It wouldn't be fall without a few batches of this easy Crockpot Apple Butter! Thanks to the slow cooker, the sweet spread fills your house with the cozy aroma of simmering apples, cinnamon, and cloves -- with very little effort on your part!
Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe
Apples are the pride and joy of autumn in Virginia, so we always end up with a surplus of the fresh fruit at this time of year. I'll never let a local apple go to waste, and this homemade apple butter has quickly become a regular fall tradition. It's truly the BEST apple butter recipe I've ever tasted -- and I've tasted many different varieties!
I love that my only job is peeling the apples, and the slow cooker does the rest of the work! I can even leave it to simmer on low overnight, so that I wake up to the most glorious pot of sweet, warm apple butter in the morning. Now that's heaven!
What is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a thick, rich, highly concentrated form of applesauce, where low-and-slow cooking is the name of the game. That's why it works so well in the Crock Pot! To make apple butter, apples are slowly cooked down with cider or water, to a point where the sugar caramelizes and the apple butter takes on a deep brown color. Apple butter often includes warm spices like cinnamon, cloves and allspice as well.
The origins of apple butter go all of the way back to the Middle Ages, when the first monasteries with large orchards produced the butter as a way to conserve the fruit. Apple butter doesn't actually include any dairy, in spite of its name. Instead, the term "butter" refers to the butter-like thick, soft consistency, and apple butter's use as a spread for breads (source).
Best Apples for Apple Butter
You can use any apples that are readily available. I often use a blend of whatever we pick from the orchard! That said, soft apples are great because they cook down quickly and don’t hold their shape in the way that Granny Smith or other pie-friendly apples will. Good options include: Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Cortland, Jonathan, Rome and Jonagold apples. The type of apples that you choose will obviously impact the flavor of your applesauce, so my best recommendation is to use a variety that you think tastes good!
How many Apples?
You will need a total of about 5-7 pounds of apples (or however many apples it takes to fill up your 6-quart Crock Pot). Depending on the size of your apples, the total number will vary. In general, five pounds is equal to about 10-15 apples.
How to Make Apple Butter in a Crock Pot
This easy Crockpot apple butter recipe comes together with just a handful of basic ingredients and 3 simple steps. Once you’ve peeled and chopped the apples, your hardest job is done.
Ingredients in Apple Butter
- Apples
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Allspice
- Water
Step 1: Prepare Apples
Peel, core, and quarter the apples. You don't need to worry about slicing or dicing the apples very small, because they will break down in the slow cooker.
Step 2: Combine Ingredients in Crock Pot
Add the rest of your ingredients to the slow cooker with the apples: white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and a little bit of water. You probably already have everything that you need in your pantry!
Step 3: Cook
Put a lid on the pot and let the slow cooker do the work!
How long to cook apple butter in the Crock Pot:
Cook on LOW heat for 8-10 hours, or on HIGH heat for 4-6 hours.
Remove the lid, give the apples a stir, and continue cooking the apple butter uncovered for an additional 2 hours on LOW or 1 hour on HIGH.
How to Tell When Crockpot Apple Butter is Done
You'll know that the apple butter is finished when the apples are broken down and practically fall apart when you stir the pot with a wooden spoon. It should also cling to a spoon when you scoop it up.
How to Thicken
Since the slow cooker traps a lot of condensation and liquid in the pot, you'll want to remove the lid during the final part of the cooking in order to allow the apple butter to thicken. If it's not thick enough after cooking uncovered for 2 hours, you can let it simmer uncovered for even longer until it reaches the desired consistency. You can let the apple butter cook for hours, if you like. It will just get thicker and richer! The sugar that you add to the apple butter also helps to thicken the mixture.
Step 4: Puree
Finally, it's time to puree! You can certainly leave your apple butter chunky, but my family prefers it nice and smooth. I use a handheld immersion blender to quickly puree the apple butter right in the slow cooker, but you can also use a standard blender if that's all that you have.
How to Store Homemade Apple Butter
This Crockpot Apple Butter can be used for canning, or as a freezer jam. For shelf-stable apple butter, be sure to sterilize and process according to safety instructions. I usually just refrigerate or freeze the apple butter, which works perfectly, too. If I make a batch in the fall, the jars keep very nicely in our freezer until it's time to share them with friends and family over the holidays!
Homemade apple butter will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 7-10 days. Do not leave homemade apple butter out at room temperature for more than 1-2 hours. It needs to be refrigerated in order to stay fresh. You can tell if apple butter is bad when it has an “off” odor, flavor or appearance, or if mold appears.
Freezing Instructions
To freeze, transfer the cooled apple butter to freezer-safe jars, Ziploc freezer bags, or other airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months. It's safe to use glass jars for freezing (such as mason jars), but remember to leave about ½ inch of headspace to allow room for the preserves to expand when frozen.
How to Can Apple Butter
Prepare the apple butter as instructed. Apples are naturally high acid fruits, with a pH somewhere between 3.2 and 4.0. That means they’re just fine for water bath canning without any added acid.
It’s a good practice to sterilize the jars and lids before canning in order to kill any bacteria, fungi or yeasts before filling. There are a variety of ways to sterilize the jars (here’s a helpful article with different options). I typically use the dishwasher, and make sure that the jars and lids stay hot in the machine until I’m ready to fill them.
Once the apple butter is done and while it's still bubbling hot, ladle the butter into the hot, sterilized jars (a funnel makes this easy and not too messy). I recommend straight-sided half-pint jam jars, which are easy to pack cleanly without air bubbles. It's important to make sure that you don't have any air bubbles in your jars.
Fill the jars leaving ½-inch of headspace to allow room for expansion. Wipe the rims clean with a damp cloth, seal the lids, and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Leave the jars in the hot water for an additional 5 minutes (this stabilizes the temperature and prevents siphoning as the jars are removed). Carefully transfer the jars to a towel on the countertop and allow them to cool completely.
Once the apple butter has had a chance to cool, you can check the seals. The lids should be down in the center or stay down when pressed. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 weeks. Properly sealed and processed jars of apple butter should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place (such as a pantry). The properly canned homemade apple butter will last for up to 1 year.
How to use Apple Butter
Enjoy the Crockpot Apple Butter in a variety of dishes, including:
- Slathered on top of Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
- In pancake batter or on top of pancakes (instead of syrup)
- On your morning toast
- Stirred into yogurt
- Stirred into oatmeal
- On top of vanilla ice cream
- In these delicious Apple Butter Baked Beans
- As a part of the dressing for this Tossed Salad with Apple Butter Vinaigrette
- In baked goods like Apple Bread, Bran Muffins, Baked Oatmeal, and Banana Bread
Please go ahead and try this soon...I promise that you will not be disappointed in this easy apple butter recipe!
More apple recipes that you'll love:
- Homemade Applesauce
- Apple Crisp
- Apple Dump Cake
- Old-Fashioned Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Mom’s Easy Apple Pie
Crockpot Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. apples (any variety) (or up to 7 lbs. -- however many you need to fill up your slow cooker)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Peel, core, and quarter the apples.
- Spray the inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray and place the apples inside. I use as many apples as it takes to fill up my slow cooker!
- Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 4-6 hours.
- Uncover, give it a good stir, and continue cooking uncovered for an additional 2 hours on LOW or 1 hour on HIGH. This will allow the apple butter to cook down and thicken.
- Use a hand blender to puree until smooth. If you don’t have a hand blender, transfer to a regular blender and puree in batches.
- Store in mason jars in the refrigerator for a few weeks, or keep in the freezer. If you want to store the apple butter in a pantry, be sure to follow proper canning procedures (sterilizing and processing jars). See the canning instructions in the post above.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in September, 2014. It was updated in August, 2020.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
That sounds wonderful. What a beautiful caramel color too!
Thanks, Michele! 🙂
There is nothing here that I don't like! I made Apple Butter in the Crockpot last year for the first time. It is all gone now. Pinning! Thanks for sharing at Home Matters. Please be sure to come back with more of your creativity!
Hi, Shirley! My boys were just eating the stuff out of the jar with spoons this evening! It's so good, and it doesn't last long around here. 🙂
Hi, Blair - I'm visiting from Show Stopper Saturday. Your apple butter sounds AMAZING! I am pinning this and will make it at some point. Thanks so much for the inspiration! - Bre @ Average But Inspired
Hi, Bre! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the pin! I hope that you have a chance to give the recipe a try!
Hi, I found you at Show Stopper Saturday. This apple butter sounds delicious. I've never tried apple butter before, but I have a TON of apples chopped up and frozen ready to use and I think I know where some of them are going now! Pinned!
Hi, Stacey! Thanks so much for visiting. I hope that you give it a try. My family LOVES this stuff!
I have 2 bushels of Apple's and can not wait to try this apple butter recipe. I have one question...I'm going to turn the crock pot on low of a night and let it cook until the next morning. Is it going to be ok without stirring it occasionally?
Hi, Tracy! That's great -- I know you'll love it. My boys eat the stuff by the spoonful (and I do, too!). To answer your question: yes, it's totally fine to let it cook overnight without stirring it. That's how I do it, and it works perfectly. Just give it a good stir when you get up in the morning!
Hi Blair,
Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly! I'm going to head to the kitchen now and start oeeking and slicing!! I can't wait foe the smell to permiate my house!!! Thanks again and keep those amazing recipes coming!!!
Hi Blair,
I just wanted to let you know that I made my very 1st ever, batch of YOUR Homemade Apple Butter. How did it turn out for me.....AMAZING!!! I've looked at many, many recipes and found myself coming back to your website. I coykdnt be more pleased with this recipe! It was so simple to make, it has a beautiful deep color to it and the flavor is awesome! I can't wait to make some homemade biscuits for supper tonight! Thanks again for sharing!!!
Yay! That's great news, Tracy! I'm so glad that you loved it as much as we do. 🙂 And it's so easy, right? Thanks for letting me know how it turned out, and thanks for reading the blog. Enjoy, and happy fall!
I will for sure be trying this. I'm like your boys... I can eat homemade apple butter with a spoon. I love it on biscuits and cornbread! Which apples work best? Do you recommend any particular one? Thanks for the great, easy recipe.
Hah! Dina, I'm planning to make another batch of it within the next few days. I have a refrigerator full of apples just waiting for me...
I have used a variety of apples with this recipe, and most of them work great. I would go with something sweeter (as opposed to too tart), so not too many Granny Smith apples. I often use a mix of different varieties, too...since that's what we always end up with from the orchards. I'm using a combination of Ginger Gold and Rambo apples this week, but Rome, Macintosh, Red Delicious, or similar varieties have all worked well in the past. Enjoy!
And we love it on biscuits and cornbread, too!! THE BEST. 🙂
Thanks, Blair, for the response. I envy your access to orchards. Hard to come by here in TX! I'm at the mercy of the grocery store. I'll take your advice and select different varieties.
You're very welcome! Enjoy, Dina!
I have never ever made apple butter before, but after a trip to the orchard this past weekend I had way too many golden delicious apples that I had to do something with. I didn’t think they would fill up my crockpot like you said, so I bought some gala apples at the store and some Envy apples which I have never heard of, but they are very crisp and sweet. I cooked them all day and followed your recipe exactly as you said, and it is CRAZY good!!!! I am not exaggerating that it’s the best apple butter we’ve had! Thank you, Blair for posting this wonderful recipe. I love your blog and everything I make from here is good, but this is by far, the winner!
Yay! I'm so glad to know that you love it as much as we do, Jean! 🙂 It's so darn easy, too! I bet your house smells amazing right now. That's one of the best side benefits!
I read your recipe and it sound real good. My mom use to make apple butter, apple sauce and apple jelly every year but she has long pasted and I miss her very much but I never had the chance to get the recipe from her before she pasted so I’m now on a mission to try and recapture her recipe or something close to it and I have looked at several recipes before I got to yours so I’m going to start off with your first and hope I donot have to look any farther. So can u tell me if I am gonna can some of this apple butter how many jars can I get out of this recipe? Thank You very much. And by the way I am not on any social media site so could you please email me back with the info that I have left below.
Hi, Annette! I hope you'll give it a try! This recipe makes about 6 cups of apple butter, so you can calculate the number of jars you'll need based on the size jar that you want to use.
Yum! This looks delicious… can you believe I’ve never had homemade apple butter. Seems kind of silly when I see how easy it is to make!
It's definitely easy! I hope you love it! 🙂
Probably a stupid question, but do the cloves have to be whole or ground?
Not a stupid question! 🙂 I always use ground cloves.
You stated that you can freeze the cooked apple butter. How do you go about doing this? What containers do you store them in?
Hi, Crystal! Yes -- I freeze this each year! When the apple butter is cool to the touch, just fill a freezer-safe container (such as a glass mason jar), leaving 1/2-inch head space in each container. Seal the lids and place in the freezer. It will be good for up to 1 year. Once thawed, it will be fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. 🙂
Thanks a bunch!!! I am currently waiting for the Apple Butter to cool, hopefully it will make it to the canning process. We keep taste -testing it ????
Yay! I bet it tastes (and smells) amazing! Enjoy. 🙂
Hi! I am trying this as a variation on my usual apple butter- I didnt peel them though I like the skin on:). Its been almost 5 hrs and I need to leave house soon.. if i switch setting to 2 hrs on low and then it automatically switches to keep warm is that ok? I jave find its hard to mess apple butter up but a little nervous .. thanks! It smells amazing in here.
Yes, that should totally be fine! I agree -- it's hard to mess up apple butter. 🙂
One mor comment! this was delicious except so thick I hd to keep adding water just to get vitamix to blend. For my next batch, planning to blend after the initial 6 hours and then letting it thicken..
What are the proper canning procedures for this recipe? Do you know?
Hi, Michael! I canned this recipe today and included the full instructions in the post above. Let me know if you give it a shot! 🙂
Thank you so much blair! I figured it would be about the same as other things iv'e processed but I wanted to be sure before I actually did it. BYW, Iv'e been to literally hundreds of recipe sites and yours is my favorite. Your recipes are top notch, the site is user friendly and you interact with your followers. THANKS!.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Michael!
Sorry to bother you again but could you tell me how to upload an avatar? Iv'e done it a thousand times but can't figure it out on this site.
Hi, Michael! I can try to answer cooking questions, but the tech stuff is a different story! 🙂 I don't think that you have to upload an avatar for my site specifically -- instead, it pulls the avatar associated with the email address that you use to leave the comment. So my avatar that appears is the avatar that I have associated with my gmail account. I would go to your gmail and add the avatar that way. It should then show up here as well. I think!
is there a substitution for cloves?
Hi, Donna! Not a specific substitute -- you can just omit the cloves, or add more of the other warm spices instead (for instance, a touch more cinnamon). Enjoy!
Hi:
Can I use steviq sugar?
Hi:
Can I use stevia sugar?
Hi, Charlene! I've never tried it that way, but I think it would probably work fine. You may want to decrease the amount of stevia that you use, though -- I know that sugar substitutes can be much sweeter than regular sugar. Let me know how it works if you give it a try!
I found your recipe yesterday... Made it today! OMG it's amazing!
I had planned on canning it but, it's been a long day. So do I leave it cool on the counter and then fridge or just put it in the fridge? I'm unclear without canning lol
Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Hi, Annie! I'm so glad that you love it! No worries -- you definitely don't need to can the apple butter. Just keep it in the fridge for about 7-10 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 🙂