If you’ve never made apple butter from scratch, here’s your sign that you should absolutely do so! For the longest time I was under the impression that making homemade apple butter or was a long, tedious process that wasn’t worth the hassle, however I couldn’t have been more wrong.
This slow cooker apple butter will have you questioning why you never attempted to make it before. I’m currently questioning a lot of my life choices after this!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter:
- Fresh apples (a soft variety)
- Organic brown sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Allspice
- Ground Nutmeg
- Vanilla extract
- Ground clove (optional)
How to Make Slow Cooker Apple Butter
The main reason I love this recipe is because it’s so incredibly easy to make. All you have to do is throw everything in your slow cooker and let it do its thing.
To begin making this recipe you will want to start by washing your fresh apples, slicing and coring them. You may be wondering if it’s necessary to remove the skin from the apples and I thought that removing the skin was obvious. Why wouldn’t you remove the skin? It just seems like the right thing to do.
It turns out that removing the skin is totally optional and I would actually recommend keeping it on. Most of the nutrients from apples are in the skin so this is a good way to retain some of the nutrients. Plus it means less work for you.
I don’t know about you, but peeling apples is not on my list of favorite things to do. So if I can avoid it, I do! While the apples are in the slow cooker everything breaks down so much by the time everything is blended up, you wouldn’t even know that there was apple skin in there to begin with!
Once all of your apples have been cored and sliced into about one in pieces all you have to do is toss them into your slow cooker along with the other ingredients– your brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Cover your slow cooker with the lid making sure to fasten it tightly and set it on low. Allow your slow cooker apple butter to cook for 10 to 12 hours.
I typically turn the slow cooker on around 10 p.m,. right before bed so that I wake up to the wonderful smell of all of these amazing spices. I would highly recommend it. There’s nothing better! After 10 to 12 hours, the ingredients should have broken down considerably. You should be able to easily mash an apple piece with the back of a spoon.
At this point you’re ready to blend everything. You can do this one of two ways– The first way would be to use an immersion blender. If you have one, you can blend the ingredients together until smooth right in your slow cooker.
If you don’t have an immersion blender you can always use a regular high speed blender. Simply transfer all of your ingredients to your high speed blender and blend until smooth. Once it’s done blending the end result should be creamy, smooth slow cooker apple butter.
You can enjoy this Apple better on a variety of things right away! My favorite way to enjoy this slow cooker apple butter recipe is simply on a piece of (vegan) buttered toast topped with this amazingly delicious spread. It’s also great for dipping fruit into!
How to Store Slow Cooker Apple Butter
The best way to store this homemade slow cooker apple butter is simply placing it in an airtight container. I like to use my mason jars to store it however you can use any container you would like. Keep in mind, this recipe also makes for a great gift so you can place it in a jar with a latch and decorated with a nice bow before gifting it to a loved one!
How Long Will This Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe Last?
This recipe will last for up to two to three weeks stored in an airtight container.
Can this Recipe be Frozen?
Yes! You can freeze this recipe, however you may notice that after freezing the consistency is a little more watery than before. The good news is it will still taste great!
What Kind of Apples Work Best for a Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe?
I would recommend using soft apples like Golden Delicious, Gala or Macintosh. I personally chose to use gala apples for this recipe.
I know you’ll love this slow cooker apple butter recipe. It is super easy to make and requires only 6 simple ingredients that you likely already have on hand. Give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
Other Apple Recipes You’ll Love:
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
- Easy Vegan Crumble Apple Pie
- Easy Vegan Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Vegan Cinnamon Apple Bread
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Easy Slow Cooker Apple Butter [+VIDEO]
Ingredients
- 3 lbs apples sliced and cored (a soft variety like Macintosh, Gala, or Golden Delicious)
- ¼ cup organic brown sugar
- ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ground clove to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Place sliced apples into slow cooker along with brown sugar, all seasonings and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- Set slow cooker to low setting and let cook for 10-12 hours.
- Once done, blend with an immersion blender or transfer all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Enjoy!
Hi, thanks for the wonderful recipe. I don’ t have slow cooker, can I make the apple butter without it?
Hi Yuliana! Yes, you can place all of the ingredients in a large pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low heat then let simmer for about 2.5 hours. Just be sure to stir it frequently so the apples don’t start to stick to the bottom. Once the apples are good and soft, use an immersion blender to blend it, or transfer the mixture to a high speed blender. If you try it lmk how it goes!