Slow Cooker Apple Butter

As the crisp, cool air of autumn rolls in, there’s no better time to take advantage of the abundance of fresh, ripe apples. One of the best ways to enjoy the rich, cozy flavors of fall is by making homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter.

As a bonus, this thick and flavorful spread will fill your home with the scent of spiced apples, offering a festive treat that’s versatile enough for breakfast, desserts, or even savory dishes like meats.

Apple butter is a popular fall recipe, not only because of it’s an easy way to preserve a large amount of apples and tastes so amazing, it’s also surprisingly easy to make at home. By simmering apples with spices and a touch of sugar in your slow cooker, you’ll have rich, caramelized apple butter that tastes better than the store-bought version, and is also cheaper

Whether you’re planning to slather it on toast, swirl it into yogurt, or use it as a topping for meats, Slow Cooker Apple Butter is a must-try for anyone who loves fall. For even more apple goodness, try my easy apple pie filling.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

At first glance, apple butter may seem similar to applesauce. However, there are some key differences:

• Slow Cooked for Deep Flavor: Unlike applesauce, which is cooked briefly, apple butter simmers for hours, allowing the apples to caramelize. Slow cooking develops a deeper color, and more intense flavor.
• Smooth, Spreadable Texture: Apple butter has silky-smooth, thick consistency, perfect for spreading, topping, or mixing into other dishes.
• Versatile Use: It can be used in both sweet and savory recipes, making it a true fall treat. Try using it as a topping for pancakes, a filling for hand pies, or a as glaze for sheet pan pork chops. It’s also amazing served warm over vanilla ice cream. This is my favorite way to enjoy it!

Apple Butter Ingredients

• Apples: This recipe is versatile and you can use almost any kind of sweet or baking apple. Or pick some favorites from the section above. Or try experimenting with a mix of sweet and tart apples like Fuji, Granny Smith, and Honey Crisp to create a complex, well-rounded flavor.
• White sugar: Granulated sugar caramelizes when cooked and helps thicken the apple butter. You can use more or less to reach your desired sweetness level, or depending on the sweetness of the apples you choose.
• Brown sugar: Adds a deeper, molasses-like flavor that enhances the caramelization process.
• Cinnamon: A key spice in apple butter, and most fall-themed apple recipes. Cinnamon provides warmth and depth of flavor.
• Nutmeg: Adds a subtle, nutty flavor that complements the cinnamon and pairs well with apples. Powder is just fine, but freshly grated nutmeg adds a more intense flavor.
• Salt: Just a pinch helps to balance the sweetness and enhance the overall flavor of the apple butter.
• Vanilla Extract: Gives apple butter a smooth aromatic finish. You can also try vanilla bean paste for an even more pronounced vanilla flavor.

The Best Apples for Apple Butter

While you can use almost any type of apple to make apple butter, combining tart and sweet varieties will give you the best flavor. Here are some of the apples I recommend:

• Granny Smith: With extra tartness, these apples add complex depth to apple butter.
• Fuji: These sweet and crisp apples help balance the tart flavors with natural sweetness.
• Honeycrisp: A popular variety, these apples are both sweet and juicy, making them perfect for apple butter.
• Golden Delicious: With a buttery sweetness, these apples can enhance the overall flavor profile.
• Cortland: These are slow to brown, making them ideal for the long cooking process of apple butter

How to Make Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Prepare the Apples: Peel, core, and slice the apples (12–15 medium), and place in the slow cooker.

Mix the Spices: In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup each of granulated and brown sugars, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Pour this mixture over the apples and stir to ensure even coating.

Slow Cook: Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours or HIGH for 5 hours.

Blend Until Smooth: After the apples have cooked down and are a deep brown color, add vanilla extract. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth and no chunks remain.

Serve or store: Read on for tips on both of these.

Equipment Needed for Slow Cooked Apple Butter:

• • Slow cooker (at least 6 quarts)
  • Apple peeler
  • Immersion blender or regular blender
  • Cutting board and knife

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Customization and Variations

• Add Extra Spices: If you want to switch up the flavors, try adding apple pie spice, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and/or a dash of allspice for a more complex profile.
• Sweeteners: For natural sweeteners, swap out the sugar for honey or maple syrup. Adjust the sweetness to your taste. Note, this will make the consistency thinner, and you’ll likely have to cook longer
• Keto-friendly: While apples have a high amount of natural sugars and carbs, you can still enjoy keto apple butter in moderation. To reduce the carbs, substitute the granulated and brown sugars with a sugar-alcohol such as erythritol.
• Try adding other fruits: You can mix in other fruits such as pears, peaches, plums, or cranberries to make different flavors of apple butter. This is also a great way to use up extra fruit if you have a large harvest.

Serving Ideas for Apple Butter

One of the best things about slow cooker apple butter is how versatile it is. Here are some ideas for serving:

• Breakfast: Spread it on toast, pancakes, or oatmeal waffles to elevate your favorite breakfast recipes. It’s also great on toasted bagels spread over cream cheese.
• Snacks: Add it to oatmeal or yogurt, or use it as a spread over crackers and cheese.
• Desserts: Use it as a filling for pies, mixed into cakes, or pair it warm with vanilla ice cream for a sweet
• Savory Dishes: Apple butter makes an excellent spread for meats, especially grilled pork chops or turkey. Try mixing it into a BBQ sauce to enhance the flavors as well.

Storage Tips

This recipe makes a large batch, so it’s ideal to preserve it for longer-term storage. Here are some options.

• Refrigerate: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
• Freeze: Place in freezer-safe containers or a Ziploc bag and freeze for up to a year. Just defrost it in the fridge before serving.
• Canning: This is the best option for long-term storage. To can apple butter, fill sterilized jars with the apple butter, leaving about a ½ inch of headspace, seal, and submerge in boiling water for 10–15 minutes. Canned apple butter lasts up to 18 months.

Tips for this Recipe

• Use fresh apples that are at ideal ripeness. Using too tart or too sweet of apples will greatly affect the flavor.
• Be sure to core the apples to avoid seeds. You don’t have to peel the apples, but it is recommended.
• Don’t let cut apples sit too long or they will oxidize. I recommend adding them to a heated slow cooker right away as you are cutting them
• To save time, or if you don’t have access to fresh apples, you can use frozen apples. Just be sure to defrost the apples and discard the liquid or your apple butter will be too runny.
• Be sure to slow cook the apples with the lid closed. This is critical, as it will help keep the moisture and flavors in. Note: if your apple butter is looking too thin as it’s getting close to done, you can leave the lid slightly open to allow the steam to vent and thicken up the mixture.
• An immersion blender is easiest for the final step, but you can use a regular blender. See the FAQs below.

FAQs

How Do I Know When Apple Butter is Done?

Slow cooked apple butter will be a dark golden brown color, similar to caramel, once it’s ready. The consistency should be like thick applesauce.

What if it Comes Out Too Sweet?

If your apple butter it too sweet, this was likely caused but too much sugar for the type of apple used. Certain apples are much sweeter than others. To balance the sweetness, stir in a splash of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.

What if it Comes Out Too Sweet?

This was likely caused by using a tarter variety of apples, such as Granny Smith. To make it sweeter, simply add more sugar. I recommended a ¼ cup at a time and testing until the desired sweetness is achieved.

Can I Make Apple Butter Without Peeling the Apples?

If you’re short on time, you can skip peeling apples, just be sure to cut out the cores. The peels do break down during cooking, and they will be blended in at the end. However, the texture won’t be as smooth and silky.

What if I Don’t Have an Immersion Blender?

It’s easiest to use an immersion blender, and just blend it in the slow cooker pot. However, you can use a traditional blender as well. To use a blender, let the apple butter mixture cool until it’s now longer steaming. Then add some of the mixture to the blender. Vent the lid, and blend until smooth.

Safety tip: Cooling the mixture and venting the lid is important to prevent splattering or even a large blast of trapped apple butter all over your counter. Trust me, this can happen.

How Do I Fix Thin Apple Butter

This was likely caused by using overripe apples, or not cooking hot or long enough. To make apple butter thicker, simply slow cook longer, and additional hour at a time.

You can also thicken with a mixture of 1 tablespoon each of cornstarch and water. Be sure to stir well and continue to stir until it thickens.

Hungry for More Apple Recipes?

Try My Other Apple Recipes

• Apple Pie Filling
• Fig Pear and Apple Crisp
• Apple Streusel Muffin
• Apple Pie Puff Pastry Rolls
• Caramel Apple Cheese Ball
• Apple Cider Cheesecake
• Apple Cider Cupcakes

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Written by Matt | Plating Pixels

Enjoy the rich, cozy flavors of fall with this homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter. It's a simple spread made with caramilzed apples, sugar, cinammon, spices, and vanilla.

5 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 hours hrs

Cook Time 5 hours hrs

Total Time 1 day d 1 hour hr

Course Appetizer, Dessert, Sauce

Cuisine American

Servings 24

Calories 118 kcal

Equipment

• Slow cooker
• Apple peeler
• Immersion Blender or regular blender
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Measuring Spoons
• Measuring Cups
• Canning Equipment optional

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 5 pounds 12-15 medium apples
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Peel, core, and slice the apples. Place in the slow cooker.
  
• In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, except for vanilla.
• Toss the apples with the sugar mixture until well coated
  
• Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours or HIGH for 5 hours.
• Add vanilla extract. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth and no chunks remain.
  
• Once cooled, store in the fridge in an airtight container up to two weeks, or can or freeze for leftovers.

Notes

• Use fresh apples that are at ideal ripeness. Using too tart or too sweet of apples will greatly affect the flavor.
• Be sure to core the apples to avoid seeds. You don’t have to peel the apples, but it is recommended.
• Don’t let cut apples sit too long or they will oxidize. I recommend adding to a heated slow cooker right away as you are cutting them
• To save time, or if you don’t have access to fresh apples, you can use frozen apples. Just be sure to defrost the apples and discard the liquid or your apple butter will be too runny.
• Be sure to slow cook the apples with the lid closed. This is critical as it will help keep in the moisture and flavors. Note: if your apple butter is looking too thin as it’s getting close to done, you can leave the lid slightly open to allow the steam to vent and thicken up the mixture.
• An immersion blender is easiest for the final step, but you can use a regular blender.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Serving Size

 

0.25 cup

Amount per Serving

Calories

118

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

0.2

g

0

%

Saturated Fat

 

0.04

g

0

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

0.05

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

0.01

g

Sodium

 

28

mg

1

%

Potassium

 

115

mg

3

%

Carbohydrates

 

31

g

10

%

Fiber

 

2

g

8

%

Sugar

 

27

g

30

%

Protein

 

0.3

g

1

%

Vitamin A

 

52

IU

1

%

Vitamin C

 

4

mg

5

%

Calcium

 

17

mg

2

%

Iron

 

0.2

mg

1

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword Crockpot Apple Butter, Homemade Apple Butter, Slow Cooker Apple Butter

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