Our Best Homemade Apple Butter Recipe (Slow Cooker & Stovetop)

Is there any aroma more wonderful than autumn gently wafting through your home? We think that cosy, nostalgic fragrance of sweet apples and warm spices simmering over many hours is pure comfort. It’s a scent that brings to mind crisp evenings, warm jumpers, and truly delicious food. If you’re hoping to bottle that exact feeling, then you have found the right place. We are here to help you create the most delectable, smooth, and richly flavoured apple butter imaginable.

Move over, shop-bought varieties that are often overly sweet and one-dimensional. This is the authentic experience: a deep, dark, caramelised spread that is surprisingly simple to prepare. As the nights begin to draw in, we often crave comforting meals, from this glorious apple butter to a hearty Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta Recipe. Our guide provides two easy-to-follow methods—one for the slow cooker and another for the hob—so you can select whichever suits you best. Let’s begin this delightful Homemade journey.

Why You’ll Adore This Recipe

• A Treat for the Senses: We can’t overstate this—making our recipe is an experience for all your senses. Your entire house will be filled with the delightful fragrance of cinnamon, cloves, and slowly cooking apples for hours. It’s the best natural air freshener you could ask for.
• Deep and Complex Flavour: The lengthy, slow cooking process is the key. It allows the natural sugars in the fruit to caramelise beautifully, yielding a complex, rich flavour that is sweet, a little tart, and intensely appley. It’s a true taste of the season.
• Effortlessly Simple: While it does take time, the actual hands-on effort involved is minimal. For the slow cooker version, you can simply “set it and forget it” for several hours. The stovetop method requires a bit more supervision but remains very straightforward.
• A Perfect Fall Recipe: This is the ideal culinary project for a lazy weekend when the weather has turned cooler. It provides a wonderful opportunity to use up a bounty of autumn apples from a trip to the orchard or your own garden.
• Wonderfully Versatile: Please don’t just think of this for toast! We love to use apple butter as a glaze for pork, a secret ingredient in cakes, a swirl in our morning porridge, or as a sophisticated accompaniment to a cheeseboard.

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg (about 5.5 lbs) of apples, a mixed variety is best
• 200g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
• 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 120ml (1/2 cup) apple cider or water

The true charm of this recipe is its simplicity. You won’t need any complex or difficult-to-source items to make a truly spectacular apple butter. Here is the list of what we will need:

• 2.5 kg (about 5.5 lbs) of apples, a mixed variety is best
• 200g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
• 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 120ml (1/2 cup) apple cider or water

Choosing the Best Apples for Your Butter

The real secret to an outstanding apple butter is using a combination of different apples. By blending various types, you give your finished spread a more layered and well-rounded flavour. We suggest using at least two or three distinct varieties.

Try to find a mixture of:

• Tart & Soft Apples: Varieties such as Bramley are ideal. They have a high acid content, which provides a lovely sharpness, and they cook down into a smooth, sauce-like texture with great ease.
• Sweet & Aromatic Apples: Fruits like Cox’s Orange Pippin, Gala, or Fuji contribute natural sweetness and that classic, beautiful apple taste.
• Firm & Tangy Apples: Types such as Braeburn or Granny Smith will hold their structure for longer but add a brilliant tartness that helps to balance the sweetness.

There’s no need to worry about being exact. This recipe is incredibly forgiving, so please feel free to use whichever apples you have available or can find at a local farm shop.

Step-by-Step Guide: The Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe

This is our preferred method as it is almost entirely hands-free. The low, steady heat of the slow cooker performs all the hard work, ensuring the apples caramelise perfectly over many hours.

1. Prepare the Apples: Give your apples a thorough wash. You can peel them if you want an exceptionally smooth butter, but we frequently leave the skins on. The peels have natural pectin, which aids in thickening, and they blend away seamlessly later. Core and chop the apples into rough 2-3 cm pieces.
2. Combine the Ingredients: Tip the chopped apples into your slow cooker pot. In a separate bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt. Scatter this spice blend over the apples. Pour over the lemon juice and apple cider (or water), then stir well to ensure the apples are evenly coated.
3. Cook on Low: Place the lid on the slow cooker and set it to cook on the LOW setting for 8 to 10 hours. Try not to lift the lid too often! Just let the magic happen. After 8 hours, the apples will be extremely soft and will have released a significant amount of liquid.
4. Thicken the Butter: Take off the lid and give everything a good stir. Let it continue to cook on LOW, without the lid, for a further 1 to 2 hours. This step allows the extra liquid to evaporate, which will thicken the butter and intensify its flavour.
5. Blend Until Smooth: When the apple butter has thickened and developed a deep brown hue, it’s time to blend. For minimal cleanup, you can use an immersion (stick) blender directly in the slow cooker. Alternatively, you can carefully transfer the mixture to a standard blender in batches and blitz until it’s perfectly smooth. Be very careful, as the mixture will be extremely hot.
6. Cool and Store: Allow the apple butter to cool down before transferring it into clean jars. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Alternative Method: Stovetop Instructions

Don’t have a slow cooker? That’s no problem at all. You can get equally wonderful results on the hob; it just needs a little more of your attention.

1. Prepare and Combine: Get the apples ready and mix all the ingredients just as you would for the slow cooker, but instead, place them in a large, heavy-based saucepan or a Dutch oven.
2. Simmer Gently: Put the pan over a medium heat and bring the mixture to a soft simmer, stirring from time to time. As soon as it is simmering, turn the heat right down to low, cover the pan, and allow it to cook for around 2 to 3 hours. You should stir it every 20-30 minutes to stop it from sticking and burning at the bottom.
3. Thicken and Blend: After a couple of hours, the apples should be very tender. Remove the lid and carry on cooking on a low heat, stirring more often now, until the mixture has thickened and reduced. This might take another 30-60 minutes. Once you are happy with the consistency, blend it until smooth with an immersion or regular blender.

How to Know When Your Apple Butter is Ready

There are two simple indicators that your apple butter has been cooked to perfection:

• Colour: It should have turned a deep, rich, dark brown, reminiscent of polished mahogany. This is a sign that the sugars have fully caramelised.
• The Plate Test: This is the most dependable method for checking the thickness. Place a small amount of the apple butter on a cold plate (you can put one in the freezer for a few minutes). Leave it to sit for a minute. If a watery ring forms around the edges, it needs to cook for longer. If it holds its shape nicely, it’s ready!

Storing and Canning Your Homemade Apple Butter

After you have created a wonderful batch of apple butter, you will want to store it correctly so you can enjoy it for weeks, or even months.

Short-Term Storage

For enjoying right away, simply transfer the cooled apple butter into sterilised jars with well-fitting lids. It will stay perfectly fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

Long-Term Storage: Water Bath Canning

Canning is a fantastic method for making your apple butter shelf-stable, letting you savour the taste of autumn throughout the year. It also creates lovely homemade gifts. A water bath canning process is safe for high-acid foods such as this apple butter.

For a full, step-by-step tutorial on safe water bath canning, we strongly suggest you consult a reliable source. The National Center for Home Food Preservation provides thorough and trustworthy guidance. Properly canned apple butter can be kept in a cool, dark place for up to one year.

Delicious Ways to Use Your Apple Butter

The options are truly endless! Here are a few of our favourite ways to enjoy this treat:

• Spread it liberally on warm toast, crumpets, scones, or bagels.
• Stir a spoonful through your morning porridge, overnight oats, or natural yoghurt.
• Use it as a glaze for roast pork, chicken, or turkey. This creates a wonderfully sticky, caramelised crust. It’s a superb glaze for roasted meats, providing a sweet and savoury note much like the one in our well-loved Baked Honey Dijon Chicken Recipe.
• Swirl it into the batter for muffins, coffee cake, or banana bread to add moisture and a spicy kick.
• Serve it on a cheeseboard next to a sharp cheddar, a creamy brie, or a tangy goat’s cheese.

FAQ

Conclusion: Your New Favourite Autumn Tradition

We are confident that making this Apple Recipe will become one of your most cherished autumn customs. There is something deeply satisfying about transforming a simple basket of apples into jars of rich, dark treasure. The process itself is a pleasure, the aroma is divine, and the final product is a versatile, delicious condiment that perfectly encapsulates the season.

So, it’s time to roll up your sleeves, put on a favourite cosy playlist, and prepare to make something truly wonderful. We are so excited for you to try this apple butter recipe. When you do, we would love to hear how it went in the comments section below, or feel free to tag us in your pictures on social media. Happy cooking!

Recipe Card

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 9-12 hours
Yields: Approx. 1.5 litres

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg (about 5.5 lbs) of apples, mixed varieties
• 200g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
• 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 120ml (1/2 cup) apple cider or water

Instructions

1. Prep Apples: Wash, core, and chop apples. Place them in your slow cooker.
2. Combine Ingredients: In a bowl, mix sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt. Scatter over the apples. Pour in lemon juice and apple cider/water, then stir to coat everything evenly.
3. Slow Cook (Lid On): Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 8-10 hours, until apples are very soft.
4. Thicken (Lid Off): Remove the lid, stir, and continue cooking on LOW for 1-2 more hours to let the butter thicken and darken.
5. Blend: Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture directly in the cooker until completely smooth. Be careful as it will be hot.
6. Store: Let the apple butter cool, then transfer to clean jars. It will thicken further as it cools.