Instant Pot Apple Butter (Sweetened with Dates!)

This Instant Pot Apple Butter is easy to make with 9 simple ingredients and a pressure cooker. Great for homemade gifts or adding a cozy touch to your favorite fall recipes. 

If you’re a fan of making your own homemade compotes, cranberry sauce, or jam from scratch for edible homemade gifts in a jar, you’re going to love this homemade apple butter recipe! It’s just as versatile, perfect for gifting family and friends during the holidays, and a seriously delicious way to enjoy apple season. 

This Instant Pot version will teach you how quick and easy it is to make apple butter at home. Unlike stovetop or slow cooker recipes that can take hours, the pressure cooker will make perfect apple butter in just about 1 hour.

With just a handful of ingredients and minimal effort, you’ll have a homemade spread perfect for spreading on several of your favorite breakfasts and desserts. Plus, it’s naturally vegan, gluten-free, and made refined-sugar free! 

Ingredients You’ll Need 

• Apples: We like to use Fuji apples because they are very sweet yet have a mild tartness that creates a well-rounded apple butter. If Fuji apples aren’t an option, try Honeycrisp, Gala apples, or a mix of a few. 
• Dates: Most apple butter recipes are sweetened with granulated sugar, but we wanted to keep this recipe as naturally sweet as possible and use Medjool dates. Make sure to remove the pits before adding to the Instant Pot and/or blender!
• Spices: You’ll need cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and a pinch of salt to balance the sweetness. Alternatively, you can replace the spices with 1 ¼ teaspoon of a pumpkin pie spice blend.
• Lemon juice: Enhances the tartness in the apples to balance the sweetness of the apple butter. A little goes a long way, but it makes a big difference!
• Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and depth of flavor and overall enhances the flavor. If you have it, vanilla paste would also be amazing here! 

Equipment Needed

• Instant Pot
• Spatula
• High-speed blender or immersion blender

How to Make Instant Pot Apple Butter

1. Add all ingredients to Instant Pot (except lemon juice and vanilla). Combine the apples, dates, water, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Mix until well combined. 
2. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Add the lid to the Instant Pot, seal tightly, and cook under manual high pressure for 20 minutes. Make sure the valve on the Instant Pot lid is set to seal, not vent. 
3. Quick-release the remaining pressure. Once the Instant Pot has come to pressure and cooked for 20 minutes, quick-release the remaining pressure by carefully switching the valve from “seal” to “vent.”
4. Blend until smooth. Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a high-speed blender), blend the apple butter until it is completely smooth. 
5. Sauté for 25-35 minutes. Set the Instant Pot to the “sauté” function on low heat, and cook for 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apple butter has thickened to your liking. We recommend covering the pot in between stirs as the apple butter tender to splatter. 
6. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Once the apple butter has thickened, mix in the lemon juice and vanilla extract and let the apple butter cool completely. 

How to Use Apple Butter

This apple butter is a versatile spread that can be used in several ways. We primarily use it to add a sweet touch to breakfast, but it’s also delicious with various desserts, like a big ol’ scoop of vegan ice cream or spread on Cinnamon Apple Shortbread Cookies.

Here are a few of our favorite ways to use apple butter:

• Spread on toast, pancakes, waffles, crepes, and french toast.
• Dolloped on oatmeal, chia pudding, or smoothie bowls.
• A spoonful straight from the jar!

How to Package for Gifting

We love to gift this apple butter during the holiday season. It’s perfect for friends, neighbors, teachers, hosts, and your favorite foodies! Who doesn’t love a delicious edible gift? 

To prepare this apple butter for gifting, you’ll need small glass jars (8 ounces is a great size), ribbon or twine, cute bows, and labels for a sweet personalized touch! 

1. Wash the jars in hot, soapy water and thoroughly dry before filling. 
2. Fill each jar as desired and let the apple butter cool completely at room temperature. 
3. Screw on the lids to create an airtight seal.
4. Wrap a ribbon or decorative twine around the top of the jar and attach your personalized label, if desired. Alternatively, you can make a custom sticker and stick it to the glass jars after the apple butter has cooled.
5. Refrigerate until ready to gift!

Storage Instructions

When stored in airtight jars or containers, this Instant Pot apple butter will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or up to 3 months in the freezer. If you are opting to freeze this apple butter, make sure to keep the apple butter comfortably below the freeze line on your jars. This will prevent them from cracking under pressure. 

More Homemade Holiday Gift recipes you May Enjoy:

DIY

Easy Homemade Soup in a Jar – Free Printable Gift Tag!

Beverages

Vegan Chai Spiced Hot Cocoa Mix

Beverages

Easy Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Dessert

The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!

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Nutrition facts label provided by Nutri Fox.

Disclaimer: The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional’s advice. This page may contain affiliate links, which simply means that we earn a commission if you purchase through those links, but your price remains the same. Thank you for supporting Sweet Simple Vegan!