Apple Butter in the Crock Pot
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Made with apple sauce, fresh apples, and apple juice, this apple butter in the crock pot recipe is bursting with apple flavor. Add in some delicious spices like cinnamon, cloves, and allspice and you have a treat that’s to die for when spread on a warm biscuit.
From time to time I run across a person who has never heard of apple butter. When I am finished gasping in horror at the wasted life they have led up until that point, I make it my first order of business to slather some on a biscuit and get it to their mouth as soon as possible.
Some people are intimidated by apple butter because they think it’s hard to make. But I’m here to tell you it’s surprisingly easy, especially when you make apple butter in the crock pot. Perhaps it’s the complex taste of the spices combined with how few people actually do make it anymore which causes it to be shied away from in our kitchens? There is no need though as this apple butter recipe is likely one of the easiest things that I’ve brought you so far!
All we need to do is add all of the ingredients to the crock pot and let it do its magical thing. The ingredients include apple sauce, Granny Smith apples, apple juice, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Oh, the combination of all that apple flavor with the spices makes this apple butter SO tasty, y’all.
I like to put my apple butter on to cook in the slow cooker just before I go to bed and let it cook all night long. When I wake up in the morning, the house is filled with the most delicious and fragrant smell that I often reserve making it for a time when we have company! I wake up first thing, take the lid off, and give it a few fans just to make sure the house is thoroughly saturated with that sensational apple butter smell.
We eat a breakfast of buttermilk biscuits and fresh, hot apple butter while I let the rest continue to cook. This is about as close to heaven as you can possibly get while still drawing breath. I’ve convinced you now, right?
Recipe Ingredients
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Sugar
- Granny Smith apples
- Apple juice
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Allspice
How to Make Apple Butter in the Crock Pot
“Chip” your apples like we did in the apple pie. If you have not read the apple pie tutorial, you now have your first official homework assignment.
Do this by peeling the apples and cutting little chips of them off.
Place in a large crock pot along with both jars of apple sauce, sugar, spices, and a bit of apple juice.
The exact quantities are at the bottom of this post.
Stir well and cover with the lid. Cook on low overnight for 8 to 10 hours.
After cooking overnight or throughout the day, your apple butter will be dark brown and rich.
However, it will have a bit too much water in it. This is where you will taste it and see what you want to add. I am including the exact quantities I use at the bottom of this crock pot apple butter recipe.
Leave the lid off and continue cooking for a few hours until it cooks down a little bit. “Cooks down” is how old folks say “it’s too runny, you need some of that water gone!”.
After it cooks down a bit, fill up pint or quart jars and seal.
If you go through the process of canning this slow cooker apple butter, you can simply leave the jars on a shelf in your pantry. Otherwise, you would need to refrigerate them and use them within two to three weeks.
You can also place it in jars and freeze it to keep it longer without canning. For a complete tutorial that makes canning easy, please click here (yes, I said “EASY” because it is!).
Here’s some scrumptious apple butter on a spoon roll. I’ve included more serving suggestions below!
Storage
- Refrigerate the jars of apple butter and store them in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
- You can also freeze apple butter for up to 1 year. Thaw in the fridge before using.
- Alternatively, click on this canning tutorial to store them in the pantry for months.
Recipe Notes
- If you feel like it is too much sugar for you or too many cloves or allspice, just do a little less. The beauty of this recipe is that you cook it all night in the crock pot, then taste it in the morning and add what you prefer to make it to your taste. You can also use Stevia or Monk Fruit instead of sugar if you like. However, it will require much less as these sweeteners are a lot sweeter than sugar.
- For a different flavor, use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- A jar of homemade apple butter is the perfect Thanksgiving hostess gift!
- You can easily substitute the cloves or allspice for ground nutmeg and/or ground ginger if that’s what you have on hand.
- Another way to add sweetness is to add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Stir this in when you taste it after it’s been slow cooking overnight.
- If you want smoother apple butter, you can blend it using an immersion blender until smooth, before storing. Use the immersion blender directly in the slow cooker or transfer the mixture to a standing blender and puree.
Recipe FAQs
How do you serve apple butter?
The options are basically endless when it comes to serving your crockpot apple butter, but here are some suggestions:
- Use apple butter instead of apple sauce the next time you serve pork chops.
- Serve it on a Southern biscuit, toast, scone, cornbread, pancakes, crepes, or waffles.
- Use it on your next charcuterie board, as it tastes delicious spread on a cracker with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese.
- Add a dollop to a serving of vanilla ice cream.
- Use as an oatmeal or yogurt topping for breakfast.
- Enjoy a peanut butter and apple butter sandwich for lunch!
Can you overcook apple butter in the crock pot?
No, you can’t overcook apple butter in the crock pot. The longer you leave it in there on low, the more intense the flavors will become.
What are the best apples to use in apple butter?
While I opt for Granny Smith apples because they’re a great baking apple, many apple varieties work. This includes Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, McIntosh, Braeburn, and Jonagold.
What is the difference between apple sauce and apple butter?
Apple butter is basically a more concentrated and thicker version of applesauce as it’s cooked for a longer period of time. But if you want to make apple sauce instead, check out my crockpot cinnamon apple sauce recipe.
You may also like these sensational spreads:
Peach Preserves That Will Knock Your Socks Off
How To Make Strawberry Jam (No Cooking, No Canning)
Peach Freezer Jam (No Canning Involved)
Ingredients
- 2-3 50-oz jars unsweetened apple sauce
- 3 lbs Granny Smith apples
- 4 cups sugar
- 1.5 cups apple juice
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp allspice
Instructions
- Peel and cut apples into small chips.3 lbs Granny Smith apples
- Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir.2-3 50-oz jars unsweetened apple sauce, 3 lbs Granny Smith apples, 4 cups sugar, 1.5 cups apple juice, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tsp allspice
- Cover and slow cook on low overnight (eight to ten hours). Then remove the cover, stir, and taste. Add more spices or sugar if desired.
- Continue cooking for a few more hours, uncovered, until some of the liquid has gone and the butter has cooked down a bit.
- Pour into jars and refrigerate (unless it is canned properly).
- Serve over hot biscuits, toast, scones, or just eat it out of the jar if no one is looking!
Nutrition
Can you use regular apples that are green? My hubby bought the wrong ones. Not Granny Smith.
THX!!
Lesley Cox
Sure can!!
OK, so you don’t actually put butter IN the recipe? I can’t wait to try. I’ve always wanted to can something.
This is the greatest site for REAL southern recipes
Thank you Angelya!!
Oh yum! Crock Pot Apple Butter reminds me of what it must have been like in the ole homestead when Mom put on a pot of something from scratch that cooked all day. The delicious scent tweaked the nose and permeated the house when the family came in from milking or farm work or the kids came home from school. If it was vegetable soup or stew it was savory; and it if was sweet, cinnamon-y and apple-y, it was apple butter, which was SO delicious on fresh biscuits right out of the oven. This was aromatherapy before they invented the word! Take me home, country roads… to the place, I belong…
Holy Cow !!!!! I never in my 60 years tasted something so good nor saw something get gone so quick as I did this apple butter.. It was simply delicious, Christy.. I canned 5 quarts the latter part of November and it is all gone.. I told my wife I could kick my own rear end for not doing this long ago.. I never knew canning could be so easy to do.. I look forward to many more of your ” award winning ” recipes.. God bless !!
OOPS .. Should have been 5 pints..
How long did you boil the jars to can it? I just made my first cherry jam and processed it by canning. That only took about 10 min. of boiling. I don’t have a regular cold bath canner so I used a big soup pot and had a jam/jelly maker from Ball. It only makes 4-5 little jars. I figured this would take larger jars. I’ll have to see if it fits in my soup pot with an inch or two of water over it. I can get 3 larger jars in the canner. I’d probably be looking at 2 batches unless I borrow a cold pack canner. I wonder why my grandpa didn’t can apple butter as he canned all kinds of other things. He had the best green beans and corn and bread and butter pickles and beats. He canned on a wood burning stove in the dining area and had a separate kitchen are. He or grandma also strung apples for dried apples and Grandpa made apple stack cakes which she called fruit cake. I helped once with it but didn’t get the shortbread recipe (she didn’t use a recipe but she added spices like this to it and it was perhaps a little thicker. I’m in my late 60’s and just now trying things like this. I did help my teenage kids can strawberry jam but then they made it another time after that on their own. Did a great job. I didn’t can any after that. Well, I just canned cherry jam. I used the light sugar recipe. Afraid to use Splenda in it but may try next time with half and half or less. My jam maker doesn’t make big batches but I don’t have to stand and stir it all that time. I have trouble standing very long. This worked out well except it boiled over a bit. Taking off the lid calmed it down. I had put a silicone cutting board under it so it was easy to clean up. Sure takes storage space though. The crock pot apple butter sounds like a good way to do that and the problem would be the canner and having my pot big enough. I used to have a canner when I had storage space and then sold off stuff in storage sheds to get rid of the huge cost and the pot was gone. If my garden does anything, and doesn’t seem to be doing much, then I’ll have to buy another. Maybe I can borrow one and give the owner a jar of apple butter in exchange. Don’t forget to tell the time to boil it in the jars.
I cooked this in the crock over night…actually I had to put it in two. I wake up and there are still chunks of apple in my butter 🙁 ALSO it is kind of tart also could be my taster first thing in the morning BUT incase it is not…any ideas? Making this for the hubby, we had a long talk about how we use to eat apple butter right out of the jar as kids and he smiled and laughed the whole time …he is so cute 🙂
Hello. I made apple butter in the crockpot with the intention of canning same day. I could not find my pot so had to stick butter in the fridge. I want to can the batch tomorrow. Do I need to rewarm the apple butter before placing in cans.
Hey Monica! I would rewarm it. Just stick it in the microwave if you want, until it is very hot throughout. You can also stick it back in the crock pot until it reaches a good hot temp throughout as well. Whichever is most convenient for you. I’ve had to do that before when I didn’t have the jars I needed and it worked out fine. (I used the microwave).
Thanks!
Christy
Thank you for the info and the quick resonse.
Christy, I did the same as Monica except that I put mine in canning jars and then into the freezer. Now with the holidays approaching I NEED the freezer space. Can I thaw the apple butter in the fridge, re-heat and then can in a water bath canner??? Logically, it sounds ok, but is it?? Thanks, Christy.