Apple Butter

Our apple butter recipe will fill your house with the aroma of cooking apples and spices.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated September 22, 2023
Elise Bauer

It's hard to find any apple butter, let alone good apple butter in the grocery store these days. Making apple butter is a great way to preserve the fruits of an apple harvest.

What is Apple Butter?

Apple butter is made by slowly cooking pureed apples for over an hour. The sugars in the apples caramelize as the puree cooks, giving the apple butter its rich, sweet flavor and dark color.

In contrast to what the name implies, there is no "butter" in apple butter. The name comes from its smooth and buttery texture. Apple butter is delicious on buttered toast.

An overhead of apple Butter in a jar

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Apple Cores Add Pectin for Body

Although apple butter takes time to make, the upfront part is easy. You do not have to peel or core the apples.

The pectin for firming up the resulting apple butter resides mostly in the cores and there is a lot of flavor in the apple peels. After the first cooking, these parts get discarded as the pulp is run through a food mill.

This recipe produces a traditional apple butter, which is both sweet and sour, the addition of cider vinegar just intensifying the flavor and giving it its tangy edge. It's seasoned with cinnamon, cloves, allspice and lemon.

Jar of Old Fashioned Apple Butter with Some on a Spoon

Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

The Difference Between Applesauce and Apple Butter

Apple butter is a smoother, more concentrated form of applesauce. The methods for making the two both start out similarly, by slow-cooking apples until they're soft and mushy. Applesauce will be ready at this saucy stage, sometimes with the addition of sugar and/or spices to flavor it. But to make apple butter, you puree the stewed apples and cook them down further so more liquid evaporates and the apples caramelize.

Alternatives to Stovetop Cooking

Don't love standing at the stove stirring for ages? These two methods are way more hands-off.

  • Microwave: Instead of cooking the seasoned puree on the stovetop in Step 5, cook it uncovered in a microwave, on medium heat setting to simmer, for around 30 minutes. If you do this, monitor the cooking every 5 or 10 minutes. Microwaves vary in their power.
  • Slow cooker: In Step 5, transfer the seasoned puree to a slow cooker. Cook on low with the lid ajar (lay spoons across the cooker and set the lid on top) so steam can escape. Stir once every hour or so. Depending on your cooker, it could take up to 5 hours for the apple butter to cook down.

Storing and Freezing Apple Butter

  • Fresh apple butter will keep in the fridge for at least couple of weeks, if not longer.
  • Sealed, water-bathed canned jars of apple butter will keep for years in the pantry (they're best used within a year, though). Once opened, they’ll also keep for weeks in the refrigerator.
  • Frozen apple butter will keep up to a year.

More Recipes for Peak Apple Season

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Apple Butter

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Total Time 2 hrs 20 mins
Servings 96 servings
Yield 3 pints

While some apple butters are sweet, concentrated versions of applesauce, this recipe produces one with a sweet and sour, deep rich flavor. It's on the tart side. If you prefer apple butter on the sweeter side, we recommend trying a different recipe.

Gravenstein are the best apples to use for apple butter, if you can find them. They usually ripen mid summer. Granny Smiths work well too.

We offer detailed directions for water bath canning in the recipe below, but please note: For this recipe to be safe for canning, the sugar levels should not be reduced lower than to 1/3 cup sugar per 1 cup apple pulp.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds good cooking apples (we use Granny Smith or Gravenstein)

  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 2 cups water

  • Sugar (about 4 cups, see cooking instructions)

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice

  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest

  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice

  • Pinch kosher salt

Special Equipment

  • Wide 8-quart pan (Stainless steel or copper with stainless steel lining)
  • Food mill or a chinois sieve
  • Large (8 cup) measuring cup pourer
  • 6 to 8 (8-ounce) canning jars

Method

  1. Quarter the apples:

    Cut the apples into quarters without peeling or coring them. Much of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels. Cut out damaged parts.

    Apple Quartered on a Cutting Board for Apple Butter Recipe

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  2. Cook the apples:

    Put the quartered apples into large pot, add the vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

    Cook Green Apples in a Pot for Apple Butter Recipe

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  3. Push the apples through a food mill:

    Ladle apple mixture (cooked apples and liquid) into a chinois sieve (or food mill) and using a pestle force pulp from the chinois into a large bowl below.

    Cooked Apples Spooned into a Sieve for Apple Butter Recipe

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    Measuring Cup with Sieved Apples for Old Fashion Apple Butter

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  4. Add sugar, spices, lemon zest, and juice:

    Measure resulting apple pulp. Add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

    Sugar Added to Measuring Cup with Sieved Apples for Apple Butter

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
  5. Cook the apple mixture and stir often:

    Cook the apple sugar mixture uncovered in a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring often to prevent burning. Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom.

    Cook until thick, smooth, and dark brown in color (about 1 to 2 hours). A small bit spooned onto a chilled (in the freezer) plate will be thick, not runny.

    You can also cook the puree on low heat, stirring only occasionally, but this will take much longer as stirring encourages evaporation. (Note the wider the pan the better, as there is more surface for evaporation.)

    If you went with the lower amount of sugar, taste the apple butter and add a little more sugar if you think it needs it.

    A Spatula in a Pot of Apple Butter Slow Cooker

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
    Consistency Shown with a Dollop of Apple Butter on a Plate

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

Give Your Apple Butter a Rest

Try giving this apple butter a day two to age before you enjoy it. On the day it's made, it can taste quite sharp. After a few days, it mellows out and the flavors meld.

How To Can the Apple Butter

  1. Prep the canning jars:

    Midway through cooking the apple butter down, place a steamer rack in a large stockpot, and place 6 to 8 (8-ounce) canning jars on the rack. Fill the jars and the pot with water up to the rim of the jars.

    Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

    Wash the lids in hot, soapy water.

    Simple Tip!

    Because the jars will be processed in a water bath for 10 minutes, you do not need to sterilize the jars. They do, however, need to be warm.

  2. Pour the apple butter into hot jars and seal:

    Remove the jars from the water bath using jar lifters. Fill the hot jars with the hot apple butter, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Screw on the lids so they are fingertip tight.

    Lower the jars into the boiling water bath. If needed, add enough water to cover the tops of the jars with at least 1 inch of water. When the water returns to a boil, process in the water bath for 10 minutes.

    Remove the jars from the water bath and set on a clean dishtowel. As the jars cool, you should hear the lids "popping" as they seal the jars.

    Did you love this recipe? Give us some stars below!

    Three jars of Apple Butter

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
44 Calories
0g Fat
11g Carbs
0g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 96
Amount per serving
Calories 44
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 2mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 11g 4%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 10g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 2mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 26mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.