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!
Pam
Hi! Should I use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar? If either works, which did you use?
Sam
Either works! I use light brown most of the time 🙂
Dawn
Sam, I had a question about the weight of the apples. Would the 5.5 lbs be before coring or should I weigh the cut apples after I core them? I was also wandering that that last year when I made this and thought I should just ask.
Thanks again for the site, I love it!
Dawn
Sam
Hi Dawn! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the apple butter. You will want to weigh your apples before coring and chopping. 🙂
Michelle
Wonderful recipe!
I make a double batch for canning and gifting.
Leaving the apple cores lay on top during the 10 hours of cooking provides natural pectin.
Remove the cores before blending.
Place in canning jars and complete with a water bath.
Sierra
hi! I’m hoping to make this recipe to put in jars and gift to people for Christmas. Christmas is still a month away but I have a lot of apples right now. If I freeze this in jars will the quality remain once it’s thawed around Christmas? I don’t want to gift it afterwards if it won’t be comparable to fresh. thank youA
Sam
Hi Sierra! This apple butter should hold up just fine to being frozen. 🙂
Wendy Martin-glick
I made this recipe today. So good! I had it going in the crockpot last night and finished it this morning. It’s flavorful and smooth and delicious. Thanks so much.
SH
Not replying to Wendy(?) but don’t know how to comment otherwise
TO THE AUTHOR : perhaps I speak only for myself and I know i do NOT like reading a short story whilst standing in the produce department at the grocery amongst upwards of 12 varietals (small selection for state of WA btw) hoping to quickly get my answer to ‘which??’’; once home I’ll more patiently read through your waxing poetic about….. wait! Who cares??
Sam
Hi Sue. There’s no story, no waxing poetic in this blog post, so I’m not exactly sure what you’re even talking about. The blog post supplements the recipe and focuses 100% on… apple butter! It’s meant to be helpful, and fortunately many people find it to be so.
My recipes all also feature a prominent “Jump to Recipe” button at the very top of the blog post (hard to miss, it’s bright blue!) which takes you directly to the recipe card and includes, in that recipe card, details on varietals. How helpful and direct!
Your comment (and the mindset behind it) is honestly discouraging to see in that it’s quite entitled to think I should be catering all of the content (that I provide for free — scrolling past a little poetical waxing would be a small price to pay compared to a cookbook, imagine lugging that out at the grocery store) to your specific situation and convenience. I also find it ironic you included your own short story in this comment, it’s almost as if context and detail is helpful when making a point, huh? Anyway, have a great day!
Wendy Martin-Glick
Please don’t hijack my complimentary post to complain. Plan ahead and learn how to use these recipe sites. Almost all have a “jump to recipe” button. Some of us enjoy hearing more from the author.
Dawn
SH
Your comments were totally uncalled for. If you don’t care for the content in this site, then close your mouth and move on. There are plenty other websites for you to visit. Your complaints put you in a light of having some sort of personal issues.( You might want to consider that before putting yourself out there) There’s no need to be nasty to some one who is willing to make this site and share their recipes. Personally, I’m very thankful that people are willing to create these sites so that I don’t have to sit down with numerous cookbooks. Which was the only way available before these kinds of sites were created. I choose what to read and what to skip, but I will not be so rude as to complain, because I feel that something doesn’t cater to my personal needs. If that’s the case, then those who are unhappy, with the content, should create their own website. Then they can design it exactly as they want it. Although, there will always be rude and negative people who will criticize what they are to lazy to do themselves. Sadly it seems to be the way of the world these days. No one wants to hear your whining, just go somewhere else.
** On a side note, I made this recipe last Christmas and everyone LOVED the apple butter. I reduced the sugar some, simply trying to have less sugar in my diet. It was still wonderful. Thank you Sam, I love your website <3
Sam
Thank you so much, Dawn! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Brittany Ogden
Hi I might of missed it but how much apple butter does this make? For instance I want to fill up 16 oz jars.
Thank you in advance
Sam
Hi Brittany! This recipe makes 3 pints 🙂
Grace Lathrop
Hello,
I have a slow cooker and an InstaPot…I’m still deciding which to use. So I rewatched your video…And you show a white oval slow cooker bowl then a black round bowl? Did you transfer the cooked mixture from the larger bowl to the smaller bowl to blend then reduce the moisture of the mixture? Thanks, Gracie
Sam
Hi Gracie! They are the same size bowls. The only reason that I show two different bowls is so that I could film it all right away instead of actually cooking the apple butter for all that time, that would make for a long day. I started the one much earlier in the day. 🙂
Pete
Hi Grace,
I’ve made this recipe several times; the first time I used a Crock Pot and an Instant Pot (my Crock Pot was smaller than 6 qts so had too many apples to fit). I found the Crock Pot cooked the apples better than the Instant Pot. The color was deeper and the flavor richer. I only use my Crock Pot when I make it now. Good luck!
Amber
Don’t use an instant pot. You need moisture to be able to evaporate & slow heat to carmelize at the same time, in concert.
Instant pots are good for braising & wet recipes that don’t need evaporation, or that can tolerate all or most of the moisture left in the recipe, and apple butter isn’t like that.
I know- it says it can slow cook, but the lid .& seals simply don’t allow enough air and evaporation. You want the water and heat to flow through it, not get trapped in it, if that makes sense. It’s a great recipe too!
Caroline
THIS IS SO GOOD!!!
My husband and I love the apple butter at Cracker Barrel and I wanted to try to recreate it and this was even better!
I cut the recipe in half because I have a really small crockpot. I cooked for like 6 hours, puréed it, cooked for another about 2 hours until it started to thicken up and it’s perfect. Thank you thank you for this recipe!
Kyle
It tastes delicious but it’s not solid at all. More like a bbq sauce consistency, what am I missing?
Sam
Hi Kyle! It sounds like it turned out exactly like it was supposed to, apple butter isn’t solid and does have something of a BBQ sauce consistency. You can cook it longer uncovered to thicken it more but it should not be solid. If it’s helpful, take a peek at the video to see how the consistency looks 🙂
lala
I made this in the instant pot. 1 hour pressure cook. Blend with immersion blender. Then slow cook to desired consistency. I did about 5 hours slow cooking. It was perfect for me.
Cathy
Thanks for this tip! I want to make this today, but will be at work a few more hours.
Elissa F.
I have made this three times now, I didn’t change anything the first time, and I and everyone who tried, am very happy that I didn’t lol
It is absolutely delicious!! Thank you for sharing!!
Emma
Can I cook it on high for 5 hours?
Sam
Potentially, but I honestly haven’t tried it. If you do would you let me know how it goes?
Edward Luce
I made this October 3rd and finished the 2 quarts it made just 3 minutes ago. 1 month and 2 weeks in the fridge. Easy and delicious
Mercedes
OH MY GOODNESS is this yummy. I had lots of apples and didn’t know what to do with them. I’m soo glad I found this recipe. I made 2 batches in my instant pot. thank you to those who left the comments on how to make it in the instant pot. only thing I did differently with regards to ingredients is swapped the measurements for the sugars as I didn’t have quite enough brown sugar for 2 batches. and swapped clove for a tiny bit of nutmeg as I don’t like clove. yummy yummy!! can’t wait to share with my loved ones.
Cheryl
can this be canned
Mariel
I had tons of apples I didn’t want to throw away, so I made apple butter. Thanks for an easy and delicious recipe!
Megan
Can this recipe be canned
Sam
Hi Megan! Yes it will work for canning, but I don’t have much experience with canning so I can’t say for sure how to do it. 🙂
Cheryl
My mom used to can some apple butter as she was making applesauce. I see no reason why you couldn’t use this recipe, but you would have to have your hot, sterilized jars and lids ready and the water in a hot water canned boiling. You would want the apple butter to be heated to a good simmer and then load the jars. We processed it the same as applesauce in a hot water canner with water that came over the tops. Once the jars were put into the canner, we waited until the water in the canner was boiling again and then we processed for 20 minutes and then turned off the heat. After about ten minutes we removed the jars to a towel and let them sit overnight before checking the seals and removing the bands. You may know all of this, but just chiming in.
Dawn E Marsh
This was a great way to use a lot of my apples. I used honeycrisp and fuji, because that is what I had off of my trees. After I blended it, and returned it to the crockpot for the final 2 hours, there was no chunky pieces. The taste was really good. I highly recommend this recipe.
Pamela A
I was inspired to search for a cheaper way to enjoy the only “bread spread” that I use. I found this recipe but chose to use my Instapot. Prior to making it I did reply to one of the commenters about the peels in the mix when not peeling the apples in advance. Sam was kind enough to respond and said that leaving the peels on would not interfere with the recipe. I started out by peeling about 3 apples and decided to trust Sam’s opinion given she had a high rating with the recipe and just cored and cut the apples. I decided to use my Instapot. Following another person’s time recommendations of 20 minutes on the Instapot and a natural release and then using an immersion blender, the texture was great except it was just a “little” watery so as per their instructions, I used the sauté function for another 30 minutes and it turned out perfect. There is no evidence of peels in the mixture and I think the other commenter may not have blended their recipe well. I want to thank Sam for reassuring me about the process and I can now enjoy my new recipe. The only adjustment I would make is reduce the amount of ground clove (personal preference) but other than that…It’s perfect!
DesertJayne
Just curious if the apples caramelized the same in the IP as opposed to crockpot?
Pamela ALLEN
Yes. After the cooking process in the Instapot I just used an immersion blende a few times to give it the texture and coloring of store bought apple butter. Once I did the immersion, I had to use the sauté feature to cook down some of the extra liquid through the immersion process for about 20-30 minutes but it came out perfect. What I truly liked is I didn’t have to peel the apples. It’s a great recipe.
Cindy
Thanks for sharing your experience, it was very helpful and answered all the questions running through my head, lol. I am anxious to try this in my instapot.
Flora C
Did you add any liquid when you put it in the instant pot? I would be afraid the sugars would burn if you didn’t add some sort of liquid??? Want to make this tonight but trying to verify 🙂 Thank you
Pamela A
Yes. I added 1 cup but that was a little too much, I would venture to about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup because the apples produces a lot of water in the cooking process. It is a trial and error thing for me but I was able use the sauté function to cook off some of the excess or you could use cornstarch to thicken if too watery just make sure you make a slurry for the cornstarch if used and stir that well before putting it in the apple butter.
Amber
This was great! I omitted the vanilla because it was delicious without it. I had some leftover apple slices from a party, so I threw those in along with other chopped apples. Slices, chunks, whatever! Apple butter is super forgiving, and usually best when made with a variety of apples, both sweet and tart. Thanks for the great recipe!