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!
Andrew Sharpe
I have a very small crock pot (1qt). What can I do with this recipe to make it work? Divide everything by 6? 🙂
Sam
Hi Andrew! That could work. I’m not sure how long it would take to cook though. Enjoy! 🙂
Andrew Sharpe
Well, I tried this, and it worked pretty well for a stab. I basically started with a .27 ratio from yours. Thanks for a pretty fool-proof recipe; it worked for a fool like me!
6 4oz apples (24 oz — 1.5 lbs)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
Dash of salt
cook for 3 hours in 1 qt crock pot covered (10 min on high, then low for the rest of the time)
Puree
cook another 2 hours uncovered
Mellissa Bisson
I have tried other apple butter recipes and so far this is the best one for me. I skipped the vanilla extract by accident and yet the apple butter turned out extremely delicious I will most definitely be making this again!
Jess Até
I’m very excited to try this recipe! I do have one question, what does happen if you use Granny Smith apples????
Sam
I hope you love it! Granny smith apples will just make the apple butter more tart. 🙂
Sharon
This is the first time I made apple butter. I didn’t have cloves (or I thought) so I put in some cinnamon and cardamom. I’ll absolutely make this again. Next I’ll do it with the clove but I have a feeling I’ll be doing both versions.
Rachel
Do you have any ideas on how to adapt this recipe for crabapples?
Sam
Hi Rachel! Unfortunately I do not. 🙁
Kelly
I inherited a crabapple tree where I live for the past 12 years. My mother-in-law loves apple butter. Every year I make her a batch made from these crabapples and it is delicious! I’m cooking a batch right now to take to her tomorrow. Tastes just like regular apple butter. I follow the recipe just use a crabapples!
Barry
Sam, Thank you, thank you, thank you! Not peeling the apples is great. Such a time saver and you can’t tell at all. This recipe is easy and the house smells amazing. The apple butter is nice and thick and tastes great. I went out and bought another crock pot and an immersion blender and we do double batches overnight. We can most and give some to friends and family. Thanks!
Seth Gillihan
This turned out amazing! I think it was my first time making apple butter. I started to use a recipe that called for peeling the apples, and then I thought, This doesn’t make sense, and it’s such a pain. So I found this recipe and it was perfect. I added a little bit of allspice and nutmeg. Thank you for this!
Shawna
Will be using this recipe again and again! So easy and a wonderful way to use the great abundance from our apple tree. We have semi-sweet apples, more tart than the recipe recommends, but it still turned out wonderfully. Thanks so much!
Cecily
Started this morning to use in an NYT recipe for grilled cheese/apple butter sandwiches tomorrow. My house smells AMAZING!! Thank you for this recipe, I always appreciate being able to use my slow cooker.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh wow, that sounds divine Cecily! Thanks for using our recipe. Enjoy that grilled cheese! 😋
Dawn Hobbie Lewis
I am planning on making this recipe tomorrow, it sounds delicious!! My question is what happens to the peels if left on? Are they completely emulsified or are there pieces in the butter? Thanks!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Dawn! If the apple butter is cooked properly, the peels will completely break down in the finished product. Hope that helps!
Kieley
Hi Sam!
Love your recipes!
I got a 3 lb. bag of Fuji – do you have a guess how long these should Cook in slow cooker for? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Kieley! Honestly I’m not sure exactly how long you’d need to cook it for. The cook time could probably be reduced a little bit, but it wouldn’t be a significant amount of time.
Vannessa
Can this be done on the stove?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Vanessa! It will take a very long time on the stove 🙁
Lenora
How do you thicken it? It is very watery
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! 🙁 We’ve never had this happen, we can’t say for sure what could be causing the watery texture. Try continuing to cook it to help it thicken up a bit and let us know how it goes.
Ulla R Fischer
You are so right this apple butter is the real deal so so yummie thanks and its so easy ..
Roy McCombs
Just finished my first batch – skipped vanilla and cut out 1/2 cup granulated sugar… tastes just like my aunt’s canned apple butter when I was a kid – delicious; will definitely be making this again and again. Next stop – pumpkin butter!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy our recipe brought back some sweet memories for you, Roy! Pumpkin butter sounds like a delicious option too ☺️
Michelle
Hi..I was wondering if this can be jarred for long term storage…
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Michelle! Yes it can. We don’t have experience with canning, but we do provide a helpful link in the FAQ section of the post 😊