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Slow Cooker Apple Butter will make your entire house smell like Autumn. It also makes a great gift for the holidays, or a hostess gift at Thanksgiving. YUMMO!
Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I am a lover of all things fall – the leaves and pumpkins, cozy sweaters and Ugg boots, a roaring fire with a good book and a plate of my No Bake Cookies, I adore it all – especially apple season.
A neighboring city hosts an Apple Butter Festival every October. It’s full of holiday crafts, historical reenactments, and of course, amazing food.
Although I love meandering through the aisles of vendors, I really go for two very important reasons: caramel slathered apples and homemade apple butter.
Unfortunately, I’ve missed this festival two years in a row – last year because I was in San Francisco and this year because I simply forgot about it. I sulked for a hot minute, but decided that I’d get my yearly apple butter fix by making my own in the slow cooker.
What is apple butter?
If you have never had apple butter before, you might be confused by the name.
No, it’s not apple-flavored butter. That would be weird. There’s actually no butter in apple butter at all.
Apple butter is basically just super concentrated, super smooth applesauce. It’s cooked for longer, which gives it that caramelized color and rich apple flavor, but the ingredients are nearly identical.
Apple butter is not just perfect on your morning toast (English muffin bread is my favorite!) or served on Potato Rolls at Thanksgiving, you can even bake with it.
Try subbing in Slow Cooker Apple Butter in place of jam or another fruit filling in crumb bars, such as in my Peach Crumb Bars or Raspberry Bars recipes. Or try it in an apple butter cake!
How to make apple butter in a crockpot
At first I was little bit intimidated by the whole homemade fruit butter thing, but really it could not have been easier!
Ingredients you’ll need
Even though the flavors of apple butter are so rich, you’ll be surprised to know that the ingredients are super simple.
You’ll need:
- 6 1/2 pounds apples – peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
I know that 6 1/2 pounds of apples sounds like a lot, but I’ve got a tip for making peeling them a cinch.
Helpful tools
Prepping all of those apples and turning them into homemade apple butter was a cinch thanks to my apple peeler and slow cooker.
The peeler allowed me to peel, core, and slice 6 1/2 pounds of apples in a matter of minutes. I tossed everything into the slow cooker, set the timer for 10 hours and went about my day.
The autumnal scents of apples, cinnamon and vanilla wafted around the whole place for an entire day, which improved my mood immensely. I’ll tell you – if you’re having a rough day, just make some slow cooker apple butter.
It’s impossible not to feel at ease with the entire world and people in it when you’ve got these scents enveloping you each time you walk in and out of your kitchen.
Making this recipe
To make this recipe, I tossed the apples in my slow cooker. I then combined the sugars, cinnamon, and spices and tossed this with the apples.
I let the apples simmer away for the allotted 10 hours until the mixture was thick and dar brown, and in the meantime made chili, cornbread, and even prepped my jars for gift giving.
After the 10 hours, I removed the lid and let the apples keep simmering for another 2 hours. This thickens the apple butter even more.
After the second stage of cooking, it was time to puree the apple butter and jar it up! It really is the perfect way to spend a fall Saturday, I’ll tell you that for free.
The result was a delicious, velvety smooth apple butter that definitely rivals any of the jars that I’ve purchased at the Apple Butter Festival and the best part is – I made it myself!
If you don’t have 10 hours on hand to let the apple butter simmer, don’t worry – I also have a recipe for Instant Pot Apple Butter!
Best apples for apple butter
Really you can use any apples you happen to have on hand for apple butter.
Generally speaking, softer varieties of apples such as Fuji, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, or Jonagold work better since they cook down faster.
I used a mix of Granny Smith, Fuji and Honeycrisp in my apple butter, and even the crisper varieties broke down well for a smooth apple butter.
The real key is to use a mix of apples to get the best flavor. You can even customize your Slow Cooker Apple butter by using apple pie spice or even pumpkin pie spice instead of the blend I have here, and you could try Mexican vanilla instead of Madagascar.
It’s really easy to make it your own, and I know your family will love slathering it on toast all year long.
I’ve been told you can preserve this recipe through canning, though I haven’t tried it myself. I’d love to know if you’ve tried!
I hope you enjoy this slow cooker apple butter as much as we do.
What are your favorite fruit butter recipes? What should I try next?
FAQs
Yes! Because the ingredients say “6.5 pounds of apples, peeled and cored,” this means that you peel and core them after weighing them.
This is true for any recipe you read. For example, if a recipe calls for “1 cup pecans, chopped,” you measure the pecans and then chop them. If it reads “1 cup chopped pecans,” you chop and then measure them.
Yes! I recently learned how to can apple butter – it’s much easier than you might think. You won’t need to make any adjustments to the recipe itself before canning because apples are naturally quite acidic.
You can store this slow cooker apple butter in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.
If you choose to freeze it, make sure you leave plenty of room in the jar so that they don’t crack after freezing.
This recipe makes 4 pints (8 cups) of apple butter.
If you want to substitute apple pie spice for the spices listed in the recipe, I would use 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons, depending on how heavily spiced you like your apple butter to be.
Once you peel, core, and slice the 6.5 pounds of apples, they take up quite a bit of space, so I use a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe. If you only have a smaller slow cooker, I suggest halving the recipe.
Technically no. If you don’t want to spend the time peeling the apples, you may want to run the final apple butter through a fine mesh strainer after pureeing it to make sure it is super smooth.
I prefer to just peel the apples at the beginning and save myself the work at the end, but it’s up to you and what you prefer.
Yes! The only reason I recommend adding the vanilla toward the end of the recipe is because vanilla doesn’t hold up to heat well and the flavor becomes weaker the longer it cooks.
If you do accidentally add the vanilla at the beginning, just add another teaspoon or so at the end to make up for the flavor that was lost while cooking.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 6 ½ pounds apples peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples and mix well.
- Cook in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
- Uncover, stir in vanilla and continue cooking uncovered on low for about 2 hours.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until smooth.
- Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks or freeze.
- Serve on breads, muffins, pork chops or just eat it with a spoon.
Video
Notes
- I used a combination of Granny Smith, Fuji and Honey Crisp apples for this recipe.
- The sweetness of your apples will affect how much sugar you will need to add. Adjust according to your apples and preferences.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freezer for up to 3 months, or learn how to can apple butter if you would like to preserve it for longer.
- Makes 4 pints.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi I am interested in Canning Jams and Jellies and other Vegetables using a short method. Any Receipes posted will be helpfull.
PLEASE, please, please- when CANNING VEGETABLES especially use instructions approved by current scientific methods & timing…. usually a university extension agent department- ie: websites with .edu – You don’t want to flirt with botulism by using ‘short’ methods. Your friends & granny may have done it without problem luckily, but you & your family don’t want to be the ones who do have a problem. Botulism is not something to take lightly.
Buy the Ball Blue Book. It’s a guide book to preserving and canning. It’s great it will walk you through most anything. I never canned before and had no one to teach me so this book is the Bible for canning. Also check out the web site in the book. Fresh Preserving . Com. It’s fun.
Can the apple butter be water bathed? I want to make sure it seals good.
Yes
What if you don’t have an immersion blender? Is there something else that can be used?
You can use a blender and blend it in batches, just make sure you cool the apple butter before blending. I hope this helps.
-Jamie
I can my slow cooker apple butter every year! Just make sure your apple butter, jars and lids are hot ( I put my jars in the oven at 22o degrees for 10 min)! Fill, put lids on, don’t tighten tight and let em’ pop!
Hey there, is that really all you have to do? I have my butter in the crockpots now, two batches, and bought new mason jars. Just heat them up, put the butter in, loose lids on, does that mean just the top part or the ring too? Thanks for any help
Unless you have processed the filled jars in a boiling water bath canner or pressure canner, the apple butter is NOT safe to store in the cupboard. Just because the lid “pops” does not mean it is sterilized and canned. You must store it in the refrigerator or freezer. Consult a canning book or call your local Extension agent to get instructions for safe canning.
I made this yesterday, followed the recipe exactly and used gala, empire and honeycrisp apples. It came out delicious and made my home smell wonderful! I did have to cook it a little longer to make it thicker but it came out just as I expected and yielded about 4 pints. I had never had apple butter before so I don’t really have a frame of reference but I thought it was amazing thank you for sharing!
About how much does this recipe make? I’m planning on canning in pint jars and need to know how much to make
It says it makes 4 pints.
This recipe was wonderful and I used it to give out to my coworkers as holiday gifts. The only thing was that I needed to drain the apples before blending them. That was the only way to get a thick and buttery spread consistency. I used some of the leftover juices for flavoring. After draining them that yielded about 28 oz of butter total, which was a little less then your 4 pints. If you have a tip on how to make it thicker while in the crockpot please let me know! Thank you for sharing.
Did you cook it for the full 12 hours? The 1st time I did it I only did it for 10 hours b/c I missed the continued directions to add 2 more hours after adding the vanilla. That 1st time it was watery like yours the 2nd time when I added two more hours it was perfect!
So happy to hear you enjoyed the apple butter, Anna! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
I’m not a baker and added to much sugar. It is pretty sweet and I added more cinnamon. You think it will be ok?
Alison-
It’s really up to you if you as to if you think it is too sweet or not. Hopefully it turns out for you!
-Jamie
How can I can these to last longer than 3 weeks
Hello! I haven’t attempted canning this recipe, so I am not sure of the result. A number of other folks here in the comments have canned this, though, so you may check some of their methods. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.
-Jamie
I used your recipe for my Christmas gifts this year. I did can them and it came out beautifully. I also used 3 different apples as you suggested. I used Fuji, red delicious, and gala. Thanks for posting.
Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment, Sue! Happy holidays to you and yours!
-Jamie
I accidentally added the vanilla to the sugar mixture instead of waiting. Do you think it will still turn out ok?
I think it will be just fine, Valerie! Thanks so much for stopping by!
-Jamie
I did the same thing! Can you tell me how yours turned out adding the vanilla in the beginning?