This Apple Butter Recipe is made in the pressure cooker (Instant Pot) and tastes amazing!

I grew up enjoying molasses apple butter recipe with a batch of layered southern biscuits. Traditionally apple butter recipes would take all day, but now I enjoy making it in my pressure cooker to save time without losing flavor.

What is apple butter?

I’ve been asked, “What is apple butter?” many times. Simply put it is a glorified concentrated and caramelized apple sauce that can be used like butter. Just to clarify, there is none, zero, zilch butter at all in any of the recipes used to make apple butter. Just a handful of spices, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, or allspice are added to give it a depth of rich flavor.

There are several approaches to making an apple butter recipe, such as slow cooker apple butter, to cooking it for hours in a large dutch oven or baking it off in the oven. All of which I have done and enjoyed, but to get the same great results and all within an hour, cooking apple butter in a pressure cooker is by far my go-to favorite method.

How long will apple butter last?

Apple butter can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 weeks without preserving or canning. You can also freeze it in freezer safe jars or freezer bags for up to a year, or you can process canned (bottled) apple butter in a hot water bath to seal which will keep for 6 – 12 months.

The Spruce Eats has a great article on the hot water process for preserving.

Other pressure cooker recipes to try:

• Columbian chicken, corn and potato stew, ajiaco recipe, a hearty stew made in the instant pot or pressure cooker.
• Instant Pot beef bourguignon Recipe, classic French cuisine made in the pressure cooker and tastes amazing.
• Apple butternut squash soup, made in 30 minutes from start to finish in the pressure cooker, so delicious and a perfect fall soup recipe.

How to make no-peel apple butter

Easy Instant Pot Apple Butter Recipe

Stacey Doyle

A super-easy way to make homemade apple butter recipe, my favorite molasses apple butter Instant Pot (pressure cooker) recipe! Ready in an hour from start to finish and tastes amazing!

4.80 from 20 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Additional Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Preserves and Canning

Cuisine American

Servings 6 – 7 cups

Calories 33 kcal

Equipment

• Plantation Organic Blackstrap Molasses, 15 oz Bottle (Unsulphured)
• Ninja FD401 Foodi 8-qt. 9-in-1 Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer-Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker, 8-Quart,
• Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Sauté, Yogurt Maker and Warmer

Ingredients

  

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• 6 pounds apples cored and quartered (do not peel)
• 2 tablespoons. vanilla
• 1 ½ cups soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 ½ tablespoons. ground cinnamon
• ⅓ cup water
• 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

Instructions

 

• Core and slice apples into quarters, 4 slices per apple. Do not peel.
• Place apple slices, brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, water, and molasses into an Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
• Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to seal, and set to hi for 15 minutes.
• Let pressure release naturally for about 20 minutes or use the quick release to allow steam to release.
• Carefully remove the lid and transfer cooked apples and most (all but about 1/2 – 1 cup) of the juices to a blender. Blend on puree until smooth. *See note below*
• Transfer apple butter sterilized jars and allow to cool at room temperature or proceed to process in a hot water bath for the canning method.

Notes

*When transferring the apples to the blender, I do not use all fo the liquid. I will puree all but almost 1 cup of the juices. After pureeing the apple butter, If needed, I will add in the remaining liquid a little at a time until I have the desired consistency.*

You can use a stick blender if preferred over the blender.

I use a mix of apples, both sweet and tart, such as a mix of Fuji and Granny Smiths.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoonsCalories: 33kcalCarbohydrates: 8gSodium: 1mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7g

Keyword apple preserves, canning and preserves, fruit spreads, instant pot, jams and jellies, pressure cooker