I had no idea how easy it would be to make Slow Cooker Apple Butter! Yes there is a bit of peeling and chopping, but with the slow cooker there is no watching and stirring involved. I love making this type of recipe, where I get to keep some for my family and there is plenty to share with friends, or tuck some away in the freezer. Note, this is not a canning recipe, I am no canning expert, so I freeze any I plan not to use in the next week.
In my last post I mentioned that the weather here in Oregon has been a scorcher! Not this week, we’ve had fall-like weather, and this recipe fit well with the clouds and rain sprinkles. I started this Apple Butter at 7:00 a.m. and it was ready to be blended up at 5:00 p.m.
I am excited to officially announce that I have put in my notice at the post office. Starting August 8th, I won’t delivering mail anymore. It was a tough decision after 10 years of delivering mail, it is time for me to move on. I will be most sad about leaving my co-workers, but I will keep in touch with them forever. What is next for me? I’ve decided to give up my insurance, pension and job security at the post office and start my dream job of writing more cookbooks and working on my blog full-time. I am surprisingly feeling very optimistic about this change, and I am very excited to bring you recipes more often.
- 5 lbs. apples (I used a 5 lb. bag of Gala apples) peeled, cored and cut into ½ inch chunks
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 2 dashes salt
- Add the peeled, cored and cut apples into a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the brown sugar (make sure to break up any hard clumps with your fingers). Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours.
- After the apples have cooked, place them and any liquid that the apples made into a blender, cover with lid, and a towel on top of that (to prevent burns, in case the lid flies off). Hold the lid on while the blender is on. Pulse for about a minute, until very smooth.
- At this point if your apple butter isn't as thick as desired, pour it back into the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker back to LOW, and leave the lid off. Stir every 15 minutes. Mine took about 45 more minutes to thicken to perfection.
- Put into containers and refrigerate. I personally will store in the fridge for no longer than a week, or in the freezer for a few months.
Robert says
July 12, 2015 at 1:21 pmGood luck Sarah!
sandeemartins says
July 12, 2015 at 3:00 pmI would like to know if you can use Splenda sugar and brown sugar in this recipe, in place of regular sugar.
sandeemartin@yahoo.com
Suzanne says
August 8, 2016 at 9:55 pmI would like to know the same thing!
Roger E. Huff says
July 12, 2015 at 3:28 pmQuestion, can this be canned in jars? It is low in acidity so it will have to be PC’ed. Just wondering if you or if you know someone who has done this.
Tammy says
July 24, 2015 at 12:32 pmRoger, I was thinking the same thing. So, I researched “canning crockpot apple butter” on Google. I found a recipe on www. Simply canning.com that is almost identical to this one. I figure this recipe must be canning safe too then. When Apple picking time comes here in Illinois, I’ll give it a try.
Mary Slone says
October 12, 2016 at 4:56 amYes you can can this apple butter. You need to have your jars rings and Lids ready use hot Cars 2 Ladle the hot liquid in and then take your rings and Lids out of a hot water put them on your jars after you have wipe the rims and put them in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. They turned out great and they should seal very quickly. SSI with other people yes you can use Splenda instead of real sugar just be careful that Splenda can be a little tart. so please taste the apple butter to make sure that is the right taste. Enjoy and happy canning!
Karen says
October 14, 2016 at 11:21 amThank you for the information!
Grandma Kc says
July 12, 2015 at 4:48 pmDarn! I just bought apple butter yesterday but I really want to make this! I made fresh cherry freezer jam this week and I’m really in the mood!
Congrats on quitting the post office and living your dreams! Hope you continue to be very successful!
Becky Hardin | The Cookie Rookie says
July 13, 2015 at 3:04 pmYAY!!!! So so so so excited for you! This recipe looks divine too!
Shelby says
July 13, 2015 at 3:54 pmSarah, how exciting for you 🙂 I am working for the day of getting to do the same thing you are doing!
I love apple butter in the slow cooker. Your recipe looks great. Good luck!
Food Done Light (@FoodDoneLight) says
July 14, 2015 at 8:57 amCongratulations on quitting your job. What a big step.
I cannot wait to give this recipe a try. It sounds absolutely amazing.
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
July 14, 2015 at 9:30 amHow exciting that you’ll be blogging full time! This recipe looks so wonderful! I’ll have to give it a try this fall!
K says
August 16, 2015 at 6:27 amThis looks nice and easy! Do you think it might work for fresh figs? Maybe a little less time in the slow cooker because it’s a softer fruit than an apple? Just letting my mind wander and brainstorm!!
Sarah Olson says
August 16, 2015 at 8:24 amI think you could use anything you would like. I’ve made peach butter, and cooked it the same amount of time 🙂
clair says
August 26, 2015 at 12:43 pmHow much does this recipe make? I’d like to be prepared with as many has as necessary.
Sarah Olson says
August 26, 2015 at 12:51 pmI want to say it was about 5-6 half pints.
Susan Kimberly says
September 9, 2015 at 9:29 amBest wishes to you. Thank you for recipe
Angie says
August 17, 2016 at 11:14 pmHi there! I’m making only half of your recipe, but am wondering if I should cut the time down?
Thanks, Angie.
Sarah Olson says
August 18, 2016 at 7:32 amYes, I think 8 hours would be plenty!
Brianna says
August 28, 2016 at 6:45 pmHi Sara. I am using mostly green, tart apples from my garden. How much more sugar would you suggest I add to sweeten? Thank you!
Sarah Olson says
August 28, 2016 at 8:27 pmHi Brianna! It’s so hard to tell. If it was me I would do the recipe as is, then taste after blending it and add more sugar to taste then.
Janie says
October 20, 2016 at 1:17 amCongrats on your retirement. I finally walked through that door myself.. October 1st this year. IT’LIBERATING AND ENJOYING IT. Made you recipe yesterday. It turned out scrumptious. I canned mine. Because we like ours thick I cooked it about1hour longer without lid. Yummy!!!
Karen says
October 20, 2016 at 5:26 pmDefinitely going to make this! Instead of putting the hot apple butter in a blender, I’m going to use my handy immersion blender…one of my favorite kitchen gadgets!
Kelly says
September 14, 2017 at 6:16 amHow do you freeze it if you aren’t canning it . What container would you use ?
Sarah Olson says
September 14, 2017 at 6:41 amI’ve always froze my jams in glass jars, leave a good inch on the top. They do sell freezer jam Tupperware (plastic) in the canning section though.
billie says
November 11, 2017 at 11:36 amCan anyone tell me how much this actually makes? I’ll need to buy jars and don’t want extras. Thank you!
Queen says
May 21, 2019 at 8:44 pmThey actually make the Mason jar lids so you don’t need to boil them first now when canning. That used to be required many years ago but not anymore. You just need to make sure your jar tops are very clean so they seal properly in the canning process.