I’m all about the apples right now and Apple butter is a must in our home. I grew up on it and started making it years ago for my own family. Slow Cooker Apple Butter literally goes well with anything.
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What Is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a thick, smooth spread made by slowly cooking apples with sugar, spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves), and sometimes a bit of cider until the mixture caramelizes and reduces into a rich, concentrated paste. Unlike apple sauce, which is lighter and chunkier, apple butter has a deep, dark brown color and a velvety texture due to the prolonged cooking process that breaks down the apples completely. It’s often used as a spread on toast, biscuits, or pancakes, or as an ingredient in baking, like in cakes or muffins, for its sweet-tart, spiced flavor.
The origins of apple butter trace back to colonial America, particularly among Pennsylvania Dutch communities, where it was a way to preserve apples without refrigeration. The name “butter” comes from its spreadable consistency, not because it contains dairy.
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HEALTH FACTS
Apples are healthy and offer a range of nutritional benefits. A medium apple provides approximately:
Fiber: 4.4 grams (16% of daily value), aiding digestion and promoting gut health
Carbohydrates: 25.1 grams, primarily natural sugars for quick energy
Vitamin C: 14% of daily value, supporting immune function and skin health
Potassium: 6% of daily value, good for heart health
Antioxidants: Polyphenols and flavonoids, which may reduce inflammation and protect against chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes
Apples are low in fat and sodium, and their high fiber content (especially in the skin) helps regulate blood sugar and promotes satiety, making them a great snack for weight management. Studies suggest apples may lower the risk of heart disease, improve cholesterol levels, and support gut microbiota due to pectin, a type of soluble fiber.
Apple Butter Uses
There are so many ways to use apple butter. I personally love it spread on homemade bread or biscuits for breakfast. It’s great on top of pork chops, pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, or even on top of ice cream. Therefore, it’s such a versatile spread. Seriously, who doesn’t love apples? Try adding a jar to Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash. So yummy!
How To Make Slow Cooker Apple Butter
In order to make apple butter, you have to start with applesauce. You can certainly buy store-bought but here is my homemade applesauce recipe. It’s a game-changer when you make it from scratch. It’s just cooked apples. Then, all you need is a little bit of sugar (I’ll touch more on this down in the recipe notes) and some spices. It’s really that easy. You are going to slow cook your apple butter for a minimum of 8 hours in our crockpot. The key to knowing when your apple butter is apple butter is it will be really dark brown and thick.
The best time to make apple butter is of course during apple season, normally September – November. You can certainly buy apples throughout the year and make it whenever you want. That’s the beauty of owning a slow cooker. Those things hold 6-8 quarts so you can pretty much enjoy it all year round!
Quick Tip
These make great gifts! I like to cut up some fabric scraps and tie them around the top of the jars and pass them out at Christmas and even throughout the year.
Grab The Beginner’s Guide to Water Bath Canning 👇🏻:
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Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Your first step in making apple butter is you have to start with applesauce. You can use store-bought but there's nothing like homemade.
- Add the applesauce to the crockpot. Stir in all of the spices and sugar.
- Turn the crockpot setting to low. Set the timer for 8 hours. Making this while you're sleeping is perfect. You will wake up in the morning with your kitchen smelling like cinammon apples.
- If the apple butter isn't thick in 8 hours, then try cooking it for another hour and just keep cooking it until it's all nice and thick.
- Once your apple butter is finsihed, you can jar it up and set it in the fridge. It should last for 4-6 weeks.
- If you are wanting to can it, follow the safety steps to canning apple butter according to the National Home and Canning Preservation.
Notes
Supplies You May Need
The Prairie Homestead Cookbook (Canning tips)
Other Apple Recipes
Resources
Koutsos A, Tuohy KM, Lovegrove JA. Apples and cardiovascular health–is the gut microbiota a core consideration? Nutrients. 2015 May 26;7(6):3959-98. doi: 10.3390/nu7063959. PMID: 26016654; PMCID: PMC4488768.
Asgary S, Rastqar A, Keshvari M. Weight Loss Associated With Consumption of Apples: A Review. J Am Coll Nutr. 2018 Sep-Oct;37(7):627-639. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2018.1447411. Epub 2018 Apr 9. PMID: 29630462.
Aune D, Giovannucci E, Boffetta P, Fadnes LT, Keum N, Norat T, Greenwood DC, Riboli E, Vatten LJ, Tonstad S. Fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality-a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Int J Epidemiol. 2017 Jun 1;46(3):1029-1056. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyw319. PMID: 28338764; PMCID: PMC5837313.
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/flavonoid-foods-improve-heart-health-later-in-life#Takeaway
https://kitchensaromas.com/what-is-the-origin-of-apple-butter/
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