I had the best intentions of getting busy with ALL the apple recipes this week after our family trip to Sky Top Orchard. I know Dylan was really looking forward to an apple pie. It ended up being a wild week, so I decided on something that requires much less effort. This instant pot no peel apple butter was just easy enough. Plus, I really love apple butter, and we are getting together with good friends at the lake this week, so there will undoubtedly be homemade biscuits!
I don’t know how this is possible, but Dylan and I had never been apple picking before this past weekend. This is the kind of thing that I can really get into. Hours of apple picking and orchard photos, followed by apple cider donuts (try mine) on a beautiful fall day. Sign me up for this tradition. It was especially fun to try to keep up with our little one and his bestie this year. I only took about 300 photos of the two of them. They are just the cutest together, and my little guy had the time of his life picking apples. ♥️ Now I’m ready for a trip to the the pumpkin patch!
Making No Peel Apple Butter
I’ve only mentioned in every other post that I don’t have a ton of patience. I really wanted to see if I could make apple butter without peeling the apples. I mean, it’s not that bad. If it is just me, and I’m listening to good music, I could peel apples all day. Now that I have a two year old, I’m basically feeling a little rushed at all times. I’m not complaining. It’s the best, but I have to keep things moving. The good news is you can absolutely make apple butter without peeling your apples. Win!
If this is going to work, you really need a quality blender. I tried to get a nice smooth puree with my immersion blender, but it just didn’t cut it. The apple butter was mostly smooth, but I was still chewing on the occasional bits of apple peel. This may not be a big deal to you, but I didn’t love it.
My ninja blender worked beautifully. I did put it on high speed for about 3 full minutes to make sure the apple butter came out very smooth. It probably didn’t need to go that long, but it did the job. If you don’t have a high-quality blender, you may just have to get in there and peel some apples. Not everyone dislikes peeling apples, and of course there are always apple peelers. I’ve not used one of these, but I’m sure they work great.
I used my instant pot for this recipe, but you can also use a slow cooker. I would just say the longer the better as far as cook time, and be sure to remove the lid for at least a half hour at the end to allow the apple butter to thicken slightly. If you go this route, let me know how long it takes your apples to cook down. My guess would be around 6 hours on the high setting, but I completely made that up. Keep me posted!
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Instant Pot No Peel Apple Butter
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
Description
The easiest no peel apple butter is made in your instant pot! A smooth, sweet, perfectly spiced apple puree. Spoon apple butter over a warm, buttery biscuit, a bowl of vanilla ice cream or use it to create a fun fall cocktail.
Ingredients
- 5 lbs freshly picked apples
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar (light brown sugar is fine if that is all you have)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
Instructions
- Go to an apple orchard and pick 5 lbs of apples! OK, they don’t actually need to be freshly picked from an orchard, but that definitely makes it way more fun! 🙂
- Core your apples and chop into small chunks. They don’t need to be uniform.
- Add the chopped apples to your instant pot along with the lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Mix the granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom in a mixing bowl.
- Pour this mixture and 1 cup of water over your apples in the instant pot. Stir it all up until thoroughly combined.
- Set you instant pot pressure cook setting to high and let cook for 45 minutes.
- Manually allow the steam to release and transfer the apple mixture to a blender.
- Blend on the highest speed for at least 3 minutes to ensure all the apple peels are broken down.
- Return the apple butter to the instant pot and change the settings to the slow cook function on the high setting. Make sure the lid is set to the venting position to allow some of the steam to escape and cook for an additional 45 minutes. This will help the apple butter thicken.
Notes
- Ok to freeze or store in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- Can be made with a slow cooker if you don’t have an instant pot. Cook on high for at least 6 hours, remove the lid for the last 30 minutes to allow the apple butter to thicken.
- Mason jars filled with apple butter make great inexpensive gifts!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1.5 hours
- Category: Spreads
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: apple butter, instant pot, no peel
Love apple butter and this sounds like a low fuss way to make it!
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Put that new instant pot to use! We have a jar coming your way ☺️