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!
Jennifer
Thank you so much for this gorgeous recipe. I flavor mine with Chinese Five-Spice instead of cinnamon, and the way the fennel and anise shine with the apple is just perfect. Canning this one up as hostess gifts for a couple parties on the calendar this fall!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much for your comment, Jennifer! I am so glad that you enjoyed the Apple Butter. 🙂
Emily
How long should the apple butter cool before refrigerating or freezing?
Sam
Hi Emily! You’ll want to let it cool completely at room temperature, how long that takes will depend on the container you have it in. If it stays in the crock pot it will probably take at least an hour or longer.
Denise
I am making my third batch and I water bath the 1/2 pint jars for 20 minutes to can for gifts and store for later. You can go to ball or google how to can jars of apple butter. Thanks for this simple yummy recipe. My husband loves how the house smells in the morning when I make a batch.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed the Apple Butter, Denise. It really is such a wonderful smell to wake up to. I hope that the people you gift the apple butter to enjoy it! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Emily
I used 2- 3 lb bags of apples which when chored was 5lbs. My 5qt crock pot is not big enough and will have to use 2 crock pots.
Sam
Hi Emily! I use a 6 quart crock pot. The recipe calls for 5 lbs before they are cored (see note). I hope that helps!
Lacey
Can I double this recipe?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Lacey! I personally have not done it, but others have and have had success. I hope that you enjoy the apple butter. 🙂
Florence Pero
Hi Sam, It’s 3 am right now and my home is just smelling fantastic. Turned my slow cooker on at midnight with all those yummy apples and spices. This is my second time making your apple butter recipe. First time … Awesome! I also can the apple butter. All recipes I have read , say to process for 10 minutes. I’m making it as Christmas presents. Due to a strict budget I used Gala apples. Thank you.
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Florence! I love the smell of apple butter and it such a nice gift to receive. I am so glad that you enjoy it! 🙂
Angela
Hi! I’m planning on making your recipe with some apples we just picked and I was wondering why you said traditionally the cores are left in, but it wasn’t okay to do that for this recipe? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Angela! This is a different technique, traditionally a crockpot isn’t used but a food mill is, which helps process the cores (but is a lot more work, at least in my opinion). That wouldn’t work here with the crockpot so we leave them out. I hope you love the apple butter!
Kerri Martin
With leaving the peak in do you see it or taste it when finished ?
Sam
You do not see or taste the peels. I Hope you love the apple butter, Kerri! 🙂
Lucie
Hello,
Thank you for that yummy recipe. Do you think I could skip the coring ? Or will it affect the taste?
Sam
I would not skip the coring for this recipe.
Libby
Hi Sam, you said that you would put a link to the inversion blender that you use but I can’t find it would you link it here or just tell me which one you have. I’m so excited to try this apple butter recipe tonight!
Libby
Kathy DeGreif
I had about 13 #s so adjusted the recipe and google said I could use my electric roaster so they e been in 12 hours and still are a little firm and not dark brown
What should I do
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Kathy! I am not familiar with roasting the apples. If they are firm and not brown, I would say that it would just need more time to bake. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Talina
Do you seal your jars?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Talina! No, I do not. I am not familiar with canning, so I have never sealed my jars. I know others have and have had success. I hope that you enjoy the apple butter! 🙂
Stephanie
Could this be frozen?
Sam
Yes this should freeze just fine. Enjoy! 🙂
Jennifer Grue
I am currently in process of making this Apple butter and the one question I do have is with the vanilla bean. You mention scraping the seeds into the Apple butter what you did not mention whether or not you need to get the seeds out at the end of 2 hours. I have not worked with vanilla bean before and want to make sure that I’m doing it correctly
Sam
Leave the seeds in (just remove the pod) 🙂 I hope you love the apple butter, Jennifer!
Lori
Have you ever canned with this recipe?
Kirsten
I am actually curious about this as well. I think I will just follow the canning process on another recipe, but use this recipe to make the actual apple butter.
Lil
Could you can this and keep it longer?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Lil! I am not familiar with canning, however, others have and have had success. I hope that you enjoy the apple butter! 🙂