Easy Crockpot Apple Butter
This easy crockpot apple butter takes about 15 minutes of active prep time and only uses apples, spices, and maple syrup. It is cooked in a crock pot, so once you prep it, you can forget about it until it is ready to blend. This easy apple butter is perfect to put on biscuits, to slather on pancakes, or to use in AIP Pumpkin Apple Butter pie! It’s made with real ingredients and is AIP, Paleo, and Vegan, as well as just downright delicious.
Equipment
- 1 Crockpot
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Apples
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Ginger
- ¼ Teaspoon Cloves
- ⅛ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
Crockpot directions
- Start by washing your apples or peeling them, depending on your preference. Core the apples and chop them into chunks. Place the chopped apples into a crockpot set on low heat.
- Add the maple syrup and spices to the apples in the crockpot. Stir the apples until well coated in the syrup and spices.
- Place the lid on the crockpot and let apples cook on low heat for 8-10 hours. Stir occasionally every 2-3 hours to make sure the apples are cooking evenly. Apple butter will be done when the apples are easily mashed.
- Let the mixture cool down for 20-30 minutes and then pour the mixture into a blender or large food processor and blend on high until smooth.
- This recipe makes about 2 ½ cups of apple butter. Store the finished apple butter in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about a week. For longer storage, store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Stovetop directions
- Add all the ingredients to a 4 quart pot with ¼ cup of water. Turn the pot to medium high heat and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.
- Put a lid on the apple butter and simmer for 2 hours to cook the apples through. While the apple butter is simmering you should stir every 15-20 minutes to make sure the apples do not stick to the bottom of the pot.
Notes
Whether you peel the apples or not is really a personal preference on texture and how you like your apple butter. Peeling your apples makes a very smooth textured apple butter. Leaving on the peels gives the apple butter a little bit of texture. When you blend the apple butter it gets rid of most of the peel and only leaves a few larger pieces. I am lazy (or efficient as I like to say), so I don’t peel my apples. It speeds up the preptime and it adds extra nutrients to the apple butter.
I like adding the extra sweet to the recipe. If you want a lower sugar option, you can skip the maple syrup. It makes a much milder apple butter. Depending on the flavor you like you can easily swap the maple syrup for ¼ cup of honey or for ⅓ cup coconut butter.