Homemade Apple Butter

Learn how to make apple butter in the crockpot or Instant Pot. Sweetened with honey, you’ll get a thick, delicious spread perfect for slathering on biscuits or toast!

We stopped buying jelly a few years ago when I realized many store-bought jellies contained high fructose corn syrup, one of our top ingredients to avoid in food.

Instead, we make homemade Cinnamon Apple Pie Jam, No-Cook Strawberry Freezer Jam, and homemade apple butter.

Making apple butter couldn’t be simpler and it’s really a forgiving process. No culinary skills are required, and you don’t even have to be home for most of it!

HOMEMADE APPLE BUTTER RECIPE

This homemade apple butter recipe is ideal for those who:

• Want to eat better food,
• Want to save a few bucks, and…
• Don’t want to spend all day in the kitchen.

Is there anyone this doesn’t apply to?

It’s also perfect for enjoying one of the best flavors of fall: apples!

APPLES FOR APPLE BUTTER RECIPES

You only need TWO ingredients to make this tasty and frugal homemade fruit butter.

• Apples
• Honey (optional)

Although it has “butter” in the name, there’s no actual butter in the apple butter recipe. It’s just named that way because of the smooth consistency of the finished recipe.

When choosing the best apples for apple butter recipes, I like to look for a mixture of tart apples (like McIntosh, Braeburn, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady) and sweeter apple varieties, (like Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Gala). Use one variety of apples or mix and match!

HOW TO MAKE APPLE BUTTER AT HOME

If you haven’t had apple butter you, my friend, are missing out. It is a deliciously rich sweet topping that’s thick like jam that you can spread on bread or biscuits or drizzle over a bowl of something yummy like oatmeal or yogurt.

Here’s how to make apple butter at home:

• Start by cooking the apples.
• Blend them up like making applesauce.
• Cook the mixture down even more so that it thickens into a spreadable consistency.

You can do this on the stovetop, but it’s much easier to do hands-off in the crockpot.

HOW TO MAKE APPLE BUTTER IN THE CROCKPOT

Step 1. Wash, quarter, and remove the stems from the apples (you can leave the peels on). Add them into a slow cooker (I use this one). Cover with the lid and turn on high for 4-6 hours, but no longer than 8 hours.

Step 2. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 8-12 hours. (I like to do this step overnight).

Step 3. Puree the fruit using an immersion blender (I have this one), or in batches with a blender (I use this one). Be careful since the fruit will be very hot.

Step 4. With the pureed fruit in the crockpot, stir in the honey. Prop at least one side of the lid open with a knife or chopstick. This allows the water inside to evaporate, thickening the apple butter.

Step 5. Cook on low for 2-6 hours, until the apple butter reaches your desired consistency.

HOW TO STORE HOMEMADE APPLE BUTTER

Home made apple butter needs to be stored in the refrigerator. If you don’t think you will finish it within a month or so, I suggest freezing or canning it.

• Use this guide to freeze in jars without breaking them.
• Use this tutorial on how to can apple sauce to preserve your apple butter. The process is the same for canning, just use apple butter instead of applesauce!

HOMEMADE APPLE BUTTER CROCK POT TIPS

This apple butter recipe is really flexible!

• Cooking on high for an extra hour or two does not affect the apple butter. (Ask me how I know!) But it will be darker and have a more concentrated flavor.
• I have made butter by cooking on low first, then high, and the results are the same.
• Propping both ends of the lid open will speed up the evaporation process, but only do this if you are home. This ensures your apple butter doesn’t cook down too much, too fast.
• The skin of the fruit naturally contains pectin, which helps to “gel” the fruit butter. Shop according to the dirty dozen and clean fifteen list. Aim to buy organic produce to reduce pesticides if you plan to use the skin and ALWAYS wash your fruit using a natural produce wash.

INSTANT POT APPLE BUTTER

The process for slow cooker apple butter is pretty long. If you want to speed up the process, you can use an Instant Pot (here’s the one I have).

Step 1. Wash, cut, and remove the stems from 6 pounds of apples. Add to Instant Pot.

Step 2. Add ¼ cup of apple juice or water. Close and seal the lid.

Step 3. Cook on HIGH pressure for 8 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10-15 minutes.

Step 4. Take off the lid and use an immersion blender to mash the apples.

Step 5. Add ¼ cup honey or maple syrup.

Step 6. Set Instant Pot to Sauté on Low. Stir and let simmer for about 15 minutes until thickened.

Step 7. Let cool before storing in jars.

HOMEMADE FRUIT BUTTER FLAVOR VARIATIONS

You can really get creative with your apple butter. In fact, you can make fruit butter without any apples!

Our current apple butter in the fridge is a strawberry apple flavor. It came from marked-down, over-ripe strawberries at the farmer’s market combined with the first pickings of the apple season. The flavor of the strawberries deepens in the cooking process, and the apples complement the richness so well.

• Strawberry Apple Butter: 3 cups strawberries + 3 pounds of apples + ¼ cup honey. Cook down the strawberries and apples. Add the honey when pureeing the fruit.
• Spiced Peach Blackberry: 6 pounds of peaches + 1 pint of blackberries + 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger, ½ tsp nutmeg, and ½ tsp cloves. Cook down the peaches only; add blackberries and spices when pureeing the fruit and cook down.
• Peach Blueberry: 6 pounds of peaches + 1 pint of blueberries. Cook down the peaches only; add blueberries when pureeing the fruit and cook down.
• Maple Vanilla Apple Pear: 3 pounds of apples + 3 pounds of pears + 2 Tbsp maple syrup and 2 Tbsp vanilla extract. Cook down the apples and pears; add maple syrup and vanilla (try my homemade recipe) when pureeing and cook down.

I encourage you to get creative with your flavors. Using over-ripe and marked-down produce is PERFECT for homemade fruit butter!

TIPS TO REDUCE THE COST OF FRUIT BUTTER

Making your own crockpot apple butter can get pricey if you use organic or out-of-season produce. Your best bet is to aim for fruit that’s priced at $1 per pound.

• Save on organic fruit by asking local markets for jam berries or “seconds.” These fruits are usually slightly bruised or damaged, but they’re just as nutritious as the pretty ones. Since you’re going to cook them and puree them anyway, there’s no need for them to be pretty! (Here’s the Ultimate Guide to Shopping the Farmer’s Market on a Budget.)
• Make fruit butter from fruit NOT listed on the dirty dozen: Cherries, pears, domestic nectarines, plums, blueberries, raspberries, oranges, bananas, honeydew, cantaloupe, papaya, watermelon, grapefruit, kiwi, mangos, and pineapple are all available options.
• Avoid making fruit butter that requires all organic produce. Apples, grapes, imported nectarines, peaches, and strawberries are all listed on the dirty dozen. While these fruits make amazing butter, mix them with produce that isn’t on the dirty dozen list.
• Buy fruit seasonally and aim to pay no more than $1/lb. If you can find fruit for less and if your budget allows, buy more! Seasonal eating has more benefits than just price, too!
• Freeze any fruit that’s going bad. Once you have enough fruit in the freezer, make a batch of fruit butter! The fruit will let out moisture as it cooks down anyway, so the extra moisture from the freezing process won’t matter.

SERVE APPLE BUTTER WITH

You can enjoy this apple butter recipe all sorts of ways!

• Spread on Homemade Biscuits or toast.
• Replace jelly on sandwiches.
• Use apple butter as a dip for fresh fruit or pretzels.
• Top your Instant Pot Oatmeal.
• Spread on Pancakes or Waffles.
• Make Jam Bars with apple butter as the fruit filling.
• Drizzle over Vanilla Ice Cream for a sweet treat!

APPLE BUTTER JELLY FAQS

MORE YUMMY APPLE RECIPES

There are so many ways to enjoy apples! Here are some of my favorites:

• Homemade Applesauce
• Cinnamon Apple Pie Jam
• Apple Crumble Ice Cream
• Apple Slab Pie
• Applesauce Muffins
• How to Dehydrate Apples and Make Apple Chips
• Apple Pie Overnight Oats
• How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar
• Cheesecake Baked Apples