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Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Make thick, smooth, and warmly spiced apple butter in your slow cooker using fresh apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. This beginner-friendly recipe requires only 30 minutes of active preparation, while the slow cooker handles most of the work.

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 9 hours
Total Time 10 hours
Course: Breakfast, Condiment, Spread
Cuisine: American
Calories: 56
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 6 pounds Apples
  • ¾ cup Packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup Granulated suga
  • 1 tablespoon Ground cinnamo
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
  • ⅛ teaspoon Ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 6 quart slow cooker
  • Vegetable peeler
  • Sharp kitchen knife
  • Cutting board
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
  • Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
  • Immersion blender or regular blender
  • Clean glass storage jars

Method
 

  1. Measure the ingredients

  2. Peel the apples
  3. Core the apples
  4. Chop the apples
  5. Fill the slow cooker
  6. Add the sugar and spices
  7. Add the lemon juice
  8. Cook the apples

  9. Blend until smooth

  10. Thicken the apple butter
  11. Add the vanilla
  12. Cool and store

Notes

  • Use a mixture of sweet and tart apples for the best flavor. Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith work well.
  • Taste a fresh apple before adding the sugar. Reduce the granulated sugar to 2 tablespoons when using very sweet apples.
  • The apple butter becomes thicker after cooling.
  • To test the texture, place a spoonful on a cold plate and wait 1 minute. It should stay in a soft mound without watery liquid spreading around it.
  • If the apple butter is too thin, cook it uncovered for another 30 to 60 minutes.
  • If it is too sweet, stir in lemon juice ½ teaspoon at a time.
  • Store refrigerated apple butter for up to 2 weeks.
  • Freeze it in freezer-safe containers for up to 6 months, leaving 1 inch of headspace.
  • This recipe is not shelf-stable unless it is processed using a tested water-bath canning recipe.