Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe

This easy slow cooker apple butter recipe is made with warm spices, lemon zest, and vanilla paste — and tastes like fall in a jar.

One of my favorite fall traditions is to go to upstate New York for apple picking. There’s just something about the autumn foliage, warm apple cider donuts, and lugging tons of apples to the truck that just makes me jump with joy.

And not to mention allllll of the apple goodies that come out of it.

And the FIRST recipe I make once I get home from apple picking is this one, because it’s an ingredient I tend to use in so many of my other apple recipes.

Apple Butter is a smooth, rich, highly concentrated form of apple sauce that — contrary to the name — contains literally no butter! It’s so good to spread on toast, to top ice cream, or to use in other recipes (like my Apple Butter Crumb Cake or my Apple Crisp).

Apple Butter Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this ‘set it and forget it’ recipe:

Apples: I’m big into mixing my apples (one of the reasons I love apple picking!) — so I tend to do an assortment of tart and sweet apples, like Fuji, Honeycrisp, Mcintosh, and Granny Smith.

Sugars: Both brown and white sugar.

Pumpkin spice: Because pumpkin spice has all of my favorite fall spices in one, like cinnamon, allspice, clove, and nutmeg.

Vanilla bean paste: The thicker, richer version of vanilla extract.

Lemon zest: To brighten the apple butter.

Salt: To bring it all together.

How to Make Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Step 1: Peel, core, and chop your apples.

The first thing you’ll do is peel and chop your apples. They don’t have to be fancy here — just chop them into ~1 inch cubes and toss them into your slow cooker.

Step 2: Add your ingredients.

Now add your sugars, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt to the apples and give everything a big stir to make sure the apples are coated.

Step 3: Cook the apples on low.

Now put the lid on and turn the slow cooker to low. Let it cook for at least 10 hours (I tend to put everything together before bed and finish it up in the morning).

Step 4: Blend the apples.

Now using an immersion blender (or you can scoop the apples into a blender), blend the apples until they become smooth and creamy, like this:

Step 5: Let the apple butter thicken.

Now take the lid and put it back on, but make it a little crooked so that steam can escape, like this:

Turn the slow cooker on high and allow the apple butter to thicken for about 1–2 hours, or until it reaches your desired consistency.