Sugar-Free Apple Butter

This Sugar-Free Apple Butter recipe is perfect for fall and only requires a handful of ingredients. This healthy spread has no-added sugar and can be made in your slow cooker or Crockpot.

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This recipe is so easy to whip you are going to love that you can replace your store-bought spread with one that has no added sugar. You control the sweetness. You can even make it unsweetened.

What is Apple Butter?

There’s no butter in apple butter. As a kid, I thought it was an apple and butter spread. Nope! Growing up, every fall we would head to the pumpkin patch. We would enjoy hayrides, apple picking, and a stop at the general store to load up on apple butter!

Apple butter is similar to jam or preserves. It’s spreadable and we typically pair it with rolls, toast, biscuits, or pancakes. It’s made using cooked apples that have been pureed. You cook the apples longer than you would applesauce because when cooked longer, a lot of the water is removed and the apple caramelize. You’re left with a spreadable sauce that is deep brown and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

What Type of Apples to Use

You can use any apples. If you have favorites, go for those. I use a combination of Fuji and Honeycrisp apples. I recommend using a couple of different varieties, that way you have notes of different flavors in the spread. Red Delicious and Gala are also really popular for apple butter.

Do You Have to Peel the Apples?

Nope! You can leave the skin on the apples if you wish. There are tons of nutrients in the skin so there is a benefit to keeping them on. I find it easier to get creamy butter by peeling. This is simply preference.

How to Sweeten the Apple Butter

Apples are naturally sweet so you may find you don’t want to sweeten this at all.

You can use whatever type of sweetener you wish in this recipe. I use the brown monkfruit sweetener from Lakanto along with their classic white monkfruit sweetener. It’s a 1:1 replacement for brown sugar and white sugar and contains zero net carbs and zero calories. You can always use the exact same amount that is called for in a recipe that uses sugar.

You can also use pure maple syrup. I have not tested that within the recipe. You can start with 1/4 cup and adjust to your taste.

In general, I recommend adding the sweetener to taste. The amount of sweetener used in the recipe results in apple butter that is not overly sweet. If you like really sweet spreads, you will likely need to add more sweetener. I recommend starting with 1/4 cup of sweetener after the apple butter has cooked. Taste repeatedly and continue to add additional sweetener to taste as necessary.

How to Make Apple Butter

Detailed measurements and full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Add apples, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and sweeteners to slow cooker.
2. Slow cook.
3. Puree and blend the butter until smooth.

How to Get it Thick and Creamy

I like to use an immersion blender. You can also use a regular blender. Be careful while working with hot apple butter.

How to Store it

When storing you should be sure the spread is tightly sealed. It must be stored in the fridge. I use these glass jars with lid from Amazon.

How Long Will it Last

You can store it in the fridge tightly sealed for up to a month.

Freezer Tips

You can freeze it tightly sealed for 9 months to a year. Defrost it overnight in the fridge. I use these freezer molds to freeze.

What to Pair With Apple Butter

• Charcuterie Board
• Cornbread Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Toast
• Oatmeal
• Biscuits
• Pancakes
• Waffles

More Sugar-Free Recipes

Sugar-Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Sugar-Free Cheesecake
Healthy Southern Sweet Potato Pie
Healthy Southern Peach Cobbler
Sugar-Free Blueberry Crisp
Sugar-Free Banana Bread
Sugar Free Pound Cake
Sugar Free Cookie Dough
Sugar Free Hot Chocolate
Slow Cooker Crockpot Cranberry Sauce

More Apple Recipes

Sugar-Free Apple Pies
Slow Cooker Crockpot Apple Oatmeal
Sugar-Free Apple Crisp
Instant-Pot Apple Steel Cut Oats
Cranberry Sauce with Apples
Caramel Apple Spice Starbucks
Slow Cooker Crockpot Baked Apples
Southern Fried Apples