Salted Caramel Apple Butter

This slow cooker salted caramel apple butter is vegan-friendly, easy to prep in under 30 minutes, and packed with warm fall spices and sweet apple flavor.

There’s something cozy and magical about the smell of simmering apples that fills your kitchen on a crisp day. This Salted Caramel Apple Butter is one of those recipes that feels like home. I first learned to make it when I lived in Ohio's Amish country—a place where canning and preserving were simply part of life. Before that, I’d never canned anything, but this recipe changed all that. It's incredibly simple, full of deep fall flavor, and the addition of sweetened condensed coconut milk (or regular, if you're not keeping it vegan) transforms it into something extra special: salted caramel apple butter.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker recipe

• Vegan-friendly with just one easy swap

• Tastes like fall in a jar—sweet, spiced, and buttery

• Great for gifting, spreading on toast, or dolloping into oatmeal

Ingredients You’ll Need

• 6 lbs Fuji and/or Honeycrisp apples, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes (leave the skin on!)

• 1 can sweetened condensed coconut milk (or regular if not vegan)

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 cup maple syrup (the real kind!)

• 2 tbsp cinnamon

• 1 tbsp ground cloves

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1 tsp salt

How to Make It

Step 1: Prep the Apples

Wash and chop apples into 1/2-inch cubes, leaving the skin on. Toss them straight into your slow cooker.

Step 2: Mix Everything In

Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker and give everything a quick stir to coat the apples.

Step 3: Slow Cook to Perfection

Set your crockpot to high and cook for 4–5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. As the apples soften and release their juices, use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until smooth.

Step 4: Reduce and Thicken

Leave the lid ajar and reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer for another 2–3 hours to thicken, stirring occasionally. The consistency should be rich and buttery.

Step 5: Jar It Up

While the apple butter is hot, transfer it to hot, sanitized pint jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, seal with canning lids and rings, and place upside down on a kitchen towel to cool for 4–5 hours.

Storage Tips

• Keeps in pantry for up to 30 days (sealed)

• Refrigerate after opening

• Freeze for long-term storage

Final Thoughts

You can prep this whole recipe in under 30 minutes and let your crockpot do the rest. By dinner, your kitchen smells like fall, and you’ve got six pints of luscious, caramel-y apple butter. It’s great on toast, swirled into oatmeal, or spooned right from the jar. Trust me—you’ll never want to buy the store-bought version again.