Apple butter is a fall treat that’s easy to make at home in the Instant Pot! Spread your instant pot apple butter on toast, add to oatmeal, or eat it by the spoonful. No added sugar with the option to add natural sweeteners.
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Fall is a favorite time of year for many, and it might not feel like fall without a trip to the apple orchard. If you’ve been apple picking and need to know what to do with a bunch of apples, it’s time to make instant pot apple butter!
If you don’t own an Instant Pot (affiliate link) yet, what are you waiting for? Even as a vegetarian I use mine all the time to make rice, breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes, and instant pot scalloped potatoes among other things.
What is apple butter?
Apple butter is like a very thick applesauce that becomes spreadable. The sugars in the apples get caramelized while it cooks, creating a rich, brown color.
It has a strong apple flavor, feels like, fall, and is easy to make! Let’s go!
Instant pot apple butter ingredients
- Apples
- Apple cider
- Lemon juice
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Salt
- Honey or other sweetener (Optional)
How to make instant pot apple butter
- Add everything except honey to the instant pot and stir to combine.
- Close the lid and seal the valve, then set the instant pot to cook at high pressure for 10 minutes.
- When the cooking time is up, allow the instant pot to have a natural release for 20 minutes. If the valve hasn’t dropped at that time you can release the valve.
- Blend the apples using an immersion blender. Taste and add honey if desired.
- Partially cover the pot with the lid or a splatter screen and set the instant pot to Sauté Less. Let it cook for 30 minutes or more, stirring occasionally, until dark and thickened. Let cool before serving or storing.
Top tips and questions
Which Instant Pot should I buy?
I have the Instant Pot Duo, which doubles as a crock pot. You probably know by now that I love making sure my appliances can serve more than one purpose in the kitchen to save on space!
Really any Instant Pot will do the trick, and if you have another kind of pressure cooker that will work too. If your pressure cooker doesn’t have a sauté less function you may need to transfer it to a pot on the stove or a slow cooker to finish cooking (see notes in the recipe card for more on this).
How to use the Sauté Less function on the Instant Pot
You can press the Sauté button twice on the Instant Pot to set it to Sauté Less. If you’re unsure what setting you have it on, cancel everything and start over. There is a small light under “Less” that will light up when you’re in Sauté Less mode.
Do I need to peel apples for instant pot apple butter?
Peeling the apples is optional, but I like the texture better peeled. It doesn’t take too long to peel and slice 5 pounds of apples, but you can make this easier for choosing a good quality peeler (or investing in an apple peeler) and using an apple slicer and corer to core and slice them quickly.
If you choose to leave your peels on your apple butter will contain more fiber, be darker, and a little thicker.
How to tell if apple butter is thick enough
To tell if your apple butter is done cooking, spoon a little bit onto a plate and allow it to cool for a minute. Run your finger through the middle of the butter – if it holds a line it’s done, if it runs back together right away or is sitting in a pool of liquid then keep cooking.
Will apple butter thicken as it cools?
Apple butter will thicken slightly as it cools, but make sure it is already fairly thick at the end of cooking, otherwise you’ll end up with instant pot apple sauce.
What is the difference between apple sauce and apple butter?
Applesauce is cooked apples that have been blended or passed through a food mill. Apple butter is essentially applesauce that has been cooked down and concentrated, allowing the sugars to caramelize and the apple flavor to become more intense.
What is apple butter used for?
You can use apple butter as you would any other condiment. Spread it on pancakes, toast, or sandwiches, add a spoonful to oatmeal or yogurt, use it to replace some of the oil in your baking, or enjoy it straight off the spoon!
It also makes a great addition to charcuterie and cheese boards, brunch spreads, or my almond butter toast bar. It would also be great inside a giant gluten-free pop tart!
How healthy is instant pot apple butter?
Because this recipe doesn’t use any processed sugar, I would consider it a healthy option. If keeping it low or no sugar, be sure to check your cider for added sugars or just swap it with water.
Certainly you remember the old “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” That’s because apples apples contain lots of healthy nutrients such as polyphenols, manganese, copper, fiber, potassium, and vitamin C.
Is apple butter actually butter? Does it taste like butter?
Apple butter is butter in the same way peanut butter is butter, but is not actually butter. It contains no dairy and gets its name from being a silky spread similar to butter.
The best apples to use for apple butter
I used a combination of Gala and McIntosh apples in this recipe. Using a combination of different varieties will help you get the best flavor. Other varieties to try are Granny Smith, Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Jonagold.
What can I use to sweeten my instant pot apple butter recipe?
I added just a touch of honey to my apple butter, but if you use sweet apples it may be sweet enough on its own. Here are a few sweetener options for this recipe:
- Honey
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Stevia
How to store apple butter
I used mason jars to store my apple butter. Apple butter will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If freezing, be sure to leave some space at the top of the jar for it to expand.
I don’t have experience in canning, but you could definitely can your apple butter. I recommend following the recommendations of the National Center for Home Food Preservation when canning apple butter.
Tips for customizing instant pot apple butter
- If you like your apple butter really sweet, add up to ½ cup brown sugar with the other ingredients before pressure cooking
- Leave out the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves if you prefer a simple apple flavor
- Swap the spices for 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- It’s ok to omit the lemon juice if you don’t have any on hand
- Use water instead of apple cider
More apple recipes
- Single Serving Apple Crisp
- Apple Cider Cocktail
- Nutmeg Ginger Apple Snaps
- Applesauce Cupcakes
- Applesauce Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Apple Spice Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
- Apple and Honey Goat Cheese Appetizer
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Instant Pot Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 5 pounds apples, peeled and cored (I used a mix of Gala and McIntosh)
- ¼ cup apple cider, no sugar added if keeping this sugar free
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup honey or other sweetener of choice, optional
Instructions
- Add everything except the honey to the pressure cooker, sealing the lid and valve.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Allow the pressure cooker to naturally release for 20 minutes or until the valve drops. If that valve hasn’t dropped after 20 minutes you can release the rest of the pressure by opening the valve.
- Blend the apples using an immersion blender.
- Add the honey or other sweetener if using, stirring to combine.
- Turn the instant pot to Sauté Less (you can do this by pressing the Sauté button twice). Partially cover the pot with the lid, allowing some steam to escape.
- Let cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or more. You want your apple butter to be thick and darkened. It will be darker if you’ve left the apple peels on, didn’t add lemon juice, or added some sweeteners. You can cook to any consistency you like, but you’ll have a good apple butter consistency once you put a little on a plate and it doesn’t have a ring of liquid around it. You can also run your finger through it on the plate after it has cooled a bit to see if it holds the line.
- Allow apple butter to cool for one hour before transferring to jars or other containers and storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
Slow cooker option
After pressure cooking and blending the apples, you can turn your Instant Pot to Slow Cook More (press “slow cook”, then use the adjust button to change it to “high” or “more”) instead of using the Sauté Less function. If it isn’t splattering you can leave the lid off and slow cook for 4-8 hours, stirring occasionally.Tips for customizing instant pot apple butter
- If you like your apple butter really sweet, add up to ½ cup brown sugar with the other ingredients before pressure cooking
- Leave out the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves if you prefer a simple apple flavor
- Swap the spices for 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- It’s ok to omit the lemon juice if you don’t have any on hand
- Use water instead of apple cider
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