What do you do when you’ve got a lot of apples on your hands and they’re looking like they might not have that much longer to live? Make Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples! 👏👏👏
I bought a big bag of apples the other day for what I thought was a great deal, until I realized later that they were really really ripe. Like they already smell like apple cider instead of fresh apples, ripe. Oops. But I wasn’t about to let that bag of 12 apples go to waste, so I peeled and sliced them, tossed them into the slow cooker with a healthy dose of warm spices, a little sugar, cornstarch for thickening, and a few big pieces of butter. Already sounds good, doesn’t it?
After a few hours in the slow cooker the apples were tender, sweet but not too-sweet, and had my house smelling like an autumn dream! The mixture ends up very much like the filling for an apple pie and is very versatile in its uses.
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How to Serve Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples
You can treat it like a crustless pie and serve it à la mode like I did below (with a little granola sprinkled on top), spoon it over your pancakes, waffles, or oats, use it as a filling for a dessert “quesadilla”, or even serve it along side something like pork chops.
Make a Half Batch, If Needed
This is obviously a huge batch because I wanted to use that entire bag of apples, but you can easily halve this recipe if needed. While the Slow Cooker Hot Butter Apples do stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days I’m not sure that they will freeze well due to the cornstarch (although I haven’t had the opportunity to test this yet). To adjust the recipe down, simply change the number of servings in the recipe box below and it will auto-adjust the ingredient amounts for you.
Adjust the Sweetness
One more note about the type of apples used vs. the amount of sugar in the recipe. I used very ripe Fuji apples, which were fairly sweet with just a hint of tartness. If you use a very tart apple like Granny Smith, you’ll likely want to increase the sugar in the mix, but that’s going to depend on your personal preference.
Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples
Servings 6 1 cup eachIngredients
- 12 small apples* (about 2″ diameter) ($3.99)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.05)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.04)
- 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves ($0.05)
- 1 tsp vanilla ($0.28)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.18)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.52)
- 1/2 cup water ($0.00)
Instructions
- Peel and slice the apples, then place them in a slow cooker (4 quart or larger). Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, salt, and cornstarch to the slow cooker, then stir to coat the apples in the spices.
- Divide the butter into pieces, then place the butter on top of the seasoned apples. Pour 1/2 cup water into the cooker down the side so that reaches the bottom without rinsing the spices from the apples.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker, set it to high heat, and cook for two hours. After two hours, stir the apples well, replace the lid, and cook for an additional one hour, then serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Slow Cooker Apples – Step by Step Photos
Peel and slice about 12 small apples (about 2-inch diameter) and place them in a slow cooker. For this amount of apples, you’ll probably want to use at least a 4 quart slow cooker.
Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3 Tbsp cornstarch to the slow cooker, then stir to coat the apples in the spices. Cut the butter into a few large chunks and place them on top of the apples. Carefully pour 1/2 cup water down the side wall of the cooker so the water reaches the bottom without washing the spices off the apples.
Place the lid on the slow cooker, set it to “high” and cook for two hours. After two hours, stir the apples, replace the lid, and cook for one more hour.
Then EAT! The reason I like these apples is because they are sweet but not so incredibly sweet that they can’t be use to top something healthy like a bowl of oatmeal. They’re about as sweet as applesauce, but with a deep richness from the butter and vanilla. SO GOOD.
This was a fail on many levels. The cloves overpowered it. The butter just made it greasy without adding flavour. The saltiness was off-putting.
After all that work and ingredients, I ate 1/2 bowl and chucked it.
I don’t often have an abject failure, but this was definitely one.
So I used Granny Smith and they turned to mush ☹️. I ended up with apple sauce. Do you think it was the type of apple or what? I feel like maybe it was too hot, although I followed the instructions. 2 hrs on high, stir, 1 hr.
Interesting! I’ve never had that happen, so I’m not sure. I wonder if freshness could also be an issue.
Hey, how much would you estimate those twelve apples weighed?
Best, Marie
Probably around four pounds?
Thanks for a great way to use the apples that are falling in abundance from my tree. Delicious recipe! So versatile too. I love it!
Could you leave all or some of the apples peeled?
The apples are peeled, so I’m unsure what you are asking. XOXO -Monti
I was wondering if you could leave them unpeeled (sorry, that typo made a huge difference).
Ahhh! That makes more sense! Hahahaha. Ok, leaving the peel on is entirely up to you and should not affect cooking time. Though it will affect the texture, as the peel does not break down. XOXO -Monti
Hey Monti, she probably meant unpeeled, and my answer to that is that the peels would really change the final texture – apple peels don’t soften when cooked as the flesh does. Wouldn’t be a total no-no and probably wouldn’t feel so great in your mouth, in my opinion!
Lol!! I just answered the same way!! Great minds. Thanks for being here. XOXO -Monti
Good recipe! Only gave 4 stars because mine was like applesauce before the three hours was up. Also possibly my fault. I only had about 8 apples instead of 12. Wished I had realized sooner that they might not need the whole 3. Maybe I should have stopped at 2 hours. They did seem soft then. Or perhaps I just cut them too thinly? Or my crockpot just runs hotter? Either way the flavor on my ‘applesauce’ was good. I had a little with ice cream. Need to try stirring it into oatmeal tomorrow. I’ll probably be back to try this one again sometime.
I just made a half-batch, and I regret nothing about my life at the moment. Mix of red apples from my farm share, I used wine instead of water (I have a half-open bottle that should go to good use), and a spice blend called Omar’s Indulgence from a spice seller named Auntie Awen (based in Connecticut) and they are amazing. The spice blend includes cardamom, Ceylon cinnamon, orange peel, ginger, and cloves for people who want to try some other options, and I threw in a bit of nutmeg, too.
(Ok, I do regret that I don’t have vanilla ice cream or yogurt or whipped cream to have with it, but that is fixable next time I do this. I think it’d be amazing on morning yogurt.)
Can these apples be canned. ?
If so water bath or pressure cooker
Unfortunately, I am not experienced with canning so I can’t advise.
You probably would be best to find a tested recipe for canning, and the cornstarch is considered a pre-canning no-no.
I have fixed this recipe multiple times for my family and now it’s probably the most requested item I cook.
My husband doesn’t love cloves. How potent is that flavor overall?
That’s hard to say objectively, but if he doesn’t like cloves I’d probably at least reduce the amount by half or even leave them out.
If anyone has ever had the fried apples at Cracker Barrel…I wondered how close this recipe would be. It’s quite close and I enjoyed these just as much as I enjoyed the fried apples!
I’m wanting to turn this into a pie, should I just reduce the Time in the crockpot so they aren’t overly done once in the oven?
I’ve made this before on its own And it’s amazing!
Sure, that would be a good solution. :) But I think they’d still hold up fine to baking in the pie, as-is. Kind of like how with canned apple pie filling the apples are already soft.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe?
I use salted for all my recipes. :)
I am looking for the Slow Cooker Stuffed Apples recipe. Used to be found at https://www.budgetbytes.com/slow-cooker-stuffed-apples/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+BudgetBytes+(Budget+Bytes) Has it been removed?
Thank you!
Hi Hannah! I just emailed you a copy of that recipe to the email address you used to register this comment. If that’s not the right email, just reach out to us at support@budgetbytes.com and we can send it to you. :)
Oh my! I have made this twice now and it is super easy and tasty. So delicious.
About how many cups of apples would this be?
I’m not sure. Since the apple pieces are so large I don’t think you’d get an accurate or consistent measure using cups. The recipe is pretty flexible, though, so I wouldn’t worry too much about getting the amount of apples exactly right. :)
How long will this keep in the fridge? I like making reasonable big batches when I’m using my crocpot, often for freezing and easy dinners later on. Or maybe this too is freezer friendly..?
I would say probably 4-5 days in the fridge, but that can depend on a lot of variables. I haven’t tested freezing this one, but sauces thickened with cornstarch do tend to separate after freezing and thawing, so I’m going to bet on it not being that freezer friendly. :)
So delicious by itself but even BETTER over vanilla ice cream or oatmeal!
These were easy and delicious. I enjoyed them on pancakes. When I couldn’t eat any more, I put the rest in the freezer. I had about 4 cups at that point. I defrosted them and put them in a greased 8×8″ pan. I topped with crumb topping which I also had stored in the freezer and baked at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. It was delicious! There was no curdling as some commentors mentioned could happen with freezing the apples. Thank you for this recipe and all your amazing recipes.
Oh that’s great to hear! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! Would you mind sharing the crumb topping portion of the recipe?
That was just some store-bought granola. :)
This was great. I took it to an evening function and everyone loved it. I have a few notes in case anyone had the same questions I did.
1. 6 quart slow cooker- I was able to fit 1 and 1/2 recipes in here.
2. Make ahead- because I had to take it to work and then to the dinner, I put the spices, cornstarch, lemon juice and apples in a ziplock bag and mushed them around. I cut up the butter but left it in the wrapper. Tucked them all in the crock and took it to work. When it was time to cook I dumped the apples in the pot. Most of the spices remained in the bag . I poured the water into the bags, swished it around and added to the pot. Then I put in the butter. It worked great this way.
I thought it was a tad strong of cloves, but that could be personal preference. I’ll just cut back a little next time.
Great recipe.
Thanks for sharing the tips Melissa!
About how many pounds of apples? I have some gigantic honeycrisp and I am not sure how many would equal 12 small fuji apples…
It say about 2-3 pounds.
This was great on top of waffles! I’m making it a second time, but I forgot what kind of apples I used initially. Do you think Macs would work? I happen to have a lot lying around.
P.S. You’re my favorite food blogger, I have saved so so many of your recipes!
Thanks Sarah! Waffle toppings sound great. Yes I think macintosh would be great!
One more question… any idea how long these will last? Curious if I make them midweek if they’ll last until weekend brunch, with reheating.
I have a relative with a dairy allergy and have been struggling to find a holiday themed dessert recipe that fits all her allergies, is there a non dairy fat I could sub instead of using butter?
I feel like butter’s unique mixture of cream and natural sugars really add a lot to the flavor here, so I’m not sure that a non-dairy fat would really be as good. If I had to pick one, I’d use coconut oil because it’s a saturated fat and will have a nice creaminess, but you’ll also get a slight coconut flavor and will again be missing the flavor of the sweet cream.
How about coconut oil or better yet coconut butter? (AKA Coconut Manna).It’s also kind of sweet like dairy butter.
We had this for dessert for Christmas dinner in 2018! Yummy!! (and we used a slow cooker liner to aid in clean-up!) We served it over very good quality vanilla bean ice cream. And the leftovers we eaten fast in lieu of supper that evening!! I repeated it again for Easter and I’m sure it will be our new favorite holiday dessert!
I do all the cooking though our visiting 2 adult kids can be brought in for some help but just made the drive. Also the in-laws are here and elderly. Since the whole meal is in my lap to plan and prepare this is just wonderful!! Thank you for sharing!
I have everything on hand except the lemon. Will it make a big difference if I don’t add the 1 Tbsp lemon juice?
I’m sure it will still be quite good. :)
Can these be reheated on the stove?
Yes, you can reheat them in a sauce pot over low, stirring often. Add a little water if they begin to get too dry. :)
what about adding cranberries for Thanksgiving???
Yum! I love that idea!
I am thinking about the same thing! What would the ratio be if we decide to add fresh cranberries? Do we need to reduce the number of apples used or can we just add a cup or two of berries and not change the rest?
This is just a guess, since I haven’t tried adding cranberries, but if I were to test it I’d first try just adding the cranberries in without making any other changes.
Delicious! I made it even easier by not peeling the apples. The skin softens and you would never even know they were not peeled. Terrific with ice cream. After crockpot shut off they stayed nicely warm for another 2 and 1/2 hours.
What a great idea! So much faster, and more nutritious too!
I’m looking for a copycat recipe of the cinnamon apples that Boston Market once had. Do you think this is it?
I’m sorry, I’ve never had those, so I ‘m not sure if they are similar. :)
So if I would make it 1day before needed, do you think it would be alright reheated in crock pot?Just wondering.
Yes, I think that could work. If it gets dry or too thick while reheating, you can stir in a little bit of water.
This is delicious! Served it over vanilla bean ice cream last night, had some on oatmeal today. Great way to use the big bag of seconds we got at the orchard.
Do you think this would freeze well? I have tons of apples as well and this sounds perfect to make. Thanks!
I haven’t had the chance to test freezing these to be certain, but sauces thickened with cornstarch do tend to separate upon freezing and thawing.
I read a post on another site that said to toss the apples and spices in a freezer bag and freeze them that way. Then just toss into the Crock-Pot whenever you want to make them.
Do you think this could be done without a slow cooker? It looks heavenly!
Yes, you could probably just simmer them in a pot over low heat until they soften. :)
I tried it and it was perfect and delicious. I’m wondering if I could do it again but this time adding a couple kinds of berries… Do you think that would work?
I bet raspberries would go great in there!
My office gets a fruit basket each week and by Friday, apples and pears are the only thing left in the basket, so I always take them home. This was a perfect way to use up 2 weeks of unwanted office apples. DELICIOUS, and close to free for me!
Hi Beth,
Do you think think this could be prepped ahead of time? I know that can be tricky with apples, but I thought maybe the lemon juice would make it okay. I’m making it for a work party and am trying to avoid getting up early to peel apples, hoping I can do them the night before. Thank you!
Yeah, I bet you could do all the peeling and slicing the night before. :) The apples turn brown as they cook anyway, so if they did brown a little I’m sure it wouldn’t be noticeable. haha
Thank you! This is somehow the first time I’ve commented, but I’ve loved and made recipes from your site for years.
I made these in a crockpot this evening and they turned out great. I used a bag of apples I got at Aldi’s that were a little over ripe, but they still turned out well. I plan to serve it with caramel ice cream.
I made this tonight in my instantpot in 25 minutes and served it on buttermilk biscuits and it was so good!
You put quesadilla in quotes, but in the upper Midwest, apple pie is sometimes served with sharp cheddar. So…real quesadilla…yummy!
I love that idea!!
This looks incredible! Yum!
Just made this for hubby last night, the smell was like moths to a flame! Love this one
Can this be made for a meal prep for oatmeal?
Yes, I think that would work great! :)
Fabulous!! Sauce and apples came out silky smooth and perfectly tender and very evenly cooked. I used 8 or 9 large apples of different varieties and added a bit more sugar but kept everything else the same. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Where did you get that awesome serving ladle/spoon??
H&M! They have some really fun kitchen stuff. :)
Looks great! Have you tried it in an instant pot?
I haven’t tried it with a pressure cooker, no, but most slow cooker recipes do convert fairly well to pressure cookers.
I did tonight and it worked perfectly! Follow the recipe, but use the pressure setting on the instantpot for 25 min.
Hi Beth.
Can this go straight into a pie crust?
Sure can! :)
It doesn’t only cost around 5 dollars. .05 cents of lemon juice … I’d have to buy the lemon or lemon juice, buy the ingredients whole, not 2 teaspoon fills for the price of .05 cents. Ridiculous thing to claim.. I live in California and it’s not only 3.00 for apples…
How dare Beth not cater to your exact circumstances, right? Come on, get a grip.
You can buy 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon at Sprouts. FYI
Trolling??
Haha! I, too, live in CA (a city by the water no less) and you can ABSOLUTELY find apples that cheap. Try Asian/Hispanic grocery stores… It’s all about shopping smart!
Agreed that the cornstarch might make freezing these a bit tricky, but if you leave the peels on, the fruit’s natural pectin would work as a thickener and not separate out from a freeze/thaw cycle. I’ve heard the peels can turn bitter, but I’ve made apple butter with the peels still on and never had a problem.
You can substitute arrowroot for the cornstarch. Arrowroot isn’t affected by freezing.
Would flour work?
Curious to find out if anyone has tried freezing this and the results…
Hi – salted or unsalted butter? Thanks!
I use salted, but if you have unsalted you can use that and then adjust the salt at the end to your liking.