Instant Pot Apple Butter: an easy and delicious fall favorite! This recipe requires no peeling and minimal chopping. Serve on toast, stirred into overnight oats or oatmeal, or as a dip for pretzels.
5lbs.mixed applesFuji, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Cripps, etc. or about 8-10 apples; cored and cut into quarters
½cupgranulated white sugar
½cup.packed light brown sugar
2teaspoonsground cinnamon
¼teaspoonground nutmeg
½teaspoonground cloves
⅛teaspoonsalt
½cupapple juice or apple cider
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of the Instant Pot, combine the apple quarters, white sugar, brown sugar, spices, salt, and apple juice. Gently stir or fold together until the apples are evenly covered in the spice mixture. If using a mixing bowl, pour the apples into the bowl of the pressure cooker.
Lock the Instant Pot pressure cooking lid on and seal the pressure vent. Cook the apples on high pressure for 1 hour.
Release the pressure naturally for 15 minutes. Quick-release the rest of the pressure.
Remove the Instant Pot lid. Blend the apples with an immersion blender until smooth or carefully transfer them to a stand blender and blend with lid vent removed. If using the blender, return the apples to the Instant Pot.
Turn on the sauté setting to low and cook the blended apples for 30-40 minutes, stirring every few minutes, or until the liquid has reduced and the apple butter is thick enough to mound on a spoon but isn't pasty.
Serve the apple butter warm or cool to room temperature and enjoy!
Notes
Leftover apple butter keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks. It can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. The amount of water released while cooking depends on the juiciness of the apples and some apples are much juicier than others. Therefore, if you need more time to thicken up the butter on the sauté setting, take it. If you want to speed up the simmering time you can cook the butter on the high sauté setting, but it will likely bubble and splatter so be careful while stirring. Alternatively, if you have extra time, you can cook the butter down on the slow cooker high heat setting for 1 ½- 2 hours, too. If your Instant Pot doesn't give you the "Burn" warning often (or are feeling courageous and want to test out if it even will), you can use only ¼ cup apple juice (or water) instead of the ½ cup. This will save on simmering time after blending.