This is a super quick and easy apple butter recipe that only takes about 35 minutes to make and requires just five ingredients. The texture will be a little more rustic than apple butter recipes that require hours and hours of cooking. But the flavor is perfect to use in the autumn season.
I love this recipe on toast with butter or cream cheese. I also love adding a little apple butter to a grilled cheese sandwich—try it if you never have! I swear it’s a fun pairing. And of course apple butter smeared over a buttered biscuit is delicious as well.
Related: Next up, make pumpkin butter, strawberry jam or peach jam!
Ingredients
- Apples – I like to use a sweet variety like honey crisp
- Brown sugar
- Granulated white sugar
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla extract
Directions
Prep the apples by peeling and coring them.
To a medium to large size pot, add the apple slices, sugars, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Cook over medium heat. Stir often to dissolve the sugars and make sure the mixture doesn’t burn the bottom of your pot. After 30 minutes the apples should be very soft.
Use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can also transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree that way.
Allow to cool. Now it’s ready to use!
Tips for Making
- Allow the apple butter to cool before storing in jars or other airtight containers.
- Store apple butter in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks but likely longer.
- While I prefer to use a sweeter variety of apples, like honey crisp, any variety can work well for this recipe. The variety will affect the flavor, like using all granny smith will result in a more tart apple butter. You can also use a mix of varieties if that’s what you have.
More Apple Recipes
- Caramel Apples
- Candy Apples
- Apple Tart
- Apple Cobbler
- Apple Dumplings
- Appletini
- Washington Apple Shot
- Apple Pie Bars
- No Bake Caramel Apple Cheesecake
- Apple Chips
- Spiced Apple Cider
Frequently Asked Questions
What is apple butter?
Apple butter is like apple jam; it’s made from apples, sugar and spices. There is no actual butter in apple butter, it’s just the name given to it as it describes the consistency.
What is the difference between applesauce and apple butter?
Applesauce is made with a lower sugar to apple ratio, so it’s more often consumed on its own. Apple butter is more like a jam or jelly and is usually used as a condiment.
Get our FREE recipe guide with our most popular recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds apples
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep the apples by peeling and coring them.
- To a medium to large size pot, add the apple slices, sugars, cinnamon and vanilla extract.
- Cook over medium heat. Stir often to dissolve the sugars and make sure the mixture doesn’t burn the bottom of your pot.
- After 30 minutes the apples should be very soft.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can also transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree that way.
- Allow to cool. Now your apple butter is ready to use!
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This is my favorite recipe!
I love this recipe! So great when you have apples that are no longer crunchy enough to enjoy raw.
Sooo good!
I love apple butter on toast!
Delicious!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! It is hard to find apple butter in the stores near me, & my girls love it. This will be a fun fall project this weekend.
I am so excited to try this! I have never tasted it before and it looks yummy and fun! My daughter and cooking buddy will love trying this out too! Thank you! 🙂
Homemade apple butter is so good!
This is core memory for me, but I’ve never made it because it’s always seemed complicated. Thank you for making it easier!
Can’t wait for autumn 😍 apple harvest is only a week away in our garden so i might try the apple butter this year! Maybe I’m wierd but this makes me think of Halloween 😆
Quick and easy
On my to make list! 👌🏻