Apple Butter made in the slow cooker is the easiest recipe of the Fall season. All it takes is 10 minutes of prep time, let your slow cooker do all the heavy lifting, and you can come back to a caramelized spread of delicious apple goodness.
Do you go apple picking when the Fall season starts? It’s something that’s been on my mental list but I haven’t put it down on paper, maybe next year then. Whether you’ve gone apple picking or not, you just need several apples to make this small batch slow cooker apple butter recipe.
Table of Contents
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy peasy – most of the heavy lifting is done via the slow cooker. You only need about 10 minutes of prep time and just let go on its own for a while.
- Delicious – the apple butter flavor is so concentrated, enhanced with spices, it’s absolutely delicious as a spread on toast, biscuits, scones or use it as an ingredient in your baked goods.
- Small batch – this recipe is perfect if you’re cooking for yourself or just your family since it only makes about 1 ½ to 1 ⅔ cup of apple butter.
- Great for the holidays – increase the batch size, make a few batches, and you’ll have yourself jars of amazing holiday gifts for your friends and family to enjoy.
Tools you’ll need
This recipe was developed using a slow cooker so that is one piece of special equipment you need to have to make this apple butter or you’ll have to adapt it using the stove top.
- A slow cooker for cooking the apples in.
- A food processor, blender or immersion blender to puree the cooked apple mixture for a smooth texture apple butter.
Ingredients and Substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- Apple – Use your favorite apples or blend of apples or check the list in the next section to choose your flavor profile.
- Sugar – I love using brown sugar for its deeper and richer flavor. Either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work for this recipe.
- Spices – I use my homemade blend of apple pie spice. A store bought blend will work just as well, or simply use what you have in your pantry, go heavy on the cinnamon and a bit of nutmeg, cardamom, allspice and ginger if you have them.
- Salt – I use kosher salt since that is what we always have in the pantry. If you only have table salt, reduce the amount called for by a half to two thirds. Don’t skip the salt as it adds complexity and flavor nuances.
Types of apple to choose from
I think it is best to use your favorite eating apples for this recipe since you’ll be able to enjoy the flavor you love most in a more concentrated form. If you’re unsure, below are the popular varieties you’ll find at the grocery store and their flavor profile to help you choose.
- Red Delicious – sweet flavor with crumbly texture more often than not
- McIntosh – soft flesh, juicy, fresh, sweet and bright
- Honeycrisp – extreme juiciness and sweetness (this is my favorite kind to eat, plain or in apple tart)
- Pink Lady – mild flavor with plenty of crunch
- Golden Delicious – mild and sweet, with juicy flesh, similar in taste to Red Delicious
- Gala – crisp, juicy flesh, and fairly sweet
- Granny Smith – tart and crisp
- Fuji – dense, crisp and very sweet
- Braeburn – a balance of sweet and tart
If you’re not planning on adding any sugar, choose apples that are more sweet than tart like Fuji, Gala, McIntosh or Golden Delicious.
For an apple butter with a balance of sweet and tart, use a mixture of apples that includes Granny Smith and Braeburn.
How to make apple butter
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- To make this recipe, simply toss all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook on low for 4 – 6 hours until the apple pieces are completely soft.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the apple butter mixture smooth or carefully transfer the hot mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the pureed mixture back into the slow cooker and continue to cook for another 1.5 – 2 hours until it is glossy and thickened to your desired consistency.
More baker’s tips
- You don’t need to peel the apples, once everything is cooked down, you won’t even notice the peel.
- Dice the apples into similar size pieces so they cook evenly, but it’s not a big deal if you end up with bigger and smaller pieces.
- If you’re using tart apples, like Granny Smith, you may want to increase the amount of sugar in the recipe.
- Use your favorite homemade or store bought apple pie spice or a mixture of your favorite Autumn spices.
Applesauce vs. apple butter
Both applesauce and apple butter can be made by slow-cooking apples with sugar, water or cider and maybe some spices. The biggest difference is for how long each is cooked.
Applesauce is cooked for a shorter period of time resulting in a soft and saucy apple mixture, usually much lighter in color and tends not to contain spices.
Apple butter is basically a highly concentrated form of applesauce because it is cooked for much longer until it caramelizes and reduces to a thick spread. Hence, it tends to be much darker in color and usually contains spices.
Storage
Homemade apple butter must be refrigerated. I simply store mine in a clean jar. It will last a few weeks and up to a month in the refrigerator.
If you’re not planning to use the apple butter within a few weeks, I recommend freezing it right away. You can freeze it in a glass jar or a plastic container. Make sure to leave some head room for volume expansion in the freezer. It will last up to 6 months in the freezer.
To extend the shelf life of your apple butter at room temperature, you can try canning it. However, I am not a canning expert and have never tried canning this exact recipe before. If you want to try canning your apple butter, this canning guides might be useful or seek out an apple butter recipe developed specifically for canning.
FAQs
This is a small batch apple butter recipe that makes just 1 ½ to 1 ⅔ up or 12-13 ounces.
Yes, you can easily double, triple or quadruple this recipe to make a larger batch, especially during the holiday when you want to make apple butter to give out to friends and family. You may need to adjust the cooking time for larger batch to make sure the apples are cooked through and caramelized. Also, make sure your crock pot is large enough to accommodate your larger batch.
No, there is no butter in apple butter. It is not a “dairy” butter but gets its name from its smooth and buttery texture. It is spreadable like butter but is more akin to a fruit jam.
What to do with leftover apple butter
- Use it as filling for Apple Hand Pies
- Mix it in with Honey Butter to make a delicious spread
- Use it to make baked Apple Donuts
- Serve it with biscuits and scones
- Use it to make Apple Cupcakes
Hungry for more?
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 6 medium apples, about 2 lbs or 912 g cored and diced
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed, 50 g
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- A pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Toss all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low, covered, for 4 – 6 hours until the apple is completely softened.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until smooth or puree in a food processor and pour it back into the slow cooker.
- Continue to cook on low, uncovered, for 1.5 – 2 hours longer until the apple butter thickens to your desired consistency and is glossy.
Notes
- You can use your favorite kind of eating apple for this recipe.
- Adjust the amount of sugar to your liking, especially if your chosen apples are more tart.
- This recipe yields about 1 ½ cup to 1 ⅔ cup of apple butter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hello, I am going to make this next weekend. Can you tell me how many Weck Jars you were able to fill with this recipe? And if you used the standard jelly sized jar, 7oz? Thanks so much!
Hi Desiree, this recipe yields about 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups per the recipe notes which is about 12 – 13 fluid oz. If you plan to fill more jars for gifting, best to double or triple the recipe depending on how many jars you plan to make and the size of your jars. I hope that answers your questions, let me know if you need anything else.
Hi Trang! Thank you so much! Yes, I am using them for gifts boxes along with cookies, etc. I plan on having about 10 jars, that are the 7 ounce size. So thinking I should quadruple?
So you need 70 oz in total. Let’s say one batch will make 12 oz to be conservative you’ll need 6x. Sounds like a lot of apples, you may have to do 2 batches unless your slow cooker can fit all of them at once, maybe if you cut them up small enough since they will shrink.
Thanks for all of your help!
This is fantastic. I’ve made apple sauce so many times but never apple butter. Can’t wait to try this