This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy for additional information.
Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Fruit butters are an age old and easy way of preserving leftover fruits. Try this slow cooker apple butter recipe for a sweet, autumn spice filled treat! Spread some on a piece of toast, fresh bread, or anywhere else you’d use jam.
While you’re at it, why not make some Baked Apples or a Caramel Apple Pie? You can use the apple sauce from this recipe to slather onto a warm muffin, or to make some Apple Butter Pork Loin for dinner.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe to make, as long as you can be patient.
- Total Time: This recipe will take you approximately 12-13 hours from start to finish, so start it nice and early in the morning.
- Variations: Apple butter is a fairly simple recipe but you can adjust the spices according to your own personal tastes. You can try different types of apples, or even a few different types in one batch. You could also invest in a high-quality vanilla, like Mexican vanilla, which will amp up the flavour profile of the apple butter.
- Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a large slow cooker, a medium mixing bowl, a spoon, an immersion blender of regular blender, a paring knife, a vegetable peeler, and a cutting board. An apple corer/slicer may also come in handy.
What You’ll Need For Ingredients
Apples: Tart or sweet, it’s up to you. Small, sweet apples will cook down a bit faster. Crisper, tarter apples will provide more acidity to the apple butter. Whichever apples you choose, make sure to peel them, core them, and cut them into evenly-sized pieces.
Sugar: This recipe calls for both brown sugar and white sugar, but you can use sugar substitutes if you need to. Try maples syrup or honey as more natural sweeteners. You may have to work harder to get the proper consistency though.
Spices: Think “pumpkin spice” here. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Perfect fall flavours. Your house will smell utterly amazing while this cooks. If you enjoy allspice and happen to have some around, you could throw a pinch of that in as well.
Vanilla: Any vanilla will do, but if you have the budget for some Mexican vanilla or a vanilla bean paste, this is one of the recipes you’ll notice the difference in flavour.
How To Make Apple Butter
This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Place apples in large slow cooker, with the temperature set to Low.
- Mix spices and sugars in a medium bowl. Sprinkle over apples. Stir until the apples are coated. Cook on Low for 9-10 hours. Stir occasionally.
- Add vanilla and cook uncovered for another 2 hours. Then turn off slow cooker and let apple butter cool for 30 minutes.
- Puree with immersion blender and spoon into sterile jars.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Apple Butter
More About Apples: Try Fuji, Braeburn, or other small and sweet apples for the sweetest apple butter. If you use larger apples, ones like Granny Smith which are generally used in pies and baking, you may find that they don’t break down as quickly or lose their acidity. To ensure the best apple butter, you’ll want to select very ripe apples, ones that are on the verge of being overly ripe. Bruised or wrinkly apples are fine for this recipe, since you’re going to cook them down.
Patience Patience: Good apple butter takes time, but it’s worth every second. If you feel like your apple butter is extra watery, you could extend the amount of time you cook it uncovered. That will let more water evaporate. Just keep an eye on it and stir occasionally, because as it thickens it will start to stick to the sides of the slow cooker.
Storage Instructions
Fridge: Store in the fridge in sealed jars for up to 14 days.
Freezer: You can keep apple sauce in freezer-safe containers in the freezer for several months. Take it out as needed for spreading on fresh bread or using in your baking.
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
Looking for more Dessert recipes?
Try an Easy Cherry Crisp or a Brown Sugar Glazed Apple Cake for more autumn flavours.
Drizzle this Easy Salted Caramel Sauce over your next pie, cake, or bowl of ice cream.
Make a yummy Banana Split Cake or Magic Caramel Pudding Cake.
There you go, friends. An easy and classic recipe to use up those bruised apples that your kids refuse to eat. Try it out and let me know what you think.
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Apple Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 ½ pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the apples in a large slow cooker. Turn on to low.
- In a medium sized bowl add the sugars, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger,cloves and salt. Sprinkle this over the apples and stir it well to coat.
- Cook on low in the slow cooker for 9-10 hours stirring occasionally. The mixture will thicken a little and turn darker brown. Stir in the vanilla and continue to cook on low uncovered for another two hours.
- Turn off the slow cooker and let it cool for 1/2 hour. Use an immersion blender to puree it. Alternatively for a smoother apple butter you can also use a blender.
- Spoon the apple butter into sterile jars and refrigerate for up to 14 days or freeze it!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sharen Buchan says
Does the cook time remain the same if using half the recipe?