Making slow cooker apple butter is easier than you may think. This apple butter recipe is the perfect fall season treat to make and the great thing about apple butter is that it’s a concentrated form of applesauce. This treat is great as a hostess gift and certainly a favorite during those holiday feasts.
Fall is such a beautiful season, the leaves and the cooler air are a fresh relief from the hot and humid summer season. Now that fall has arrived I think of apple picking and everything apple-based for recipes. This slow cooker apple butter recipe will help fill your home up with the sweet scent of apples and make you feel more festive.
Although a new slow cooker is certainly not necessary for making amazing apple butter, check out our favorite slow cookers below. If you’re in the market for a new one, we highly recommend one of these:
Black+Decker 7 qt. Digital Slow Cooker
Cuisinart 6 1/2 qt. Programmable Slow Cooker
To make this receipe you will need the following ingredients: gala apples, sugar, brown sugar, apple pie spice, cinnamon, salt & vanilla.
Table of Contents
How Do You Make Apple Butter In Your Slow Cooker
- Peel and core apples, then chop into 1-inch pieces.
- Lightly spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Toss apples into the slow cooker.
- Add sugars, apple pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine. Cook in your slow cooker on high for one hour, then on low for 6-8 additional hours, stirring a few times throughout if possible.
- After the cooking time, use an immersion blender or your hot food-friendly regular blender to puree. (If you stop here you have applesauce).
- Return to slow cooker, stir in vanilla. Cook for an additional 2 hours with the lid of the crockpot propped open to allow the moisture to escape.
- Ladle into storage containers or jars.
Uses For Apple Butter
- In any baking recipe that calls for applesauce, just keep in mind apple butter is a highly concentrated form of applesauce.
- You can use apple butter to make your own frozen apple daiquiri.
- Drizzle apple butter over ice cream for an added flavor to your ice cream sundae.
Tips & Tricks to Making Slow Cooker Apple Butter
- If you store your apple butter in sterile jars you can keep apple butter in the freezer for six months to a year, or in the refrigerator for about a month.
- The best way to store a large amount of apple butter is by canning it, but if you want to freeze it that will do just fine for about a year.
- Use 2 butter knives to prop open your slow cooker lid to allow the moisture to escape.
- I generally start my apple butter at night so that it can do its long cooking process without my full attention.
- If you find that your apple butter is still a little chunky you can put it through a blender to smooth it out some more.
- You can adjust the sugar to a level that’s perfect for you, simply taste test to get the perfect-for-you amount of sugar.
- You don’t have to add brown sugar, you can enjoy this apple butter simply by letting the apples do their thing without added sugar.
Common Questions About Slow Cooker Apple Butter
What are the best apples for apple butter?
- Braeburn
- Cortland
- Fuji
- Gravenstein
- Grimes Golden
- Jonamac
- Ida Red
- Liberty
How do you know when apple butter is done?
You will know when apple butter is done once you can use a spoon to get some apple butter out of the slow cooker and it will stay mounded on the spoon.
How long does apple butter keep?
Apple butter can last for about one year, but it has to be stored in an airtight container and does best in the freezer for long-term storage.
What is the difference between apple butter and applesauce?
While applesauce and apple butter are usually made with the same ingredients in a slow cooker, the fact of the matter is that apple butter is cooked a bit longer so that it’s more of a thick texture and caramelized.
Other Apple Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Caramel Apple Bread
- Cinnamon Applesauce
- Apple Cheesecake Bars
- Boozy Apple Ice Cream Topping
- Caramel Apple Butter Spread – using actual butter
- Salted Caramel Apple Cookies
- Apple Cinnamon Crescent Rolls with Caramel Sauce
Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe
An easy slow cooker apple butter recipe to make overnight while you sleep. Wake up and enjoy the delightful scent of apple butter in your slow cooker.
If you loved this Slow Cooker Apple Butter recipe let me know with a 5-star rating!
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
An easy slow cooker apple butter recipe to make overnight while you sleep. Wake up and enjoy the delightful scent of apple butter in your slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 3 lb. gala apples
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp apple pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Peel and core apples, then chop into 1 inch pieces.
- Lightly spray your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray.
- Toss apples into the crockpot.
- Add sugars, apple pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Cook in your crockpot on high for one hour, then on low for 4-5 additional hours, stirring a few times throughout.
- Add vanilla.
- After the cook time, use an immersion blender or your hot-food friendly regular blender to puree.
- Ladle into jars or food storage containers.
Notes
This recipe can be doubled for a larger batch, increase the cook time to 10-12 hours on low.