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I tried Apple Butter for the first time on a road trip in rural California. We had stopped off at an old wooden restaurant for breakfast off the highway and purchased a jar. I remember it being different and sweet, like you could put it on pancakes. After that short encounter, I don’t recall coming in contact with it until recently. If memory serves me right, it was at Bravo Farms near Gilroy.
In this household, Apple Butter started as a whim. A family friend gave us 30+lbs of apples from the trees in the backyard. I had no idea what to do with them! I started looking for recipes. Over the course of a month I gave away apples, made Apple Cider, made apple sauce, and finally, I rediscovered apple butter. Since last year I have made this recipe a few times and I am in love. The scent it fills my house with on a cold fall day could be worth it alone!
My first season making Apple Butter I made it on the stovetop low and slow. This took all day long to reduce. Then I would blitz it in my food processor and pass it through a tammy. This year I am experimenting with pressure cooking in my new Instant Pot and blitzing it in my Vitamix. Both ways achieve the same result and are listed here! The hardest part is peeling, coring and chopping the apples. I have found that canning the Apple Butter in 4oz – 8oz jars is a great way to make it shelf stable and makes a great gift!
This year I have already made three plus batches of Apple Butter, all canned and ready to be gifted for Christmas!
This recipe is:
- Dairy Free
- Gluten Free
- Vegan
Take a look at the photo library below. This accompanies the recipe and is a great visual guide of what we’re looking to achieve. Depending on how thick you want your butter to be, the longer it will need to reduce.
Homemade Apple Butter
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Scale for gram measurements
- Measuring Cup
- Wooden Spoon
- Instant Pot or Pot with Lid
- Blender or Food Processer
Ingredients
- 5 lbs Apples
- 4 oz Water Can use Apple Juice or Cider
- 16 oz Brown Sugar
- 2 g Ground Nutmeg
- 1 g Vanilla Extract
Spices
- 1 tsp Ground Cardamom
- 1 tsp Allspice
- 4 ea Whole Clove
- 2 ea Cinnamon Sticks
- 2 tsp Salt
Instructions
Prep
- Core Apples (Peeling the apples is optional)
- Cut apples into 4th's
- Weigh out spices
- Dissolve Brown Sugar into Water
Instant Pot Cooking Instructions
- Add all ingredients to instant pot.
- Pressure cook for 90 Minutes on High
- Release Pressure and remove lid
- Use the Saute function on Normal (Medium) and stir frequently(if it starts to splatter, turn down the heat)
- Reduce until the consistency is thick and color is a dark caramel brown. The apples will be soft to almost dissolved. (see images)
Stovetop Cooking Instructions
- Add all ingredients to pot
- Cover with lid and turn on Medium-High Heat
- Bring to a boil
- Turn down heat to a low simmer (Medium-Low heat) and stir frequently. If it starts to splatter, turn down the heat.Please Note: This will take longer than the Instant Pot version (6+ Hours).
- Reduce until the liquid is thickened and color is a caramel brown. The apples will be soft to almost dissolved. (see images)
Blend
- Remove Cloves and Cinnamon Sticks
- Transfer to a Blender or Food Processer
- Blend on high until the consistency is smooth
Package
- You can can this recipe or cool and store covered in the fridge.