Canning Apple Butter Recipe

Crockpot Apple Butter for Canning: Extended, Step-By-Step Directions

Sugar Measurements & Why I Do Things This Way

Note: My source for this recipe is the Ball Blue Book. The exact ratios from my source are…

4 pounds apples and 4 cups sugar.

I used to just add apples, sugar, and spices to the Crockpot and cook it all together (see picture below). However, the issue with that is knowing how much sugar to add.

Cooking the apples to a sauce and then measuring and adding the appropriate amount of sugar will allow you to follow the suggested ratios or at least remember how much sugar you added last time. And you’ll get the same results time after time. Either method will work.

How to Make Crockpot Apple Butter

Gather your canning supplies:

• water bath canner
• canning jars
• canning lids and rings
• jar lifter and canning funnel
• large pot or blancher
• bowls
• large spoons
• sharp knife
• towels and dish cloths
• whisk
• apple peeler-corer-slicer (This is optional, but I HIGHLY recommend it. They are worth their weight in gold! See if you can borrow one if you don’t have one. It is an incredible, time-saving tool.)

Apple butter ingredients:

• apples – enough to fill your Crockpot very full
• sugar
• spices to taste

How to Make Your Apple Butter

First, peel, core, and slice your apples.

For any apple butter recipe, the apple peeler-corer-slicer comes in handy. It will cut your time in half. (For my video review, click here.) If you do not have one of these, just prepare your apples the old-fashioned way, with a knife. If you do this with a knife, chop your apples up small.

Put your apples into your Crockpot. Fill it up to the brim. The apples will settle quite a bit as they cook and soften. You can add your sugar now, but I’ve been waiting until later when the apples are cooked to an applesauce consistency.

Cook on high for 3 hours or so. This gets things cooking faster. Stir and set on low. Allow this to cook, stirring occasionally, as the fruit gets softer.

When it is an applesauce consistency, measure out your sauce, then add the following for every 2 quarts of fruit pulp:

• 4 cups sugar
• Spices to taste (I use 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, and 1/4 tsp. salt)

(If you have more or less fruit pulp, use this ratio: 1/2 cup sugar to 1 cup fruit pulp, adjusting your seasonings accordingly.)

Alternatively… just add sugar to taste.

In a bowl mix sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Pour this mixture over the apples, stirring to combine. Continue cooking in the slow cooker until it is the consistency you like. Smooth and silky! Finish off with a whisk for a smooth product. This can cook overnight if you have a cooker that will not heat up too much. In my experience, new slow cookers cook too high to be left that long and will end up scorching.

As the apples cook, you will be able to go from stirring with a spoon to a whisk. They will whisk up nice and smooth. The color will get darker and darker as the apple butter thickens as well.

You can leave the lid off for the last hour or two to get a thicker consistency. The butter should round up on your spoon. Do not cook until it is pasty…that would be too thick.

Canning Apple Butter

Fill your jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe the rims clean, remove any air bubbles, and place your lids.

For more details, follow water bath canning instructions.

The National Center for Home Food preservation has you sterilize your pint-size jars and then process them for 5 minutes. To avoid the task of sterilizing jars, I use a 10-minute processing time. (Ball Blue Book just says 10 minutes, adjust for altitude.)

Read here for more information if you’d rather sterilize the jars first: Sterilizing jars for canning.

Make sure to adjust processing time according to altitude. Please read more about why altitude adjustments are important here.

Pinnable Recipe Card

Crockpot Apple Butter FAQs & Tips

Apple Butter in Quarts or Pints?

I always can these in pints or half pints. Half pints are processed the same as pints. You can make fruit butter in quart jars, but I’d suggest you think about it first. A quart of any fruit butter will last a very, very long time. I do not include processing time for quarts. I did one of my Canning Chats on canning apple butter in quarts here.

Canning Caramel Apple Butter?

 Can caramel apple butter be canned?
No caramel should not be added to the apple butter.  You could probably add caramel when you open the jar to use it though.  I’d try heating it up a little and stir in a caramel sauce.  Then store it in the fridge.

What Should the Texture Be?

“This is the first time canning apple butter & everything seemed fine until the next day when I noticed a thin liquid @ top of apple butter; is this bad or just normal separation?”

Assuming you processed it in a water bath, it is most likely just a normal separation. Just stir it in when you open the jar to use it. Apple butter will be a smooth sauce consistency. You’ll know it is done when it rounds up on a spoon. It should be spreadable…but not sticky/tacky.

How Long Does Homemade Apple Butter Last?

If I get a hold of it? Not long! 🙂 I LOVE homemade apple butter. In all seriousness, however, homemade apple butter will keep for at least 12 months, likely more, if you store it in a cool, dry place. Once it is opened and in the fridge, plan on a couple of weeks.

What’s the Difference Between Applesauce and Apple Butter Recipe?

Applesauce is a canned apple puree that’s meant to be eaten by the bowlful. Apple butter is cooked longer, so it takes on a different consistency than applesauce, much smoother. It’s also sweeter and more spiced than applesauce.

Using a Food Mill to Make Apple Butter

“Hi Sharon, I’d like to make apple butter in the slow cooker, but I want to use my food mill to clear skins and seeds first. So, my question is: HOW? Just take the applesauce result and put it in the slow cooker? For how long? Thanks. Irene”

Hi Irene, great question. I would just make applesauce as usual with your food mill. Check here for specifics on how to make applesauce. Then add that, plus the sugar, to your Crockpot. The cook time will be less, but I can’t give you an exact time. I’d estimate 6 hours maybe? It all depends on how juicy your applesauce is and how your cooker cooks. Try it out and let me know how it goes. 🙂 – Sharon

Cooking Apple Butter in a Crockpot or on the Stove? Is There a Difference?

“It’s apple butter time! I make mine in the Crockpot & then water bath. Wondering if there a difference between cooking in the Crockpot vs. stove in the sweetness level? Thanks for your help.“

I’ve never tested it, but I don’t think there would be any difference in the sweetness. With the stove, the main thing is just being sure you are on hand to stir more often. The heat is all at the bottom of the pot; with a Crockpot the heat surrounds the apples and will be a gentler heat. It does take longer though. So it just depends on your preference in cooking style. The sweetness will be all about the type of apples and any sweetener you add.

Cooking Apple Butter Covered or Uncovered?

“Hello. My question is when I am cooking down my apple butter recipe, do I need to cover my pot or just leave it uncovered? I did this years ago, and I cannot remember. Thank you. Elise”

Elise, you should either leave the lid off or at least leave the lid ajar so moisture can escape. I’ll usually put it on high for the first hour or so. This gets things heated up quicker, but then turn it down. As the apple butter gets thicker, it may tend to splatter, so that is why I sometimes just suggest leaving the lid ajar. A splatter screen is also a good idea if you want to leave the lid completely off.

How Do You Store Canned Apple Butter?

You should store home canned apple butter in a cool, dark place. Read more about preparing canned food for storage here.

Tip for Getting Fruit

Gleaning from orchards after the main season is a great way to get free fruit. These will usually be seconds, but they’re still perfectly useable. Be sure and call ahead, and always treat the orchard with respect! That orchard owner is trusting that you won’t allow your children to climb trees
and break branches or otherwise be a nuisance. Pick up after yourself when you leave. This is their livelihood, so honor the trust they show by allowing you there.

Canning Chat: Canning Apple Butter the Day After You Make It

Transcript – Edited for Clarity

Hey there–This is Sharon from SimplyCanning.com where you can find home canning food tutorials, tips, and advice, all taught in a way that even a beginner can get their pantry filled. We have a Canning Chat question today from Jennifer. She says, “Hello, I’m new to all of this. Here’s my question: Can I make apple butter today, but put it in jars and process it at a later date, like a week from now?”

Yes, you can make your apple butter today, put it in the refrigerator, and then bring it out, heat it up, and process it. I wouldn’t wait a week though. If you have your apple butter ready and you’re not going to be able to can it, put it in a container in the refrigerator. Take it out the next day. Waiting a week would be too long.

You’d be better off putting it in small containers in the freezer. That’s really fast. If you don’t have time to can it, freezing it is another really good option. Waiting for a whole week wouldn’t be a good idea.

Preparing it one day and processing it the next day is possible with quite a few things. It depends on the food. It works with apple butter, applesauce, tomato sauce, and things like that. Anything that you can put in a container to be refrigerated overnight, without affecting the texture. If you tried that with green beans, carrots, beets, or other vegetables, I’m afraid the quality of the food would go down.

Put it away, and then take it out again. But a week? No, I’d say that a week would be too long. I hope this was helpful. You guys have a great day. I’m going to put links to canning apple butter and canning applesauce in the article below. If you need directions on how to do that, check them out. We’ll talk to you later. Bye!

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Adapted from: The National Center for Home Food Preservation and the Ball Blue Book.

Page last updated: 6/7/2021