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.
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
- 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
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!
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.
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.).
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
The Best Apple Butter Recipe (No Peeling!)
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)
Recommended Equipment
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.Storing
Store apple butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks or freeze for up to several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Related Recipes
This recipe was originally published in October of 2017, photos and recipe remain the same but text has been updated to be more helpful and I’ve added a how-to video!
Gail
Can you freeze the apple butter?
Sam
Hi Gail! I haven’t personally frozen it, but I don’t foresee any issues in doing so. 🙂
David
I’m planning on trying out this recipe this weekend. Just one question, though. Even though it’s not necessary, is it alright to peel the apples? I don’t have the best immersion (or normal) blender and the other comment about the peels not blending well has me concerned.
Sam
Hi David! You can peel the apples if you’d like. 🙂
Lauren
Just curious how you eat this. I’d love to try it but I don’t know what to eat it with
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Lauren! We actually talk about this in the FAQ section of the post 🙂
Trixter12
Once you try apple butter you will find a million different uses for it .
I love it in place of jelly with peanut butter, hot biscuits with butter , toast , pound cake toasted or plain, in plain yogurt…. try it you’ll be hooked!
Gyvonne
Made it today for an event and will be making more tomorrow to fill more mini jars! Will the recipe work if I double the recipe on the crockpot?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Gyvonne! We haven’t tried doubling it ourselves, but others have done so successfully. Enjoy!
Darshana
Hi. I donot have a slow cooker . So what is the alrernative for making apple butter? Thanks
Sam
Hi Darshana! Unfortunately I don’t have a great alternative for you with this recipe. 🙁
Patricia P Mapley
I started to make this Apple Butter at 9 am this morning and just finished ladling into jars. (10:30 pm) I put the apple butter through my “ancient” Foley food mill after 10 hours. Then back in the crock pot ~ adding the vanilla and cooked on low uncovered for 2.5 more hours. I got 6 half pints and 2 pints. My husband taste tested it and declared that it is delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum, we wish we had some right now too! Thanks for trying our recipe and leaving a review, Patricia 😊
Vicky
Hi, I’m excited to try your apple butter recipe! Can I use a food processor to purée the cooked apples instead of an immersion blender, or would this make the apples too thin? I have both appliances but it just seems a lot easier to do in a food processor.
Sam
Hi Vicky! The food processor will work here. 🙂
Scott
Can’t wait to try this …
I have an oval 7 qt. slow cooker, do you think I could double this recipe, or should I just go the two batch route?
Thank you!
Sam
Hi Scott! The apples do take up a good bit of space so I’d be concerned it wouldn’t all fit. It may be safer to just make 2 different batches.
Tracy
Making this for the second time! Easy and delicious. The perfect addition to my morning oatmeal. 🙂
Stacy B
Just letting you know that I used Granny smith apples (before reading NOT to!), and it turned out amazingly well! This time of year my local store has them on a big sale so I am able to make a whole big batch of butter for super cheap. Today I have a mix of Modi and granny smith, and i’m expecting the same great results!
Sam
Thank you for the feedback. Stacy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
April
This is the second season I’m making this recipe. Outstanding! Thank you so much for sharing.
Stanley Robinson
I followed your steps except I forgot to uncover on the last 2 hours. Not sure what to do next. Help! I was so excited to get this prepared.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Stanley! As long as your apple butter has reached the right consistency, you should be fine. Otherwise, you may just need to cook it a little longer to help it thicken up. Enjoy! 🙂
Aubree Rickerson
I am cutting at my Golden Delicious apples right now. I saw that the apple butter is good for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Do you happen to know if I go through the canning process with this are there any negative effects? Would love to be able to make this last even longer.
Sam
Hi Aubree! I haven’t tried canning it but I know others have done so without any issues. 🙂
Marcy Cook
How do you fix applebutter that’s too tart? I used Granny Smith apples but no apple cider vinegar.
Sam
Hi Marcy! Unfortunately I don’t recommend using granny smith apples for exactly this reason. 🙁
Kasey Lynch
Can you make this in an instant pot??? What would the cooking changes be?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Kasey! We haven’t tried it in an instant pot so we’re not sure how it would go or how exactly to do it. If you do try it, we would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Tonya
I accidentally added the vanilla along with the sugar. Will it change the taste or ruin this batch?
Sam
Hi Tonya! It won’t ruin it, but the flavor could cook off. Just taste test after pureeing and add more if needed. 🙂
Alexandra
Hello! Thanks for sharing this yummy sounding recipe! Does this recipe scale well? Can I make a half batch?
Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Definitely! Enjoy 😊
Teresa
Great taste and texture. My go to recipe for apple butter.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love hearing that, Teresa! Enjoy the apple butter ❤️
Lexi
I followed this recipe to a T, I did everything exactly as listed, but no matter how much I mix, the peels won’t blend. It’s very stringy. How can I fix this? They didn’t dissolve.
Sam
Hi Lexi! This is frustrating, I’m sorry to hear it! The apples were cooked for 10 hours and the peels still are not blending with an immersion blender? I’ve never had this happen 🙁