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!