Christmas Wassail
Make a batch of Christmas Wassail to serve at your next holiday party! It’s a hot non-alcoholic punch that’s made with a blend of fruit juices and warming spices. Prepare it in advance and keep warm in a Crockpot all night long!
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The Wassail Punch I Make Throughout the Christmas Season
When I’m craving a non-alcoholic alternative to mulled wine at Christmas, I love making a big batch of wassail instead. It’s a warm spiced punch that gets its name from a Middle English phrase that means “be healthy.”
You may be familiar with wassail through Christmas songs like “Here We Come A-Wassailing.” Wassailing is closely associated with the history of wassail!
Here’s why you’ll love this Christmas wassail recipe:
✔ Quick and Easy: The ingredients are all added to a saucepan and simmered until the sugar has dissolved. That’s it!
✔ Great for Holiday Parties: You can either let the wassail punch simmer gently in the saucepan all night long, or you can keep it warm in a Crockpot so guests can help themselves throughout the evening.
✔ Cozy Spiced Flavor: The blend of fruit juices are flavored with warming ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Wassail truly tastes like Christmas in a mug.
Happy Holidays!
-Katie
Ingredients You’ll Need
I’ve provided a full list of ingredients with their measurements in the recipe card below, but here’s an overview of what you’ll need to make hot wassail.
- Fruit Juice — I’ve found that a blend of apple juice, orange juice, and pure cranberry juice creates the most nuanced, not-too-sweet flavor. Try to buy no sugar added fruit juices, and also preferably nothing from concentrate.
- Vanilla Extract — I always have my homemade bourbon vanilla extract on hand, but use whatever kind is in your pantry.
- Brown Sugar — Sweetens the wassail and gives it a richer flavor.
- Spices — Cinnamon sticks, ground nutmeg, and whole cloves add lots of festive flavor to the punch.
How to Make Wassail for Christmas
- Add everything to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes to dissolve the sugar and give the spices time to flavor the juice blend.
- Either keep warm on the stovetop or transfer to a Crockpot and set to “warm” to keep hot all night long.
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Want to Make Your Wassail Boozy? Here’s How
If you’d like to make an alcoholic wassail, I recommend following my mulled wine recipe instead. I have always sipped wassail as a non-alcoholic beverage, so I can’t speak to how much wine (if any) should be added to this particular recipe.
But, I actually think bourbon would work better than wine would be. I would recommend 1 ounce bourbon per 8 ounces of wassail for a warm Christmas cocktail.
Recipe Tips
- Not sure what fruit juices to buy? Use 100% fruit juices. If the apple, orange, or cranberry juice contain sugar, you’ll want to add less brown sugar than the recipe calls for.
- Want it more or less sweet? You’re welcome to add more or less sugar to suit your own tastes.
- Want to make in a slow cooker? Combine everything and then cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. Switch to “warm” when ready to serve, and keep the lid on so the wassail doesn’t evaporate!
More Non-Alcoholic Christmas Drinks
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Christmas Wassail Recipe
Make a batch of hot Christmas wassail to serve at your next holiday party! It can be prepared in advance and kept warm in a Crockpot all night long.
Ingredients
- 2 quarts apple juice
- 2 cups orange juice
- 1 1/2 cups 100% cranberry juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
Optional Garnishes
- Cinnamon sticks
- Star anise
- Apple slices
- Dried orange slices
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn to low to keep warm or put in a Crockpot on warm to keep all day so it’s ready whenever you are.
Notes
Want to make this boozy? If you wish to prepare this wassail as a cocktail, I would suggest adding 1 ounce of Bourbon for each 8 ounces of Wassail.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 12mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 27gProtein: 1g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Try Making Hot Wassail This Christmas!
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Anonymous says
Wassail is a Christmas tradition at our house since we married in 1979. The recipe I use is the same as here, but w/o vanilla. The years my hubby has bought cranberry juice cocktail instead of 100% juice, it turned out fine. We even have special xmas mugs to drink our wassail. I began making it when we bought our first crockpot – bright orange w/o a removable crock. The recipe was in the accompanying book from Regal. I still make onion soup from the same book. Try wassail – you'll love it! Happy Holidays!!! Joan
Patricia P. says
Sounds delicious!! And should smell even better.
Amy says
This sounds wonderful!! My mom's recipe (the one we make every year) is made with pineapple juice – this one sounds different and delicious!-Amywww.singforyoursupperblog.com
Stephanie says
I just recently read The Christmas Box and it's such a sweet little book. It's a quick read so it's perfect for reading by the tree with a drink of some hot goodness.
Amy J in SC says
I enjoy the smell as much as the taste. Should go about to making some now.
Jason Sandeman says
I can just imagine the smells of your house while you are making this drink. After shovelling snow for what seems like an eternity, that drink would warm you to your bones. I am so serving that one for Christmas Eve.
Maria says
I have never had this, I bet it smells wonderful and warms you up!
Cassie says
I had never even heard of Wassiel. I will have to try it!
Tasty Eats At Home says
What a yummy treat! Might have to make some of this for the kids!
marla (Family Fresh Cooking) says
This drink sounds so perfect for a chilly day. Don't you just loooovvee nap time 🙂
Pili says
Hmmm, sounds like an awesome recipe!I love having days off in the winter, so I can curl up in the sofa and read!