Easy Homemade Apple Butter
If there’s one thing you can cook that will fill your home with the smell of fall for an entire day, it’s homemade apple butter. This easy homemade apple butter recipe is smooth and richly flavored and tastes great slathered on tons of different foods or mixed into baked goods for a pop of apple flavor. While it takes a while to cook in a slow cooker, there’s very little hands-on time involved.
Ingredients
- 6 pounds apples, cored and chopped into ½-inch chunks
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
- Core and chop 6 pounds of apples into roughly ½-inch chunks and toss into a 6-7-quart slow cooker.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine ¾ cup dark or light brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, and ½ teaspoon salt and mix well. Then toss the mixture over the apple chunks in the slow cooker. Gently stir until fully combined and you don’t see any dry pockets of the sugar and spice mixture.
- Cover and set the slow cooker to low. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring once or twice while cooking. Remove the lid and use an immersion blender to puree all the apple chunks until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, stir well, and then cook on low for another 2 hours with the lid removed. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer in batches to a regular blender and return the pureed apples to the slow cooker.
- After another 2 hours, check that the apple butter has reduced somewhat and thickened. It will thicken more as it cools, but if you think it needs more time, continue reducing another 30 minutes at a time.
- Allow it to cool, and then transfer to airtight containers. If using canning jars, it should make 3 pints worth, or 6 half-pints.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) Apples – The weight of the apples is before coring and chopping. You can use almost any variety of apples for this recipe, and mixing is highly encouraged. For reference, I used a mixture of Gala and Fuji apples here because they were both available in 3-lb bags which made it easy.
If you’re trying to decide on what apples to use, these are all good options and mostly available nationally at grocery stores: Gala, Fuji, Braeburn, Cortland, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Empire, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp. I find Red Delicious to be a bit mealy when cooked, and Granny Smith to be a bit tart for apple butter, but both are also viable. If you use all sweet apples, you may want to reduce the amount of added sugar as well.
2) Sugar-Free – Technically, you can make apple butter without any added sugar. If you’re trying to cut back on sugar or need a lower calorie version, you can omit the sugar altogether. Keep in mind however, the sugar does more than just make apple butter sweet. Sugar also helps to caramelize the apples as they cook and thicken the final product.
Other options include using artificial sweeteners or other natural, unrefined sugars. You can also make a no sugar apple butter by swapping out the sugar with about 1 cup of apple cider and a ½ cup of maple syrup.
3) Instant Pot –You’ll need a 6-quart model or make a half-batch. Add the apples and cover with the sugar and spice mixture, stirring to combine. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 90 minutes, followed by 10-15 minutes of natural release of the pressure.
Use an immersion blender or blend in batches and return to the Instant Pot and stir in the vanilla extract. With the lid open, reduce the apple butter using sauté mode for 15-20 minutes, or the slow cook feature on high for about 2 hours.
4) Stovetop Apple Butter – Use a large pot or Dutch oven here. You’ll need to add liquid in this method so the apples don’t burn, and you may want to peel the apples in this method since they don’t cook nearly as long and have the chance to naturally break down as fully.
Add all the ingredients to a large, deep pot or Dutch oven and add at least 1 cup of water, apple juice, or apple cider. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook, uncovered on medium-low, for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Blend the apples down and continue cooking on low for another hour until reduced and thickened.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 pintCalories: 822kcalCarbohydrates: 214gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.3gSodium: 413mgPotassium: 1057mgFiber: 23gSugar: 181gCalcium: 116mgIron: 2mg
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