Apple Butter for Canning

If you’ve ever gone apple picking, you know how tempting it is to pick more apples than you may need. Making homemade Apple Butter for canning is probably the best way to use up an abundance of apples to keep all year long as a favorite spread for breads, toast, and desserts.

This big batch of apple butter uses 8 pounds of apples and requires no peeling or coring. For the most consistent smooth texture, efficiency, and caramelized color, I cook the apples down on the stovetop and then transfer them to the oven to finish.

The apple butter has lots of fall flavor from apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and vanilla. And I add a couple of oranges to the thick spread for a hint of tart brightness.

Read through my detailed guide below for lots of photos on how I make this homemade apple butter for canning in a water bath for long-term storage.

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🍎 What is Apple Butter?

Apple butter is concentrated applesauce that’s slowly cooked to remove the water, resulting in a caramelized flavor and deep brown color.

Despite its name, apple butter does not include butter. However, it does have a thick, smooth texture that spreads well on bread and toast like softened butter.

Like making caramel, the natural sugars from the apples and other added sugars brown as the liquid is cooked off. This gives apple butter a rich apple flavor that’s typically complimented with apple pie spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla.

🍏 What are the Best Apples for Apple Butter?

You can use any type of apple to make apple butter.

I prefer using a mixture of different apple varieties with various textures and flavors for a more complex flavor.

Sweet and soft apples like Red Delicious, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, and Gala cook down faster and caramelize well.

Crisp and tart apples such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Braeburn will give your apple butter a more complex, bright flavor to balance out the sweetness.

I recommend mixing and matching varieties if you can. Plus, if you can get seconds or apples with blemishes, they will work just as well and will save money and waste.

I’m lucky to live in an ideal apple tree environment in New England surrounded by orchards. If you can find heirloom varieties, pick fresh apples, and try out a wide variety of mixtures, I think you’ll love how every batch can turn out differently!

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👨‍🍳 Homemade Apple Butter Tips

• There’s no need to peel or core the apples for this apple butter
  • The peels and cores add more color, flavor, and pectin to your apple butter so it sets well and takes on a deeper color.
  • They’re strained out after cooking on the stovetop in a food mill or fine-mesh strainer.
  • This will save you a ton of time!
• Use a mix and variety of apples for different flavors and textures.
• Apple cider and apple cider vinegar add more apple flavor than water or lemon juice.
• Start on the stovetop and finish in the oven.
  • Making apple butter on the stovetop helps soften the apples quicker. However, it’s more likely to burn and won’t take on as deep brown of a color as a slower method.
  • Finishing the apple butter in the oven increases the surface area so the apples caramelize evenly and is more hands-off.
• Stir every 20-30 minutes in the oven
  • I use my largest sheet pan for increased surface area and faster cooking.
  • Stir consistently to prevent burning and ensure even caramelization.
• If canning, sterilize your jars
  • Before canning, you should always sanitize and sterilize your canning jars, even if they’re brand new. This prevents bacteria and mold growth so your apple butter will properly preserve.
  • Some people use the sanitization setting in a dishwasher, but I personally don’t risk it and boil the empty jars on a rack in my boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
  • Please read sterilization recommendations for safety and other canning tips.
• Wear heat-proof and water-proof gloves
  • Because the water and liquid is cooked off, apple butter gets quite thick and can bubble up like lava. Make sure you wear heat-proof gloves when stirring to prevent burns. They’re also really helpful for boiling water baths when canning.

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🛠 Canning Tools Needed

See below for my tool recommendations for canning in a hot water bath and substitutions.

Once you have the canning materials, you can reuse them over and over, so it’s only an initial investment!

Water Bath Canning Tools

• Water Bath Canning Pot (or large pot)
  • A large canning pot, made of stainless steel or graniteware, is most common for water bath canning. They’re wide and tall so they can fit a variety of canning jar sizes.
  • Use a stockpot, deep Dutch oven, or the biggest pot you have if you don’t have a specific canning pot.
• Canning Rack
  • A canning rack is important so your glass jars don’t sit on the bottom of your pot and possibly break. It also helps circulate the temperature better.
  • Make a makeshift canning rack using metal canning jar rings on the bottom of your pot.
• Jar Lifter
  • Helps handle hot, sterilized jars and dropping/removing the jars from the water bath.
  • Regular tongs can easily slip and break the jars, so having canning jar lifters with grips is essential.
• Funnel
  • A canning funnel will help direct the apple butter inside of the canning jars without spilling and ending up all over your jar rims.
• Ladle
  • For transferring the apple butter to the glass jars. I prefer metal ladles with a small spout.
• Heat-proof and Water-Proof Gloves
  • It’s easy to burn yourself with hot jams and high cooking temperatures of the canning jars, so I like to use these Lanon liquid and heat proof gloves for canning.
• Canning Jars, Lids, and Rings
  • I like 8oz or half-pint Ball Mason Jars for canning fruit jams and butters. However, you can make yours in any size canning jar you’d prefer. While glass jars and rings are reusable, lids should only be used once to ensure they properly seal.
  • You can find jelly jars or canning jars at most grocery stores, online, a kitchen or canning aisle at home supply stores, or at large big-box retailers.

Apple Butter Tools

• Dutch oven or large pot, for the initial cooking of the apples.
• Large fine mesh strainer or food mill, for straining the seeds and spices.
• Heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon, for stirring
• Large sheet pan for finishing the apple butter in the oven.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for more information and apple butter variations and inclusions.

• Apples
  • A mixture of apple varieties works well, so you get more complex apple butter. Every batch is different!
  • Try to get apples when they’re in season during the fall so they haven’t been in cold storage, lost flavor, and are more affordable. I love making jams and baking with seasonal fruits such as Concord Grape Jam with Vanilla.
  • See what are the best apples for apple butter above.
  • I do not peel or core the apples, as the peels and cores have lots of flavor, color, and natural pectin in them. They’ll get processed out during straining or by using a food mill.
• Oranges
  • Adding a couple of oranges complements the apple butter flavor with something citrusy and bright. Navel oranges work great for this, and you can save the peels to make homemade marmalade.
  • Alternatively, leave out the oranges completely and substitute with some lemon juice, more apple cider vinegar, or orange juice near the end of cooking.
• Granulated Sugar
  • No-pectin fruit spreads and jams need a high ratio of sugar to fruit to help preserve the jams and make it an inhospitable environment for bacteria and mold growth.
  • You also need sugar to balance out tartness in certain fruits that are more tart, which enhances the flavor of the fruit.
  • Finally, the sugar helps it gel so it’s spreadable and prevents it from being too runny.
• Light brown sugar
• Salt
• Apple cider
  • Instead of water, which you can also use, apple cider has excellent apple flavor and is made from unsweetened pressed apples.
  • Note this is not vinegar nor alcoholic!
• Apple cider vinegar
  • Acid helps set the natural pectin and lowers the pH to help prevent bacteria growth.
  • I use apple cider vinegar since it comes from apples, but you can use lemon juice.
• Spices
  • I prefer using whole spices for apple butter instead of ground, which lets you experiment with flavors without measuring spices.
  • Cinnamon sticks are a must for apple butter, but I like to add cardamom pods, star anise, allspice berries, cloves, and a vanilla bean (or vanilla extract) for lots of spice and flavor. But you can mix and match depending on what you have!
  • If you do use ground spices, don’t overdo it. You can add more in near the end of cooking.

Apple Butter Variations and Additions

• Bourbon: Give the apple butter a little boozy, warm flavor. Stir in ¼-⅓ cup of alcohol, depending on how much flavor you want in your apple butter.
• Maple syrup: Substitute the brown sugar with a cup of maple syrup.
• Honey: Substitute the granulated sugar with a cup of honey.
• Pear butter: Substitute all or some of the apples with pears!

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🍎 How to Make Apple Butter for Canning

Follow this visual step-by-step guide to help make and can this homemade Apple Butter for canning. The big batch of apple butter makes 7-8 half-pint jars and starts on the stovetop and finishes in the oven.

1. Prep the Apples

Chop the apples into 1-inch size pieces and place them in a large pot or Dutch oven.

Peel the two oranges (the peel on oranges is too bitter here) and cut the oranges into 1-inch size pieces and add to the pot of apples.

Add both the granulated and brown sugar, whole spices, salt, and 6 cups of apple cider. Stir together.

2. Cook the Apples

Cooking down the apples initially on the stovetop helps save lots of time.

Place the pot of apples on the stovetop over medium heat and simmer for 1 ½-2 hours until the apples break down completely like applesauce.

Depending on your apples, this process can be faster or slower. Softer, riper apples disintegrate faster, whereas crisper apples will take a bit longer to cook.

Stir occasionally so the bottom doesn’t burn. The mixture will start of very runny and juicy, but will thicken and bubble slowly as it’s reduced.

Remove from the heat and let cool for 15-30 minutes.

3. Process the Apples

To make smooth apple butter, we need to strain out any solids, including the seeds, whole spices, peels, etc.

If you have a food mill, this is the perfect time to use it! However, a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl works fine as well.

Ladle the hot apple butter into the strainer (or food mill) over a large bowl and use a spatula or wooden spoon to press out the smooth pulp and separate the solids. Discard the solids and spices.

You should be left with a silky apple puree, like applesauce.

4. Bake the Apple Butter

Cooking the apple butter slowly over a long period of time gives you the smoothest texture, even caramelization, and deeper brown color. You can continue cooking on the stovetop, but there is a higher risk of it burning. Plus, it won’t have the same dark color.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC).

Pour the apple butter out into a large sheet pan (use two if it doesn’t fit into one) and stir in 2 TBS of apple cider vinegar. The larger surface area will help it cook faster, so use largest sheet pans you have.

Carefully transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 1.5-2 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes to prevent burning and promote even browning.

As the apple butter bakes, it will lose reduce the liquid, and become thicker and richer.

Bake until the apple butter is deep brown and thick.

Spoon apple butter onto a small plate and rest for a minute to test if it’s ready. If the apple butter doesn’t run and doesn’t have a ring of liquid around it, then it’s set. It needs longer if it spreads.

At this point, the apple butter can be canned for long-term storage or cooled and transferred to jars to keep in your refrigerator. It will continue to thicken some as it cools.

5. Can the Apple Butter (optional)

For long-term storage (up to a year), you can can the apple butter to enjoy year-round!

Sterilize the jars:

You can sterilize the canning jars while the apple butter bakes so the jars are still hot when you add the apple butter.

To sterilize in a water bath, boil the glass jars in a large canning pot with a wire rack with at least an inch of water covering the top of the jars for 10 minutes. Carefully empty and remove the jars from the water and set them on a clean towel until the apple butter is done.

Cover the hot water bath with a lid so it won’t take long to bring back to a boil for canning.

Water bath canning:

Once the apple butter is set, place a wide-mouth funnel on top of the sterilized canning jars and carefully ladle in the hot apple butter.

Leave at least ¼-inch of room on top, as it’ll expand slightly when it cools. Also, make sure to wipe the edges of your glass jars with a clean towel if there is any drippage around the top of the jars.

Place the canning lids on top and tighten the rings to fingertip tight (not too tight).*

Boil the water in your water bath canner pot again and place the apple butter onto your canning rack. Slowly lower the rack into the water bath to cover them in at least 1-2 inches of boiling water.

Cover with the lid and boil the half-pint jars for 10 minutes at sea level. Add an additional minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level and more time for larger jars (refer to the National Center for Home Food Preservation or other approved sources).

Lift the hot jars from the boiling water and let them cool completely at room temperature without disturbing them for 24 hours. Within minutes, you should hear the satisfying pop of the canning lids sealing!

When done properly with new lids, I’ve never had issues with jars not sealing properly. However, you should double-check them after 24 hours to ensure the jars are sealed. To check if sealed, press the lid. The lid should not spring up, and it should curve inwards (not bulging).

Finally, be sure to label the jars and date them so you don’t forget what flavor they are or the date you made them!

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How to Store Apple Butter

This recipe makes 7-8 half-pint jars for long-term storage if canning.

Canned apple butter can last for a year (sometimes longer) in a cool, dark pantry. The sugar and acid act as natural preservatives to keep it lasting.

Once opened, apple butter should be refrigerated and will last a month in the fridge. I’ve had it last longer, but I go through it quite quickly, so it never takes that long. If you ever see mold or it has an off taste, throw it away.

How to Serve Apple Butter

Homemade apple butter makes excellent fall or holiday gifts.

During peak fruit season during the fall, I’ll buy lots of fresh apples, including seconds with blemishes, to make lots of apple butter as it’s much cheaper when it’s in season and tastes so much better.

Serve apple butter spread on homemade Sourdough English Muffins or toasted Seeded Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread. It’s also great on the Thanksgiving table served as a cranberry sauce alternative or on these Sourdough Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls.

For breakfast, you can spread a little on earthy Sourdough Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes or Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes, serve it on homemade Sourdough Bagels, or spoon it into oatmeal or yogurt.

You can use apple butter in apple pie or other apple desserts for condensed apple flavor! I use it in my Sourdough Apple Cider Donuts and Sourdough Apple Butter Muffins for moist and rich apple goodness.

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❓FAQs:

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