Best Homemade Apple Butter
Posted Sep 01, 2023, Updated Feb 12, 2024
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This apple butter recipe only takes 5 minutes to prepare and is even more delicious than store-bought varieties. It’s thick and silky smooth, sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar, and perfectly spiced.
This homemade apple butter is the embodiment of all that is wonderful about fall.
Peak-season apples are quartered (no peeling required) then cooked low and slow with rich fall spices and blended until silky smooth.
I found many apple butter recipes were way too sweet for me, using 2 or more cups of sugar. So , this recipe for the best apple butter is sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar – but only ½ cup each so the flavor of the apples really shines.
Then it’s enhanced with a splash of vanilla resulting in the best apple butter you’ve ever tasted.
And it’s so easy to make you’ll say “goodbye” to store-bought varieties once and for all.
Homemade Apple Butter: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Apples. I suggest using organic apples to avoid pesticides, wax coatings, etc. Pick your favorite variety or use a combination of different types of apples. I recommend pink lady, honey crisp, gala, jazz, granny smith, McIntosh, etc. A sweet/tart mixture is my favorite.
- Water. I don’t suggest making substitutions for water. Although you could use apple juice or apple cider, if desired.
- Maple syrup. I love the flavor imparted by maple syrup. You can substitute granulated sugar for the maple syrup.
- Light brown sugar. for a richer molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves. I included what I believe is the best quantity of mixture of spices for this recipe. You can taste and adjust according to your preferences after the recipe is blended.
- Vanilla extract. the seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste are good substitutes for vanilla extract.
How to Make Apple Butter
We’ll walk through this crockpot apple butter recipe step-by-step. Watch the video for additional help, and don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comment section!
Begin by preparing the apples. Since they are not peeled, make sure to wash them thoroughly before coring and quartering them to use in this recipe.
Then, whisk together water, maple syrup, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sea salt and vanilla extract in the container of a slow cooker.
Next, put the apples in the container and stir to coat with the wet mixture.
Cook the apples on high for 3 hours or until they are soft.
Then, transfer the mixture to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth (alternately, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients in the crockpot).
Once smooth, return the mixture to the crockpot and cook on high, uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until thickened.
Then, turn off the crockpot and leave the apple butter in the container uncovered to cool completely, stirring occasionally.
Once cooled to room temperature, transfer the homemade apple butter to glass jars and store in the refrigerator.
Serve
I suggest serving this apple butter as a spread on top of your favorite breads, muffins, or any of your favorite breakfast recipes. Here are some suggestions:
- Use it as a filling for crepes, or on top of pancakes or waffles.
- Serve it on top of pumpkin bread or banana bread.
- Slather it on top of this recipe for the best scones, or these cinnamon chip scones.
- Use it on top of these apple muffins, apple cake, or pumpkin muffins.
- Stir it into overnight oats, or serve on top of baked oatmeal.
- Spread it onto toast or bagels for breakfast.
Store/Freeze
Store apple butter in glass jars with lids in the refrigerator for up to 2 months, or in the freezer for up to 1 year. Can the apple butter to make it last even longer.
Apple Butter Recipe FAQs
Choose your favorite apple variety or use a combination. My top suggestions are:
Honeycrisp
Pink Lady
Jazz
Granny Smith (combined with a sweeter apple)
Gala
McIntosh
Crockpot apple butter lasts for 2 months in the fridge, or for up to 1 year in the freezer. You can can the apple butter as well to make it last even longer.
Many apple butter recipes call for a full 2 cups (or more) of sugar! However, this recipe only uses ½ cup of maple syrup (a natural sweetener) plus ½ cup light brown sugar. So it’s definitely healthier than many other varieties.
Use it as a filling for crepes, or on top of pancakes or waffles.
Serve it on top of pumpkin bread or banana bread.
Slather it on top of this recipe for the best scones, or these cinnamon chip scones.
Use it on top of these apple muffins, apple cake, or pumpkin muffins.
Stir it into overnight oats, or serve on top of baked oatmeal.
Spread it onto toast or bagels for breakfast.
Check out my homemade applesauce recipe to see for yourself! But the short answer is that applesauce is only made with 3 ingredients – water, apples and cinnamon. While apple butter is made with sweetener and spices and cooked uncovered to be thicker than its saucy counterpart.
Apple butter gets its brown color from cooking it for long enough that the sugar in the apples caramelizes. The spices, maple syrup and brown sugar also play a roll in making it brown.
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Homemade Apple Butter Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pounds apples (washed, cored and quartered)
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Wash, core and quarter the apples (Since they are not peeled, make sure to wash them thoroughly before using in this recipe).
- In the container of a slow cooker, whisk together water, maple syrup, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sea salt and vanilla extract.
- Then, put the apples in the container and stir to coat with the wet mixture.
- Cook on high for 3 hours or until apples are soft.
- Transfer mixture to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth (alternately, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients in the crockpot).
- Return the mixture back to the crockpot.
- Cook on high, uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until thickened. (removing the lid allows water to evaporate out of the mixture and causes it to become thick).
- Turn off the crockpot, leave the mixture in the container uncovered to cool completely, stirring occasionally.
- Once cooled to room temperature, transfer it to glass jars and store in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- Apples. I suggest using organic apples to avoid pesticides, wax coatings, etc. Pick your favorite variety or use a combination of different types of apples. I recommend pink lady, honey crisp, gala, jazz, granny smith, McIntosh, etc. A sweet/tart mixture is my favorite.
- Water. I don’t suggest making substitutions for water. Although you could use apple juice or apple cider, if desired.
- Maple syrup. I love the flavor imparted by maple syrup. You can substitute granulated sugar for the maple syrup.
- Light brown sugar. for a richer molasses taste, use dark brown sugar.
- Cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves. I included what I believe is the best quantity of mixture of spices for this recipe. You can taste and adjust according to your preferences after the recipe is blended.
- Vanilla extract. the seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste are good substitutes for vanilla extract.
- Use it as a filling for crepes, or on top of pancakes or waffles.
- Serve it on top of pumpkin bread or banana bread.
- Slather it on top of this recipe for the best scones, or these cinnamon chip scones.
- Use it on top of these apple muffins, apple cake, or pumpkin muffins.
- Stir it into overnight oats, or serve on top of baked oatmeal.
- Spread it onto toast or bagels for breakfast.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this 2 x’s…. 2nd time.. cut back on the cloves.. added a little molasses. wonderful recipe. took longer then a hour to thicken it up though
Thank you!
Can substitute sugar free maple syrup in the crock pot apple butter?