Name: Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 22 h
Total time: 22 h 25 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 12 pounds Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and sliced; 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar; 3 cups white sugar; 1 cup brown sugar; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 1 teaspoon ground allspice

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Prize Winning Apple Butter -Easy Slow Cooker Recipe. Goes great with sweet or savory dishes. You choose! Nice for gifts too!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter is a delicious recipe and has been generously shared by one of our Lovefoodies supporters, Cathy Kopp.

Cathy is always cooking delicious Homemade dishes and just loves to cook. Cathy has lots of different canning recipes, such as Pickled Pepper Rings, and Homemade Canned Chili.

Here, Cathy's prize-winning slow cooker Apple Butter is incredibly easy and is certainly popular with her boys!

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It's easy to do, let your slow cooker do all the work and at the end, you have delicious Apple butter. Cathy entered her Apple Butter into the Wayne County Fair and won first prize, so many congratulations! It sure is a winner recipe!

For those who have never tried apple butter, you must! How would you eat it? Well, some people use it as a spread, like you would jam, on bread or toast. You can use it to make cakes, such as our applesauce brownie cake. (It uses apple butter instead of fat in the recipe!), and you can also use it to have alongside some delicious roast pork and crackling as a side sauce too!

Prize Winning Apple Butter -Easy Crock Pot Recipe. Goes great with sweet or savory dishes. You choose!

Making slow cooker apple butter is a great way of preserving apples, using the canning method. Apple Butter is popular around Fall time when there's an abundance of delicious sweet and juicy apples, so make a batch and give away as gifts at Christmas time! It's hard to find a good apple butter in the grocery stores, especially one which has no added preservatives or artificial additives, so homemade is the way to go for a great tasting and nutritious apple butter.

So let's get straight to the recipe and see how we make this prize winning slow cooker apple butter recipe! Please enjoy!

Recipe by Cathy Kopp

Table of Contents 📋 hide

8) Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter

9) Delicious Recipes Using Apples

Prep Time

25 minutes

Cook Time

22 hours

Yield

5.5 pints

Ingredients

12 pounds Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and sliced
½ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

1. Place apples and vinegar in a large slow cooker, and place lid on top.

Prize Winning Apple Butter - in slow cooker — in 22 hours this will be Apple Butter

2. Set on High, and cook for 8 hours, then turn to Low, and continue cooking 10 hours more.

Prize Winning Apple Butter - after 8 hours — After 8 hours on high. Now it goes to low for 10 hours.

Prize Winning Apple Butter - after 10 hours — This is after 8 hours on high and 10 hours on low. Now it's time to add the sugar and spice.

3. After 18 hours, stir in white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, and cook 4 hours more.

Prize Winning Apple Butter - after 22 hours — Now to let it cool a bit, blend it, and then put into jars

My Notes:
This is easy, easy, easy! The most difficult part is peeling the apples and then getting them all to fit in the crockpot.
I made it according to the directions above. In the future, I will reduce the amount of white sugar and the amount of cinnamon.
In my case I canned the apple butter. See below for instructions how to do that if you are not sure.

Canning Guide

1. Fill the hot boiled jars with the hot apple butter. Leave a space of about ¼ inch (0.5 cm) of top of jar. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down. Place jars back in the canner (boiling pot). Ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process – boil filled jars – 10 minutes.

2. When processing time is complete, turn stove off, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.

3. After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.

Note : I boil by jars before and after. Also altitude is important.
This is the altitude chart for guidance, Click HERE to see it.

The ingredients proportions are from Bernardin. The jars come with a little recipe book sometimes and fruit proportion has been taken from there as well as some of the boiling instructions.

NOTE: Please be aware that recipes shared by readers of this page are not endorsed, checked or tested by Lovefoodies. Always follow USDA home canning recommendations.

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our post. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Why not try our popular Apple sauce and Walnut Brownie Cake (simply swap the apple sauce for Cathy's apple butter! )

Apple Sauce and Walnut Brownie Cake. A lovely easy recipe using no eggs or fat. It tastes amazing but without all the calories! | Lovefoodies.com

Recipe Card

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Yield: 5 ½ pints

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 22 hours

Total Time: 22 hours 25 minutes

Prize Winning Apple Butter -Easy Slow Cooker Recipe. Goes great with sweet or savory dishes. You choose! Nice for gifts too!

Ingredients

12 pounds Golden Delicious apples - peeled, cored and sliced
½ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

Place apples and vinegar into a large slow cooker, and place lid on top.
Set on High, and cook for 8 hours, then turn to Low, and continue cooking 10 hours more.
After 18 hours, stir in white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, and cook 4 hours more.

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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 30 Serving Size: 5 ½ pints
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 206Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 6mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 5gSugar: 44gProtein: 1g

Delicious Recipes Using Apples

Here's a lovely selection of recipes using apples.

147 thoughts shared

Michelle
says:
November 26th, 2018 at 12:27 am

I gave this apple butter as gifts last year! Loved it! I did tweak it sugar and spice amounts a little. I’m wondering if this same method would work with pears for pear butter?

Heather
says:
November 19th, 2018 at 12:19 am

Amazing!!! I have tried several recipes over the last 2 years and this one beats them all…by far.
I was looking for more of a caramel texture so I kept reducing it to my liking. The balance of all the ingredients makes it a dreamy, yummy goodness. Thank you so much for sharing your masterpiece with all of us apple butter connoisseurs.

Chelsey
says:
October 28th, 2018 at 7:00 pm

Just randomly looking for a good apple butter recipe since I have two bags of apples, stumbled acrossed yours. Couldn’t help but laugh because I’m from Burbank also. What are the chances of finding yours on Pinterest out of all those haha. I come from the shaum family :)

Shannon
says:
October 26th, 2018 at 5:01 am

I have a 6 qt crockpot & I could only fit about 2/3 of my apples. Could I add the rest as it cooks down?

Dorinda
says:
October 25th, 2018 at 4:16 pm

Help. I. Followed the recipe to a T for apple butter but it is not think enough. I’m so upset. I have left the lid off for 3 extra hrs. Is there anything I can add to thicken it. I don’t want to can it unless it’s thicker. It tastes great but to runny:(.
Thank you

Brittany
says:
October 11th, 2018 at 7:03 pm

I just put a batch of this apple butter in the water bath and it turned out great! I used 8 lbs of apples and ended up getting 6 half pint jars in the end. I don’t have a slow cooker but I do have a large digital pressure cooker that has a slow cook setting, so I used one of the higher temp settings with the pressure valve open for about 3-4 hours and then set it to the slow cook setting for another 16 hours (I left it overnight and ended up sleeping in longer than I’d planned – but it still turned out fine!). The slightly longer cook time might be why I ended up getting a lower yield? Overall I am very happy with this recipe! It was my first time ever making apple butter and it was very easy and turned out wonderfully :) thanks for sharing Cathy!

Jamie
says:
September 9th, 2018 at 2:17 pm

Just wondering if you’ve ever done this over the course of a few days?

Yvonne
says:
July 8th, 2018 at 11:53 pm

I just want to know for sure….is the 12 lbs already cored and peeled or whole apples?

1. Sandi
  says:
  August 8th, 2020 at 4:34 pm
  
  I was wondering the same thing…is it 12 lb of whole apples( before peeling)?
  
  1. Lovefoodies
    says:
    August 8th, 2020 at 5:58 pm
    
    Hi Sandi, yes it’s before peeling
2. Beverly
  says:
  October 9th, 2020 at 4:12 pm
  
  Per the ingredients, 12 lbs, peeled and cored. I had to go back to find it, but it’s there. I have seen recipes that throw everything in, but then you have to pour it through a strainer to get the skins and seeds out.
  
Jennifer Hall
says:
April 8th, 2018 at 3:08 pm

I followed this recipe exactly. But I didn’t peel 12 lbs of Gala apples, only cored them. After 22 hours of cooking I used the immersion blender til smooth. Tastes wonderful! I netted 8-1/2 pints (luckily I had sterilized extra jars). I rate this recipe 5/5 and it will be my go-to apple butter recipe.

Laurie
says:
February 26th, 2018 at 11:49 pm

IF you do not plan on jarring or canning do you still put the vinegar in? Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try this, I LOVE apple butter. Grew up in VA remember going to the HUGE cannery and doing this with my mama, man was it ever hot.

Erin
says:
February 4th, 2018 at 5:03 pm

I have never heard of using apple cider vinegar. Does this have a purpose other than flavor?♥️

oskley drumheller
says:
January 18th, 2018 at 5:16 pm

This is my favorite apple butter guideline recipe. I do variations like adding bourbon, etc. I’m canning 200 jars as wedding favors for my daughter,

Teresa
says:
December 26th, 2017 at 11:37 pm

Apple butter is awesome. I got 14 half pints.

Jackie
says:
December 16th, 2017 at 7:31 pm

I’m going to try making this to give out for Christmas, but I only have a 4 qt crock pot. How would I alter the recipe so that it fits in?

1. Cathy Kopp
  says:
  December 16th, 2017 at 8:02 pm
  
  Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
  
  1. Cathy Kopp
    says:
    December 16th, 2017 at 8:03 pm
    
    Mine is an 8-quart crock pot. It appears you would just cut everything in half. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
2. oskley drumheller
  says:
  January 18th, 2018 at 5:21 pm
  
  Fill pot. Cut other stuff in half. A little extra vinegar would be fine (I use a cup vice a half cup normally)
  
  1. Erin
    says:
    February 4th, 2018 at 5:05 pm
    
    What does the vinegar do? I can’t imagine vinegar being a good flavor for an apple butter. What am I missing?♥️
Bev
says:
November 18th, 2017 at 7:17 am

Excellent recipe, followed it, did not add or change any ingredients..followed directly all the way to canning. My family loved it. I am going to give out pint jars for Christmas gifts. Very easy.

1. Cathy Kopp
  says:
  November 18th, 2017 at 5:10 pm
  
  Thank you so much for your feedback. I hope your family loves it as much as we do!

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