This easy recipe will show you how to make the best thick and rich homemade apple butter in the slow cooker or on the stove. Spiced only with cinnamon for the authentic flavor you love!
I can't resist warm homemade bread when it's topped with melting butter and homemade apple butter.
So now you know, Dear Reader. Want to hear my secrets? Tempt me with some warm homemade bread with butter and homemade apple butter. I'll tell you everything I know.
Now that we've perfected the whole wheat bread recipe, we've been making it a couple of times a week. A loaf of bread used to sit around here for a month, but that was when we bought the cardboard-like diet bread.
Homemade whole wheat bread doesn't last a whole week around here; all three of us love it, especially when it's topped with butter and apple butter.
I know you're dying for my apple butter recipe, and it's quite complicated, {cough, cough} but I'll share it with you.
Contrary to what the name implies, there is no actual butter in it. It's even sorta healthy.
One more thing.
You can make pear butter, cherry butter, peach butter, and just about any other kind of butter you can think of with this same recipe. Just substitute whatever fruit you want for the apples and adjust the seasonings to taste. It will be just as delicious as the original apple butter.
You may notice in the recipe below that I use 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of Splenda. You will want to use somewhere around 2 cups of whatever, but it is totally up to you. Some people prefer all sugar, some prefer all artificial sweetener. Before bariatric surgery, I used a blend. After, I use all Splenda or stevia, whichever we have at the time.
How to make the best homemade apple butter on the stove
- Wash, quarter, and core the apples.
- Toss all the apple quarters into a very large stockpot, 8 or 10 quarts and add ½ cup of apple juice. Cover and cook on medium-high for about a half an hour, until the apples are soft.
- At this point, you need to run the apple sauce through a food grinder, food mill, or food processor to get the chunks out. Now you have a nice, smooth applesauce, but you need to keep cooking to make apple butter.
- Return the applesauce to the stockpot. Add sugar and/or Splenda and cinnamon to taste.
- Reduce heat to low and cook another half hour, stirring often, until the sauce has become thicker and brown.
- If the apple butter gets too thick, you can thin it out with a splash of apple juice or water.
How to make the best homemade apple butter in the CrockPot
- Wash, quarter, and core the apples.
- Toss all the apple quarters into a your largest slow cooker and add ½ cup of apple juice. Cover and cook on high for about 3 hours, until the apples are soft.
- At this point, you need to run the apple sauce through a food grinder, food mill, or food processor to get the chunks out. Now you have a nice, smooth applesauce, but you need to keep cooking to make apple butter.
- Return the applesauce to the slow cooker. Add sugar and/or Splenda and cinnamon to taste.
- Continue on high and cook another 3-6 hours, until the sauce has become thicker and brown.
- If the apple butter gets too thick, you can thin it out with a splash of apple juice or water.
While you're here, take a look at these other apple recipes:
- Stuffed Baked Apples (Gluten-Free)
- Ham and Rice with Apples - Leftover Ham Recipe
- Cracker Barrel Copycat Skillet Fried Apples
- My Favorite Apple Crisp Recipe
- Baked Apple Pecan Pancakes
Homemade Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 10 large apples I prefer to use a variety of apples if I can and I like them to be sweeter cooking apples. I buy my apples at a local farm, and I suggest you do the same. If you're in a pinch, you could make apple butter with supermarket apples or even jarred applesauce, but you will lose some quality in the finished product.
- apple juice
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup Splenda or Stevia (depending on what kind you use you might need a different amount. You need it to equal 1 cup of sugar. If you prefer not to use artificial sweeteners, use a second cup of sugar.)
- ½-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Wash the apples.
- Quarter and core the apples, but don't peel them. Toss them, peels and all, into the biggest pot you have. I use an 8 or 10 quart stockpot.
- Pour an inch or two of water or apple juice in the pot, and cook the apples. I have stainless steel pots, so I cook them for a half hour or so on high. Depending on your cookware, you may have to cook the apples at a lower temperature. It will take a bit longer, but is otherwise not a big deal.
- Take the cooked apples out of the pan and run them through a vegetable grinder/strainer, food mill, or blender. It will turn into applesauce. (So you could stop here if that's what you wanted.)
- Put the applesauce back into the pot. Add the sugar, Splenda, and cinnamon to taste.
- Cook the applesauce on low, stirring often (though not continuously). It will take another half hour or longer until it is a rich brown and a nice, thick consistency. Be careful that it doesn't burn; that will ruin the whole batch.
- If your apple butter gets too thick, you can either put it in the blender or thin it with a wee bit of water or apple juice.
- If you can it in sterile jars, the apple butter will last almost forever. In the freezer, you can keep apple butter for six months to a year. In the refrigerator, it will stay good for about a month (If you don't eat it sooner).
Notes
- Cook it on high until the apples are soft, about 3 hours.
- Run it through the strainer to make applesauce.
- Return the apples to the slow cooker and cook on low until the applesauce has turned a nice brown color, about 3-6 hours more.
- Season with cinnamon and sugar to taste.
Heather says
I once bought a bushel of apples at the farmer's market with the intention of making apple butter for my co-worker's Christmas presents. I spent my fall break cutting up, cooking and canning 20-some jars of apple butter. It turned out really well except for the fact that I forgot to add sugar!
Heather's last blog post..Waiting
Heather says
I once bought a bushel of apples at the farmer's market with the intention of making apple butter for my co-worker's Christmas presents. I spent my fall break cutting up, cooking and canning 20-some jars of apple butter. It turned out really well except for the fact that I forgot to add sugar!
Heather's last blog post..Waiting
Brenda says
I love apple butter and have several jars in the cupboard that a friend gave me. Does it have the same consistency when you make it with splenda?
Brenda's last blog post..Empanadas/TMTT
Liz@HoosierHomemade says
Apple butter is one of my favorites too! I made some for the first time last Fall.
~Liz
Liz@HoosierHomemade's last blog post..Summer Fun
Liz@HoosierHomemade says
Apple butter is one of my favorites too! I made some for the first time last Fall.
~Liz
Liz@HoosierHomemade's last blog post..Summer Fun
Len of Fagor Pressure Cooker says
Homemade bread and homemade apple butter...what could be better...thanks for the recipe!
big cooking pots says
Yep! I was agreed, I'll keep in touch to your blog. This blog is so usefully, Thanks for the posted 😉
Selma says
Thanks for the receipes & tips! Do you share your bread receipe? My e-mail add is:
esjinshf@live.com
Thanks!
Homemade canning says
No doubt you, or members in your family had their own favourite homemade barbecue sauces that they grew up with, well now is your chance to get involved and enjoy learning something new, how to make your own, personal favourite, homemade barbecue sauce.
Stephanie says
I make apple butter for Christmas presents, but I also make Apple Stack Cake. 9-layers of apple-y goodness, and I cook dried apples and make it into an apple butter type consistency just for cake.
gail says
could not find a quantity that your apple butter recipe makes. how many pint? thanks
Tara Ziegmont says
I'm not sure to tell you the truth. I've never canned it. I would estimate that it makes about 3 quarts maybe? That's just a guess though.
Beau says
I have a pressure cooker which has a canning option. I've not canned until this past weekend when I made Macintosh apple sauce (my favorite apples). Perfect!! I over bought apples so after 36 jars of apple sauce and 50 apples left, I'm going to try this recipe and can these too. Wish me luck...next summer, tomatoes!
Tara Ziegmont says
You're going to love it!