Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (2024)

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 (1)

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, andHomemade 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 Slow Cooker Apple Butter (2)

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 đź“‹ hide

1) Prep Time

2) Cook Time

3) Yield

4) Ingredients

5) Instructions

6) Canning Guide

7) Recipe Card

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
ÂĽ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

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

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

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

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.

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (7)

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!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (11)

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

Recipe Card

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (13)

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
  • ÂĽ teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon ground allspice

Instructions

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

Yield: 30Serving 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.

Apple Frangipane. This is a really nice coffee time cake to make. Goes great with a nice cup of tea! Or you can have as a dessert, warm or cold with a squirt of whipped cream or like me, a blob of vanilla ice cream! It's really yummy! Delicious!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (17)

Easy Apple Spiced Turnovers

Easy Apple Spiced Turnovers. Delicious warm from the oven!Crispy puff pastry packed with apples coated in cinnamon. Great eaten warm or chilled with a blob of ice cream!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (18)

Apple and Pumpkin Muffins

Apple and Pumpkin Muffins! These breakfast muffins are full of the flavors of Fall with pumpkin, apple and cinnamon with a delicious streusel topping. A really easy recipe and that topping is so good!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (19)

Easy Apple Angel Dump Cake

Easy Apple Angel Dump Cake, so delicious with a blob or two of ice cream! Easy recipe and quick to make. Oven or slow cooker, you choose!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (20)

Apple Fritters

Apple Fritters. Yum! Slices of apple in a crispy light batter then coated in cinnamon sugar. Served warm with a drizzle of syrup, honey or a blob of ice cream.. makes for a perfect dessert! Quick and easy recipe too!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (21)

Apple and Cranberry Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Bars

Apple and Cranberry Crescent Roll Cream Cheese Bars. An incredibly easy recipe with fantastic flavors!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (22)

Dutch Apple Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

Dutch Apple Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce, this is a delicious dessert, wonderful served warm. Lovely chunks of apple, laced with cinnamon and then served with a drizzle of warm butterscotch sauce.

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (23)

Dutch Apple Pie

Dutch Apple Pie! Loaded with apples, raisins, cinnamon and the most delicious pastry I've ever eaten! Be sure to have a lovely cup of coffee to go with a slice of pie in true Dutch tradition!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (24)

Delicious Apple Crumble Pie Bars

Delicious Apple Crumble Pie Bars. These are absolutely out of this world! Chunks of apple pie filling on a lovely shortbread base and topped off with a delicious crumble. Really easy recipe too!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (25)

Mini Caramel Apple Pastries

Mini Caramel Apple Pastries. Delightful mini pastries filled with caramel and apples and oh so easy to make!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (26)

Mom's Homemade Apple Pie

Mom's Homemade Apple Pie. A wonderful old family recipe, simple ingredients, easy to make and delicious every time! Perfect for a regular family dessert, or to take to pot lucks, Thanksgiving, or anytime!

Amazing Toffee Apple Cake, a delicious cake recipe made from scratch bursting with the flavors of Fall. Perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas too!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (28)

Nanny Pat's Special Apple Pie

Nanny Pat's Special Apple Pie

This apple pie is an old family recipe and always very popular, especially for those who prefer a crustless pie!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (29)

Fluffy Apple Pancakes

German Style Fluffy Apple Pancakes. Delicious, quick and easy recipe and these are certainly fluffy! Serve warm with a sprinkling of sugar and a dash of cinnamon.

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (30)

Fluffy Apple Swirl Pudding

Fluffy Apple Swirl Pudding - A wonderful bread and butter dessert, best served warm with a drizzle of Maple Syrup or a blob of ice cream..or both!

Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (31)

Mom's Apple Dumplings

Mom's apple dumplings recipe, old fashioned recipe using apples in a sweet pie crust then baked in delicious cinnamon syrup. A great comforting dessert

Share your thoughts

  1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (32)

    Jessica

    says:

    August 26th, 2016 at 9:34 pm

    If you half the recipe would it be less cooking time?

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (33)

      Lovefoodies

      says:

      August 26th, 2016 at 9:36 pm

      Hi Jessica, cook time is the same :)

  2. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (34)

    connie

    says:

    August 15th, 2016 at 10:40 pm

    Taste great and was super easy but I only got five pint jars out of it.

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (35)

      Cathy Kopp

      says:

      August 16th, 2016 at 1:17 pm

      You probably reduced yours even more than I do. I’ll bet the consistency of is awesome. Enjoy!

  3. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (36)

    Amber Campbell

    says:

    March 18th, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    If we wanted to cook this on the stove instead of a a crockpot, what would the cooking times and temperatures be like

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (37)

      Lovefoodies

      says:

      March 18th, 2016 at 8:28 pm

      Hi Amber, I really have no idea. I say this because this recipe is for slow cooking, and the flavors all come about during the ultra low and long cooking process. I guess you could try on the stove top, but I would imagine it would be 6 – 8 hours on low, and you would need to keep the temperature as low as possible and stir occasionally to make sure the heat from under the pan doesn’t scorch the apples directly above. But I’m afraid I can’t honestly recommend it, only because we haven’t had any feedback from anyone trying it on the stove top.
      Sorry if that doesn’t help, but I’d rather give you good information which we know works for sure!

      1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (38)

        Amber Campbell

        says:

        March 19th, 2016 at 5:10 am

        Thank you, i was just curious because I don’t have much counter space to have the crockpot going that long lol. I had to set it up on top of the dryer lol.

      2. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (39)

        Donna Hepper McGee

        says:

        August 24th, 2017 at 7:51 pm

        The ball book has a recipe for the stove top you could maybe get the cook times from there…and still use this recipe…because I did the one out of the ball book and had to alter the spices….I like mine like hers’ so just look for the cook times…

  4. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (40)

    Amber Campbell

    says:

    March 18th, 2016 at 8:00 pm

    I just finished this recipe today, tastes amazing. I reduced tell white sugar to 2 cups, but i used a different type of apple. I didn’t get quite 11 pint jars, i got 7.5 but the taste is phenomenal.

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (41)

      Lovefoodies

      says:

      March 18th, 2016 at 8:16 pm

      Hi Amber! Thanks so much for your feedback and so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Hopefully you can see why it won a prize!!! Thanks for taking the time to write in and let us know!

  5. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (42)

    Brittany

    says:

    November 23rd, 2015 at 2:46 am

    If I half the recipe should I adjust the cooking time as well?

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (43)

      Lovefoodies

      says:

      November 23rd, 2015 at 2:22 pm

      Hi Brittany, the cook time will stay the same no matter what quantity you use. Hope that helps and have a lovely week ahead!

  6. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (44)

    Cathy Kopp

    says:

    October 19th, 2015 at 2:13 pm

    Hi Angel,

    My crockpot is a 6 quart and that recipe was made with four 3 pound bags of apples from the grocery store. You need to peel, core, and slice them really thin. Actually, I mounded them and when I put the lid on, it didn’t sit quite properly, but they cooked down soon enough for the lid to make the proper seal.

  7. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (45)

    Angel Kirk

    says:

    October 19th, 2015 at 6:22 am

    What size crockpot is being used? I have what I thought was a large one but I can barely get 6lbs of apples in it.

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (46)

      Lovefoodies

      says:

      October 19th, 2015 at 7:53 am

      Hi Angel, yes, you do have to cram the apples in to start with. You can use a 6 – 8 Quart slow cooker for these. Obviously an 8 quart will give you more space, but the most common size for a large slow cooker is 6 Quart. You will probably notice from the photos the apples did fill the slow cooker! Hope that helps.

      1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (47)

        Angel Kirk

        says:

        October 19th, 2015 at 12:31 pm

        I mist have the 6 qt. I divided the recipe in have bc I couldn’t see 6 more lbs going in. Lol. But just to be clear, 12 lbs is after they’re cored and all correct, not whole weight. I know it’s weird but I saw a recipe that was like that once. Thank you so much for your time and help.

  8. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (48)

    Cathy Kopp

    says:

    October 15th, 2015 at 5:30 pm

    Different crockpots have different settings and heat ranges. Try adding lemon juice, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, or even just some water right from the start. Maybe even just use the low setting for the whole cook time.

    Have you tried using the Reynolds crockpot liners? I can’t guarantee it won’t burn, but it will help with any clean up.

  9. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (49)

    Cathy Kopp

    says:

    October 15th, 2015 at 4:51 pm

    So very sorry that happened to you, Liz. I can’t imagine what went wrong. I made the recipe again this week and it turned out just fine. Can you walk me through the steps you used?

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (50)

      Liz

      says:

      October 15th, 2015 at 5:00 pm

      I followed the ditections exactly. Maybe my crockpot is too hot. I was hesitant to cook on high for 8 hours, but it turned out ok. Then I turned to low before bed and set my alarm for the 10 hour mark. I stirred it a couple times during the 8 hours and a couple times during the ten hours. I only slept for 5 hours so it burned during that time. I want to try it again, but I will start early in the morning so I can keep an eye on it. But at least my house smells good! Lol

  10. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (51)

    Liz

    says:

    October 15th, 2015 at 4:34 pm

    Not so happy with this recipe. I shouldn’t have trusted the long ooking time. Got up at 5:30 am after 10 hours on low and it was burnt tomy crockpot. :( make sure to start this one in the early morning so you can keep an eye on it.

  11. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (52)

    shannon

    says:

    September 17th, 2013 at 10:26 pm

    Do you know how to reduce it to make just 1 jar?

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (53)

      lovefoodies

      says:

      September 17th, 2013 at 10:53 pm

      Hi Shannon, I would have a guess that if this recipe makes roughly 11 pints (that’s 11 jars), you would need to divide the ingredients by 11 to get what you need to make 1 jar. Or easier, would be to halve the recipe, make 5 jars and give some for gifts :) Hope this helps.

  12. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (54)

    Nicole

    says:

    September 17th, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    Love this recipe but how do you water seal the jars? Thank you

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (55)

      lovefoodies

      says:

      September 17th, 2013 at 2:42 pm

      Hi Nicole, let me give you a link to a recipe for Jam, there, from STEP 2 onwards, it tells you step by step what to do, (obviously replace the jam with apple butter!) the principle is the same for both recipes. I hope this helps. https://lovefoodies.com/how-to-make-jam.html#.UjhNy8bI2So

  13. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (56)

    Donna N.

    says:

    September 1st, 2013 at 6:30 am

    How much would you reduce the amount of sugar and cinnamon to and why? To sweet or bitter? Thanks,,, love your blog, ,,!

    1. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (57)

      lovefoodies

      says:

      September 1st, 2013 at 8:40 am

      Hi Donna,
      It’s all down to personal taste. If you don’t like things too sweet or strong tasting of cinnamon then you can reduce the amount, for example knock 1/3 off the sugar. You can always have a taste half way through and see if it is to your taste and add more then if needed. Hope this helps. Thanks!

  14. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (58)

    lovefoodies

    says:

    August 29th, 2013 at 8:25 am

    Hi Denise, yes, I would advise sealing them if you are not planning on using them within a couple of weeks.

  15. Prize Winning Slow Cooker Apple Butter (59)

    Denise Thornton

    says:

    August 29th, 2013 at 1:30 am

    After making this many jars do you water seal them?

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