Crockpot Apple Butter

Step by step directions showing you how to make easy crockpot apple butter! This tasty fall treat has no sugar added and is made with apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. It's gluten-free, vegan, and freezer-friendly.

This buttery smooth crockpot apple butter is an easy DIY Christmas gift that is simple to prep, and tastes even better than applesauce! You can make it in the slow cooker or pressure cooker - just as we did for this Instant Pot apple butter.

This crockpot apple butter is packed with delicious fall flavors and spices, and comes out perfectly sweet, buttery and rich after slow cooking for hours.

Made with just apples and three spices, apple butter is so delicious used up on toast, in oatmeal, or as a natural sweetener in baking!

This crockpot apple butter also happens to make a great gift. Bottle it up in jars and print out a cute gift tag and voila - you have yourself an easy holiday gift that almost anyone would be happy to receive. See

What is apple butter?

Apple butter is similar to applesauce, except that it is simmered low and slow all day long. Apple butter is a slightly more rich, sweet, and luxurious version of applesauce. Simmering it in the slow cooker for 8-10 hours helps it thicken and caramelize slightly, and really enhances the apple flavors!

Ingredient Notes

• Apples - we used ambrosia apples, sliced and peeled. See below for more info on types of apples you can use for this recipe. While we've peeled the apples in the photos in this post, it is not an essential step. Expect your apple butter to have a slightly less silky texture (though still quite smooth!)
• Spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger brings out the flavors of the apples and compliments their natural sweetness.

Types Of Apples You Can Use

For this crockpot apple butter, we used ambrosia apples but you are welcome to try a variety to give your apple butter more depth of flavor. We would advise staying away from macintosh or red delicious apples because they can add a mealy texture to the sauce.

Here are some varieties that you could include:

• granny smith - we don't recommend using 100% granny smith apples but to mix them in with a sweeter red apple
• fuji
• golden delicious
• braeburn
• courtland
• ambrosia
• gala

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Step by step directions

Combine

Place peeled and chopped apples in the base of a 6 quart slow cooker. Stir in the spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.

Slow Cook

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. You may want to stir it partway through (only once).

Blend

After cooking through, blend it until smooth using an immersion blender. Alternatively, you can work in batches and carefully puree the apple butter in a stand blender.

Store

Cool and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. You may freeze for up to 6 months; make sure to leave lids ajar and to leave space for expansion if you are freezing right in the jars.

Tip - we packaged our apple butter in these 8 oz quilted jars for gifting!

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FAQ

Storage

• Fridge - Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
• Freeze - Freeze in an airtight freezer container for up to 6 months. Alternatively, you can freeze in jars using the tips below.
• Canning - we've never canned this recipe before, but if you know how to can jams and sauces, you could also can this apple butter to preserve it.

Tips for Freezing In Jars

Here are a few tips for freezing black beans in mason jars to avoid the jars breaking:

1. Make sure to select canning jars; repurposed pasta sauce or food jars are not designed to withstand dramatic temperature shifts and can break.
2. Avoid jars that have 'shoulders' and taper in at the top, as they are more prone to breaking
3. Leave an inch from the top of the jar empty to account for expansion when freezing
4. Leave the lids ajar until the beans are frozen solid- at this point, you can secure them!