Fall is the perfect time for going to the apple orchard and bringing home bags full of beautiful apples. This Instant Pot apple butter is a delicious way to use up all your extra apples. Your fall menu won’t ever be the same!
I haven’t been apple picking in years, but the next best thing is going to my local farmers market and coming home with a big bag of their unique fall produce. I always come home with a big bag of apples and this year I decided to pull out my Crockpot and make a big batch of home made apple butter! The sweet aroma of apples cooking with cinnamon filled my kitchen and all was good at the Windy City Dinner Fairy household.
What is apple butter?
Apple butter is essentially concentrated applesauce. It’s made in a slow cooker and flavored with all your favorite fall flavors: cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. The cooking process is very similar, except with apple butter, the difference is that apples are chopped and then cooked for a longer period of time. This and allows more water out and the apples caramelize quite a bit more. When all is said and done, you’re left with is a dark brown, deeply caramelized spread, and incredible concentrated apple goodness.
How do you make apple butter in an Instant Pot?
This recipe is so simple to make! Simply cut and core apples, place in an Instant Pot with fall spices, and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes! Puree with an immersion blender or standard blender.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
Yes! If you don’t have an Instat Pot, follow these steps to make apple butter in a slow cooker
- Place apples in a crock pot. Add sugars to the pot. Sprinkle spices over sugar and apples.
- Cook on low for 10 hours
- Stir in vanilla
- Turn off heat and let cool
How do you use apple butter?
There are plenty of ways to consume this delicious spread.
- Spread on toast or english muffins
- Use as a marinade. It bring sweetness and complexity to grilled and roasted meats. I love using it with pork chops or on a bacon cheddar burger, or even a spread on a yummy grilled cheese!
- Place it in a jar on a fall charcuterie boards
- Top a poached pear dutch baby
- Mix it into oatmeal!
What kind of apples should I use for apple butter?
Although you could probably use whatever apples you have on hand, the softer varieties are ideal for making apple butter. You can pick from the following:
- Braeburn
- Cortland
- Fuji
- Gravenstein
- Grimes Golden
- Jonamac
- Ida Red
- Liberty
How long does apple butter last?
Apple Butter
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2 pints 1x
- Category: Dips
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 lbs apples, cored, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- pinch cloves
- pinch salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place apples in an Instant pot. Add sugars to the pot. Sprinkle spices over sugar and apples.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 20 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for 5 minutes.
- Open the lid and stir in vanilla
- Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Alternatively, transfer to a blender to puree until smooth.
- Transfer into jars and store in the fridge for 2 weeks, or freeze.
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