Crock Pot Spiced Apple Butter

Crockpot apple butter is easy to make with just 4 ingredients! Make this delicious fruit spread for yourself or to give as holiday gifts. 

 

Nothing says fall better than the scent of spiced apples filling your kitchen. 

While it’s easy to light a candle or make a stovetop simmer, making homemade apple butter creates the same aroma with a delicious end result!

The best part about this apple butter crockpot recipe is that you can set it and forget it. Just toss everything in the crockpot and go about your day.

You will need to check it after the first hour, otherwise there’s nothing to be done until the very end. 

What is apple butter?

Despite the name, it is not apple-flavored butter! It’s nearly identical to applesauce, except it’s cooked longer for a deeper, more concentrated flavor.

This creamy apple spread can be spread on toast, muffins, and pancakes. Or, mix some into your morning oatmeal.

Use it in place of other jam or fruit fillings for baking, or make a simple peanut butter and apple butter sandwich.

It’s delicious with savory dishes too! Just combine it with walnuts and cayenne pepper to make my Spicy Walnut Apple Butter Pork Loin. How about a dessert salad filled with apples.

Best apples for homemade apple butter

Any of your favorites will work for this creamy apple spread. Generally, softer varieties will cook down faster, so use a mix of apples if you want to include a firmer kind like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith.

I chose Fuji this time because they are one of the most popular and affordable varieties of apple, and they’re available all year round. 

Some other great options are:

• Golden Delicious
• Pink Lady
• Gala 
• McIntosh
• Jonagold

Ingredient substitutions

Make this crockpot apple butter recipe your own by experimenting with different spices and flavors. 

If you find that it’s too sweet for your liking, add a dash of salt with the rest of the ingredients.

• Apples – Use a blend of two or three varieties, or even replace some of the apples with pears.
• Sugar – Substitute half of the granulated sugar with light brown sugar for more caramelized flavor.
• Spices – Replace the cinnamon and allspice with apple pie spice blend. Or, add in any combination of nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom.
• Flavoring – Add up to 1 teaspoon of vanilla to make this slow cooker apple butter a bit sweeter.

Crockpot apple butter tips and tricks

Plan ahead

Because this takes about 10 hours to cook, make sure to start it first thing in the morning. You can always chop the apples the night before and keep them in the refrigerator to save prep time in the morning.

Don’t worry about browning; it doesn’t affect the end result anyway.

Vent the blender

When pureeing the slow cooker apple butter, don’t seal the lid completely. The heat from the apples will create a buildup of steam, and the lid can pop off and make a giant mess.
Either place the lid on the blender at an angle or leave off the center cap if your lid has one.

Canning

Leave about ¼-inch headspace when filling the jars, per the Ball – Complete Book of Home Canning. This is important to create a vacuum seal, since the spread may expand during processing.

Make a smaller batch

Easily halve this recipe if you have some apples that need to be used up quickly. Just keep an eye on them, as it may not take quite as long to cook.

Enjoy!

With love, from our simple kitchen to yours. 

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Crock Pot Spiced Apple Butter

Donna Elick

Crockpot apple butter is easy to make with just 4 ingredients! Make this delicious fruit spread for yourself or to give as holiday gifts.

5 stars from 1 review

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Print Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 9 hours hrs

Total Time 9 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Condiment

Cuisine American

Method Slow Cooker

Servings 6 – 8 (4 Ounce) Jars

Equipment

• slow cooker

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 6 pounds Fuji apples
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Instructions

 

• Peel and core apples. Chop apples into small pieces.
• Place apples, sugar, cinnamon and allspice in crock pot (I used 5 quart). Stir to coat apples with sugar and spices.
• Cook on high for 1 hour, with cover on. You will notice the beautiful juice the apples, sugar and spices have started to create. Also the aroma coming from your crockpot is heavenly!
• After one hour, stir apples and turn to low. Cook covered for 8 hours on low. Transfer apples and juices to a blender and puree. Return to crock pot and cook on high for 1 hour, uncovered. Prepare to can apple butter.
• Can by water bath according to manufacturers instructions. I chose to use the ‘inversion method’ of canning jams and jellies. It is fast and painless!
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 560cal | Carbohydrates: 147g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 6mg | Sugar: 130g | Fiber: 12g | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

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