This simple stovetop apple butter recipe is quick, easy, and has NO processed sugar! Just fresh apples, cinnamon, and a bit of maple syrup make this apple butter rich and velvety. The perfect way to use up all of those fall apples. Vegetarian, Vegan.
In a hurry? Click here to jump straight to the recipe!
Let’s talk apple buttaaaahhhhhhh!
First of all, BLERGH to the fact that apple butter is one of the most boring things on the planet to photograph.
It’s like, “hey, friends! Here’s a jar of brown goop for your viewing pleasure!”
Fortunately, THIS GOOP IS THE BEST TASTING GOOP OUT OF ALL THE GOOP.
Too weird, though? Should we strike “goop” from our food vocabulary? That might be a problem, because now I’m in the can’t-stop-won’t-stop mode I tend to fall into with funny words. Goop. Goop goop goop.
…Please still be friends with me.
Confession: I had actually never made apple butter until this fall.
But it was like, “a Pinterest thing” and people were like, “telling me how GOOD it is” and I like, “HAD some apples that I needed to use.”
(Just picture me throwing in some really top-notch air quotes for you there, kthanks).
So I made a few different batches of apple butter, realized it was 1) delicious and 2) makes your house smell like a freaking cinnamon factory of wonderfulness and 3) can be eaten on top of bread. SOLD.
Most of the recipes I initially tried called for what I felt was a pretty excessive amount of sugar, and I found that I really wasn’t a fan of overly-sweetened apple butter. Why waste delicious apples (That we picked! At an orchard! Like the most stereotypical upstate New-Yorkers ever!) on something that you’re just going to drown in sugar, right?
So I cut out the processed sugar from this recipe completely and instead opted for just a lil’ drizzle of pure maple syrup. And you guys – I liked it SOOOOO much better than the super-sugary versions.
Honestly, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so it’s really just personal preference here – you should adjust the sugar content so that this apple butter tastes perfect to YOU! You could also totally do this in a slow cooker – just throw everything together and cook it on low for 6 hours ish and you’ll be good to go. Me, I have no patience, so stovetop was the way to go for this one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go do cannonballs into this apple butter.
…Goop.
(OK I’M DONE I SWEAR).
How to make apple butter – the video!
Easy Apple Butter
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: Makes 2 cups 1x
Description
Easy homemade apple butter with no processed sugar.
Ingredients
- 5 medium apples, cored and roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Stir all ingredients together in a medium-sized pot. Cover and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours or so until apples have reduced (and your house smells like an apple-y-cinnamon-y heaven).
- Remove pot from stove and let cool, uncovered, for 15 minutes or so. Puree apple mixture with an immersion blender (you could also use a regular blender or food processor, but I love the immersion blender!) until it’s smooth and buttery.
- If you want to thicken your apple butter even more after you’ve pureed it, just return it to the stove over low heat and let it cook down until it’s reached your desired level of thickness. I generally cook the apple butter for an additional 30 minutes to an hour – it all depends on the apples you started with! Just keep an eye on it and tailor the process to suit your tastes.
- Serve apple butter warm or let it cool and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Use whatever kind of apples you like – I used a local variety we picked from our favorite orchard!
I don’t bother to peel the apples for this recipe – the immersion blender purees everything so well that you really don’t need to take the extra prep step (also, I’m lazy, and peeling things is the worst). Just core them and remove the seeds and you’ll be good to go.
If you don’t have maple syrup, you can use brown sugar instead. I don’t like the apple butter too terribly sweet – it’s better if the apples get to shine through! – which is why I opt for maple syrup, but if you like sweeter apple butter just adjust the sugar to suit your tastes!
To make this in a slow cooker, throw all the ingredients together, cook on low for 6 or so hours, and blend as instructed.
To thicken apple butter, continue to cook on the stove (or uncovered in the slow cooker) until it’s at your desired consistency. You can also add a pat of butter to make it a bit more velvety.
This is my third time making the recipe, I followed your directions exactly, it’s so easy to make–and absolutely delicious. I am so happy with this recipe. For the past two weeks. my 6 year old sweet little neighbor asked to please make her another batch. Today I made a double batch, it was a little grainy (like applesauce), I just used my immersion blender a bit longer and it was perfect! Thank you for making it simple and easy, and super delicious too. (P.S. After 3 weeks in the fridge, it was still good–did not spoil).
This is my third time making the recipe, I followed your directions exactly, it’s so easy to make–and absolutely delicious. I am so happy with this recipe. For the past two weeks. my 6 year old sweet little neighbor asked to please make her another batch. Today I made a double batch, it was a little grainy (like applesauce), I just used my immersion blender a bit longer and it was perfect! Thank you for making it simple and easy, and super delicious too. (P.S. After 3 weeks in the fridge, it was still good–did not spoil).
We LOVE hearing stories like this! Thank you!
This was so simple and tasty, love it and will totally make again next time I have too many apples!
★★★★★
WAHOO! Thanks, Jessi!
Just made it – easy and tastes delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. Have you tried freezing it? It made more than I expected and I’m not sure what to do with all of this delicious apple butter! (I am vegan as well so trying to find some recipes with apple butter is hard!)
★★★★★
I like this recipe
★★★★★
Can you can this???
Hi Norry, This recipe has NOT been tested for home canning, so I don’t recommend processing it in that way. Canned goods require very specific pH levels and we unfortunately aren’t able to handle that detailed of testing at our studio right now! If you’re looking for a can-able recipe, I recommend checking out this one from the experts at Ball Canning: https://www.freshpreserving.com/apple-butter—ball-recipes-br3446.html
I try this recipe for few times and really enjoy it. Thank you very much, but my question can it be done in instant pot?
We’re so glad you liked the apple butter! We don’t have an Instant Pot version of this recipe but we do have one for the slow cooker: https://www.lifeasastrawberry.com/slow-cooker-apple-butter/
Hello,
Can this apple butter recipe be bottles?
Hi Karlene, This recipe has NOT been tested for home canning, so I don’t recommend processing it in that way. Canned goods require very specific pH levels and we, unfortunately, aren’t able to handle that detailed of testing at our studio right now! If you’re looking for a can-able recipe, I recommend checking out this one from the experts at Ball Canning: https://www.freshpreserving.com/apple-butter—ball-recipes-br3446.html
Can this be put in a water bath and preserved for longer shelf life?
Hi Sue, This recipe has NOT been tested for preserving or canning at home, so I don’t recommend processing it in that way. Canned goods require very specific pH levels and we, unfortunately, aren’t able to handle that detailed of testing at our studio right now! If you’re looking for a can-able recipe, I recommend checking out this one from the experts at Ball Canning: https://www.freshpreserving.com/apple-butter—ball-recipes-br3446.html
I used 1/2 red pears, 1/2 gala apples. I also upped the maple syrup a bit. I spiced it with the cinnamon and clove plus a little chinese five spice and just a touch of black pepper. It worked with all the modifications.
★★★★★
We’re so happy you liked it, Cecile!