Last week I shared my applesauce recipe -- a simple fall staple I rely on greatly throughout the year. This week I wanted to share another great fall staple in my pantry -- DIY gluten-free, vegan, and paleo apple butter. I use this stuff in so many baked goods throughout the year (like in these shortbread apple pockets), and of course it's awesome on some morning toast with a sprinkle of cinnamon ;) {it's a wonderful naturally sweetened jam alternative!}. Best of all, I love to gift my apple butter to others -- everyone is always so surprised that so much flavor can come from just 1-2 ingredients!
DIY apple butter is really versatile, adding lots of moisture and flavor to recipes (while also acting as an oil and egg substitute when needed), and is so simple to make. I love taking advantage of this time of year when apples are so in abundance to make a huge batch of this stuff and then freeze it in small jars for use throughout the year, and also of course dish some of it out to my friends and family. All you need is a crock pot, some apples, and a touch of cinnamon and you're set. Ready to get started? Follow my lead:
PrintDIY GF, Vegan, and Paleo Apple Butter
DIY apple butter is really versatile, adding moisture and flavor to recipes, is a great egg substitute and is so simple to make. Vegan, gluten-free recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours 10 minutes
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
- Enough apples to fill a crock pot 3 times (that's 3 crock pot's worth of apples!), cored and chopped into large chunks (I don't peel mine)
- Enough water to cover 1" from the bottom of the pot (so about 2 cups for a large crock pot)
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- A few tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Fill up your crock pot with the chopped and cored apples all the way to the top. Add in enough water to cover 1" from the bottom of the pot (about 2 cups for my large crock pot, but you may need more or less depending on your crock pot size). This water is there just to get the cooking process started, and then the delicious juices from your apples will do the rest of the job, so don't be tempted to add too much). Stick in the cinnamon sticks. Turn crock pot to high and cook covered for about 6 hours, giving it a stir occasionally. Store the remaining chopped apples covered in the fridge (don't worry about protecting them from browning as that'll happen anyways in the cooking process).
- At the 6 hour mark, reduce the heat to medium, and give the apples a good stir. You'll see that the mixture will have reduced quite a bit. Add in more apples all the way to the top. Cover and keep the mixture cooking for another 5-6 hours. Then stir and add in more apples. Keep repeating the process until you've used up all your apples. As you keep the mixture cooking, you'll find that the apples cook and break down much quicker so you can add more apples in every few hours or so. It takes about 24 hours for the process to be complete.
- Once all the apples have gone in and had time to cook down (approx. 24 hours), turn the slow cooker off. Give the mixture a good stir with a wooden spoon, mashing up any apples that haven't fully fallen apart yet. Remove the cinnamon sticks and discard. Add in ground cinnamon to taste (I usually add about 2-3 tablespoon for a large crockpot) and stir. If you find your apple butter is too chunky use an immersion blender to get it to the right consistency. You can also add sweetener if you like, especially if your apples were on the sour side, but I never do personally -- I find it perfect the way it is and prefer to add sweetener later as needed.
- Spoon apple butter into jars (I recommend using smaller ones if you're freezing, so you can defrost a bit at a time as needed), allow the apple butter to cool to room temperature and then freeze or store in the fridge (or can, if you're a canning type of person ;) ). It keeps up to 3 weeks in the fridge.
Notes
Don't fuss too much about the times -- this recipe is very flexible. I just check on the crock pot every so often, or whenever I'm in the kitchen, give it a stir and add more apples in. The times I've put in are a rough guide.
P.S. I love to inaugurate my freshly made apple butter by having a small bowl of warm-from-the-crock-pot apple butter with some cinnamon and a handful of raisins -- I recommend you get initiated into my ritual too ;) .
Enjoy!
Sarah says
Hi! I’m cooking it now and my apartment smells amazing! How do you know when it’s done? I wanted to make less so I just topped up my small slow cooker with apples once. It’s starting to darken but is still quite apple colored and is still 2/3rds full. I’m assuming it should reduce down quite a lot and get quite dark brown?
Elisa Ferreira says
At what temperature does this ~crock pot~ cooks? Because well...it's the first time I hear about it ( even searched it to find out) and I do happen to have an eletric rice pan with the settings "cook" (makes water boil) and "heat" (does not boil water) so I was wondering if this recipe could be achieved. Thank you for sharing <3
The Real Person!
Hi Elisa. I'm not entirely sure. My crock pot comes with a low-med-high setting, but it doesn't state the temperature. I'd start with the "cook" option, and reduce to the "heat" option at the 6 hour mark. Hope that helps.
Stephanie says
What kind of apples do you find works best? Approx how many cups does this recipe produce>
The Real Person!
Hi Stephanie,
The tastier the apples the better. Sweeter ones are best. That said I actually usually just use apples from my apple tree -- which are wild (not crab apples, but neither any breed I know -- a relic from the farm that used to be here a century ago), and they are pretty mediocre on their own, but in the butter they taste great. So I guess my point is -- use whatever apples you like. Something like fuji or gala would be my go-to.
About cups, it depends on the size of your crock pot. I have a massive one, but the recipe works for any size. So you just need enough apples to fill your crock three times' worth. You'll end up with about 2/3 of the crock pots' total size in butter when it's all done. So to give you an idea -- my cooker is an 8qt. So I get 24 qts' worth of apples to make a large batch. When it's finished, I end up with about 5-6 qts (so 20 - 24 cups depending on how long I cooked it) of apple butter (you can even reduce it more if you want it super thick... up to you -- just keep it cooking longer).
I hope all that didn't confuse you :) Enjoy it!
Pamela says
Hi, Audrey...pumpkin makes a fabulous vegan butter as well...I make mine with applesauce, pumpkin and butter plus pumpkin pie spice with extra cinnamon. I am an apple butter hound but actually prefer the pumpkin. It's my fall treat to friends and family but I like it year round.
The Real Person!
That sounds absolutely delicious, Pamela. I only heard of pumpkin butter this year, but missed the boat on it. I can't wait to try it out next year. Your combination sounds wonderful!
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
Beautiful photograph's Audrey, this recipe sounds great. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
The Real Person!
Thanks Laura! Hopping over there now to link up and check out the lovely recipes this week :)