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!
JaMee
This! Do it; you will not regret it. Mine cooked longer than was suggested in the recipe. Not a problem, though. This recipe will go in my permanent recipe notebook. Thank you.
Debra Arlene Richardson
Hello, I’ve made this recipe several times and it’s just wonderful. My Grandson has Type 1 diabetes, so I did cut down the sugar, and it’s still great for us. Thank you so very much. I do have a question though. I printed out this recipe several years ago and it easily fit on one page. I recently wanted to re-print to send to a friend, but now it goes to two pages. Did you change something in your settings that now require two pages to print? A bit silly question, I’m just curious. Thanks in advance for your reply.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Debra! As for printing, when you go to the print screen you can choose what you’d like to print. You can remove the notes, nutrition label, or picture. You can also change the font size that you print. Maybe your old copy doesn’t have all of the same information that the new one does?
Kathy
Can this be put on shelf if water bathed? If so, how long in the canner?
Sam
Hi Kathy! Unfortunately, I am not familiar with the process of canning so I can’t advise. 🙁
Esther
Your so right!,Easy to make.
Tastes Fantastic
Just made my First Batch!Enjoyed Making It Too.
Thanks so much.Love From Australia xx
Savannah
Hi! I made this recipe and have specs in the apple butter, I thought maybe it was little pieces of apple skin but not sure, is this normal? I did also mix it with a wooden spoon so maybe that could be the culprit?
Sam
Hi Savannah! It’s typically pretty obvious if it’s apple skin. Could it be cinnamon?
Jami
I just made this a few days ago, and I’m very impressed! It tastes better than the name brand apple butter from the store. Only thing different I did was increase the ground cloves to a 1/4 teaspoon, as I like the flavor. I used a mixture of different types of apples—Pink Lady, Ambrosia, Honeycrisp and Gala. This recipe is a keeper, that I will be using many times in the future. Thanks for the recipe!
Marie
Absolutely delicious. I’m not a fan of cloves so added nutmeg instead. My husband can’t stop raving about it.
Jessica
This is soooooo delicious. This recipe makes more apple butter than I thought. However that’s okay because I’ll freeze some. It is also a little too sweet for us, so I might try 1/4 or 1/2 cup granulated sugar next time. But that is just personal presence. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Rosemary Tadlock
Smells like heaven 😋😋 Can’t wait until is done so I can have a taste😍😍
Susan
Can this recipe be frozen?
Tastes great!!!
Sam
Hi Susan! That should work just fine. 🙂
Katrina
Has anyone tried cooking this in a Dutch Oven (either on stovetop or in oven)?
Kristine Nelson
have made this several times. can it and gift it…people LOVE it…my question is…I’m thinking of adding a couple of TB of bourbon…. is this doable?
Sam
Hi Kristine! I haven’t personally tried it, but I think you could add it in with the vanilla. If it thins it too much, you can try cooking it for a little bit with the lid off. 🙂
Jaynann
Thank you. I’ll do some research.
ShaneVA
I can speak from personal experience, pears work okay, but they are always going to have a slightly gritty texture no matter how much you blend them. I don’t mind it but your mileage may vary.
Tiana
hi Shane,
I did end up noticing the “grit”, but doing it this method minimized it from my previous pear butters. I did do extra blending and I noted the grit was only noticeable when eaten directly from a spoon, but not noticeable when the butter was on something like a biscuit 🙂
Sandy
Hi, I’m wondering if all slow cookers are the same temperature when cooking. I put mine on low for 10 hours as instructed but my apples still seem a little hard for puréing. I turned up the temperature and am cooking them longer. Is there a way to tell when the apples are ready by the softness of them? I know size of the apple chunks and maybe the type of apple would make a difference. I used Gala apples.
Thanks
Sandy
Sam
Hi Sandy! I would assume that they are all similar in how they cook, but I’m sure there are some slight variations. Have you watched the video? You can see how mine look after that original cook time. Gala should work just fine. I would just make sure to cut your apples into small enough pieces. 🙂
Lia
Would the cook time be the same if the recipe was halved?
Sam
Hi Lia! You generally don’t have to reduce the cook time significantly when using a slow cooker. For the last bit of time, you can stir and check it more frequently to make sure it doesn’t get too thick. I hope this helps! 🙂
Tiana
hi! so I made your some butter recipe a couple months ago and hands down it’s the best recipe I have ever used. the flavor is phenomenal! I was wondering if this would work with pears for part butter? I have other recipes for pear butter, but they all say to peel the pears, do you think doing the pears just like the apples (not peeling them) in your recipe will work? Or will the pear skins be too different?
thanks so much for sharing your fabulous creations, your other that is favorite are your no refrigerator sugar cookies!
Sam
Hi Tiana! I honestly haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. I honestly don’t know why it wouldn’t work, but if you’re nervous about the skins, I would probably just peel them. It’s too hard for me to say and that’s a big time investment to says without having tried it. 🙁
Tiana
okay no problem, thank you for letting me know your thoughts. I will try a small batch with the skins, that way if it is not so good it wasn’t a bunch lost. got 20lbs of pears to work with! thanks again.
Sam
Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Jaynann
Can I water bath can this recipe for shelf stability or does it need more acid?
Sam
Unfortunately I am not familiar with the process of canning so I can’t say for sure if anything would need to be changed.
Tiana
Okay so I did it with it pears, skin on. It turned out great! did everything the same except I used my ninja blender to blend. just like ShaneVA said there is a little bit of “grit”. However, it was so little that you only notice it when you just eat some of it from a spoon, when it’s on something it’s imperceptible! ShaneVA was also correct that the mileage is different, the pears seems to produce a little less of the end product, but nothing extreme. so I personally would say Yes! pears do great with this recipe. Thanks again for your fabulous recipes!
Sam
Thank you so much for letting me know how it worked, Tiana! I really appreciate this!