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.
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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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.
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.