Warm spices and plenty of apple flavor without any refined sugar, my Slow Cooker Apple Butter is a healthier way to enjoy this delicious fruit spread.
When apple season hits we love making this super easy Slow Cooker Apple Butter. It tastes amazing and is also made without any refined sugar so it is healthy than most store bought butters. Try it on toast or English muffins or make these delicious oatmeal bars.
Try my super easy 5 Minute Spiced Pumpkin Butter for another delicious spread for toast, as a topping for ice cream and more!
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ingredients
While this slow cooker version is not made in the traditional way, it tastes every bit as delicious and has absolutely no added sugar. Dates take the place of sugar and provide extra fiber, calcium, potassium, and vitamin A. Healthy ingredients and it taste AMAZING, what could be better?
- apples
- dates
- cinnamon
- allspice
- lemon juice
- water
See recipe card for quantities.
instructions
Now, you might be thinking 11 hours is just too long and too much work, but it's mostly a hands off recipe. Just core and roughly chop your apples, no peeling necessary, and everything goes into the slow cooker. You don't need to do anything else for the next 9 hours. I like to set mine up before I go to bed and then finish it up in the morning just in time for breakfast.
After 9 hours your apples should be soft and easily broken up when you stir like above. It's basically a chunky applesauce at this point and indeed you could stop there if you like and it would be very tasty. But, it really is worth it to do those extra steps to make apple butter. So, so good!
Try it smeared on toast, swirled in oatmeal or nice cream and enjoy! I also have another plan in the works for this apple butter that I'll share soon.
If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out! Leave a comment below or snap a pic and tag it @weelittlevegans on Instagram so I’ll be sure to see it!
Recipe
Slow Cooker Apple Butter - No Added Sugar
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb apples about 4-6 small to medium
- ½ cup dates, pits removed about 6
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Peel, core and chop apples into large chunks.
- Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and set to low.
- Continue to cook over low heat for 9 hours.
- After 9 hours stir mixture. The apples should be very soft and mostly broken down.
- Transfer apple mixture to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Return mixture to slow cooker and continue to cook on low heat for 2 hours to thicken. Stir every 30-40 minutes to ensure apple butter does not burn.
- Allow to cool and transfer to storage container. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
L Deen says
Hi, how many smallish jars will this fill? Or how many cups in total will it make?
Melissa says
It should make about 1 1/2 cups and the recipe can be easily doubled if needed. Hope this helps 🙂