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Crockpot Apple Butter is so easy to make with just a few ingredients. It’s a thick applesauce with more condensed flavor and is perfect on toast or in recipes during apple season and homemade is so much better than what you get in the store.
Apple Butter is expensive and it’s so easy to make it at home. It’s great paired with so many recipes (sweet and savory). Applesauce is not cooked as long as apple butter, which has a deeper dark color from the caramelization that happens while the apples cook. It’s also pureed and then reduced even more until it’s thickened and spreadable so it has a more concentrated apple flavor, whereas applesauce is thinner and less flavorful. Also, Apple Butter has no actual butter in it – it gets its name because it’s thick like spreadable butter.
- Just 6 easy ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen
- Using the slow cooker makes it cook itself – while it takes time, it’s inactive time.
- You don’t have to peel the apples!
- It tastes like fall in a bite and makes your house smell like the ‘ber months!
Crockpot Apple Butter Ingredients
- Apples: Sweeter apples like fuji, gala, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious red delicious, or similar work well for apple butter. You need about 3 pounds apples. I leave my skins on the apples but you can peel them if you prefer.
- Sugar: This recipe uses both Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar for sweetness and flavor.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is a MUST in any apple butter recipe!
Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions. See below the recipe card for even more information: process shots, variations, FAQ and more.
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Dorothy’s Testing Notes
- How do you know when apples are done cooking for apple butter? You should cook them until the apples are translucent. Every crock pot is different, and this took about four hours in mine.
- The easiest way to puree them is with a hand blender. I do this right in the crockpot. This is the hand blender I use.
- If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a regular blender, but you should puree them in batches. Be careful not to overfill the blender and leave the lid cracked so the heat doesn’t cause a blow-up. This is my favorite blender.
- You can also use a food processor, but it can be hard to get the apples completely pureed this way.
- How to store apple butter: Once you’ve made your apple butter, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. You can also freeze it in freezer containers. I have never canned this recipe; canning is a science and you should use a reputable source for how to do that.
- Thickening apple butter is all about the cooking time. Once you’ve pureed the apples, leave them to cook with the lid slightly askew on the crock pot. This will allow steam to escape, which will help thicken the butter. The amount of time it takes will vary depending on how much liquid needs to evaporate.
Apple Butter Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3 lb (1400g) apples (fuji, gala, honeycrisp, red delicious or similar)
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Slice and core apples. You can peel them if you want but I don’t. Cut them into small chunks (smaller pieces cook faster).
- Place apples in the bottom of a 7qt slow cooker. Top with both sugars and cinnamon then toss to combine.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, stirring after 2 hours. Cook until the apples look translucent, this took about 4 hours in my slow cooker.
- Use a hand blender to blend the apples and their liquid into a smooth sauce. If you don’t have a hand blender you can do this in a regular blender, but work in batches being careful not to overfill the blender with hot apples and leave the lid cracked when you run it so it doesn’t explode.
- Once your apples are blended, place them back in the slow cooker (if you’ve removed them to blend). Continue cooking on high with the lid cracked for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the mixture reduces to your desired thickness.
- Stir in salt and vanilla then let cool and place in jars or freezer containers. At this point you can can the mixture if you wish or use the cooled apple butter in other recipes or on toast. Without canning apple butter will last about 2 weeks if stored in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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How to Use Apple Butter
- Add it to your favorite recipes: Apple Butter Cookies or Apple Butter Bars are delish.
- Use it to top pancakes or waffles, even oatmeal, yogurt, or ice cream.
- Serve it next to cheese on a charcuterie board.
- It’s great on toast, English muffins, or biscuits.
- Serve it alongside pork chops instead of apple sauce
- Make a fall turkey sandwich with brie and some apple butter!
How to make Apple Butter in the Crockpot
- Be sure to slice the apples all the same size so they cook evenly.
- Be sure to coat the apples evenly with the sugar mixture.
- The apples will be fork tender when they’re ready to puree.
- It becomes apple butter after a second cook, when it’s thick like baby food and dark golden in color.
How much apple butter is a serving?
Will this recipe fit in my 4.5 quart crock pot?
Yes but it’ll be quite full. You might want to reduce it just a bit.
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