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This tasty recipe is creamy and rich with the pure taste of autumn apples!
No sugar is needed to add to this as the final product’s natural sugars have been slow cooked down and act as their own natural preservative. I usually prefer homemade apple butter for this reason over jam or jelly that typically have lots of sugar added!
Making your own Apple Butter is also a great way to use up any apples that are looking a little tired and wrinkled in the fruit basket!
The taste is even better if you are able to use a few different kinds of apples. I usually have a mix of golden delicious, granny smiths, red delicious, macintosh, or empire.
I like recipes that are adaptable based on how much produce I am trying to use up. This one is great for example, because if I have about 10 apples that I would like to use up, I can use up all 10 instead of only 8 if the recipe calls for only 8.
Now that’s a bit of a ramble! But I hope you understand the gist of what I am trying to say: With this recipe, you can use whatever amount of apples you would like that will fit in your available crockpot.
Water Bath Canner: Altitude Adjustments
For the majority of canning recipes, it is important to note that it is necessary to increase the water bath boiling time if your geographical altitude is over 1,000 feet (305 meters) above sea level. The higher the altitude is, the boiling point of water decreases, so it needs to boil longer in order to effectively kill heat-resistant bacteria and preserve canned goods more safely.
| Altitude in Feet: | Altitude in Meters: | Increase Processing Time |
| 1,001-3,000 | 306-915 | 5 minutes |
| 3,001-6,000 | 916-1,830 | 10 minutes |
| 6,001-8,000 | 1,831-2,440 | 15 minutes |
| 8,001-10,000 | 2,441-3,050 | 20 minutes |
A simple video of part of the process of making Homemade Apple Butter!
How to Make Homemade Apple Butter
Supplies Needed:
- Water bath canner
- Canning tongs
- Canning funnel
- Canning jars, lids and rings
- Paper towel
- Non-metallic utensil
- Juice strainer or fine mesh colander
- Stock pot
- Measuring cups
- Paring knife
- Bowls
- Candy thermometer
- Spoon
Ingredients:
- Apples (a few different types is best!)
- Cinnamon (optional)
Stage 1 Directions: Harvesting the Apples
1. Wash apples, slice and peel. Make sure to discard any bad bits.
2. Put apple pieces into crockpot and turn to low, cooking slowly 8-12 hours or overnight.
3. When the apples can be easily mushed with a spoon, whisk up a little and use an immersion blender or put in a high power blender to puree until smooth.
4. If desired, add some cinnamon for additional flavouring.
5. If you are planning to preserve your apple butter by canning in a water bath, keep the pureed apple butter warm in crockpot, then continue with directions below. If you are just planning on keeping your finished apple butter in the fridge, pour into clean jars with lids. Best to use within 1-2 months in the fridge.
Stage 2 Directions: Water Bath
1. Before you start: Begin by prepping and setting up for the canning process. (There’s nothing worse than being ready to pour into the canning jars and realizing that you are missing something!)
- Clean your glass jars, lids and rings in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place jars upside down on a clean tea-towel covered baking sheet. Place in the oven, preheat oven to 180 degrees fahrenheit.
- Place cleaned lids in a small saucepan and put on low/med on the stove.
- Set out: canning tongs, paper towel, ladle spoon, non-metallic utensil, tongs or magnetic lid lifter, and lid rings.
- Fill large water bath canner with cold water and set on stove, cover with lid. Bring to a boil then turn to low to simmer until ready.
- If you don’t know already know this, research your current geographical altitude to see if you will need to modify some timing of this recipe. See notes below for testing for the jelly-set stage, as well as later on for the water bath canning stage.
2. With canning tongs, pull out a few jars from the oven and make sure all supplies are ready for the canning stage.
3. Carefully ladle or pour the warm apple butter sauce into the jars through the funnel.
4. Gently stir each of the filled jars with a non-metallic utensil.
5. Wipe the tops of the filled jars with a clean/wet paper towel.
6. Put a warm canning lid on each one, pressing down while you twist on a screw band. Only tight enough to hold in place.
7. With canning tongs, put into water bath canner. When all the jars are filled and inside, return water to a boil.
8. Process jars in the water bath for 10 minutes, at sea level. See note above for altitudes above 1,000 feet to increase timing.
9. Lift jars from canner, being careful not to tilt. Place on towel-covered baking sheet and wait for the jar lids to start to “pop” as they naturally vacuum seal over the next little while.
10. When lids have finished “popping”, without lifting the jars you can gently remove the screw bands and wipe off any excess water.
11. Let sit for 24 hours undisturbed so the apple butter can finish setting.
12. Store at room temperature for 12-18 months, refrigerate after opening.
13. Recipe yield will depend on how many apples you harvest! But when I typically fill a 6 quart slow cooker, it makes around 2x 500ml jars of finished apple butter.
More Great Ideas for Your Homemade Pantry!
Hi, I’m Jessie!
I’m a Wife and Homeschooling Mom living in a remote town in Northern Ontario, Canada. I love making wholesome meals for my family from scratch, homeschooling our girls and learning more about natural living.
Read more about my story HERE.
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No Sugar Crockpot Apple Butter
No Sugar Added, Just Pure Apple Goodness!
Supplies Needed:
Stage 1 Directions:
- Wash apples, slice and peel. Make sure to discard any bad bits.
- Put apple pieces into crockpot and turn to low, cooking slowly 8-12 hours or overnight.
- When the apples can be easily mushed with a spoon, whisk up a little and use an immersion blender or put in a high power blender to puree until smooth.
- If desired, add some cinnamon for additional flavouring.
- If you are planning to preserve your apple butter by canning in a water bath, keep the pureed apple butter warm in crockpot, then continue with directions below. If you are just planning on keeping your finished apple butter in the fridge, pour into clean jars with lids. Best to use within 1-2 months in the fridge.
Stage 2 Directions:
Nutrition
Per 1 tablespoon serving: 15 calories; 0 g fat; 4.0 g carbohydrates;
0 g protein.
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