Apple Butter Recipe
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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.
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)
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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!
Can you water bath this recipe? Since I’m making jelly today anyway I wanted to try.
Hi Joshua! I have not personally canned this recipe, but others have reported doing so with success. 🙂
How long does this stay good in the refrigerator??
Hi Kara! At least a week.
My second year using this recipe. Easy and yummy. We just used the last jar at Thanksgiving, and everyone wants fresh jars for Christmas. I make three batches of it. Don’t throw away the apple cores, as you can use those to make apple cider vinegar. Very easy to make apple cider vinegar, tons of recipes on the internet. Waste not, want not!
hi ♡ i don’t have a slow cookernat the moment. can i make this in my dutch oven on the stove by chance?
thanks 🙂
I haven’t tried making it on the stove top so I can’t say for sure how that would work.
Awe that’s ok. i found instructions to make some on the stove. going to use my dutch oven but using your recipe. I’m sure it’ll be wonderful. All your recipes are amazing! Will let u know how it turns out! Thanks so much! Merry Christmas 🎄✝️🙏
I love this apple butter it was so tasty I thank you for this recipe
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Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Billy!
Good afternoon! I have a question. How many apples is 5.5 lbs?
Hi Aleah! It really depends on the size of your apples. The produce department at your grocery store should have a scale if you don’t have a kitchen scale at home.
Great recipe! Even better than the apple butter from a jar I loved as a kid. I didn’t have all the separate spices so I just used 1 TBS of pumpkin pie spice and it turned out so good. I froze 2 small jars (in old Talenti ice cream containers) and have taken one to share with family on 2 separate trips now. They really liked it. Was defrosted by the time I arrived at my destination and the consistency was still buttery. Highly recommend storing it in a plastic bag in your carry on just in case some comes out due to the pressure in the plane.
Will placing the applebutter in jars require water bath canning? I made a batch earlier this year and placed the jars in the refrigerator even though the lids “pinged sealed” on my counter. Will the applebutter be safe in the jars if they are not refrigeratorated? Thanks!!
Hi Dot! I am not familiar with the ins and outs of canning so I can’t really advise on it. I advise keeping it refrigerated right away. It stays good in the refrigerator for several weeks. You can also freeze it. 🙂
Hello Sam,
My daughter-in-law Elizabeth found your recipe. We used Fuji apples from a hurricane devastated area orchards you may remember in the news near Asheville, NC. A friend went twice to bring back carloads of apples purchased by grinds and others to help the orchard owners there. We’ve made loads of apple butter with your spice mix. I’m using half pints as favors for the Thanksgiving meal for more than 20 expected. We did peel the apples with a peeler she used when making baby food years ago— youngest is 10. It still works. Several jars have been given away to friends and family, and all of them loved it. Thank you for your diligence in getting the right combo of spices which we can tweak to meet our tastes if we choose to. Keep up the fine creations! Happy Thanksgiving and have a most Blessed Christmasd
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lela! I love the idea of supporting farmers in need. 🙂
Can I use Rome Apples to make this recipe?
It appears that a rome apple is a more firm slightly tart apple? I prefer the apples to be softer and sweeter but your Rome apples will still work. 🙂
Can this be canned? How much does it make? Thank you!
Hi Jeanette! I am not familiar with the canning process, but others have done so with success. It will make 3 pints of apple butter. 🙂
Thanks! I’m going to give it a try.
I did water bath can this, and it made 6 half-pint jars. It turned out perfect.
Sam- this is THE BEST recipe for apple butter ever! It’s smooth and creamy and the flavor is amazing. It will be my go to from now on. Thank you!
Thanks Mandy. Hoping to can for Christmas gifts.
Hi Jeanette,
As I’m new to the canning process.. I’ve been reading that you need to be careful about using tested recipes specifically for canning in order to avoid bochelation. Just curious if you know anything about that – it looks like other canned apple butter recipes have things like lemon juice added or something else. Any thoughts? Just don’t want to make a major mistake and can something I’m not supposed to can.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! I have been looking for a good Apple butter recipe for years, and I finally found the one I am writing down in my recipe collection! FYI, because we had already made and canned the applesauce, I used that, made from our home grown (ancient) transparent apple tree. For my purposes, I used 4 quarts apple sauce to your sugar/spice combo, slow cooked for 8 hours then put in the oven on 175 degrees stirring occasionally, until it reached the consistency I desired. Our apples are very juicy, so I found I had to do this extra step. But very well worth it, I’m starting my third batch in the crockpot right now:)
perfect recipe! I’m so glad I didn’t have to peel the apples like my mom used to!
Can you cook this on high
instead of low – for lesser time & then low for the two hours to thicken it?
Hi Lisa! I’m not sure how it would turn out.
Make sure you remove the lid for the two hours after blending it, or it does NOT thicken up 🙁
can honey crisp apples be used
Hi Christie! Honey crisp apples will work. 🙂
This is my 3rd year making this apple butter recipe. It is so, SO delicious!! Thank you Sam!
I almost don’t want to share this because when reviewing a recipe, one should follow the recipe without changes for accuracy. Eek, that’s not the case here. My very favorite sweet things are fruity, tart, and sweet.. like chocolate and raspberries. Thus, even the first time I made this, I strayed from the recipe, using half Granny Smith apples (which Sam specifically advises against). I trust Sam and didn’t make this change without thought and research… So, anyone like me who might want to use Granny Smith but fears straying from the recipe, please know that the OG internet chef, Chef John, has a very similar recipe, using the same method (leaving skins on) but uses strictly Granny Smith apples. That is how I knew I could move ahead.
Anyhow, we love this recipe with 1/2, 2/3, or even 100% Granny Smith apples. This year, I’m doing 4 pounds of Granny Smith and 1 1/2 pounds Gala and Pink Lady apples. I also add nutmeg.
Apologies for all the changes! I just want others to know that this recipe can be adapted to suit their taste while following the specified method, and still have fabulous results.
Sam, if you would be so kind, can you explain what happened in testing that caused you to specifically recommend against tart firm apples? I’m just curious as we’ve loved your apple butter with these kinds of apples. Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Melissa! I personally don’t enjoy the taste with firm tart apples which is why I advise against it.
Thank you so much for posting this. Because I have granny smith apples from my backyard, that I would like to use for this recipe. ❤️