Easy Instant Pot Apple Pumpkin Butter

This sugar-free apple pumpkin butter recipe is a modern twist on a family favorite. The Instant Pot helped me tweak my grandma’s recipe to save time but a slow cooker can also be used. 

Last spring plentiful white blossoms buzzed with bees.

Now they are apples.

I watched them ripen. I shooed away deer and birds, but it wasn’t until 19 degrees was expected that I took action.

I picked apples. Lots of apples.

Our apple tree hit on all cylinders this year. The Haralson apple tree is a biennial fruit bearer, which yields a heavy crop one year and a lighter crop the next. This was year heavy. Now I’m in the kitchen figuring out what to do with them.

Apple Pumpkin Butter is one way to reduce wasted food

If your counters are filled with apples, store them in the fridge while your contemplating your next move. Apples last ten times longer in the refrigerator than at room temperature. Apple butter and apple sauce are a great way to use apples that are looking bit tired.

The ingredients

• 3 pounds apples, cored, chopped (about 10 cups chopped apples)
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

How to cook Instant Pot Apple Pumpkin Butter

I turned to the Instant Pot to make one our family favorites, apple butter. My grandma used to cook her apple butter in a copper kettle with a silver dollar added to keep the fruit from sticking to the pot as she stirred and stirred, concentrating the apples. With peeling the apples and cooking at a low temperature, her recipe took hours, mine was ready in minutes.

I tweaked the recipe to save time and increase the health factor. Did you know an unpeeled apple gives you 50% more phytonutrients than a peeled one? I left the peel on. This recipe is sugar free because I wanted the apple flavor to shine. If the apples you use are tart, up to ½-cup honey, maple syrup or brown or white sugar may be added. Apple Pumpkin Butter can be stored in the fridge for up to a month. These jars are perfect to keep things neat, clean and cute.

All the ingredients go in the Instant Pot. Keep the apple peel on the boost fiber and nutrients + save time.

10 minutes to cook + 10 minutes to release pressure

Spread on toast with nut and seed butter

The benefits of pumpkin

It used to be a seasonal pie. Now pumpkin is everywhere. Pumpkin is good for your digestion, skin, eyes, and blood pressure. Beta carotene is responsible for the orange color and pumpkin is one of the richest sources of this powerful cell protector. Try these recipes.

What are the best apples for cooking?

With more than 7,500 varieties of apples, there is an apple for every occasion. Generally, sweet apples are best for eating raw and tart apples are ideal for baking and cooking. Here’s a brief apple primer:

• Best for applesauce and apple butter: McIntosh, Golden Delicious
• Best for pies: Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious
• Baked apples: Rome, Gala, Winesap

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, pull out your slow cooker. Cook on low heat 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking, no penny required.

A few more Instant Pot recipe to get you going:

What is Apple Butter?

Despite the name, there is no butter in apple butter! It’s a thick fruit spread made by slowly cooking fruit to remove most of the water. You can:

• spread on toast with Nut’n Seed Butter
• top homemade yogurt
• dollop on Honey Cornbread

Or check out more than a dozen special ways to top toast!

Pin for later!

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Instant Pot Apple Pumpkin Butter

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Apple Pumpkin Butter | This sugar-free apple pumpkin butter is a modern twist on a family favorite. The Instant Pot makes this a quick, healthy and wholesome toast topper!

• Author: Judy Barbe
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 7 cups 1x
• Category: Sauce
• Method: Instant Pot
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3 pounds apples, cored, chopped (about 10 cups chopped apples)
• 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to Instant Pot. Close lid and vent.
• Turn on Instant Pot. Press Manual. Use High Pressure and cook for 10 minutes. Allow natural release for 10 minutes. Then open vent to release pressure. Once the cooking time ends, the Instant Pot counts up. Use it as your 10-minute timer.
• Mixture should be thick and chunky. If you prefer smoother apple butter, use an immersion blender or transfer to blender or food processor to blend until smooth.

Notes

Store covered in refrigerator for a month.

This recipe is sugar free because I wanted the apple flavor to shine. If the apples you use are tart, up to ½-cup honey, maple syrup or brown or white sugar may be added.

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can cook this in a slow cooker, over low heat 4-6 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.