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This Slow Cooker Apple Butter has no sugar added - just fresh apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little lemon juice. This homemade healthy apple butter can be enjoyed on toast, stirred into oatmeal or yogurt, or eaten by the spoonful!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

★★★★★ 4.6 from 7 reviews
  • Author: Rachel Conners
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 360 minutes
  • Total Time: 380 minutes

Ingredients

Scale
  • 5 lbs. apples (assorted varieties, cored and sliced)
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 cinnamon sticks (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Add your sliced apples (you can keep the peels on) to your slow cooker with 1/4 cup water. Turn the slow cooker on to high heat and cook for four hours. Alternatively, set it to low heat and let it cooker for a longer amount of time – about 6 to 8 hours. Stir the apples semi-frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom of the slow cooker – the water will help prevent sticking but you don’t want them to burn at all. The apples will get very tender.
  2. Turn off the heat and using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash the apples into a thick, chunky applesauce. Let it cool slightly.
  3. Next, we’re going to blend the applesauce completely smooth so the apple butter will be super silky. If you have an immersion blender, that’s an easy way to blend it up. I used my Vitamix, and most blenders would do the job. If your blender is on the smaller side, it may require multiple batches. You can also use a food processor, though that will require a couple batches. Make sure to leave an air hole while blending to let the steam escape – your applesauce will still be very hot. I left the apple butter blending in my Vitamix on medium speed for about 1 minute – yours may take longer to get as smooth as you want.
  4. Pour the blended applesauce back into the slow cooker (add the cinnamon sticks now, if using) and cook uncovered for another 1-2 hours, or until you reach your desired darkness and thickness. Mine went for about 1 1/2 hours on high after blending.
  5. When you’ve achieved your desired thickness, stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice.
  6. Store in sealed jars or containers in the refrigerator. Enjoy on toast, stirred into oatmeal or yogurt, or in these apple butter rugelach!

Notes

Your yield will depend on how much you cook down the apple butter during the final cooking stage – I had a yield of about 4 cups.

Find it online: https://www.bakerita.com/slow-cooker-apple-butter/