My easy pear cider recipe turns up the cozy factor for fall is personally my favorite switch up to apple cider! Let me show you how to make it in minutes to enjoy your best autumn life.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my easy pumpkin mocktail, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - You don't need any fancy tools or techniques to make this hot spiced pear cider recipe. It's absolutely beginner friendly and comes together quick and easy.
Delicious Pear Flavor - The crisp, juicy, sweet flavor of fall and winter fruit comes shining through in this DIY cider. You taste pears complemented by cozy spices, bright citrus, and sweet woodsy maple--just the best!
I'm a BIG fan of pear season and here's the proof/recipes you need to try next: fresh pear cobbler with biscuit topping, pear sorbet with Riesling, apple pear cranberry pie, and my sparkling fall mocktail!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Pear Juice or Nectar is my favorite shortcut to fresh pressing pears. Use whichever brand you would enjoy drinking as-is.
Orange Rind or peel adds a balancing note of tart citrus that plays in the background. If you want to amp up the orange flavor, squeeze in the juice, too. I love Cara Cara and navel oranges for this.
Aromatics like cinnamon, ginger, clove, and vanilla to add sweetly warming layers of flavor and autumn spice to the mix. You can use the whole or ground forms of these spices.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Citrus - If you can't get orange, lemon or grapefruit or tangerine will also work well.
Spike It - If homemade hard pear cider is more your speed, you can add a shot of alcohol to the mix. I recommend whiskey (even better if it's bourbon), vodka, or liqueur like Grand Marnier or amaretto for pear cider cocktails.
Sweeteners - I use maple syrup because it's the quintessential fall sweetening ingredient but you can also use honey (though it won't be vegan), agave nectar or your favorite zero sugar option like stevia.
Try my cinnamon brown sugar syrup or ginger honey syrup for sweetness with an extra oomph of flavor that plays nicely in this recipe!
How to Make Pear Cider on Stove Top
- Step 1: Peel off the orange rind, slice the ginger, and split the vanilla bean to access the seeds inside.
- Step 2: Stir together all ingredients in a large saucepan on the stove top to boil then simmer.
Pro Tip #1
Use a knife to easily scrape the vanilla bean paste out of pod and directly into the saucepan. It's ok if they stick together a bit but try to avoid one big clump by stirring the mixture well.
Pro Tip #2
If you have more time and want to mull your pear cider low and slow, use a slow cooker, aka crock pot instead. Cook on the low heat setting for about two hours.
- Step 3: Strain out the solid ingredients.
- Step 4: Sweeten to taste then serve warm with desired garnishes.
Pro Tip #3
I like to use a slotted spoon or mesh sieve to remove the solids. You want to filter out the orange peels, ginger slices, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Bits of vanilla bean are fine to leave in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make this cider up to a week in advance and store in the fridge.
Store this cider in an airtight container and refrigerate it. Keeps for up to three weeks this way.
You can freeze homemade pear cider for up to one year in an airtight, freezer-safe container in the freezer.
More Favorite Autumn Drink Recipes
Looking for other recipe like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this spiced pear cider soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Easy Pear Cider
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 vanilla bean
- 9 cups pear nectar or pear juice
- 12 ounces water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 clove buds
- maple syrup to taste
Instructions
- Use knife to peel the rind from the orange, slice ginger into coins, and split the vanilla bean open to expose the seeds.
- Add orange rind, ginger, vanilla bean seeds, pear nectar, water, cinnamon sticks, clove buds to pot on stovetop over medium heat.
- Bring liquid to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Stir the cider and remove orange rind, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and clove from pot.
- Sweeten to taste with maple syrup and serve warm.
Christina says
Have you tried making the pear nectar from scratch? Just thinking if I can’t find the nectar in my local store.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Christina! I haven't tried making it from scratch but this recipe also works with pear juice, if you can't find the nectar.
Judith Tra Herne Gilbert says
Jazzmine, this sounds AMAZING! I love pear in any form. I can not wait to try it. Thank you for this one.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Thanks, Judith! I hope you enjoy this one.