This deliciously simple stovetop apple butter is the perfect autumn indulgence. It is naturally sweetened with apples and dates, bursting with all the amazing flavors of fall, and comes together with 7 wholesome ingredients!
It wouldn’t be autumn without an annual family trip to our favorite apple orchard. I love watching the joy race across our kids’ faces as they run through the trees looking for the perfect apples to pluck from the branches. Without fail, we always leave with way too many apples because B and I did not have the heart to tell them they had picked plenty already. I wouldn’t dream of it, and let’s be honest, more apples means more quality time with my little ones preparing all of our favorite apple recipes, and this mouthwatering stovetop apple butter lathered on top of our homemade maple cinnamon drop biscuits, happens to be our most loved.
As a young adult, preparing and canning homemade apple butter always seemed like such a daunting task, but I loved the finished product. The smooth texture and warm spiced apple flavor sent me straight to that little glass jar for more. As a busy mom with a weakness for homemade apple butter, I knew we had to come up with something wholesome, simple and delicious!
Thankfully, we got to work in the kitchen and created a luscious apple butter recipe that requires minimal effort and zero canning requirements. It is naturally sweetened with apples and dates, cooked down to a rich, velvety butter with a deep golden hue, packed with warm spices, and all of the comforting flavors of fall.
What is Apple Butter?
Apple butter is a lot like applesauce, only thicker with a smooth, spreadable texture and perfectly spiced apple flavor. It is made by cooking down fresh autumn apples into a delightfully rich concentrated and caramelized flavor, bursting with warm, comforting fall spices.
STOVETOP APPLE BUTTER INGREDIENTS
Our delicious vegan stovetop apple butter is the perfect condiment to spice up your favorite oatmeal, or spread on breads, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, baked goods, and more. Personally, I love to eat it by the spoonful myself! Yes, it’s that amazing!
Here are a few wholesome ingredients to get you started:
- Apples – Any variety or mix will work for this recipe. However, fuji and green apples are our favorite flavor combination with the perfect blend of sweet and tartness.
- Medjool dates – For natural sweetness and rich caramel-like flavor.
- Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg – For the perfect comforting blend of fall spices.
- Vanilla – For a warm depth of flavor.
- Fresh lemon – For brightness and balance of flavors.
SIMPLE STOVETOP APPLE BUTTER VARIATIONS
We are in love with this apple butter recipe as it is, but don’t hesitate to change it up and add your own flavor to it.
Check out these few simple recipe variations:
- Picking the perfect apples for apple butter is easy. Guess what? Any variety of apples, or combination of apples will work wonderfully in this recipe. We love to combine fuji and granny smith apples for the perfectly balanced mix of sweet and tart flavored apple butter.
- Peeling is optional. We love to leave the peel on half of the apples for added fiber and texture, but do whatever you feel called to do and it will be amazing!
- Want to take the level of sweetness down a notch? No problem! Swap a few sweeter apples for granny smith to add a hint of tartness to your apple butter.
- Feeling spicy? We chose our favorite fall spices for this recipe, but feel free to add on some of your favorites as well. Maybe a hint of cloves or a dash of allspice? Yummy!
- No medjool dates on hand? Not to worry, you can swap the dates for ¼ cup organic pure maple syrup. Promise me you will use real maple syrup and not a variety with a corn syrup base. You will thank me later!
Decide to change it up? Let us know how it turns out in the comments below. Getting creative in the kitchen is what we love best!
HOW TO MAKE STOVETOP APPLE BUTTER
By the taste of it, you would never guess that our delicious homemade apple butter takes minimal effort to prepare. It’s perfectly smooth texture, deep golden color, and rich spiced apple flavor will have you eating it by the spoonful for breakfast.
Don’t just take my word for it. Let’s make some apple butter!
First things first, wash and partially peel (leaving some skin for more texture and fiber), core, and chop the apples into 1- to 1 ½-inch pieces, then set them aside.
Second, to a large pot, add the chopped apples, pitted dates, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, water, and lemon. Then, stir everything to combine.
Thirdly, cover and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples and dates are tender enough to mash with a fork (roughly 30-45 minutes).
Next, remove from the heat and puree the apple mixture directly in the pot using an immersion blender, or ladle it into a food processor, or high-speed blender in batches and blend into a smooth puree (or until a desired consistency is reached).
Please note: Be cautious if using a blender! Allow the apple mixture to cool slightly before blending, and/or, leave the pour spout slightly ajar to allow heat to escape.
Now it’s time to turn our puree into delicious apple butter!
Continue cooking the apple puree over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until it thickens, roughly 1 hour and thirty minutes. Leave the lid to your pot slightly tilted while simmering to avoid splattering, also allowing moisture to escape. The apple butter will be done once it has thickened and reached a beautiful deep golden brown color.
The longer it simmers, the more concentrated and flavorful it will become. Is your mouth watering yet?
Lastly, allow the apple butter to cool. Serve it on top of your favorite oatmeal, or spread it on our favorite maple cinnamon drop biscuits, pancakes, waffles, and more. Transfer remaining apple butter to an airtight jar or container and chill in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Although, I can pretty much guarantee that it will be devoured long before it reaches 2 months!
MORE DELICIOUS WHOLESOME RECIPES
If you love our homemade stovetop apple butter as much as we do, then try one of these delicious fall inspired wholesome plant-based recipes next:
- Maple Cinnamon Drop Biscuits
- Maple Quinoa Breakfast Porridge
- Vegan Banana Pumpkin Sheet Pan Pancakes
- Vegan Pumpkin Banana Muffins
Stovetop Apple Butter (Naturally Sweetened)
This deliciously simple stovetop apple butter is naturally sweetened with dates, bursting with all the amazing flavors of fall, and comes together with 7 wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds apples, (roughly 9 medium-sized apples), partially peeled, cored, and chopped into 1- to 1 ½-inch pieces (sweet apples are best, we love fuji apples for this recipe)
- 3 large pitted medjool dates
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon (ceylon cinnamon is best)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced, or ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon, (juice of half a lemon)
Directions
- Step 1 Partially peel (leaving some skin for more texture and fiber), core, and chop apples into 1- to 1 ½-inch pieces. Set aside.
- Step 2 To a large pot, add chopped apples, pitted dates, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, water, and lemon. Stir to combine.
- Step 3 Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples and dates are tender enough to mash (roughly 30-45 minutes).
- Step 4 Remove from heat and puree the apple mixture directly in the pot using an immersion blender, or ladle it into a food processor, or high-speed blender in batches and blend into a smooth puree (or desired consistency is reached). Note: Be cautious if using a blender and allow the apple mixture to cool slightly before blending, and/or, leave the pour spout slightly ajar to allow heat to escape.
- Step 5 Now it’s time to turn our puree into delicious apple butter!
- Step 6 Continue cooking apple puree over medium-low heat. Stir mixture occasionally (every 10 minutes or so) until it thickens, roughly 1 hour and thirty minutes. Leave the lid to your pot slightly tilted while simmering to avoid splattering, and allow moisture to escape.
- Step 7 The apple butter will be done once it has thickened and reached a beautiful deep golden brown color. The longer it simmers, the more concentrated and flavorful it will become.
- Step 8 Cool, then serve on top of your favorite biscuits, toast, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, baked goods, and more.
- Step 9 Transfer the apple butter to an airtight jar or container and chill in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
