar Free Keto Grenadine
- Healthy Apple Crumble Bars (Keto and Gluten Free)
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Is Store-Bought Apple Cider Keto Friendly?
Honestly, not really. In the past, we have used small amounts of it in big batches of drinks (like this fall harvest whiskey sangria), which is fine for keeping the net carb count down. You can certainly keep doing that.
But if you want to minimize the damage even more, making your own lowers the carbs a lot. We're talking, from 30g-40g net carbs for your average store bought or apple cider mill cider, down to 11g net carbs per serving! We call that a win.
Our version of homemade spiced sugar free apple cider came from our undying love for all things fall. It's so easy to make it on the stovetop, strain away the fruit, and then sweeten to taste with a sugar free sweetener. We were kinda wondering why we haven't tried this before!
It's awesome that we came up with a way to enjoy apple cider at a much lower carb point than traditional methods. Lately, we have been adding a one to two ounce amount to our cocktails for that awesome fall flavor, and it works like a charm!
When only adding one or two ounces to a single drink as a mixer, you end up with between 1.5 - 3g net carbs per serving, with all of the flavor. We will take it!
How Should I Sweeten This Low Carb Apple Cider?
We advise sweetening this low sugar apple cider to taste after you have strained away the bits of fruit and spices. The fruit of course adds a naturally occurring sweetness that we can't avoid, and you might not want to add more sweetener to this sugar free apple cider.
It's entirely up to you, and everyone has different taste buds. We advise for a batch this size to use around ½ cup to 1 full cup of Swerve Sweetener Brown Sugar Replacement. Swerve is our preferred sweetener for pretty much everything, and for this application, the brown sugar replacement adds that extra depth of flavor that we love. You can add whatever sweetener you prefer however. Just add it slowly, stirring to dissolve, and tasting as you go.
Can I Make This Sugar free Apple Cider In a Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker?
Yes, 100%! We love cooking it on the stovetop because it's a fairly quick alternative to the slow cooker, that also makes our home smell amazing. The stovetop method will take about 2 - 2.5 hours. A pressure cooker will only take about 30 - 40 minutes, but you will need to cut this low carb apple cider recipe into a much smaller portion size to safely get all of the ingredients in there. The slow cooker method will take about 8 hours for the apples to super tender and able to be mashed with a potato masher.
What Spices and Aromatics Do I Need For This Low Sugar Apple Cider?
For this sugar free apple cider recipe, the spices and aromatics you use are entirely option. The only truly "essential" spices are whole cinnamon sticks. We used eight cinnamon sticks, but we love a lot of cinnamon flavor.
Some of our favorite additions are fresh ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and star anise. If you don't like or don't have any of the spices or aromatics for this low carb apple cider, don't worry. It will truly be delicious no matter what!
How Do I Store This Apple Cider?
You should store this leftover sugar free apple cider in an airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days after you make it. We kinda doubt it will last that long, but hey! Alternatively, you could freeze it. We'd love to experiment with an apple cider slushie eventually, sounds fun doesn't it?
If you get a chance to try this sugar free apple cider recipe, let us know what you think, would ya?! Leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later. We love sharing your versions of our creations over on Instagram @afullliving!
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Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere
📖 Recipe
Sugar Free Apple Cider (Low Carb)
Briana
This Homemade Spiced Sugar Free Apple Cider is truly the flavor of fall! Make it super easily with just a few ingredients in a stockpot on your stovetop. Sweeten this spiced fall beverage with your favorite sugar replacement of choice to cut back on the carbs, while still keeping that delicious crave-worthy flavor.
5 from 10 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time 3 hours hrs
Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Servings 20 servings
Calories 54 kcal
Ingredients
- 4 pounds apples, quartered we used an assortment of honey crisp, gala and granny smith.
- 1 medium orange, quartered
- 1 gallon water 16 cups
- 8 whole cinnamon sticks or to taste
- 2 inch knob fresh ginger, sliced, optional
- 1 whole fresh nutmeg pod, optional
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves, optional
- 2 teaspoons whole allspice, optional
- 2 whole star anise pods, optional
- ½ cup Swerve brown or brown sugar replacement or to taste
- apple slices and cinnamon sticks for garnish
Instructions
Add quartered apples and orange to the stock pot with 1 gallon of water. Add your warming spices and ginger. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 2 to 2.5 hours, until apples are soft.
Smash apples with a potato masher, then strain through a metal sieve. Discard fruit and whole spices.
Taste, and over low heat, stir in sweetener to dissolve and adjust sweetener to taste. Serve warm or chilled.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- This is the best estimate we could come up with for nutrition facts, since we aren't food scientists.
- Use a mixture of sweet and tart apples!
- Please sweeten to taste, and start out slow after you strain away the fruit solids.
- All whole spices are technically optional, but highly recommended!
- Lots of water will evaporate while cooking, so you will need to add more at the end!
Nutrition
Serving: 8ouncesCalories: 54kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 11mgPotassium: 120mgFiber: 3gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 67IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg
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