Easy homemade Apple Butter! This simple recipe is made in a slow cooker and requires only minutes of prep time. Thanks to the slow cooker, you can set yours up before you go to bed, let it cook overnight, and enjoy fresh apple butter in the morning.
Recipe includes a brief how-to video at the bottom of the post!
We went apple picking last weekend and I have so many apple recipes coming up for you, but I’m especially excited to share today’s apple butter recipe.
Have you ever had apple butter before? It’s very similar to applesauce — in fact it essentially is applesauce, only cooked longer. It has a rich golden brown color that comes from the caramelization of the sugars in the apples during the extended cooking time. There’s no actual butter in apple butter, it’s just a nice smooth spread that tastes just as good on toast, muffins, or pancakes as butter does.
We like eating ours on English muffins and scones, and some of my family members even just like dipping apple slices directly into apple butter and enjoying it that way!
Apple butter is really truly easy to make, but it takes a long time to cook… 12 hours total, in fact.
Thanks to the slow cooker, you can set everything up before you go to sleep and allow it to cook overnight, which is what I like to do. I put mine in the crockpot before I went to bed and in the morning not only did my house smell amazing, but I had fresh apple butter for my breakfast.
The first time I made this recipe I peeled all of the skins off my apples. However, traditional apple butter is made with the skins and cores intact. I couldn’t leave the cores in for this slow cooker version, but I tried making this both with and without the skin and found that it didn’t make a difference at all. Save yourself a lot of effort and leave the peels — after 12 hours in the crockpot and a bout with the blender, you won’t be able to even tell.
What are the Best Apples for Apple Butter?
While Granny Smith apples are a standard baking apple (and I love using them in Apple Crisp), I don’t recommend using them for making apple butter as they are too firm and too tart.
Instead, choose a softer and less tart apple. Here are a few popular choices, and you can even mix several varieties of apples if you’d like.
- Golden Delicious (these are my favorite to use and are pictured here!)
- Fuji
- Gala
- McIntosh
How Do You Make Homemade Apple Butter?
- Core and chop (don’t peel!) your apples and place them in the basin of a slow cooker.
- Toss with sugar and spices
- Cook 10 hours on low heat
- Puree (I like to use an immersion blender (this is mine, affiliate) but you can use a regular blender instead if you don’t have the immersion type.
- Cook the apple butter another 2 hours without the lid on your slow cooker.
These last two hours are important. You’ll add your vanilla at the end here and cook until it reaches the appropriate thickness.
If the apple butter is still too thin for your liking you can cook it longer to thicken it. I’ve never needed to cook mine longer than the additional 2 hours, and keep in mind that apple butter will thicken as it cools.
Enjoy!
Scroll to the bottom of the recipe to see my video, complete with lots of tips! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and be the first to see all of my cooking videos!
Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 5.5 lbs Golden Delicious Apples* Cored and chopped into small pieces, about 1/4"* (2.5kg)
- 1 cup brown sugar tightly packed (200g)
- 3/4 cup sugar (150g)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Slice apples into small pieces (about 1/4") and dispose of cores.
- 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.
- Pour sugar mixture over apple pieces and stir until well combined.
- Cook covered in crockpot over low heat for 10 hours.
- Once 10 hours has elapsed, either use an immersion blender** to puree apples until smooth and no chunks remain.
- Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into your apple puree (or add vanilla extract).
- Turn crockpot on to low heat and cook another 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- Store apple butter in the refrigerator in an airtight container, will keep about 2 weeks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published 10/02/2017, photos and recipe remain the same but text has been updated to be more helpful and include more tips on 10/12/2018
Megan Hutchinson says
I made this last week and I love it! Not sure about the 2-3 week storage, ‘cuz mine won’t last that long! So easy and so delicious! My house smelled like a designer candle all day?
Sugar Spun Run says
A designer candle…. BEST description to date. I love it, Megan! I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you so much for commenting. 🙂
enna says
Arrived at your site out of curiosity about making things with apples. Nice post; however, one must never, ever, tell folks to leave an electrical appliance on, in operation, unattended (especially one that generates heat), and go to bed.
There are so many things that can go wrong here….and I’ve seen them!
Think overheating, other appliances (heater) running concurrently and overloading the circuits, children, older folks with dementia, Alzheimer’s and a myriad others.
Don’t mean to put a damper on the apple butter party, but this is indeed the ugly reality of it!
Sam says
Good point, Enna, I will make sure to add a note!
Tonya says
Can u make these in an instant pot? If so, how long would I pressure cook them for?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Tonya! I have not yet tried making this in an instant pot. If you try it, I’d love to know how it worked for you. 🙂
Michelle says
Can you use Macintosh apples?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Michelle! Yes, that will be fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Michelle Roberts says
Worked great with the Mac’s! Thank you! Going to slather some on scones in the a.m.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that it worked well. I hope that you enjoy it with your scones in the morning, Michelle! Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Bri E says
Hi! It sounds delicious and I’d like to try it on some roasted veggies for dinner tonight. However it’s a little later in the day to start it up. Is there any way to cook the apples faster and a pressure cooker? Thanks so much, I can’t wait to try it.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Bri! I am sorry but I have yet to try it in a pressure cooker so I can’t get you any personal recommendations. I am sorry that I can not be of more help.
Adelia says
The recipe states the apple butter will keep two weeks in the refrigerator, but in your video you said several weeks? How long will this recipe, as shown in the video, poured into jars, keep in the refrigerator, please? Thank you so much!
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Adelia! In the refrigerator, it will stay good for about a 2-3 weeks (If you don’t eat it sooner). 🙂
Christine Mattingly says
Started this last night, and finished this morning.
Wow! Thank you for a great apple butter.
Will make again.
Sugar Spun Run says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Christine! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Richard says
Way better than store bought.
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Richard! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Lauren says
I forgot to take the lid off of my crock pot for the last two hours. Will this significantly mess up this batch? First time making it and I’m terrified all this work (and apples) will go to waste.
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Lauren! You should be fine. I hope that you enjoy the apple butter. 🙂
Gabe Hashman says
Just made this recipe spent all day waiting for it to cook in the crockpot now just have to sit and wait for to cool before I can have some most delicious apple butter I Can’t wait Thanks for this wonderful recipe
Sugar Spun Run says
You are welcome, Gabe! I hope that you are enjoying the amazing smell while you wait. 🙂
Wendi says
Can these be jarred? If so would I do a hot water bath to seal them?
Sugar Spun Run says
Hi, Wendi! I don’t have experience with canning so I can not provide any recommendations. I do know that others have canned this recipe with great success. I hope that you enjoy it! 🙂
Reta says
Yes I cold pack it for about 20 minutes
Alexandra says
Love this recipe. I live in Egypt but grew up in the USA, where I ate apple butter. There is no apple butter in Egypt, but I don’t care because this recipe is AMAZING. I have made it about five times already and everyone loves it – my children, my husband’s family and me. Thanks for a great recipe.
Sugar Spun Run says
That is wonderful, Alexandra! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Catherine Casterline says
This recipe has been a gift from God himself. All LOVED it: relatives, friends, and church members
I made several batches and each batch came out like a song you can sing straight from your heart
I even made a batch for myself. I canned batch from glass batch from glass jars that I made sure were cleaned from the dishwasher itself. PERFECTION FROM A DISHWASHER, CROCKPOT & BLENDER.
Sugar Spun Run says
Thank you so much, Catherine! I am so glad that all your friends and family enjoyed the apple butter. After all those batches, your house must have smelt amazing. I love it! Thanks again for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂