Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter
105 CommentsUpdated Feb 26, 2026
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Make this fall treat pumpkin butter right in your crockpot. It’s a perfect spread for just about anything!
Recipe Highlights
- Tastes like pumpkin pie in a jar!
- Great for putting away for fall and winter.
- Naturally Gluten Free
- Only takes a few minutes to prep in the slow cooker
- Makes the house smell like autumn!
The Ingredients
- Canned Pumpkin – Find this on the a baking aisle.
- Brown sugar – pumpkin puree has no sweetness so plenty of brown sugar is needed in this recipe.
- Apple juice – This is the liquid for the recipe. You can use apple cider, that works great!
- Spices – ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger and salt.
How to make Pumpkin Butter in the Crockpot
- Toss everything into the slow cooker and let the cozy magic happen.
- Stir, cool, and get ready to spoon it onto everything!
Sarah’s Notes
Using Fresh Pumpkin: Fresh pumpkin puree can have a lighter color but still tastes great. You can use my guide on how to cook pumpkin in the slow cooker.
If you don’t have a variety of spices, you can use two tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice. I’ve tested it both ways, and it is always great.
Use a slow cooker liner for easy clean up.
How to Use Pumpkin Butter
- Serve warm over ice-cream.
- Chill and serve on buttered toast, croissants, or on our favorite 2 ingredient biscuits.
- Use in recipes such as slow cooker pumpkin lattes, crockpot pumpkin bread, or pumpkin chili.
- Share with friends – Be sure to give a jar to a friend or neighbor since there is plenty of it. Make sure to tell them to store it in the fridge or freezer. Add cute jam label to make it special.
Featured Comment
Just as dreamy as the apple butter recipe. I plan on giving them in pairs as holiday gifts.
– julie
How to Video
Ingredients
- 45 oz. canned 100% pumpkin puree, (three 15-oz. cans OR a 29-oz. can and a 15 oz. can)
- 2 ½ cups light brown sugar, packed
- 2 cups apple juice, (cider works well too)
- 1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- ⅛ tsp. ground ginger
- 1 dash salt
Instructions
- Add the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, apple juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt. Stir until combined. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.
- Stir once the pumpkin butter is done cooking. Cool on the counter for an hour before spooning into jars.
Stove Top Instructions:
- If you do not have a slow cooker or are low on time you can prepare this pumpkin butter on the stove-top. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan.
- Set the saucepan on the stove-top over low heat. Slowly simmer the pumpkin butter ingredients for 30 minutes, stirring often.
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Other Fruit Recipes to Make
Pumpkin Applesauce and Crockpot Applesauce are perfect for fall snacking or lunchbox treats.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter and Cranberry Apple Butter are cozy spreads you’ll want to slather on everything. My Peach Butter recipe is full of spice and great on biscuits.
Banana Jam and Blueberry Butter bring sweet, fruity flavor to toast, yogurt, and beyond.
This is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted! It tastes exactly like pumpkin pie (but somehow better), in a spreadable form! I halved the recipe and it was still enough to save some to freeze.
I agree!
Surprised cardamom wasn’t one of the spices listed. Probably couldn’t hurt to put in a pinch? I usually have it in pumpkin pie.
Yes! You can do that. I tend to think most don’t have this on hand, so I rarely add it to my recipes.
Allspice would be wonderful also
Thank you so much for this recipe. I make pumpkin butter every year for my friends and they really look forward to it. In the past I have always burned my self with the splatter it makes and it is a mess on the stove and surrounding area. Looking forward to doing it in the slow cooker using your recipe
Can this recipe be doubled in a 7 qt crock pot?
Yes. I think it will do great.
How many pint jars does this make?
I got 4 pint jars out of one batch of this recipe!
Love pumpkin anything but other than toast or ice cream, what can you do with this?
Here is a great article, great ideas like on peanut butter and jelly and on yogurt! https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pumpkin-butter-recipes_n_5951632
I have friends who put their pumpkin butter on salmon. That said, be daring and go beyond the breakfast or dessert options! Might be good on pork chops!
I make a pumpkin spice latte with it. It is amazing! Just 1 or 2tbs of the puree ( depending on your coffee size) and 1/4 cup of your milk of choice blended and poured over brewed espresso and spronkle with cinnamon. Delicious!
Mix it with softened cream cheese and form into ball, roll in chopped toastec pecans. Serve with graham crackers, nilla wafers and apple slices
from the USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation… The reasons why homemade pumpkin butter isn’t recommended are several. When cooked down into a butter, pumpkin flesh becomes quite dense, making it difficult for the heat produced in a canner to penetrate fully through the contents of the jar. This means that even in a pressure canner, the interior of the jar may not reach the 240 degrees needed to kill those pesky botulism spores.
Thank you Madge! I always wondered what the exact reason was.
Is this recipe ok to water bath seal?
I’m not sure Sue, I’m not an avid canner. I apologize. Maybe someone else will comment who knows.
I’m also wondering if placed in mason jar “hot” and left 12hours…my jars should self seal.
Self seal is not safe canning
Sorry to say, this is not safe for canning. Freeze of fridge safe only.
Only tomatoes or similar acidic foods can be canned using water bath.
No
I made this yesterday with fresh pumpkin puree, and it came out very thin, is there a way to thicken it up?
Otherwise the taste is delicious!
You can try leaving the lid off the crock pot for a while. OR put it in a sauce pan on the stove and let some of the liquid evaporate off
What if i. Didn’t put in enough apples. In my batch is there a quick way to add more apples after it is done.
Hi! This recipe doesn’t have apples in it. Are you thinking of my pumpkin applesauce recipes? I don’t think there is a quick fix unless you add premade applesauce to it.
Put 2 wooden spoons or chopsticks under the lid across the top surface of the crockpot to leave room for steam to escape. Stir occasionally til desired thickness.
Thank you for the tip!
I use a splatter screen over my crock pot its worked great
I made this last weekend because I wanted to try some recipes that would be good to give as holiday gifts..I am so glad I did because it is AMAZING. I didn’t have to do anything but cook it, as the texture was perfect. So good and so easy. My friends can’t wait for more!