Crock Pot Cranberry Apple Butter is an easy, no sugar fruit spread for toast, biscuits, muffins, and scones, it’s also perfect for holiday gift giving!
cranberry apple butter is an extra special fall treat.
Apple butter is such a fall staple. And I’m sure you already know that there’s no butter in it at all, just fresh apples that have been cooked down and pureed into a thick spread. But did you know you can also make Pumpkin Butter? And Bourbon Banana Butter? And Peach Butter? I love to experiment, and today I mixed cranberries with apples to make fabulously tart cranberry apple butter that I think you’re going to love. The flavor (and color!) is unique and wonderful. This is easy to make, so gather up some small jars and think about making a few extra batches for holiday gifts.
TIP: Fresh cranberries are sold in 12-ounce bags from late September through December in grocery stores — you can’t get them at any other time of the year, so grab extra and freeze them. Just put them straight into the freezer as is, in their original bags, they’ll last up to a year. Cranberries are low in calories, and high in vitamin C and anti-oxidants so they’re really good for you, especially when you eat them without added sugar.
You’ll need 5 or 6 apples and a bag of fresh cranberries for this butter (one 12 ounce bag is about 3 cups of berries.) You can use any type of apple you like, and there is no need to peel them, just remove the core and seeds.
TIP: This cranberry apple butter recipe is formulated for the crock pot, but you can certainly do it on the stove top as well. It won’t take as long, but it will require more ‘babysitting’.
Pile the fruit into the crock pot and cook on high for about 4 hours, giving the pot a stir now and then. Puree the softened mixture and then push through a strainer. This step removes any gritty bits and ensures a silky butter. Then back it goes into the rinsed out crock pot for a further couple of hours to thicken up to a spreadable consistency.
The natural sweetness of the apples offsets the tart cranberries, so I didn’t add any sugar to this at all. I recommend you give it a taste during the final stages of cooking, if it tastes too tart, just add some honey to sweeten it up. The same goes for the spices…I kept it minimal with a stick of cinnamon that lends a subtle hint of spice, but you can use more if you like.
TIP: This Crock Pot Cranberry Apple Butter will last up to a month in the refrigerator. You can also freeze the jars for up to a year: leave a little space at the top for expansion and set the jars right in the freezer after they’ve cooled down.
“Just made this. Its beautiful and delicious! Nothing to strain out after putting it in the Vitamix on high. Plan to enjoy it with gluten-free cinnamon swirl bread from LowCarbYum – looks like a perfect match! Thank you!”
Lisa
Cranberry Apple Butter
Equipment
- crock pot
Ingredients
- 5-6 apples
- 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries, they can be frozen and thawed
- 1 stick of cinnamon, or powdered cinnamon to taste
- honey, optional
Instructions
- Wash the apples well, and cut them into large chunks, discarding the core and seeds. Add to the crock pot.
- Rinse the cranberries and add them to the crock pot. Give the fruit a stir and then cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Give the pot a stir every once in a while to prevent sticking. If the mixture is sticking you can add a bit of water, but I didn’t have to, the natural juices of the fruit should be sufficient.
- Puree the softened fruit in a high speed blender or food processor, working in 2 batches.
- Push the puree through a mesh strainer with the back of a large spoon, Force the puree through, you should be left with just a light layer of solids. Rinse out the strainer between batches.
- Rinse out the crock pot and return the strained puree to the pot. Bury a stick of cinnamon into the puree. Cook on HIGH, uncovered, for another 2 hours, or until thick and spreadable, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When the fruit has thickened, spoon it into clean glass jars. Let cool, and then cap and refrigerate. The butter will keep for 4 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to a year in the freezer. (If you plan to freeze, leave a little space at the top of each jar to allow for expansion.)
- Makes 2 1/2 cups
Video
Notes
- Another way to get a less tart result without adding any sweetener would be to use more apples and less cranberries, say 8 apples with 1/2 bag of cranberries.
- If you like things super tart, try my pure cranberry butter.
- If you don’t have a crock pot I highly recommend getting one…you don’t have to spend a lot, the base models are fine, and you will get a ton of use out of it. This is the one I’ve used for years.
I am over the moon excited to try this recipe….but I want to can it for later use. I don’t have much space in the freezer so I was wondering if it’s possible to process this recipe in a water bath canner and store it in a pantry? If so, how would I go about finding out processing times?
You should be able to can this, I would add a tablespoon of lemon juice, and would do a water bath for 15 minutes.
I made this and really enjoyed it. Was really easy but next time I’ll peel my apples and just use the Ninja after it’s cooked and not strain it. Tried that this time but the peelings were to much. Love that it’s no sugar, I can totally eat this and count it as just a fruit ?. Thanks for a great tasting and easy recipe.
You’re so welcome Debbie.
Sue, I’m not sure I understand the yield calculator. As written does the recipe make two half cup jars (or 1 cup total), or does it yield 2.5 Cups?
That’s 2 1/2 cups Kathy, it’s just the way that calculator displays 1/2 cup amounts.
Hi Sue..Yesterday I was at a health store and spotted a small jar of what they called “Cranberry Apple” and that’s all. It looked so good, I bought it for the price of $5.99! It just looked so lovely and what I liked best is that it had no sugar. Once I tasted it, I was glad that I had bought it but didn’t really want to buy more at that price, so looked to the internet and that’s where I found You and your recipe. I am so glad that you offer this recipe for all to use. I will be buying some cranberries and will make a couple of batches for Christmas gifts. But best of all, is that I will not have to pay the hefty price for this delicious treat. I always thought that pure apple butter was way too sweet, but I had never thought of putting cranberries with it! I’m sure glad you did! Thanks! Gloria
I’m so glad you found me, Gloria, and I agree, that small jar is way overpriced!
Thank you! I thought a cup out of all that fruit seemed a little small! Going to make a batch today!
Keep in mind when you make fruit butter it really does shrink down drastically, but you get explosive flavor in return 🙂
Could you process the jars in a water bath (the way you do for jams) so that the shelf life would be extended? Thanks in advance!
This recipe looks yummy!! Can’t wait to try it.
I can’t say for sure about canning because I didn’t can it, the finished product would have to have a ph of 4.6 or lower to be safe for canning.
YOU CAN CAN THIS ITS AWESOME
Do you think you can run this through the canning process to make them last longer.
I can’t say for sure about canning because I didn’t can it, the finished product would have to have a ph of 4.6 or lower to be safe for canning.
My daughter is already raving about this cran-apple butter and I only just strained it for the second cook! I used to make a very popular mulled cranberry sauce, but M-I-L is hosting and is the only one that doesn’t like it so she is going to get canned, jellied this year. My kids are allergic to corn (corn syrup in store bought) so this is what I am bringing for them. I know it will be brilliant on buttered pumpkin rolls!
I can’t stop thinking about it on pumpkin rolls…that’s a brilliant idea. And I love the idea of a mulled cranberry sauce, I have to try that this year.
I haven’t read thru all of the comments – so forgive me if someone else has already asked this, but have you made this in a pressure cooker? If so, how many minutes? I’ve made apple sauce and apple butter, but was wondering if the cranberries require extra cooking time. Thanks!
I think the stove top is a better alternative to the slow cooker, Jeanette, because the aim is to remove all the moisture to thicken the butter, and in a pressure cooker all the moisture stays in.
Mine multicooker has only LOW function, do you think that if i double the time it will be ok?
You can also do this right on the stove Magda, and it’s actually quicker that way. But if you like you can do it on low, it will just take a bit longer.
This sounds so wonderful! I always make applesauce in my crock pot. It just makes life so easy! I use my immersion blender right in the pot when I want to make a smooth sauce. Less to clean up.