This recipe for Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter is super easy to make and the final product is versatile and full of cozy fall flavors. You can spread homemade apple butter on toast, fresh biscuits, pancakes, or even make an apple butter sandwich! You can also use apple butter to add flavor and moisture to baked goods. Think apple butter muffins or apple butter quick bread. You can even add a small dish of apple butter and some sliced apples to a cheese board! The possibilities are somewhat endless, but it all starts with a great apple butter like this Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter.
Many apple butters are loaded with sugar, but this one is different. Initially, you will sweeten your apple butter with only maple syrup. Once the apple butter has finished cooking, you will then sweeten to taste with maple sugar or some light brown sugar. I like to use either Cortland, Macintosh, or Honey Crisp apples for this recipe. This apple butter recipe is the perfect way to use those extra apples you have hanging around from apple picking. You can preserve apple butter by canning it and it will last up to a year. Beautiful jars of apple butter make the perfect homemade holiday or hostess gift.
So get your slow cooker ready, it's time to make some apple butter!
Making Maple Apple Butter in Your Slow Cooker:
You'll begin with 6-7 large apples that have been peeled, cored and sliced. This recipe will make about 3 cups of finished apple butter. If you want more than three cups, simply double, or even triple the ingredients. Next you'll add ½ cup of apple cider, ½ cup of maple syrup, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the spices to your apples. Mix to coat the apples.
You will cook the apples, completely covered, on low for 6-8 hours. Check on your apples periodically to make sure there is still a bit of liquid left in the bottom of your slow cooker. You may need to add an additional ¼ of apple cider. You want to make sure the apples are not browning on the edges or sticking to your slow cooker.
Once the apples have cooked, you will puree the apple butter. You can use your immersion blender for this. Otherwise allow the apple butter to cool a bit and transfer to your blender and puree. Once you have pureed the apple butter, add it to a sauce pan, sweeten with maple sugar to taste, and warm on low for about 5 minutes.
Storing Your Maple Apple Butter:
Once the apple butter is finished, you will transfer the butter to containers for storage. You have three options for storage:
- “can” your apple butter and it will last in your pantry for 18 months – 2 years (some people say indefinitely)
- store your apple butter in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks
- freeze your apple butter for up to a year
I decided to store my apple butter in these beautiful canning jars from Bormioli Rocco. Because I was planning to use this apple butter right away for baking, I stored my apple butter in the refrigerator and it barely lasted the week.
If you want to can your apple butter, check out my recipe for Slow Cooker Maple Peach Butter, or read the end of this recipe for canning directions.
I hope that you love this recipe for Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter. I’d love to hear your feedback so please comment here on the blog or be sure to tag your Instagram photos #mapleandthyme. We love to see what you are cooking!
Other slow cooker recipes
- Slow Cooker Maple Peach Butter
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Maple Bourbon BBQ Pork
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 7 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced about 6 - 6.5 pounds
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ cup maple or light brown sugar
Instructions
- Place sliced apples into your slow cooker. Add maple syrup, apple cider, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and ground cloves. Mix gently to combine. Cook on low, with the lid tightly secured for 8 hours.
- After 8 hours, use your immersion blender to puree the apple butter. If you don't have an immersion blender, use your regular blender and puree until smooth.
- Return the apple butter to a medium sauce pan, sweeten with the maple sugar to taste and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes on low, stirring often.
- Cool and store apple butter in the refrigerator or freezer or follow the directions below for canning your apple butter.
Canning Maple Apple Butter
- If you decide to can your apple butter, start by sterilizing your jars in boiling hot water. Carefully lower the jars, their lids and rims into boiling hot water for ten minutes and then allow the jars to cool and then dry them out. Ladle the warm apple butter into your canning jars, leaving a little bit (about ¼ inch) of room at the top of the jar. Wipe the jars off and then seal with the lid and rim. Finally, submerge the filled jars in boiling water and process for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the boiling water using tongs and allow to cool completely. The lids should be sealed tight and should not make a popping sound when you push down on them.
Nutrition
KITCHEN TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS THAT CAN BE USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:
AFFILIATE DISCRETION:
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Ali
About how many cups would you say your 7 apples turned out to be? We recently went apple picking and the apples I have are quite a bit smaller than what you would find in a store, so I always have trouble gauging how many I should actually use!
Maple and Thyme
Hi Ali!
I used really big apples - I would say that I used 6 - 6.5 pounds. If they are smaller, gala size, I would go with 12-14 apples. If you have a way to weigh them, that will be your best bet. If not, I would say that I used 16-18 cups of apples. Hope you had fun apple picking!!!
PepperZ
wow this is really amazing recipe you shared here i really love this apple butter recipe.
Maple and Thyme
Thanks so much!!! I’m glad you like it!
Taylor
Will a food processor work to blend this
Maple and Thyme
Definitely!!!
Sam
Love the idea of using a crock pot so it will not over heat the whole house. I am going to try this today!
Maple and Thyme
Yes!!! It’s a perfect solution and comes out so yummy!!!
Sara
I just made this today. It was great! I will try Maple Peach Butter next summer.
Maple and Thyme
Awesome!!! I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Yes! I think you’ll love the peach butter too!!!
Brittany
Hey!
Can you make this using an instant pot?
Maple and Thyme
I haven’t tried it!!! I actually don’t have an Instant Pot!!! 😳 I’m guessing absolutely but if you try it, will you let me know??
Christin
Did you end up trying the instant pot? I’m looking for a faster way to cook the apples. Is there a safe way to slow cook on high instead of low?
Maple and Thyme
Hi! I haven’t made the apple butter in an instant pot but I have made this on high in the slow cooker. It comes out delicious. I don’t know the exact time in high, I would say about half the time. You just want the apples to be super mushy and well cooked.
Nicole
Can you sub the cider for water?
Maple and Thyme
Definitely yes!!!
Sarah
I have never made apple butter before. This was so good and extremely easy for biggingers. Thankfully I read the notes at the bottom because I thought I had big apples and evidently I didn't. So I measured about 17 cups of chopped apples. I also didn't have brown sugar or maple so I ended up using sucanat. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will be making 2 more batches.
Maple and Thyme
Yay!!! I’m so glad that the apple butter was yummy and that the recipe worked well for you. I love hearing this!!!
Cristie
This recipe was really fun to make and I loved how the maple flavor comes through in the finished product. I used 7 really large Envy apples that I had on hand at home, but when I weighed them they came in at about 4 lbs. I thought I would be good, but the butter is a little thinner than I would like, so I regret not going by weight in this recipe. Next time I'll definitely use the weight as a guide and not the count of apples.
Maple and Thyme
Thanks so much for the feedback!! Sounds delicious with the Envy apples!!
If the butter is a little thin you can add it to a sauce pan and cook it down a bit until it thickens. Sort of like you would do with a tomato sauce if that makes sense…
Cristie
That is a great tip! Thank you very much! My first batch is almost gone so I'll be making a new one soon. 🙂 The apple butter has been lovely topper to my fruit, yogurt, and granola bowls!
Maple and Thyme
I’m so glad to hear that!!! Oooohhh….I’ve never through to put it on my granola bowls! Definitely going to try it! Thanks so much!! Happy Thanksgiving!!