No Peel Instant Pot Apple Butter is so easy to make you will never, ever buy apple butter at the store again! The Instant Pot cooks apples in a fraction of the time of the slow cooker and is perfect for making homemade apple butter in less than an hour.

A few years ago, my friend Melanie gave me a jar of homemade apple butter she had cooked up in the slow cooker. It was SO GOOD. As in, I wanted to ask for another jar, but you know how that goes. Homemade canned goods are like GOLD.

One of the reasons I’m not a huge fan of canning is it takes so much time. The Instant Pot has revolutionized this process. Recipes that once took hours, now take less than an hour! Minutes, my friends, minutes. When the Instant Pot entered my life, I knew I had to try to duplicate Mel’s yummy apple butter.

After a few experiments and I had the perfect blend of sweet, without using too much sugar. I knew if I didn’t add a lot of sugar, adjustments needed to be made. This is where my trusty hand immersion blender (aka favorite kitchen tool) became a key player in making the apple butter thick.
Leaving the apple peel on is essential to Instant Pot Apple Butter. Once the peel is soft and blended into the apples, it serves as a natural thickener, similar to my favorite One Pot Butternut Squash Soup!

Five easy steps to make Instant Pot Apple Butter at home!
- Wash and cut the apples.
- Throw apples and a few other ingredients into the Instant Pot.
- Cook
- Blend the cooked apples.
- Place in jars and enjoy!

Still not convinced? A few reasons you want to make this at home:
I promise, you’re not going to find anything that tastes like homemade in the grocery store!
You’ll know exactly what ingredients are in your apple butter.
It’s easy to freeze and take a jar out when needed, which is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
If you have boxes of apples sitting around and you need to use them up, this is your ticket!
Instant Pot Apple Butter is perfect on pancakes, waffles, toast, bagels, as a dip, and in recipes that call for applesauce or apple butter.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can also make this in a slow cooker, place all ingredients into a slow cooker and turn on low for about 6-8 hours (notes on recipe as well)!

Instant Pot Apple Butter

Ingredients
- 4 pounds apples, any type of sweet apple – do not remove peel
- 1/2 cup water, * see recipe notes about this amount of water
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- dash salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- For a family-sized batch, or to share with friends:
- 8-10 apples, or about 5 pounds apples (before cutting)
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 dashes salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, same as small batch
Instructions
- Wash apples, remove any stickers.
- Place apple on a cutting board and cut each side (4 cuts) until just the core is left in the middle (see photo). Discard core.
- Place the apples into the Instant Pot and add water, spice, brown sugar and salt.
- Make sure rubber seal is in place inside the Instant Pot lid. Close and secure the lid to the locked position. Check to make sure the vent is turned to SEAL.
- Push MANUAL setting, and set the timer for 15 minutes, adjusting time using the up or down arrow. START or push MANUAL again to begin cooking.
- When timer is finished, let pressure in pot release naturally for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the dial to the VENT position and let any remaining steam release.
- Let the apples cook on the Sauté setting or Slow Cooker setting while stirring in lemon juice. Place the immersion blender into the Instant Pot and pulse until smooth, moving the blender around the pan as you blend up bits of apple until completely smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, let the apples cool for about 30 minutes, then place the apple mixture in a blender, blending small batches until smooth.
- Spoon apple butter into jars or other containers. Use with in 10 days. Store in refrigerator or freeze until ready to use.
- Makes about 3-4 pints for large batch, depending on how much you sample before placing in jars 🙂
Notes
- Initially, the recipe called for 2 tablespoons of water added to the apples. A few readers have said their Instant Pot has given an error message “burn”. To eliminate this issue, we have amended the recipe from 2 tablespoons of water to 1/2 cup to ensure there is enough water in the pot to bring it to proper pressure and not trigger a “burn” message. I have made this recipe using 2 tablespoons of water, but want to avoid any problems for readers! I suspect the juiciness of the apples has something to do with how they cook up and if they do or do not produce a burn message.
- If the apple butter is cooked and blended but still seems not quite thick enough, you may cook with the lid off in the Instant Pot for additional time on Sauté setting. Make sure to stir apples to prevent scorching!
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
Patrick
I’m using a 6qt Instantpot. Went with larger version recipe. The “online” recipe doesn’t state the initial heat setting. I selected pressure cook high for 15 minutes. Burn. Added another 1 1/2 cups of water, stirred. Tried again. Got another “burn” message. Added another 2 cups of water. Fetched out the scorched parts. Now I have set it for Sauté on medium and will probably let it cook all night with the lid halfway off. Just like the old stovetop method.
Jillian
Hi Patrick!
We are so sorry that it was burning. Initially, the recipe called for 2 tablespoons of water added to the apples. A few readers have said their Instant Pot has given an error message “burn”. To eliminate this issue, we have amended the recipe from 2 tablespoons of water to 1/2 cup to ensure there is enough water in the pot to bring it to proper pressure and not trigger a “burn” message. I have made this recipe using 2 tablespoons of water, but want to avoid any problems for readers while in the middle of cooking the apples! I suspect the juiciness of the apples has something to do with how they cook up and if they do or do not produce a burn message.
Hopefully this helps!
Best,
Jillian @ABK Team
Meghan
Do you think I could water bath can with this recipe of apple butter? I am having a hard time finding any canning recipes that let you leave the skins on. Thank you!
Jillian
Hi Meghan!
In this recipe you should leaves the peels on! Thank you and best of luck!
Warm regards,
Jillian @ABK Team
Naomi
I love this recipe! I don’t make comments or post reviews, but I have too this time. I had a neighbor gift me some apples and I could not let them go to waste but I am currently having issues with carpal tunnel and trigger finger, so it is difficult for me to chop and peel etc. and wanted to use my Ninja Foodi, So I starting searching…
I was kind of leery of leaving the peel on, But, I followed the recipe and it came out perfectly! Just the right consistency and sweetness! My family loved it! I used 11 apples (5lbs) and it made 3 and 1/2 pints. I shared it with my neighbor.
This will be my go to recipe for apple butter from now on! Quick, easy and delicious!
Naomi C.
Cleveland, TN.
Jillian
Hi Naomi,
This is such a sweet message and truly so kind of you to say. We cannot imagine what you must be going through, carpal tunnel and trigger finger are very difficult to work through! We hope that you will continue to find successful recipes and are so happy that this recipe turned out well for you! Thank you again for sharing with us.
Prayers for you,
Jillian @ABK Team
Bob P.
I’m sure this recipe produces outstanding apple butter and I was eager to try it in my Ninja Foodi 8 qt. I’ve successfully made a lot of delicious apple cider using the Ninja pressure cooking function so this should not be much different. Right? The cooker actual started the countdown from 15 minutes but then the dreaded “add wtr” appeared. Added 1/2 cup of water and resumed. “Add water”, again! Emptied the now disintegrated apples into a bowl to find the bottom of the pressure cooker coated with burned apple. Three Brillo pads and 30 minutes later, I was back in the game. Added 1 cup of water, poured the now apple sauce back into the Ninja pot and started a new pressure cooking cycle. “Add wtr”! Bottom of pot coated again with burned apple.. Switched to “slow cook” function on LO and let the sauce cool down for about 15 min, then switched to HI 4:00 hrs. It’s cooking. Hope I can save the apples. This problem may be due to the larger capacity Ninja Foodi since I can see this probably working better in the smaller 6 qt. Instant Pot. Maybe putting the apples in a basket rather than allowing them to contact the bottom of the pot would be better. I’ll let you know. PS: My wife can’t stop laughing!
Si Foster
Hi Bob!
What an adventure you’ve had with the apples! Sorry to hear that some of them burned, hopefully you were able to save most of it. Good luck with the apple sauce!
XO,
Si
Emily
What’s the difference between this and applesauce?
Si Foster
Hi Emily! Good question. Apple butter can be used as a spread and is usually not eaten alone the way applesauce is eaten. Hope that helps. Thanks for reading ABK!
Xo
Si
Heather
Made this recipe a couple months ago and it was delicious! Was gifted an apple peeler corer slicer recently and I am going to make a batch again. Do you happen to know how I can cut the small batch in half, say for 1 1/2-2lbs of apples?
Si Foster
Hi Heather,
The problem with reducing this recipe too much is the instant pot will not come to pressure without enough liquid in the pot. I don’t recommend processing less than 1/2 of a batch for this reason!
Hope this helps,
Si
Kara Reagin
I made this recipe tonight and it is amazing! I made the large batch exactly as the recipe reads. Once cooked and blended, I sautéed it for 7 minutes. It turned out perfect. I canned the apple butter and it made 6 and 1/2 half pint jars. Perfect to put in holiday gift baskets. Thanks for the great recipe.
Oh and I’m on the weight watchers blue plan and one tablespoon of the apple butter is 0 points! (2 Tbs 1point). This is a great find!!!!
Si Foster
Thank you Kara for the information on how you cooked the apple butter and how it turned out! I’m so glad you like this recipe. How great that it’s only 1 point for 2 tablespoons. Enjoy! Thank you for this positive review and thanks for reading ABK.
xo,
Si
Jennifer Webb
Awesome!! A Little Thin but Delicious!!😋
Penny
Easy peasy recipe. I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp ginger dash cloves and 1 tsp vanilla instead of the pumpkin pie spice. Terrific
Carl Kocur
What size IP
Laura
Why does the family-sized batch call for less water (1/3 cup) than the orginal, smaller-sized recipe (1/2 cup)?
Stefanie
Does anyone have the nutrition facts for this recipe? Thank you!!
George Tierce
Excellent and super easy recipe. Good way to use up extra apples while making whole house smell awesome. Very good for health conscience individuals as there is nowhere near the added sugar as other recipes.
Si Foster
Thank you George! I’m glad you loved this recipe!
Tanya
I just made this yesterday. it turned out great! I did add cinnamon, though, and mine took 30 minutes to cook to get the apples nice and soft. But, wow, the flavor is amazing.
Cindy L
I love that this is a small batch recipe and you can leave the skins on!!!
I used to do the butter the old fashioned way, and it took nearly a whole day! Lol
I’m using apples from a pioneer tree, not sure of the variety, but using a pressure cooker and not having to peel them all is fantastic.
I used an additional 1tsp of cinnamon, cause hubby likes it, and each batch makes about 3 pints.
Can’t thank you enough….
Danielle Bianchi
Can I use frozen apples? They are cored , cut and ready to go. Do you think I should use less water?
Si Foster
Hi Danielle, I haven’t tried making it with frozen apples before but I think it would turn out great! Yes, I would probably use less water. Let me know how it turns out and thank you for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Michelle Fortier
This didn’t really work out for me. I love my instant pot but it was really watery so I then slow cooked it for 8 hrs but it was still pretty soupy. So I blended it and then put it on sauté to cook off the liquid. It was just so time consuming. Not sure if I’d do this recipe again. Thank you for posting, it’s worked out for others.
Cate
I have a 3-quart duo mini, and I used 6 apples — four red delicious, two galas — 1/2 c. of apple juice (instead of water) and half the recommended sugar/spices for each of two batches, made back to back. After the natural release and venting, I set to “saute” (less, or low) briefly to thicken, and added cinnamon to darken. Used a potato masher in the pot to create a chunky butter. Tastes pretty good — a lot less work and mess than stove-top prep — but then I like to use unpeeled apples for butter and sauce to give a homespun, rougher texture. Each batch made about two pints, which now have been canned. Thanks for the recipe!
Marina
Can u can the apple butter afterward?
Janet
Pretty good. Even with the water my Instant Pot protested and told me that I was burning the apples.
Too much lemon gave a very tangy taste to what, in my opinion, should be an apple-y sweet taste of fall.
10 Surprising Uses of the Instant Pot – Cookware and Recipes
[…] Apple Butter […]
Trish Anderson
I made a batch of this with empire apples exactly as written the first time. It was good, runny, but good. So I made a 2nd batch with the same empire apples. I cut the water to 1/4 cup and used apple cider instead and did not receive a BURN message. The consistency was much better. I ‘canned’ 3 pints using a simple method not requiring a water bath.
Deb
Would you share your simple “canning” method not requiring a water bath? 😉
Christine nOla
I’ve never made apple butter in my life, so wow am I happy I stumbled across this recipe for my first try. Worked amazing!
Dawn
Hi, why does the larger recipe have 2 table spoons brown sugar and the smaller recipe have 1/2 cup brown sugar? Thanks, using this today, mmmm.
Heidi Stapleton
made this today with apples from Costco that were grainy/mushy in texture and I didn’t want to hassle with taking back. So yummy! I used 1/3 cup of water and think I could have gotten away with just 1/4 cup. I cooked it down in the instant pot for a good 20-30 minutes to get rid of the excess water. Also, I don’t like pumpkin pie spice so I used just cinnamon in place of it. thank you for the recipe!
Lisa Duffy
I have a question, i have about a little over a pound of smaller red apples which would make a perfect amount for my husband and I to use within the week or so. Can i still
Make this in the instant pot? If so how would you adjust the recipe or. Water, sugar etc? Thanks!
Si Foster
Hi Lisa, I would cut everything down to a 1/4 of what the recipe calls for: so about 2 tbsp water, 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1/2 – 1 tbsp brown sugar, small pinch of salt, and 1/2 – 1 tbsp lemon juice. I would cook the apples for about 10-12 minutes and then let the instant pot release naturally for about 15 minutes. From here, you can follow the rest of the recipe. Hope this helps and thank you for asking!
xo
Si
Lisa Duffy
Thank you! Do you think there will be enough liquid with such a small amount of water?
Donna Dunbar
There is no mention of it being canned, can you use the water bath method to can this recipe. Is there some reason it can’t be canned.
Thanks Donna