Apple Butter Recipe

There’s nothing quite like the cozy aroma of apples and cinnamon simmering away in the kitchen! This slow cooker Apple Butter Recipe is rich, sweet, and full of old-fashioned flavor. Spread it over warm buttermilk biscuits, homemade toast, or a slice of cornbread for a delicious taste of apple season. Best of all, the slow cooker does most of the work for you!

Easy Apple Butter Recipe

Making homemade apple butter is a time-honored tradition throughout the South, especially when apple season rolls around. For generations, churches and community groups have gathered to peel, core, and chop bushels of fresh apples before cooking them down into a rich, spiced spread to share with family, friends, and neighbors. In some communities, these gatherings still feature the old-fashioned method of simmering apples in enormous cast-iron kettles over an open fire, with a crew of dedicated stirrers taking turns keeping the mixture moving to prevent scorching as it slowly thickens.

To celebrate the first day of fall, I made my own batch of homemade Slow Cooker Apple Butter. Freshly sliced apples simmer gently for hours with a blend of sugar and warm spices, allowing their natural sweetness to deepen as the mixture cooks down into a thick, smooth, and flavorful spread. While the traditional method is a wonderful way to bring folks together, using a slow cooker makes this beloved Southern tradition much easier to enjoy at home. There’s very little hands-on preparation involved, and once everything is in the slow cooker, it does most of the work for you. Spread the finished apple butter over warm buttermilk biscuits, homemade toast, or cornbread for a delicious taste of fall!

Key ingredients you’ll need to make Southern Apple Butter Recipe: (Scroll down for the full recipe card and quantities.)

• Apples – Use gala apples or Granny Smith apples or a variety of apples.
• Sugar – A combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar (white sugar) for sweetness.
• Spices – Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg and salt.
• Flavoring – Vanilla extract for creamy floral notes.
• Lemon Juice – Fresh lemon juice adds acid to the balance the sweetness.

How to Make the Best Apple Butter Recipe

• Combine Sugar and Spices – Stir together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, ginger allspice, salt and nutmeg.
• Prep Apples – Arrange apple slices in slow cooker.
• Flavorings – Drizzle lemon juice over the top of the apples.
• Sugar – Sprinkle the sugar and spice mixture over the apples and stir to coat.
• Lock Lid in Place – Cover and cook on low then uncover and stir.
• Process – Puree until smooth using an immersion blender or ladle into a stand blender to puree. Add the vanilla, mix well.
• Serve – Use immediately or chill until serving.

Kitchen Equipment to Make Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe

• 6 quart crockpot or similar size large slow cooker.
• Paring knife and cutting board.
• Apple corer.
• Measuring cups and measuring spoons.
• Small bowl.
• Immersion blender, food processor or a stand blender for processing the apples after slow cooking.

Recipe Variations, Tips and Substitutions

• Best Apples to Make Apple Butter in a Crockpot– Invariably, when I make apple butter someone will ask what are the best apples to use. Most agree that the softer apples will cook down the quickest. My advice is to use the apples you love, and a mix of varieties will yield a more complex flavor. Some varieties we love are Braeburn, Cortland, Crispin (Mutsu), McIntosh, Fuji, Golden Delicious. Gala, Honeycrisp and Rome. My answer is always the same, use whatever apples you enjoy most.
• Sugar – I recommend using a combination of sugar for depth of flavor. That said, you can use only white sugar or only brown sugar, if that’s your preference.
• Spices – You could use apple pie spice or create your own spice blend.
• Allspice – You can replace allspice with 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
• Processing Apple Butter – You can puree the apple butter in batches in a stand blender if you don’t have an immersion blender or food processor. Rule of thumb is to process until it’s fairly smooth or until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
• Canning Apple Butter – You can also can apple butter for long-term storage in a water-bath, See the recipe card for details. 

Storage and Leftovers

• Leftovers – Store apple butter chilled in the refrigerator in a mason jar or airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
• Freezer – You can freeze apple butter for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and enjoy on biscuits, oatmeal, pancakes, French toast, drizzled over ice cream or with cream cheese as a quick dip.

More Apple Recipes to Make

• Harvest Apple Bread is filled with fall flavors in every bite.
• Perfect Homemade Caramel Dipped Apples are a fun family project to make together.
• Make your own Apple Pie Filling.
• This Caramel Apple Poke Cake is a crowd pleasing dessert.
• Treat the family to warm Apple Cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream.
• Classic lattice topped Apple Pie.
• Chunky Slow Cooker Applesauce.
• Glazed Caramel Apple Turnovers found here on MSSK.
• Candy Apples from Favorite Family Recipes.

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Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Crockpot
• Apple Peeler Corer Slicer
• Measuring Set
• Immersion Blender