This smooth and fruity apple butter is delicious spread on toasts, mixed in porridge, or eaten with sweet potatoes or in sandwiches.
Homemade Apple Butter: Rich & Velvety
This apple butter complements both sweet and savoury dishes. Deliciously fruity, it works both as a spread and a condiment. This luscious spread boasts a silky-smooth texture and a deep, caramelised apple flavour that’s enhanced with warm spices. It makes a delicious alternative to apple sauce or compote. Unlike apple sauce, apple butter is cooked slowly to reduce moisture and intensify its taste, resulting in a spreadable consistency that makes it perfect for breakfast, snack, in a sandwich or roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash.
What is apple butter?
Apple butter is a thick, smooth, and highly concentrated spread made by slow-cooking apples with sugar and spices until the mixture becomes caramelised and flavourful. It has a texture similar to butter but is entirely fruit-based.
Seasoned with mixed ground spices or cinnamon, apple butter has a delicious warming flavour.
The apples are cooked with sugar and spices in a slow cooker for 10 hours or overnight until you have a thick and dark paste.
This slow cooker method is more hands-off and perfect for overnight cooking. If you do not have a slow cooker, you can use a heavy bottom pan or a preserving pan. It should take about 4 hours on low heat.
Choosing the Perfect Apples
I use our garden apples which are just standard variety. This recipe works with any kind of apples but the apple butter will cook faster with softer apples (such as Bramley, Golden Delicious etc..).
A blend of sweet and tart varieties creates a complex, well-balanced flavour. Consider these top choices:
- Bramley or Cox: Perfect for adding acidity
- Granny Smith: Tart and firm, perfect for adding acidity
- Golden Delicious: Sweet and mellow, great for smooth texture
- Fuji: Sweet and crisp, ideal for natural sweetness
- McIntosh: Soft and tangy, breaks down easily for a smooth consistency
TOP TIP: Mix two or more varieties for a more complex flavour in your apple butter.
The quantity of sugar in this recipe is for medium-sweet apples. Do not hesitate to adjust how much sugar you use based on how sweet the apples you are using are.
Here are more apple recipes to try:
- Apple Turnovers
- Apple Crumble Muffins
- The Most Delicious Apple Cake
- French Apple Tart (Tarte Fine aux Pommes)
In this post
How to use apple butter?
- Spread it on a sweet or savoury sandwich.
- Stir it into porridge.
- Makes a great addition to cheeseboards and a yummy alternative to quince paste (membrillo).
- Try it as a topping for pancakes or waffles.
- Makes a perfect condiment for roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes, butternut squash or even Brussels sprouts).
- Use it as a filling for pies, cinnamon rolls, scones, doughnuts, muffins etc…
- Makes an awesome low-fat alternative to butter and/or a low-sugar alternative to jam.
- Can be used in baking as a sweetener and flavour enhancer. It works well in recipes for muffins, cakes, cookies, and even bread. It can add moisture and a rich apple flavour to your baked goods.
Spicing Up Your Apple Butter
I like the simple flavour of ground spices (or cinnamon) and vanilla. However, you can play around and create your perfect spice mix.
Spice Suggestions
- Cloves: Adds warmth and depth
- Nutmeg: Brings a subtle, nutty aroma
- Cardamom: Adds a warmth or an exotic twist
- Ginger: Adds a a spicy kick
- Star anise: For a licorice-like depth
Remember, the key is to start with small amounts and adjust to taste. Your perfect blend awaits!
Canning and Preservation
Once made this apple butter will keep in airtight jars in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks. You can also can it in preserving jars for longer-term storage or freeze it.
You can extend the life of your homemade apple butter with proper canning techniques. Follow these steps for safe, shelf-stable preservation:
Equipment Needed
- Water bath canner or large pot
- Clean, sterilised jars with new lids
- Jar lifter and canning funnel
Canning Process
- Sterilise jars and lids in boiling water
- Fill jars with hot apple butter, leaving some room at the top
- Remove air bubbles and wipe jar rims clean
- Apply lids and bands, tightening to fingertip-tight
- Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes
- Remove jars and let cool undisturbed for 24 hours
- Check seals and store in a cool, dark place
Frequently Asked Questions About This Apple Butter
No, apple butter is not the same as applesauce. While both are made from apples, applesauce is a chunky and less sweet puree, while apple butter is much thicker, sweeter, and often spiced.
Traditional jam often uses roughly equal weights of fruit and sugar. This apple butter uses around one part sugar to ten parts fruit, so it’s much lower in added sugar, about 23 kcal per tablespoon. It’s still a sweet spread, though, so enjoy it in moderation.
No. Despite the name, apple butter has no butter or dairy in it. The “butter” refers to its thick, smooth, spreadable texture. This recipe is naturally vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free.
Apple butter is much better known in the US, but it’s easy to make in the UK. It’s a brilliant way to use up a glut of garden apples or autumn windfalls. You’ll occasionally find it in delis or online, but homemade has a far better flavour and costs very little.
Any apples will work. Bramleys break down quickly and give a lovely tangy flavour. Cox, Braeburn and Egremont Russet add sweetness and depth. For the best result, use a mix of cooking and eating apples, and adjust the sugar to suit how sweet your apples are.
Yes. Cook it in a heavy-bottomed pan or preserving pan on the hob over a low heat for about 4 hours, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch on the bottom. You can also cook it uncovered in a low oven, stirring every 30 minutes, until thick and dark.
How long does homemade apple butter keep?
Kept in sterilised, airtight jars, it will last 2–3 weeks in the fridge. It freezes well for up to 6 months. For longer storage at room temperature, process the filled jars in a boiling water bath (see the canning section above).
I hope you enjoy this apple butter recipe as much as we do. If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Apple Butter Recipe
Equipment
Disclaimer: the equipment list above includes affiliate links to products I use and like.
Watch How To Make This Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 kg apples
- 250 g dark muscovado sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp mixed ground spices or cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Peel and core the apples. Cut into small chunks.2.5 kg apples
- Place the apple chunks in a slow cooker. Add the sugar, salt, vanilla and spices.250 g dark muscovado sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 Tbsp mixed ground spices or cinnamon, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- Cook covered in the slow cooker on low for around 10 hours. Stir from time to time. The apple butter should be thick and dark in colour.
- If you can see that there is too much liquid, cook uncovered in the slow cooker on low for another 2 hours.
- Blend to a smooth paste with a hand held blender.
- Transfer into sterile airtight jars and keep refrigerated for up to 2-3 weeks. Can for longer term storage.
Nutritional Information
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