Easy Instant Pot Apple Butter Recipe (no peeling!)
With this easy Instant Pot apple butter recipe, you’ll be able to turn fresh apples into smooth apple butter in less than 20 minutes!
YES, you can make traditional apple butter in an electric pressure cooker! (And you can make it in under 20 minutes!!)
Here’s why you’ll love this easy Instant Pot apple butter recipe:
- It’s a FAST and EASY recipe. You can make delicious homemade apple butter in a fraction of the time that it takes in a slow cooker or on the stovetop! No apple peeling required + the pressure cooker softens the apples in a mere 12 minutes! (Compare that crazy fast cooking time to like 5-10 hours in a slow cooker!)
- It’s a sweet apple butter with the best flavor! With all of the warm spices, you’ll make a super flavorful spread!
- You can make quick mason jar gifts in no-time; once you’ve chopped the apples, your work is pretty much done!
Ingredients:
Just a handful of simple ingredients and you’re on your way to delicious apple butter!
- About 3lbs of sweet apples (I used 4 large Envy apples). Other sweet apple varieties include Fuji, Gala, SugarBee, and EverCrisp. You can use a mixture of apples, and depending on what kind of apple butter you want to make, you can even use tart apples like Granny Smith, you just may end up wanting to adjust the amount of sugar by adding a little at the end if it’s not sweet enough.
- A mixture of both brown sugar and granulated white sugar – both for flavor and sweetness!
- Spices – ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Not all apple butter recipes will use this much spice, BUT, since you’re using apple butter as a flavorful spread vs. eating it on its own like you would applesauce, I definitely prefer my apple butter to have some extra flavor!
- A little bit of lemon juice & vanilla extract – once again, just for some extra flavor
- 1/4 c of water to help with the cooking process
How to make Instant Pot Apple Butter:
Step 1: Chop the apples
Remember, no need for peeling!
The apple peels will dissolve right into the apple butter once you run the cooked apples through your immersion blender or food processor. YAY.
Step 2: Add the apples & everything else into the Instant Pot
Sprinkle the spices all over….
And then add the other ingredients, stir the whole apple mixture, and you’re ready to cook!
Step 3: Cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes & then puree
Once it’s done cooking, manually release, and then blend using an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, allow your apple butter to cool a bit and then run it through a food processor or even just a regular blender. You just want to make sure it’s not too hot before you put it in either of those.
When pureeing: if you want some small apple chunks in there for extra texture, just pulse your blender/food processor until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
Step 4: Store in mason jars or another airtight container
Tips for making this Instant Pot apple butter:
- Store it in an airtight container – preferably mason jars since they typically seal so well – and keep it in the fridge. My apple butter lasts a good 3-4 weeks in the fridge!
- Depending on the type of apple you use (if you don’t use sweet apples), you may need to add a little bit of sugar, but you can do this at the very end! Make this recipe as-is, taste it at the end, and if it’s not sweet enough, you can easily fix it. Once you’ve cooked the apples and pureed them into a creamy apple butter, turn your pressure cooker on the sauté setting, stir in a little sugar at a time – maybe a teaspoon or two of brown sugar – allow the apple butter to come to a slight simmer for a few minutes, stir, and then give it another taste. I’d just stir in a teaspoon or two of brown sugar at a time. Sweetness is all based on personal preference, but since this does serve as more of a jelly/jam vs. applesauce, I definitely prefer my apple butter to be sweeter and more spiced!
- How to serve it: spread it onto warm biscuits or toast, over vanilla ice cream, mix it in with some cinnamon roll icing and spread over cinnamon rolls, stir it into oatmeal, serve it over pork chops…the options are pretty much endless!
- Rather make slow cooker apple butter? For the slow cooker version, you really don’t need to do anything differently other than adjust the cooking time – pour everything into the slow cooker and cook on high for at least 5 hours, or on low for 8-10 hours.
- This recipe calls for about 3 pounds of apples, but I think you could easily double it if you’re wanting to make a larger batch.
Want more mason jar recipes?
- Get 20+ mason jar Christmas gift ideas here (that aren’t sweet!)
- Christmas simmer pot mason jar – such a great, easy gift for neighbors, teachers, and co-workers!
Easy Instant Pot Apple Butter Recipe
With this easy Instant Pot apple butter recipe, you'll be able to turn fresh apples into smooth apple butter in less than 20 minutes! (no peeling necessary!)
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Servings: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet apples about 3lbs - see note on apples
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- 3/8 tsp cloves (or a little less than 1/2 tsp; a half was too much, but 1/4 tsp wasn't quite enough!)
- 3/8 tsp allspice (same note as on the cloves!)
- ½ c brown sugar
- ⅓ c white sugar
- Juice from ½ lemon
- ¼ c water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Core & chop the apples. No need for peeling! The apple peels will dissolve right into the apple butter once it's cooked and blended.
- Add the apples & stir in everything else into the Instant Pot.
- Cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes. Manually release.
- If you have an immersion blender: you can puree the apples right after cooking. Pulse the blender until you reach your desired consistency. If you don't have an immersion blender: allow your apple butter to cool a bit and then run it through a food processor or even just a regular blender!
- Store in an airtight container (preferably mason jars) in the fridge for up to 3-4 weeks. ENJOY!
Notes
Sweet apple varieties include: Envy, Fuji, Gala, SugarBee, and EverCrisp.
A note on the apples: I really think you can use just about any apples, you may just need to adjust the amount of sugar. BUT, you can do this at the end!
Make this recipe as-is, taste it at the end, and if it's not sweet enough, you can easily make adjustments. Once you've cooked the apples and pureed them into a creamy apple butter, turn your pressure cooker on the sauté setting, stir in a little sugar at a time - maybe a teaspoon or two of brown sugar - and allow the apple butter to come to a slight simmer for a few minutes, stir, and then give it another taste. I'd just stir in a teaspoon or two of brown sugar at a time. Sweetness is all based on personal preference, but since this does serve as more of a jelly/jam vs. applesauce, I definitely prefer my apple butter to be sweeter and more spiced!
If you're making this for mason jar gifts: this recipe makes enough for 4 half pint-sized mason jars.