Dine and Dish

Food blog with family recipes

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe

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This Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe cooks low and slow all day, making your house smell divine!

A Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe from dineanddish.net

I absolutely love holiday breaks. I don’t know what it is about them, but every day during winter break is like a Sunday… my family is home under one roof, no school or sports practices to rush off to. Mornings are slow, without the normal hustle and rush of needing to get out the door by a certain time. Evenings are leisurely, without the stress of spelling tests to study for and homework.

We all settle into our own activities, returning to hobbies that have been neglected, or binge watching shows that we haven’t had time to see. I swear I also read more books in the few weeks of the holiday break than I do all year. Besides summer, Christmas vacation is my favorite time of year!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe from dineanddish.net

My cooking during winter break also takes on the tone of our slower days. I tend to get out our slow cooker more or make recipes that are more involved than normal. The joy of cooking returns when I take the time to appreciate and get back to my roots…not worrying so much about following recipes, but relying more on my instincts. It’s a glorious thing!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter from dineanddish.net

This leisurely morning I gave the Mile High Biscuit Recipe from Something Swanky a try, and pulled out a jar of homemade apple butter from the pantry. It was then that I realized I still haven’t shared this awesome slow cooker apple butter recipe with you!

It’s a gem of a recipe that is perfect to try when you have a little more time to spend in the kitchen…such as holiday break. My friend Julianne shared this recipe with me in the fall and I knew it was a keeper immediately. If you love homemade apple butter like we do, you’ll love making this slow cooker recipe and savoring it on those rushed and not so rushed mornings! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter from dineanddish.net

A few tips about this slow cooker apple butter recipe

When you make this slow cooker apple butter recipe, adjust the sugar content to your own desire for sweetness. We love sweet apple butter, but some people prefer more tart apple butter. The sugar amount can definitely be adjusted so feel free to cut back on the sugar some if that suits you.

Also, many people freeze the apple butter and then get it out when it’s ready to be used. Freezing is just one additional way to make this apple butter goodness last all year long!

A Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe from dineanddish.net
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5 from 7 votes

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe

Make a batch of this slow cooker apple butter to share, but keep some for yourself as well. It's so good!
Course Dessert
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 12 hours
Total Time 12 hours 30 minutes
Servings 4 pints
Author Dine & Dish

Ingredients

  • 5 ½ lbs Golden Delicious Fuji or Red Rome Apples
  • 3 ½ - 4 cups sugar
  • 2 -3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Peel and finely dice the apples. Place in a slow cooker.
  • Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
  • Pour over apples and mix well.
  • Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
  • Reduce heat to low and cook for 9 – 11 hours until thickened and dark brown.
  • Use a hand held blender until smooth or pour into blender and blend until smooth.
  • Can be placed in containers and frozen or put in jars.

Notes

I take canning jars, place them in boiling water, take them out, place a funnel over the jar, ladle the hot apple butter into funnels until to fill the jars (leaving ¼- ½ inch gap ), place canning lids on the jars (making sure the rim of the jar is clean and no apple butter has gotten on it which will prevent it from sealing) and then tighten the bands over it. About an hour later, I hear a pop and know the jars are sealed.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Lorita Austin says

    I have a question Can I use Splendor in stead of real sugar.
    I sure would like to try that.

  7. julia thomson says

    Hi,
    A Brit here. Never heard of apple butter before. Is there a preference for what type of sugar and how much is the measurement in either pounds or kg please?

    • Kristen says

      I haven’t tried it with those, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! Let me know if you try it how it turns out. Thanks!

  9. Jennifer says

    Waaaaaaay too sweet! 3 1/2 cups of sugar made it sickly sweet. I had to make another batch with 4lbs of apples with NO sugar at all and mix it with the first batch. It still was too sweet but definitely helped balance it out.
    Other than that the spices were just right and timing was spot on. Thank you for the recipe.

  10. Bethany McFarland says

    I just found this recipe from a buzzfeed article and I cannot wait to try it! I Do you know how long it would last in the fridge and if it can be frozen?

    • Kristen says

      Hi Bethany! Thanks for stopping by!
      It can be frozen! Also as far as once it’s open, we seem to always use it within a month, so I don’t exactly know how much longer it stays good. It always gets gobbled up once it’s open!

  14. Amy Johnson says

    I need to pull my slow cooker out and get to cooking! A batch of apple butter would not only be delicious to have on hand for brunch or breakfast, but a lovely edible gift to share too.

  15. Marja says

    5 stars
    Hi, ,
    I’m from the Netherlands and saw your recipe with the link on Amy Johnsons site. We don’t know this in my country but i had heard from it years ago and dieing to find a recipe wich uses the slow cooker for it! And here i am! I’ve one question. In our house, we’re just together, i will be the only one eating this. And this recipe will make several jars or freezerbags or some like that. How long can i have the jars on my shelf? Unopened. Otherwise i’ve to halve the recipe and that would be a shame! I hope you’ll answer me.
    I appologize for any language mistakes i can have made cos english isn’t my speaking language. That’s Dutch!
    Thanks for reading my question and till another time…..who knows?

    • Kristen says

      Thank you so much for visiting! It’s nice to meet you 🙂
      We actually go through the jars so fast that I think the longest it’s ever been on our shelf is a little over a month. I am sure the shelf life is longer I just honestly am not sure.
      With that said it definitely freezes well and should last that way a good long while! I hope that helps some. Sorry I can’t be more specific.

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