These fruit butter recipes are pure gold ~ taking that peak summer overflow and turning it into the smoothest, most flavorful spread for cozy days ahead.
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What is fruit butter?
Fruit butter is just fresh fruit, cooked way down until it’s thick, silky, and bursting with flavor. It gets pureed and sometimes strained for extra smoothness, but the magic really comes from slow cooking ~ it thickens naturally as the moisture cooks off, no pectin needed.
Unlike jam or jelly, fruit butter has a rich, velvety texture and super concentrated flavor. It’s perfect for beginners because there’s nothing fussy about it—just cook, blend, and cook a little more 🙂
That idea of reducing water to intensify flavor is one of the oldest tricks in the culinary book, and fruit butter is a beautiful, simple example of how powerful it can be.
Fruit Butter Basics
- Prep the fruit. Wash it and remove any pits, cores, stems, or tough peels.
- Cook until soft. Add the fruit to a heavy pot with a small splash of water, juice, or cider. Cover and simmer until completely tender.
- Purée. Blend the softened fruit until smooth, then return it to the pot.
- Add sugar and flavorings. Sweeten to taste and add spices, citrus, or other flavorings if you like.
- Cook it down. Simmer gently, uncovered, stirring often, until the purée becomes dark, glossy, and thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
- Cool and store. Spoon into clean jars, cool, and refrigerate or freeze.
Of all the fruit preserves, fruit butter is my favorite. Luckily, it can be made with nearly any kind of fruit. Here are some of the best fruit butter recipes to get you started…
HOW TO MAKE APPLE BUTTER
You can make apple butter with any apple variety, but a mix of sweet and tart apples gives it the most interesting flavor. Try Honeycrisp with Granny Smith, Fuji with Pink Lady, or Gala with Braeburn.
EASY PEACH BUTTER
Peach butter starts out looser than most fruit butters, so give it plenty of time to cook down. The slow simmer concentrates the peach flavor and turns it thick and silky. Peach butter naturally deepens in color as it cooks, but a little lemon juice and a wide pan help it stay brighter by shortening the cooking time.
RHUBARB BUTTER
For the prettiest rhubarb butter start with nice red stalks. Give it a taaste towards the end of cooking to see if it needs more sugar to balance the tartness of the fruit.
MAPLE CRANBERRY BUTTER
Cranberries are naturally high in pectin, so this butter thickens faster than most.
CROCK POT PUMPKIN BUTTER
If you don’t want to stand at the stove, let the crock pot do the work!
CRANBERRY BUTTER
I love to add seasonal spices to this recipe for a fabulous holiday gift.
BOURBON BANANA BUTTER
You just have to try this unusual fruit butter to believe it! It’s so good with morning scones and biscuits.
What to do with fruit butters
If you need a little inspiration for using up your delicious fruit butters, try these ideas.
WITH TOAST: slather it on a big slice of Toasting White Bread.
ON SCONES: my Classic Cream Scones Recipe will work with all these fruit butters.
IN YOGURT: make a batch of Homemade Yogurt (high protein)
IN MUESLI: fruit butter is great with Toasted Muesli.
COOK WITH IT: My Apple Butter Baked Beans and my Apple Butter Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream are family favorites.
MAKE A COCKTAIL: Smooth fruit butter incorporates well into cocktails, just the way jam does.
ADD IT TO A SANDWICH: try it on a Ham and Jam Sandwich.
Hi! I’m curious in how these are best stored and how long? I’d love to make these to go as part of a gift basket for family for the holidays.
They’ll last up to several weeks in the refrigerator, and you can freeze for up to 3 months.
Hi, I was wondering if we can use fruit butter as cake filling and also mix in with buttercream?
Thank you
Yes, and yes. It’s thick enough for a cake filling, and you can use it to flavor a buttercream frosting. You may need to add additional sugar to the frosting because the fruit butter will add moisture.
I’m curious about making a cucumber butter. I can’t find a recipe for one and I’m wondering how well it would work. Any thoughts?
Gosh, I’ve never seen that either. I’m thinking that cucumber is a bit watery to make a good butter, but you could certainly try. You’d puree and then cook down, and definitely strain. And don’t peel the cukes, the skin would add color and flavor.
my first try this year to make fruit butters. Can not wait to start on them.
This past year I made apple butter for the first time! Loved it!! Thanks for these!! I’ll be adding them to my list of things to make this year!!!!
Would the process for making blackberry butter be similar to the blueberry? How do I accommodate for the seeds? Thanks!
Yes, it would be similar, and you can always strain out the seeds.
My Aunt used to make grape butter with home grown Oregan grapes. It was delicious and a beautiful pink color.
Very interesting, that’s one fruit I wouldn’t have thought of…I’m going to try it!
Can frozen fruit be used instead of fresh fruit in these recipes? Thanks.
Yes, that will work fine.
Hi i was wondering if i could use a fruit butter in any home made body creams..and if yes which fruit would be ideal..thanks
I’m so sorry that I can’t weigh in here I don’t have enough experience, maybe a reader will chime in.