Is there anything more comforting than the smell of apples and cinnamon on a crisp fall day? I don’t think so!
This thick healthy apple butter in a crockpot will have your house smelling AMAZING, not to mention this apple butter is incredibly delicious.
During the fall, apples are at their peak of flavor, so right now is the perfect time to create this super easy recipe. Apple butter is perfect on so many things. Waffles, pancakes, biscuits, cornbread, oatmeal, yogurt, pie, toast, and you can even make a savory dish with it!
My dad absolutely loves apple butter. When we go out to eat for breakfast, he will always get apple butter to go with his food. I decided to recreate his favorite thick apple butter at home in a Chemistry Cachet, healthy easy way 🙂
Thick Healthy Apple Butter in Crockpot
- 14-15 apples, quartered, peeled and cored
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- Add all the apples once they are peeled, cored, and quartered to a large crock pot. Mine is 5 quarts.
- Cook on high for about 3 hours or until apples look mostly like apple sauce and are very soft.
- Blend in a blender in small batches until the apples are smooth. You can also use an immersion blender.
- Add back into crock pot and cook on high another 1.5 hours or so WITHOUT lid on. This allows moisture to evaporate, making apple butter thick.
- You can do this part until desired texture is achieved.
- Allow to cool, then add to jars.
- Store in the refrigerator.
Storage Tips For Apple Butter
Always store this in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This will last 2-3 weeks. Once the apple butter starts to separate, make sure to use it up soon. It’s not as good once this occurs.
You can eat this cold or warm it up in the microwave slightly before eating. If you choose to warm it up again, make sure to just scoop out a few tablespoons into a microwave safe bowl, not the entire jar.
It is also SUPER delicious straight out of the crockpot!
If you love how this makes your house smell, pop over to this post to make our homemade autumn room spray. HEAVEN!
Chemist Tips for Apple Butter in Crockpot
The KEY to making this thick is removing the lid from the crockpot. This allows the moisture to evaporate as much as possible. The end result is a thicker, tastier apple butter.
I like to use honey as a low glycemic index option for sugar. My family also really loves the honey flavor more than other sweeteners. Remember always use RAW honey for the healthy benefits. Read more about how to choose the right honey in this post.
You can easily swap out maple syrup for special diets that only allow that.
Be sure to read more about healthier sugar alternatives in this chemistry post.
Apple Options For The Best Apple Butter
I really love to mix up different apples when making apple butter.
Using half sweet apples, and half tart apples will give this a great depth of flavor. You are free to use any apple you love though! It is good no matter what.
Although many of the apples nutrients are found in the peels, it is better to remove the peels for apple butter. It will make a smoother, more rich recipe.
I love to save the apple peels, bake in the oven on low for a few hours to create apple chips. All you need to do is sprinkle some cinnamon on them before baking, and they turn out perfect!
I hope you enjoy making this absolutely delicious healthy apple butter recipe this season!
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Happy Friday Alexis! It’s been a long week… ? This recipe for apple butter looks divine… and the tips are so informative. I never thought to make apple chips from the peelings…. although my peelings are so small they may disappear during the baking process. I just cannot make long spiral peels. Have a great weekend!
Thanks Laurie! I wish I could do a spiral too lol mine are just long peels which takes longer. They are still delicious! This apple butter is amazing! Happy Friday!
YUM! One of my favorite fall treats <3
Green Fashionista
It is the best fall treat!
This looks so good! I have made it before but it’s never thick! That is so smart to leave the lid off, I can’t wait to try it!
It makes it super thick which is the best way to have it I think!!
Wowza! At first when I read apple BUTTER I was thinking oh dairy-maybe it has a non coconut alternative because I’m intolerant to salicylates, coconut is one of those. And then, I read the recipe having no BUTTER at all. When I was a kid my mom’s friend used to make apple butter and give it to us in jars. Was such a treat. Thank you Alexis! I’ve been buying Organic Vermont Applesauce in a glass jar. Really good quality applesauce and today I was saddened again to remember my local grocery is discontinuing it. This apple butter could be my replacement.
This apple butter is always our go to in the fall! It is so delicious and has the best flavor! I put it on everything 🙂 So good for you too!
I’ve never tried apple butter before but it looks tasty! Making a big batch and packaging it in cute jars would make a great gift for friends and family around Thanksgiving!
It is really yummy! I give jars of it to all my family and they love getting it around the holidays 🙂
Hi Alexis! Love getting your emails-
such great ideas and information!
You said this Apple Butter lasts 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator, but what if I want to make it for Christmas presents? Can I sterilize the jars & lids like I have done when I’m making jam, and then put them back in the boiling water? I haven’t made jam for a while so if you could include the instructions about how to preserve it, that would be really great! I’m betting that a lot of people would appreciate that information! (and perhaps it could be used for your Apple Syrup recipe as well?) One other question about the recipe for Candy Apples. For those that have a candy thermometer (and/or don’t want to risk ruining the candy apple coating), could you provide a temperature that the mixture should be heated to? That would be really helpful! Thanks! Patti
I’ve never canned this apple butter, but it doesn’t have as much natural pectin, so I’m not sure how it would work. You can freeze it though! Then warm back up in a crock pot 🙂 For the candy apples, I’ve never done it to a temperature. It doesn’t have to be exact on temp since it’s really just to combine the products to make a caramel like look/texture 🙂 I hope this helps! Let me know if you have other questions!
Hi Alexis~
HELP! I need a natural deterrent to keep my cats from jumping on my counter tops! Can you help? I am going to try your weed killer on the creeping Charlie in my yard, but hope you can offer immediate assistance to my feline dilemma. Thank you in advance!
I may have to celebrate my victory with apple butter!
Hi Jackie! I don’t have personal experience with cats, so I can’t say for sure what would work. I have helped some of my readers try to deter cats from things around their house. I always recommend vinegar. You can sit it out in bowls around areas you don’t want them to go, vinegar deters most animals from around many areas. I wrote about it a little in this post on vinegar. For the readers who have used vinegar, they have all had good results. Hope this can help you some too!
can you water bath it after its done?
Yes you can