Our slow cooker maple apple butter is the perfect fall recipe made with crisp, fresh apples, cozy spices and sweetened with maple syrup. This sugar free apple butter is one of the best apple butter recipes for canning. You can spread homemade apple butter on toast, fresh biscuits, pancakes, or even make an apple butter sandwich! If you're looking for a faster way to make apple butter, be sure to check out our recipe for Instant Pot Apple Butter.
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❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
Set It Up and Leave It - This recipe is one of my favorites because once you prep the ingredients, you just leave the apple butter to simmer all day. Your house will smell amazing and the finished product is the epitome of fall flavors.
No Added Sugar - There is no sugar added to this apple butter making the recipe a healthy way to enjoy fall baking.
You can use this flavorful apple butter to make our Apple Butter Oatmeal Pancakes or Apple Butter Bread too!!
🍫 Ingredients
- apples - for this recipe, you'll want to use a crispy, tart apple such as honey crisp pr cortland
- maple syrup - be sure to use 100% pure maple syrup for this recipe
- maple sugar - maple sugar is made by evaporating the liquid from maple syrup. It has a great maple flavor and adds sweetness to the recipe without adding additional moisture.
🥣 Instructions
Be sure to see the recipe card for exact quantities and detailed instructions.
Combine apples, spices, maple syrup, maple sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Use your blender or immersion blender to puree the apples until smooth.
Sweeten to taste and cook your apple butter over low heat for 15-30 minutes.
Store finished apple butter in the refrigerator or freezer. See below for directions for canning apple butter.
Hint: Our no sugar added apple butter recipe is not designed to be super sweet - be sure to taste test you apple butter and be sure that it's sweet enough for you. If it's not, add a little more maple sugar during the final simmering.
🤓 How to Can 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.
⭐️ Recipe FAQs
Firm, tart apples make the best apple butter. I like to use Macintosh, Cortland or Honey Crisp for my apple butter.
Apple butter is delicious spread on toast, biscuits and scones. Apple butter is delicious added to a sandwich and makes a flavorful addition to your charcuterie boards.
This is really a personal preference and depends on what you are doing with the apple butter. If I am giving the apple butter as a gift, I can it so that it lasts at room temperature. If I am saving apple butter for future baking projects or to spread on baked goods, I prefer to freeze it.
🍎 Related Apple Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter
Equipment
- slow cooker
- blender or food mill
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 apples 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 15-30 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.
Notes
- 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.
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!!
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!!!
Nicole
Can you sub the cider for water?
Maple and Thyme
Definitely yes!!!
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.
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!!!
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!!!
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!!!