Because I’ve posted over 100 recipes, sometimes I can’t believe it when I realize that one of our household favorites hasn’t made it onto the blog yet. This slow cooker salted date caramel apple butter is one of those recipes.
Last October, J and I went apple picking for the first time. It was kind of a bizarre day because it was over 90 degrees. That’s rare, but not completely unheard of for Baltimore in October. But the juxtaposition of sunglasses, shorts, flip-flops, and the smell of sunscreen with walking through a ripe apple orchard, multicolored leaves in the background, carrying a cute little basket of apples… that was endlessly funny to me.
30 pounds of apples later (what were we thinking?!) we came home realizing we needed a game plan. Both J and I far prefer eating apple pie to cooking it, so we went in search of other ways to use up all of the apples and I happened upon Keepin’ it Kind’s sugar-free apple butter recipe. That was actually my first experience with date caramel and it got me totally hooked. We made multiple batches in the first week.
It was so good that we wanted more of it immediately when our apple stockpile finally ran out. I started stopping by the farmers market every weekend to pick up baskets of bruised-up apples on markdown. We learned that it’s also great on rye bread, pancakes, and even in savory dishes if used judiciously (and with the vanilla extract omitted).
Needless to say, when autumn rolled around this year, we got pretty excited for salted date caramel apple butter season. In late September we got an apple picking trip and got back to butter making! Over time I’ve made some slight changes from the original recipe. Either way, you can’t go wrong!
Slow Cooker Salted Date Caramel Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped apples cores removed (you can choose to peel them or not)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- water
- 1/3 cup pitted Medjool dates soaked for 2 hours in hot water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
- 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Add the apples to the slow cooker and sprinkle them with the ground cinnamon. Add the lemon juice and enough water to reach about 2 inches in height.
- Cook on 'high' for 3-4 hours, or until apples are fairly soft.
In a blender or food processor, combine the pitted dates, sea salt, vanilla and almond extract (if using) and non-dairy milk.
- Add the cooked apples and blend until completely smooth. Add more of the cooking juice from the apples if needed to blend.
- Return to the slow cooker and cook on high for another 1-2 hours, or until desired thickness is reached.
Recipe Notes
I used a mixture of about two thirds red apples and one third green apples.
If you can't get Medjool dates, you can use Deglet Noor or other dried dates, but you might want to increase the amount.
Adapted from salted date caramel apple butter by Keepin’ it Kind.
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Karin says
Just saw this recipe, sounds amazing, but can not find any non dairy milk. Is there other alternatif? Thank you
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
You could try just omitting the milk, I think it’d turn out fine! Another option is to add a very small amount of coconut oil or vegan butter for a bit of richness.
Marie says
Hi, just wondering what you did with all of the apple butter. Does it keep like jam (with the milk in,), did you freeze it?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Keeps well in the fridge for a week or more, so we get through most of it by stirring into oatmeal and spreading on toast. It should also freeze well. Great question, this does make a lot!
Les says
I’m thinking of canning this to sell at my Farmers Market. I think it would be a big hit with the Sugar Free crowd. Do you think I could can it like I do apple butter?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Les,
Sorry for the very late reply… I have been MIA for a while. I think this recipe would can beautifully, let me know how it turns out if you give it a try!
Raquel says
So, I’m thinking I’ll be lazy and just put all ingredients in the slow cooker rather than make date caramel syrup separately. Any thought on why this wouldn’t work?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Raquel, I think you get a bit stronger of a date/caramely flavor if the dates aren’t cooked the whole time, but I’m certain it would still work and taste good if you did it that way 🙂
rika@vm says
I could go for days dreaming about this…salted date caramel…
Kari @ bite-sized thoughts says
What a brilliant use of excess apples! I don’t have a slow cooker but would love to try something similar with a long simmering time in a saucepan.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thank you! I’m sure this would work in a saucepan as well (and it would make your kitchen smell wonderful!)
Cheryl says
Uh…. THIS IS GENIUS
Salted date caramel = the best thing ever
Caramel apple = the best thing ever
Combined? I literally can’t even handle it. But wait, in the slow cooker?! Girl, like, I just.. I can’t.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks 🙂 You MUST try this recipe!! Seriously. It’s sooo good and easy. I wish I had invented date caramel because it’s basically the nectar of the gods. I have to censor myself from posting date caramel desserts twice a week. I like to think that this one qualifies as “breakfast”, though… maybe…