4.95 from 494 votes

Apple Butter Recipe

Name: The Best Apple Butter Recipe (No Peeling!)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 720 min
Total time: 735 min
Ingredients: 5.5 lbs soft, sweet apples (see note 1) (Cored and chopped into small pieces, about ¼"); 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed); ¾ cup granulated sugar; 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon salt; ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves; 1 vanilla bean ((may substitute 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract))

By Sam MerrittPublished Sep 23, 2022

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1,302 Comments

Servings: 3 pints

12 hrs 15 mins

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My super easy Apple Butter recipe is perfectly spiced with rich fall flavors. It takes just 10 minutes to prep with NO peeling required! Recipe includes a how-to video.

Rich brown apple butter recipe in a glass jar tied with twine

All the Best Flavors of Fall in a Jar

Apple butter is the richer, prettier, and perhaps more sophisticated sister to plain-Jane applesauce. It’s truly the embodiment of fall, with colorful crisp apples cooked down and caramelized in spices, brown sugar and vanilla. It tastes great on just about anything, but we love it spread over an English muffin or warm scone (heavenly!).

My favorite thing about this apple butter recipe is that there is NO peeling required! I’ve tested this recipe with peeled and unpeeled apples, and I didn’t notice a difference between the two. When cooked for as long as my recipe calls for, the peels break down completely and are not perceptible in the finished product. Save yourself the time and skip the peeling!

Why you’ll love this recipe:

Easy: only 10 minutes of prep before the slow cooker takes over.
Perfectly flavored: the apples are the true star, with just enough sugar and spices added to accent them and make a warm, cozy fall flavor.
Plentiful: this recipe makes a lot (3 pints!), so you’ll have some to share or gift (if you’re the generous type).
No peeling: saves you SO much time and effort.

What You Need

To achieve a silky smooth and flavorful spread, you’ll need to slow cook just a few simple ingredients:

Apples. What I love about my apple butter recipe is that there is no peeling needed! Just core and dice your apples into small, even pieces. Do not use a firm, tart apple like Granny Smith; stick with softer, sweeter apples like Golden Delicious (my favorite all-around apple for most recipes, like my apple turnovers!), Fuji, Gala, or McIntosh. A combination of apples works too!
Sugar. A combination of brown and white sugar provides depth of flavor and helps the apples to break down and caramelize, giving the final product a fantastically rich fall flavor. Don’t forget, if you don’t have any on hand just follow my tutorial on how to make brown sugar!
Spices. Lots of ground cinnamon and a pinch of cloves elevate the flavor of the apples by providing warmth and richness.
Vanilla. A subtle hint of vanilla rounds out all of warm flavors. I recommend using a vanilla bean if you have one, but otherwise regular vanilla extract will work.

SAM’S TIP: The hardest thing about this recipe is waiting for it to be done. To mitigate this, I often like to prep everything before going to bed and let it cook while I sleep, but please always check your own slow cooker’s safety guide before leaving it unattended.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Apple Butter

Chopped apples and spices in crock pot bowl

Core and chop (don’t peel!) your apples and place them in the basin of a slow cooker.
Mix together spices and sugars. Sprinkle these over the apples and toss to combine.
Cook apple mixture on low heat for 10 hours.
Puree apples. I like to use an immersion blender (I linked to the one I use, affiliate), but you can use a regular one instead.
Remove the lid and cook for another 2 hours or until the consistency has thickened to your liking.

SAM’S TIP: The additional two hours of cooking might seem like a pain, but it’s important and worth it to get the proper consistency. If you want an even thicker butter, you can continue to cook yours even longer; but I’ve found the two hours to be plenty (and keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools!).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is apple butter used for?

Typically it is used as a topping for biscuits or bread, but it’s also delicious on oatmeal, pancakes, my favorite waffle recipe, crepes, etc. Some people even serve it with scrapple, or you can take my dad’s approach and enjoy it by the spoonful!

What is the difference between applesauce and apple butter?

Apple butter is typically sweeter, richer, and thicker (more of a buttery/spreadable consistency). It’s often much darker in color than applesauce, largely because of the added ingredients (in this instance, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, etc) and the caramelization that occurs from the longer cook time.

Does apple butter need to be refrigerated?

Yes it does. If you’d like to try canning yours, that’s a great option for extending its shelf life outside of the fridge (I don’t have experience canning, so I can’t offer any advice there, but here is a guide on canning I found that should be helpful.).

Why is it called apple butter?

Apple butter gets its name from its butter-like consistency, there’s no actual butter in it. If you’re looking for a flavored butter, try my honey butter instead

Looking for more? Here are some of my favorite fall recipes.

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

4.95 from 494 votes

The Best Apple Butter Recipe (No Peeling!)

With its perfectly spiced, rich apple flavor and no peeling required, you'll be spreading this Apple Butter on everything from scones to scrapple. My recipe is incredibly easy thanks to the help of a slow cooker. Be sure to check out the how-to video!

Prep: 15

Cook: 12

Total: 12 15

Servings: pints

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Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) soft, sweet apples (see note 1), Cored and chopped into small pieces, about ¼"
▢ 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, firmly packed
▢ ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
▢ 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
▢ 1 vanilla bean, (may substitute 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract)

Instructions

Slice apples into small pieces (about ¼") and dispose of cores (you do not need to peel the apples).
5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) soft, sweet apples (see note 1)
Place apples in the basin of large slow cooker
In a medium-sized bowl stir together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cloves until well-combined.
1 cup (200 g) brown sugar, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Pour sugar mixture over apple pieces and stir until well combined.
Place lid on crockpot and cook on low heat for 10 hours.
Once 10 hours has elapsed, use an immersion blender to puree apples until smooth and no chunks remain (see note 2 if you do not have an immersion blender).
Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into your apple puree (or add vanilla extract).
1 vanilla bean
Turn crockpot on to low heat and cook another 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container, where it will keep about 2 weeks.

Notes

1. Apples

I recommend using Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Fuji, or Gala. Don’t use Granny Smith; they are too tart and firm for this recipe. Weigh your apples before coring and chopping. Do not peel them! For me this was about 13 apples but this could vary wildly depending on the size of your apples.

2. Pureeing

If you do not have an immersion blender, pour the apples into a blender and puree until smooth, then return to crockpot. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your blender.