Crockpot Apple Butter

When apples are in season, you’ve got to take advantage and make a batch of this crockpot apple butter. This easy recipe only requires a handful of ingredients, and the slow cooking method results in a thickened sweet fruit spread perfect for your morning slice of toast.

Fall is right around the corner, and that means it’s time to embrace one of my favorite flavors.

Apple. Apple all the things.

You were probably expecting me to say pumpkin, and pumpkin’s great don’t get me wrong- but apple really gets overlooked and often overshadowed by pumpkin everything.

Do yourself a favor though, and don’t sleep out on apples this season!

In fact, use them to make a batch of this rich crockpot apple butter.

It’s super easy, and absolutely scrumptious.

Don’t be surprised when you want to spread it on all the things.

Ingredients Needed

This easy apple butter recipe only calls for a handful of ingredients.

You’ll need:

• Apples – You need about 5 pounds of apples for this recipe. They need to be peeled, cored, and sliced before beginning. This should yield roughly 15 cups of apple slices.
• Brown Sugar – A full, packed cup of brown sugar. Packed means to keep adding more sugar to your measuring cup, pressing it in/down until no more will fit, and leveling it off.
• Spices – A mixture of ground cinnamon, nut meg, and cloves gives this apple butter it’s unique flavor.

Once you’ve prepped and measured out all of the ingredients, you’re ready to get cooking!

How To Make

Making crockpot apple butter is surprisingly easy.

To start, add the prepared apples to the bowl of your slow cooker.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker, and give everything a good stir to evenly combine.

Cover the crockpot, and cook the apples on LOW heat for 8 hours. This will yield the best, most consistent results.

However, if time is an issue- you can cook them on HIGH heat for 4-5 hours, but watch carefully after the four hour mark so that they don’t scorch.

The apples are done when they’re so tender they’re practically falling apart.

Use an immersion blender, and carefully blend all of the apples until the mixture’s completely smoothed and you’ve got a luscious apple butter.

Be careful not to cause any of the mixture to fly up as it will be HOT.

You’re apple butter’s ready to be used and enjoyed!

Storing

To store, spoon the cooled apple butter into air tight containers. It can then be refrigerated for up to a week.

Alternatively, you can freeze it for six months in an airtight, freezer safe container.

I haven’t tested this recipe for canning- so not sure if it would be safe or shelf stable for that storage method.

What’re The Best Apples For Making Apple Butter?

Some apples are better than others in both flavor and consistency for slow cooking and making homemade apple butter.

Generally softer varieties, like Fuji apples, are preferable since the cook down quicker.

However, we like (and recommend!) also using Granny Smith apples because their natural tartness provides a delicious balance to the sweet Fuji.

We recommend using an even half & half mix of both Fuji and Granny Smith apples for this recipe.

How To Thicken Slow Cooker Apple Butter

If you find your apple butter’s too thin, don’t worry- it’s easy to fix.

Simply remove the lid, and continue cooking the mixture for another 30-60 minutes until it’s thickened to your desired consistency.

Stir often though, so that it doesn’t burn or scorch.

The Best Ways To Use Apple Butter

One of our favorite uses, and the most traditional, is as a spread on slices of toast, fresh bread, or even bagels.

Poured over a block of softened cream cheese and served with buttery crackers, it makes a great appetizer for game days, and even holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Believe it or not, it’s also a great sauce for meats. We like using it with barbecue sauce on ribs and chicken, and even basted on grilled shrimp.

We use it as a secret ingredient in baked beans too.

It also makes a great dessert, like in this apple butter pie.

TIPS & TRICKS

• You can use either light or dark brown sugar in this recipe
• If salt is a dietary concern, you can omit it; however, the pinch really will enhance the sweetness of your apple butter if used.
• Want to make things simpler in the seasoning dept? Use one tablespoon + one teaspoon of apple pie spice in place of all the individual seasonings.

Other Easy Apple Recipes

Take advantage of seasonal produce and make a batch of this easy crockpot apple butter.

It’s a great way to up your breakfast and snacking game with a simple, sweet spread!

Looking for other easy apple recipes?

Try these:

• Crockpot Fried Apples (Cracker Barrel Copycat)
• Snickerdoodle Apple Cobbler
• Instant Pot Cranberry Apple Sauce
• Fall Fruit Salad Recipe
• Instant Pot Apple Pie Filling
• Caramel Apple Pie Bombs

If you’ve tried this CROCKPOT APPLE BUTTER, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!