If you like apple pie, you are going to loooooove this easy recipe for warm slow cooker apples (think apple pie without the crust!). Slices of sweet, crisp apples are slowly stewed with butter, cinnamon, and sugar until they’re deliciously ooey-gooey, caramelized, and perfectly tender. Heavenly spooned on top of vanilla ice cream, yogurt, oatmeal and more; this one’s simple, cozy, and oh-so delicious!
5 star review
“These were perfect, and my kids loved them! Had the leftovers for breakfast with oatmeal. Will make them again!”
– Jeannie
Stewed Cinnamon Apples in the Slow Cooker! 🍎
This slow cooker apple recipe is simply the easiest out there; yet it’s elevated enough for company while being simple enough to throw together anytime.
It has all the comforting, nostalgia-filled flavors of cinnamon-spiced apple pie that I happen to love, but without all the fuss of a crust, and without having to turn on the oven — making it perfect for that late summer + early fall season when you’re ready for cozy recipes but it might still be hot outside.
Truly, you’ll be amazed how hands-down delicious these gooey slow cooker stewed apples are for how little effort you put in!
All you have to do to make them is toss sliced apples with a combination of sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla, plus a bit of cornstarch to thicken and some butter in a slow cooker and let everything simmer away.
The crockpot does its magic cooking the apples down into a tender, sweet spiced apple mixture with an addicting buttery, silky sauce in just 2 hours (tbh, a “fast” slow cooker recipe), and at the end you’ll add the remaining butter and a touch of lemon juice for a burst of freshness and to balance all the sweetness from the sugar.
The sauce is already slightly thick thanks to the cornstarch, but if you want it extra thick, you can add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch during the cook time.
One quick note on the vanilla in this recipe. I used vanilla bean pasted because I had it on hand (one of my fav Trader Joe’s finds), but it’s not essential, so if you don’t have it, vanilla extract also works very well.
Okay, let’s talk serving ideas! The apples and sauce are absolutely delicious on their own (I may or may not have spooned them right out of the leftover container directly from the fridge), but here are some ideas of how to serve them:
- On top of vanilla or plain yogurt with a sprinkle of granola
- As a pancake or waffle topping
- On top of oatmeal
- Really good on top of vanilla ice cream (you simply can’t go wrong here!)
- As a smoothie or milkshake addition
- An easy apple pie filling
Annnnnnd if you happen to have extra apples around, you’ll probably love my old-fashioned apple crisp that’s super simple and a total crowd favorite.
If You Want To Make Crockpot Apples with Skin
I tested this recipe with both peeled apples and apples with skin, and ultimately preferred the texture of the peeled apples. However, leaving the apples unpeeled is a fine option, so if you want to skip the peeling step, just slice the apples and proceed with the recipe.
Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Slow Cooker Apples
The Perfect Way to Process Lots of Apples
Need a way to use all those in-season apples you have on hand?
This recipe freezes so well and is a great way to preserve a bumper crop of apples.
Make the recipe as directed, let cool, pour into zip-top or silicone freezer bags and store in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Now you’ll have a company-worthy dessert ready whenever you need one!
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Buttered Apples
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet crisp apple (about 6), such as Fiji, Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady or Granny Smith
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Peel the apples and cut into even slices. Add to a 6-inch slow cooker along with the brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla bean paste (or extract), cornstarch and 1 tablespoon butter, stirring to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours, or until the apples are tender and cooked to your liking but not mushy. Uncover and quickly stir every 2 hours on low or every 1 hour on high to check for doneness and to avoid potential burning.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter, stirring to combine. Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.
Notes
- All slow cookers cook differently, so I recommend keeping on eye on things the first time you make this recipe, and checking on the low side of the recommended cooking time in order to avoid accidentally making apple sauce.
Nutrition
The post Slow Cooker Cinnamon Buttered Apples appeared first on Real Food Whole Life.