Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter

Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter tastes like caramel sauce drizzled over apple pie. It’s totally plant-based, dairy-free, and entirely fruit-sweetened with zero added sugar!

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Hiiii and get ready for some yummmm!

Let me introduce you to Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter: aka the apple butter my family is obsessed with. Why so obsessed?

• It’s made in a slow cooker – easy peasy!
• There is no added sugar! The apple butter is sweetened entirely by apples and nature’s candy: medjool dates!
• It’s lightly spiced with a touch of cinnamon for a classic apple butter flavor.
• It’s got a natural caramel flavor from the caramel notes of the dates, the complexity of flavor that develops from cooking low and slow in the slow cooker, and being blended with coconut milk and salt at the end to really capitalize on the caramel notes.

Basically, it’s yum. In fact, my husband dubbed this the “apple butter that tastes like caramel drizzled over apple pie”. Well, then. SOLD! 😉

How to Make Healthy Caramel Apple Butter

This healthy apple butter just needs a few ingredients:

• honeycrisp apples (although you can use other varieties)
• medjool dates
• water
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• salt
• coconut milk

To make, just remove the cores and pits from the apples and dates, roughly chop, and add them to your slow cooker with the water, vanilla, and cinnamon. Let it do its thing while you do yours. When it’s done, blend the slow cooker contents into a smooth, thick puree, then stir in the salt and coconut milk. And that’s it!

Healthy Apple Butter FAQs:

• Can I use other apples besides honeycrisp?
  • Yes, but taste may vary (i.e. all green apples will be more tart).
• Should I blend it with an immersion blender or use a real blender?
  • An immersion blender will work, but even though it’s a little extra work I really prefer using a blender. I have a Vitamix and find the blender just gets a much smoother, creamier consistency.
• What type of coconut milk should I use?
  • You can use lite or full fat canned coconut milk, but make sure it’s the canned, thicker coconut milk (not the refrigerated thin coconut milk beverage in the cartons, like by the refrigerated almond and soy milk).
• I’m allergic or don’t like coconut milk, what can I use instead?
  • One reader messaged me that they used heavy cream and it tasted great, so you could try that (although that makes it no longer dairy free). But as a general head’s up, you can’t taste the coconut in this apple butter.
• Can I make this on the stove?
  • Sure thing – I would just simmer the apple, dates, water, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large covered pot for at least an hour, or until really tender.
• Can I make this in the Instant Pot?
  • Yes – check out the recipe notes for one reader’s adaptation in the Instant Pot!
• Can this apple butter be canned?
  • I wouldn’t can this healthy apple butter. Canning requires precise recipes with specific pH of final canned recipes to maintain food safety and I don’t know if this recipe will work. Try freezing!
• Can I freeze leftover apple butter?
  • Yes! I like to freeze either in small jars or in small 1-2 tablespoons portions in an ice cube tray. Leave an inch of headspace at the top of the jar, because the contents will expand as they freeze. Once apple butter ice cubes are frozen, you can transfer the to a freezer-safe, airtight bag or container. They can be frozen 3-6 months, or longer in a deep freezer.

Ways to Enjoy

It’s delicious no matter how you take it. We’ve tried this Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter a few different ways:

• mixed in oatmeal
• drizzled over Greek yogurt (or ice cream!)
• drizzled over dried apple slices for “apple nachos”
• with fresh honeycrisp apple slices dipped into it
• on toast

You can freeze it to enjoy year round, or gift it to friends and family during this most wonderful time of the year. 🙂

Looking for More Healthy Fall Recipes?

Try these!

• Slow Cooker Applesauce
• Healthy, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins
• Cranberry Apple Harvest Salad
• Maple Dijon Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Pumpkin Pasta Sauce
• Hearty Vegetable Chili

When you make this healthy apple butter or any other recipe, let us know what you think. Leave a comment and take a pic and share your thoughts with us on the Nutrition to Fit Facebook page, or over on Instagram (be sure to tag me – @nutritiontofit – and use the hashtag #nutritiontofit). Let me know what creative uses you find for this delicious Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter. Live well!

Print Recipe

5 from 8 votes

Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter

Salted Caramel Honeycrisp Apple Butter tastes like caramel sauce drizzled over apple pie, but it's totally plant-based and has zero added sugar, sweetened entirely from fresh fruit!

free from: gluten, dairy, soy, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time4 hrs

Total Time4 hrs 30 mins

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American

Servings: 24

Calories: 57kcal

Author: Lindsey Janeiro, RDN, CLT

Ingredients

• 3 lbs honeycrisp apples stem & core removed and roughly chopped
• 1 cup medjool dates pitted and roughly chopped
• 1 cup water
• 3 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2-1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk lite or full fat

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Combine apples, dates, water, vanilla, and cinnamon in a slow cooker. Cook 3-4 hours on high heat or 6-8 hours on low heat.
• Carefully transfer slow cooker contents to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree apple mixture until completely smooth.
• Stir in salt and coconut milk.

Notes

You can peel the apples if you'd like, but I did not. I have a high-powered Vitamix blender, so the peels blend easily. If you have a weaker blender and struggle to achieve a smooth puree, you may want to peel your apples.

I prefer the sweet-tart flavor of honeycrisp, but you can use any type of apple.

You can use full fat or lite canned coconut milk for best results. I have not tested it with any other alternatives, but something like almond milk that's a little thinner may not make the apple butter as creamy. The nutrition information has been calculated using full fat canned coconut milk.

Jaime from moderndayfox.com adapted this for the Instant Pot: soak the dates in hot water for a few minutes, then combine ingredients in the Instant Pot or 20 minutes on High Pressure with a Quick Release.

Leftovers can be frozen in airtight freezer-safe storage containers up to 3-4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 112mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.2mg