Lightly sweet, super smooth, and rich in apple flavor: this easy Instant Pot apple butter recipe is extremely straightforward because the Instant Pot does most of the work for you. It comes together easily with 4 simple ingredients.
I tweaked and refined my apple butter recipe just once because it came out perfectly. The Instant Pot makes this recipe so easy and almost entirely hands off. This apple butter is fail-proof!
Ingredients
You’ll need:
- Apples (any kind, including super-tart green apples!)
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Vanilla extract (optional)
- Cloves (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Let’s get to it.
First, roughly chop your apples into bite size pieces. There’s no need to remove the skins; they add flavor and fiber. Do core the apples- seeds and stems aren’t necessary.
Next, place your apple pieces, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla (optional) and cloves (optional) in the Instant Pot. Set to pressure cook for 90 minutes.
Once the apples have pressure cooked, carefully vent the steam for about 10 minutes before removing the Instant Pot lid.
Use an immersion blender to blend the cooked apples into a puree.
Pour the puree back into the Instant Pot. With the venting nozzle open, set the puree to slow cook for 2-4 hours.
Hint: Check the consistency of the mixture after 2 hours and adjust according to your texture preferences. The slow cooking time will vary each time according to the moisture content of the apples.
Variations
This recipe is also an easy way to make delicious use of fruits like pears or plums that are going bad or are too tart to eat uncooked.
You can play with adding other warming spices like ginger or cardamom, too.
Equipment
The Instant Pot makes this set-it-and-let-it recipe extremely easy to follow. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, a soup pot on the stove works well, too, but you’ll be reducing the pureed apples a lot longer!
Storage
This apple butter will stay good in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
You can freeze this apple butter for 6 months.
Top tip
The final step- reducing the puree- can vary a lot based on the moisture content of the fruit and your personal preferences, so check the consistency after the first 2 hours and adjust accordingly.
FAQ
Applesauce is created when apples are run through a food mill, and apple butter is a more condensed, concentrated applesauce. It’s thicker, more flavorful, and smoother than applesauce.
Apple butter is silky-smooth and intensely apple flavored- no butter here!
When the apple butter remains mounded on your spoon, it’s done reducing. You can increase the thickness by letting it reduce longer according to your preference.
The longer you cook it, the thicker your apple butter will be- so, let it reduce longer to draw out more moisture and thicken up if it’s initially too runny for your preference.
Slather it on toast or crackers, layer it in some yogurt or over waffles or pancakes, or eat it straight with a spoon.
📖 Recipe
Easy Instant Pot Apple Butter
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
- 1 immersion blender
Ingredients
- 4 lb apples cored and chopped
- 200 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves (optional)
Instructions
- Roughly chop your apples into bite size pieces. There’s no need to remove the skins; they add flavor and fiber. Do core the apples- seeds and stems aren’t necessary.
- Place your apple pieces, sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla (optional) and cloves (optional) in the Instant Pot. Set to pressure cook for 90 minutes.
- Once the apples have pressure cooked, carefully vent the steam for about 10 minutes before removing the Instant Pot lid.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the cooked apples into a puree.
- Pour the puree back into the Instant Pot. With the venting nozzle open, set the puree to slow cook for 2-4 hours. Check the consistency of the mixture after 2 hours and adjust according to your texture preferences. The slow cooking time will vary each time according to the moisture content of the apples.