Easy Crockpot Apple Butter (Old Fashioned Recipe)

My Crockpot Apple Butter is so easy to make, you’ll wonder why you waited to so long to make it yourself! Simply gather your apples, add a touch of sweetness and spices, then let the crockpot do the work. As the apples simmer slowly, they meld into a rich, thick butter perfect for spreading on toast, swirling into oatmeal, smearing all over biscuits.

Crockpot Apple Butter

Every year during apple season I take my kids to an apple orchard and we pick tons of apples!

I love making apple fritters, apple dumplings, and my famous caramel apple trifle. My friends enjoy coming over to eat my apple tres leches cake.

But the kids—they look forward to my Crockpot Apple Butter the most!

This recipe is a great way to use up pounds of apples, especially during apple season. As the apple butter cooks, the entire house fills with the warm spices of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. It truly makes your home smell amazing!

What is Apple Butter?

For those of you that haven’t heard of apple butter before, it’s not actually a butter.

Apple butter is a thick, spiced spread made from apples, sugar, and warm spices, like cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

It originated in Europe during the Middle Ages and became popular in America, especially in the Appalachian and Midwestern regions, where apple orchards were abundant.

Why You’ll Love My Homemade Crockpot Apple Butter

• Simple to Make: This easy crockpot apple butter recipe uses simple ingredients you can find in any grocery store. Just add all the ingredients to your crockpot and let it do its magic!
• Deliciously Sweet: With the perfect blend of granny smith apples, apple sauce, and sugar, this recipe creates a deliciously sweet apple butter.
• So Many Uses: Whether you spread it on my 3 ingredient biscuits, stir it into cottage cheese, or use it as a topping for ice cream, this apple butter will make anything delicious!
• Cost-Effective: Making apple butter at home can save you money compared to store-bought versions.
• Perfect for Gifts: Packaged in small mason jars, this apple butter makes for a thoughtful and great gift or a treat for friends and family during the holiday season.

Best Apples for Apple Butter

I prefer to use Granny Smith apples when making apple butter, but you can also use other types of apples.

Here are some options and how they might change your recipe. Remember, if you use sweeter apples, you might want to reduce the sugar in the recipe, unless you love sweet!

• Golden Delicious: These apples are softer and sweeter than Granny Smiths. Using them can result in a sweeter apple butter with a milder apple flavor. They blend smoothly, making the need for an immersion blender minimal.
• Gala Apples: Gala apples add a mildly sweet flavor with a hint of floral to your apple butter.
• Red Delicious: Known for their sweetness, Red Delicious apples can make your apple butter sweeter. However, they are not as firm as other apples, so the texture might be slightly different, potentially smoother.
• Pink Lady: These apples offer a balance between sweet and tart, similar to Granny Smith but with a unique, zesty twist. They can add a complex flavor to your apple butter, making it both rich and slightly tangy.

You can honestly use all kind of apples for this slow cooker apple butter recipe. It really depends on how sweet or tart you want it.

Apple Butter Ingredients

This easy apple butter recipe uses basic ingredients:

• Granny Smith Apples: These apples are tart and hold up well during cooking, making them ideal for apple butter. They add a nice contrast to the sweetness of the other ingredients.
• All-Natural Apple Sauce: Adds to the apple flavor and smooth texture of the apple butter, making it more spreadable.
• Sugar: Sweetens the apple butter. You can adjust the amount based on how sweet you want your apple butter to be.
• Apple Juice: Adds liquid to help cook the apples down and contributes to the overall apple flavor.
• Cinnamon: A warm spice that complements the apples and adds depth to the apple butter’s flavor.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: This blend of spices (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves) adds complex, warm flavors, making the apple butter taste like fall in a jar.

How to Make Apple Butter in the Crockpot

Prepare Your Apples: Start by peeling and dicing the apples. You’ll need about 3 pounds of apples for a good batch. Place these fresh apples into a large crockpot.

Add Ingredients: Add all other ingredients to the crockpot and give it a good stir to combine everything, making sure the apples are well-coated.

Cooking Process: Cover the crockpot and set it to cook on low heat for 10 hours. This slow cooking process is what brings out the best flavor and allows the apple butter to develop a deep, rich color.

Blend to Perfection: After cooking, use a whisk to stir the apple mixture, breaking down any large pieces. For a smooth apple butter, an immersion blender works perfectly, creating a velvety-smooth texture. If you don’t have an immersion blender, a regular blender or food processor can also do the job, just be careful with the hot mixture.

Variations

• Spiced Maple Apple Butter: Swap out the sugar for maple syrup to give your apple butter a subtle, natural sweetness and an autumnal twist.
• Vanilla Bean Apple Butter: Add a split vanilla bean or a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the apple mixture before cooking.
• Bourbon Apple Butter: Stir in a quarter cup of bourbon to the crockpot before cooking. The bourbon will cook down, leaving behind a complex, oak-aged flavor that makes this apple butter a great addition to adult desserts or as a unique hostess gift.
• Cranberry Apple Butter: Add a cup of fresh or frozen cranberries to the mix. The cranberries add a tart, tangy contrast to the sweetness of the apples and spices—perfect for fall and winter holidays!
• Ginger-Peach Apple Butter: Mix in a cup of diced fresh peaches and a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger for a unique variation.
• Honey-Lavender Apple Butter: Substitute honey for sugar and add a teaspoon of dried lavender.
• Fiery Apple Butter: For those who like a little heat, add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes or a small diced jalapeño to the apple mixture.
• Caramel Apple Butter: After the apple butter cooks and before blending, stir in a half cup of caramel sauce. This version offers a gooey, sweet richness that makes it an irresistible topping for desserts or a a tasty topping to your morning yogurt.

Help! My Apple Butter is Too Thin

If after blending, the apple butter isn’t as thick as you’d like, you can continue to cook it uncovered on low heat. Check every 15-20 minutes until you reach your desired consistency.

Remember, apple butter will continue to thicken as it cools.

Ways to Enjoy Apple Butter

My Apple Butter recipe is so dang good that all you really need s a spoon! But in all seriousness, here are my favorite ways to use apple butter:

• Smear some delicious apple butter on my 3-Ingredient Biscuits or these deliscious Homemade Biscuits.
• Serve with savory pork chops or pork tenderloin (this is my favorite way to eat pork!).
• Top your Buttermilk Pancakes or waffles with apple butter.
• Stir a spoonful of apple butter into your morning oatmeal for added sweetness and flavor.
• Drizzle apple butter over vanilla ice cream for a sweet treat full of fall flavors.
• Mix apple butter into cottage cheese or plain yogurt for a quick and tasty snack.

How to Store Apple Butter

To store your crockpot apple butter, transfer the finished apple butter into an airtight container or small mason jars. Ensure the jars are clean and the apple butter is completely cool before sealing them.

For refrigeration, your apple butter will last up to two weeks.

If you decide to freeze it, leave some space at the top of your freezer-safe container for expansion, and it will last for up to a year.

Canning Apple Butter

One of the ways that I save money is that I make all my fruit jams jellies at home, and can them.  Just this past week, I made 3 quarts of Lemon Blueberry Jelly, which is by far my family’s favorite jelly ever.

I always can apple butter!

Since we pick so many during apple season, I make huge batches and then can them so we can enjoy them all year round.

If you’re new to canning, you can learn all about it with this Canning Master Class.

Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe

This easy crockpot apple butter recipe, with its perfect blend of sweetness and spice, is not only a wonderful recipe for your first time making apple butter but also a great way to utilize a variety of apples you might have on hand.

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Crockpot Apple Butter

Servings 8 pints

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. granny smith apples peeled, cored, and diced
• 2 46 oz jars of all natural applesauce
• 4 C sugar
• 1 C apple juice
• 2-3 TBSP cinnamon depending on how ‘spiced’ you want it
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

• Place the peeled and diced apples in a large crockpot.
• Add all other ingredients and give it a nice stir.
• Cover crockpot and cook on low for 10 hours.
• Stir well with a whisk to smoothe it out.
• Use an immersion blender for a velvety-smooth texture and finish.