Super Simple Traditional Wassail Recipe (2024)

Last Updated on January 3, 2024 by Michele Tripple

This traditional wassail recipe is perfect to share with friends and family all season long as it combines apple cider, apples, oranges, cinamon, cloves and brown sugar to make a festive drink that everyone will love!

Wassail for Kids

It’s hotter than heck here in Texas, and when it gets this hot I find myself dreaming of those crisp October nights where you just want to curl up with a blanket and sip on something warm! In fact, I got to do just that last week when we escaped to the cooler temperatures in Colorado where Colby was playing in his baseball series world series. It gave me an excuse to make some of our favorite cool weather drink favorites like our pink hot chocolate and this traditional wassail recipe!

I am telling you are going to love this recipe! It is like Christmas in a cup as it combines vasrious flavors together that just meld so perfectly!

Try these other Drink Favorites!

• Homemade Kid Friendly Eggnog Recipe
• Hot Cocoa Mix
• Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate

What is Wassail?

Wassail is essentially a hot mulled cider. It is usually drunk as part of wassailing, which is a Medieval Christmastide drinking tradition that they believe brings a good apple harvest the following year.

You will find several versions of Wassail with Alchol floating around the internet, but this is a non-alcholic version which makes this the perfect wassail for kids! It combines apple cider, apples, oranges, cinamon, cloves, and brown sugar to create the most aromic drink to enjoy during the fall or during the Christmas season.

How do you pronouce Wassail

You might find people saying Wssail all different ways! The propoper way to pronounce Wassail is waa * sl

Makes 8 one-cup servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Wassial Ingredients

• ½ gallon apple cider
• 4 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 apple – cleaned and sliced
• 1 orange- cleaned and sliced
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3-5 whole cloves
• 1 star of anise

How to Make Wassail

• Before you start cooking your traditional Wassail it will be helpful to go ahead and wash and slice up one apple as well as clean and slice one whole orange.
• After your apple and orange are washed, grab a large saucepan and you are ready to start cooking your Wassail.

• The first step in making your wassail for kids is to mix the apple cider with 4 Tablespoons of brown sugar.
• Stir until it is completely dissolved. The brown sugar helps with the acidity and spice from the added fruit. You don’t want to omit this.

• Next, add your sliced apples and oranges along with the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star of anise. Star of anise isn’t cheap and you can make it without this ingredient. It will still taste just fine without. However, it does make a beautiful presentation when used.

• Lastly, you will want to bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once you bring it to a boil, reduce your heat to a slow simmer and allow it to simmer for 25 minutes covered.
• Now that your homemade wassail has simmered for 25 minutes it is ready to serve.
• You may want to strain your garnish (cloves, star of anise) out of your wassail before serving.

Tips Tricks and FAQs

• If you aren’t ready to serve it just yet and want to keep it warm for a longer period of time you can keep it warm by transferring it to a crockpot and set it to warm.
• If you are looking to make a bigger batch to serve more guests all you have to do is add an extra ½ gallon of cider, one additional cinnamon stick and a few extra cloves and you are set to double the recipe.
• When making this recipe use a sweet apple cider. This is different from apple juice.
• Strain your wassail before enjoying. The spices give such a great fragrance, but you will want to drain them prior to serving.

Storage

You can store your leftover wassail in the fridge in an airtight container for about 3 days. You can also make it ahead of time and then reheat it on the stove or in your crockpot.

What to Serve with Wassail

The first time I ever had wassail I drank it with gingerbread waffles. It was a winning combination, especially on Christmas morning! Some other great options to serve with wassail is to serve with your favorite homemade pancakes or homemade eggnog waffles.

There you have it, your traditional Wassail recipe is served and delicious. Our kids love drinking this traditional Wassail Recipe in these “fancy mugs”. These are on the larger side though! So you might want to fill them completely full because a little goes a long way with Wassail!

More Christmas Favorites

• Hot cocoa bar
• Cranberry Bars
• Eggnog Cupcakes

Love what you see? Leave a comment and don’t forget to rate it below! We always love knowing how your recipe turns out! Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @micheletripple to show me your finished product!