This Easy Apple Butter turns 6 to 7 apples into about 2 cups of thick, velvety, cinnamon-spiced spread, with no butter needed. It’s a small batch, so there’s no canning and no crowd of jars to find room for. Spoon it onto warm biscuits, toast, or pancakes, or pair it with your favorite cheese. Every spoonful tastes like fall.
Oriana’s Thoughts On The Recipe
If you’re an apple lover, you are going to FLIP over this Apple Butter recipe!
After our last trip to the orchard, I figured that I should use the 123 lbs of apples my kids picked – Okay… I am exaggerating, but it was a humongous number of apples – before they go bad. So, this apple butter recipe was born.
If you are not familiar with apple butter, it’s basically like pumpkin butter — but with apples! And despite its name, there is no butter or any other kind of fat in Apple Butter. It’s pure apple goodness at its best.
Why You’ll Want to Try My Recipe
- It took only 8 minutes to cook, then a few more minutes to thicken.
- It’s sweet (but not cloyingly), spiced, and incredibly comforting.
- Nothing artificial, no preservatives, and nothing weird.
- Perfect for spreading on toast, muffins, pancakes, crackers, biscuits, and my personal fave: pair it with cheese.
Ingredients You’ll Need, Substitutions & Notes
Amounts are included in the printable recipe below (scroll down). You’ll need:
- Apples: I used Fuji apples. They’re a sweeter variety, making them perfect for this recipe. Do not use a firm, tart apple like Granny Smith. For this apple butter recipe, stick with softer, sweeter apples, such as Fuji, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Cortland, Honeycrisp, Gala, or McIntosh. A combination of apples works, too! Keep your apple pieces small and try to make them similarly sized so they cook evenly.
- Apple cider: I like to use apple cider for extra flavor, but if you don’t have any, you can substitute it for water. Make sure NOT to confuse apple cider with apple cider vinegar.
- Light brown sugar: You can adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of your apples.
- Apple pie spice: Apple pie spice is a spice blend made of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. If you do not have apple pie spice, you can make your own by mixing together ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp allspice, and 1 tsp ground cinnamon.
- Salt: I prefer kosher or sea salt. If you only have table salt handy, I recommend reducing the amount to half.
- Cinnamon stick: For extra warmth and richness!
- Vanilla extract: For extra flavor! For optimal flavor, reach for pure vanilla instead of imitation. Even better, try homemade vanilla extract!
Step-by-Step Recipe Photo Tutorial
Please check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions (scroll down).
- Pressure Cook the Ingredients
- Blend It Up
- Reduce It
- Cool & Store
Extra Recipe Tips For Success
I have not canned this IP apple butter, but you can see this post to read more about canning.
You can use this for anything applesauce is typically used for! You can also use this pressure cooker apple butter in baked goods, smoothies, marinades, and more.
What to Serve With
Spread it on warm Easy Eggless Biscuits, spoon it over Eggless Pumpkin Sheet Pan Pancakes, or pair it with a slice of cheese, my personal favorite. For a cozy fall dinner, serve a spoonful alongside Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pork Loin and Instant Pot Creamy Mashed Potatoes, with a glass of Easy Homemade Apple Cider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Apple butter doesn’t actually contain butter! The name refers to how buttery the apples get. Apple butter is thick and spreadable like softened butter!
The main difference between applesauce and apple butter is that apple butter is caramelized, which is why it is darker in color than applesauce. Applesauce is not usually seasoned as much as apple butter.
Absolutely!
Add the chopped apples, apple cider, brown sugar, apple pie spice, salt, cinnamon stick, and vanilla to the Instant Pot and cook on Manual at high pressure for 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 8 to 10 minutes, remove the cinnamon stick, and blend until smooth. Then simmer on Sauté (LESS) for 10 to 15 minutes, until thick.
Yes. Cook everything on LOW for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally, then remove the cinnamon stick and blend until smooth. Cook it uncovered on low for another 2 hours, stirring now and then, until the apple butter is thick and dark brown.
Recipe Card
Easy Apple Butter
Important
• For best results, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the ingredients.
Ingredients
- 6 – 7 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (I used Fuji – about 2.2 lb – 1 kg)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider (see notes for substitute)
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice (see notes for substitute)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
PRESSURE COOKER:
- Place all the ingredients into the Instant Pot.
- Select “Manual” mode and cook at high pressure for 8 minutes. When the time is over, turn it off and let the pressure release on its own; this will take about 8-10 minutes. Carefully turn the vent to “Venting,” just to release any extra pressure that might still be in there. Then remove the lid. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard it.
- Use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to blend the apple mixture until smooth.
- Select “Sauté” and adjust to LESS. Simmer apple butter for 10 – 15 minutes, or until thickened to the desired consistency. Press “Cancel”.
- Cool completely.
- Transfer to a glass jar. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks, or freeze in small containers for up to 3 months.
SLOW COOKER:
- Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker.
- Cook in a slow cooker on LOW for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally. After that time, remove the cinnamon stick and discard it.
- Use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to blend the apple mixture until smooth.
- Turn the slow cooker on to low heat and cook for another 2 hours uncovered, occasionally stirring, to reduce and thicken. The apple butter should be thick and dark brown.
- Transfer to a glass jar. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks, or freeze in small containers for up to 3 months.
- I have not canned this Instant Pot apple butter, but you can see this post to read more about canning.
- You can use this for anything applesauce is used for! You can also use this pressure cooker apple butter in baked goods, smoothies, marinades, and more.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of your apples.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Recipe Changelog:
- Originally posted in October 2017.
- Update: The post was edited in September 2022 to add more helpful information, with no changes to the recipe.
- Update: The post was updated again in September 2026 to add more helpful information, with no changes to the recipe.
Nutrition Label does not indicate the serving size. What is the serving size for the “85” calories?
Hello Nanci! 85 cal for 2 tablespoons.
Nevermind! Amazing how much clearer the recipe is when you re-read it at any other hour than 6 a.m. !
Hello Barbara! Thanks for your interest in my recipe. Please come back and let me know how you like it. ?
Can’t wait to try this recipe! One question though as I don’t think I saw this anywhere …. do you peel the apples and cut them up before putting them into the pot?
Hello Barbara! The apple has to be peeled, cored, and chopped.
Holy spatter! during the “saute” stage. I ended up dumping it into a pan on the stove where I could regulate the heat better.
Now I have to wipe down my cupboards, my backspash, my toaster, m y iPad….
The apple butter was good tho.
Hello Sharon! I am sorry to hear that you had too much spatter but I am happy you like the apple butter. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!?
Thank you for this great recipe. We came home this weekend from the Georgia Apple Festival with 7 pecks of beautiful fresh apples and I needed something to preserve that great fresh apple taste. These are the substitutions I used to make 7 cups of silky apple butter: Mutsu apples, a large, sweet and tangy green apple, peeled, cored and sliced (10 cups sliced 10-12 apples whole), 2 cups of Truvia Brown Sugar substitute, 2 cups fresh apple cider, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, vanilla extract, amaretto liquor, and a dash each of ground cloves, ground ginger and ground allspice. I followed your cooking instructions, and cooked on high for 10 minutes. After the first cooking I whizzed it up with the immersion blender and it was so silky and perfect I didn’t feel a need for the second cooking. I may simmer it a bit before canning to remove more of the moisture if it starts to separate overnight, but to me it’s perfect as is.
I’ll pack this in 6 (yes we ate some) half pint jars (8 oz) then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. They should be good to store for up to 12 months but we’ve never had one of our fruit preserves stay on the shelf for more than 6 months.
Hello Viv!! Truvia Brown Sugar is a great option for those how to want to reduce the sugar amount. And the amaretto sounds like a great addition too. I will try your recipe next time. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!?
I came looking for a pear butter recipe but this was lovely! Made the following adjustments based on availability: Swapped the apples for pears, subbed the sugar for less than 1/4 cup of honey, and used mulling spice in lieu of apple pie seasoning. Depending on the texture of your fruits’ peel, you may consider removing them first. Yum!
Hello Ariel! I’m SO GLAD you enjoyed it. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know!?