This Homemade Instant Pot Apple Butter Recipe is the best! Made with no refined sugar or peeling necessary. Enjoy it slathered on a piece of toast, or give it away as a fall gift.
So what is apple butter anyway? Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by slow cooking of apples until the natural sugars caramelize, turning the apple butter into a rich deep brown color and jam-like texture. Traditionally, apple butter is sweetened with brown sugar and warming spices cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves. In the recipe, we skip the cloves, add a pinch of cardamom, and sweeten the batch with honey and maple syrup. You can certainly customize the batch to your liking, that's what makes it fun. Similar to jam, you can spread apple butter on toast or warm biscuits, drizzle it on top of vanilla ice cream for dessert, or simply grab a spoon and dig in. Homemade apple butter makes a great gift to hand out in the fall to neighbors and friends.
For more Fall recipes check out my Fall Charcuterie Board, Pumpkin Flax Granola, Healthy Apple Crisp, Cinnamon Baked Apples, and Gluten-Free Pumpkin Bread.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Apples: Softer sweet apples will cook down faster and have the best flavor, but any apple variety will work. Our favorite apples include Gala, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith. In this recipe, we used Gala apples.
- Lemon Juice: Adds some acidity and brightens the flavor.
- Maple Syrup + Honey: Naturally sweetened with honey and organic pure maple adds the perfect balance of sweetness.
- Cinnamon, Cardamom, and Nutmeg: The combination of these three spices gives this apple butter a warm fall-like flavor.
- Vanilla Extract: Make sure to add the vanilla extract at the end, so that it doesn't evaporate during the caramelization process.
- Salt: Helps balance the sweetness.
- Water: A little bit of water helps avoid the instant pot burn notice. You can also use apple cider or apple juice.
How to Make Pressure Cooker Apple Butter
This instant pot apple butter recipe takes about 4 hours total, which is a fraction of the time it takes in a slower cooker.
- Chop and core the apples (no peeling!). To the instant pot, add the chopped and cored apples, water, lemon juice, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
- Pressure cook on high. Secure the lid. Set the instant pot to "pressure cook" on high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the instant pot to naturally release the steam for 20 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Pureé the apples. Use an immersion blender to puree the cooked apples until smooth.
- Satué until the desired texture is reached. Keep the lid off. Turn the Instant Pot to “sauté” and cook on low for 2-3 hours until thickened, stirring the bottom of the pot occasionally with a wooden spoon. Once the desired consistency is reached, stir in the vanilla.
- Jar the apple butter. Strain the apple butter through a sieve for a perfectly smooth texture. Allow the apple butter to come to room temperature. Spoon the mixture into sterile glass jars and refrigerate for up to four weeks.
Variations and Substitutions
- Vegan- To make this recipe vegan, omit the honey and substitute more maple syrup.
- Spices - Apple butter pairs well with many spices including ground cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, or even pumpkin pie spice.
- Citrus - Instead of lemon juice you can add a bit of orange juice and zest.
- Sugar Options - To keep this recipe refined sugar-free, other sweetener options include coconut sugar or maple sugar. If you are not worried about this recipe being naturally sweetened, using dark brown sugar is also a great option.
- No Sugar - If you are trying to avoid any added sugar, skip the maple syrup and honey altogether.
Expert Tips
- No Peeling!- Not peeling the apples saves a considerable amount of time. There can be tiny fragments of apple peels throughout the apple butter but for the most part, it cooks down and is not noticeable. If you desire to have ultra-smooth apple butter, simply strain the finished product through a sieve before jarring.
- Immersion Blend- Using an immersion blender saves a lot of time and hassle when pureing the apple mixture. If you do not have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the apples to a blender or food processor, and process on high until smooth.
- Sauté Function - The sauté setting on the instant pot only works in 30-minute increments, which means you will have to reset the timer by pressing the sauté button about 6 times over the course of 2-3 hours. Please note the lid will not be attached during this step, so make sure the setting is on low to avoid serious splattering. If you don't have time to watch the instant pot, you can transfer the pured apples to a large pot which allows for more coverage, and reduce the apple butter on the stovetop until thickened.
- Splatter Guard - To help further protect yourself from getting splattered, you can purchase a splatter guard that goes over the top of the instant pot.
Slow Cooker Version
The recipe can also be made in a slow cooker. The main difference is the amount of cooking time and no water is added to this version.
Slow cooker version: 6-8 hours
- Chop and core the apples (no peeling!). To the slow cooker, add the chopped and cored apples, lemon juice, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
- Cook on high. Cover with a lid and cook on high for 4 hours.
- Pureé the apples. Use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until smooth. After 4 hours remove the lid and puree' with an immersion blender until smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer the apple mixture to a regular blender or food processor, and purée on high speed for 2 minutes or until blended.
- Satué until the desired texture is reached. Keep the lid off. Return the purée to the crockpot if needed and continue to cook on high for another 2+ hours. Once the desired texture is reached, stir in the vanilla. Spoon the mixture into sterile glass jars and refrigerate for up to four weeks.
Storage
To refrigerate: Apple butter can be stored in an airtight glass container for up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator.
To freeze: Transfer the apple butter to a sealable freezer-safe container and it will last a year in the freezer.
FAQ
Apple butter is essentially apple sauce that is carmelized into a thicker, darker, sweeter version.
The apple butter should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and it will develop a dark rich color.
The consistency of apple butter is spreadable like butter but not made of actual butter. It's more comparable to jam.
Softer sweet apples will cook down faster and give the best flavor, but any apple variety will work. Our favorite apple varieties include Gala, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith.
Recipe
Apple Butter Recipe - Pressure Cooker (No Peeling)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples, cored and diced
- ½ cup maple syrup (120 ml)
- ¼ cup honey (84 grams)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Chop and core the apples (no peeling!). To the instant pot, add the chopped and cored apples, water, lemon juice, maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
- Pressure cook on high. Secure the lid. Set the instant pot to "pressure cook" on high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the instant pot to naturally release the steam for 20 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
- Pureé the apples. Use an immersion blender to puree the cooked apples until smooth.
- Satué until the desired texture is reached. Keep the lid off. Turn the Instant Pot to “sauté” and cook on low for 2-3 hours until thickened, stirring the bottom of the pot occasionally with a wooden spoon. Once the desired consistency is reached, stir in the vanilla.
- Jar the apple butter. Strain the apple butter through a sieve for a perfectly smooth texture. Allow the apple butter to come to room temperature. Spoon the mixture into sterile glass jars and refrigerate for up to four weeks.
Notes
-
- No Peeling!- Not peeling the apples saves a huge amount of time. There can be tiny fragments of apple peels throughout the apple butter but for the most part, it cooks down and is not noticeable. If you desire to have ultra-smooth apple butter, simply strain the finished product through a sieve before jarring.
-
- Immersion Blend- Using an immersion blender saves a lot of time and hassle when pureing the apple mixture. If you do not have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the apples to a blender or food processor, and process on high until smooth.
-
- Sauté Function - The sauté setting on the instant pot only works in 30-minute increments, which means you will have to reset the timer by pressing the sauté button about 6 times over the course of 2-3 hours. Please note the lid will not be attached during this step, so make sure the setting is on low to avoid serious splattering. If you don't have time to watch the instant pot, you can transfer the pured apples to a large pot which allows for more coverage, and reduce the apple butter on the stovetop until thickened.
-
- Splatter Guard - To help further protect yourself from getting splattered, you can purchase a splatter guard that goes over the top of the instant pot.
-
- Tip: The recipe makes about 3- 4 cups, depending on how much you cook it down.
Lilly Clarke says
The texture of this apple butter was silky smooth!! It was just the perfect amount of sweetness! It's super light and I love the ingredients Rebecca uses! No other words... just ABSOLUTELY, INCREDIBLY, DELICIOUS!!!