Homemade Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter is a perfect fall treat! Plus, it's incredibly easy to make in your crock-pot no added sugar, gluten-free, and vegan - just pure natural yumminess!
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WHAT IS THIS HOMEMADE PUMPKIN BUTTER MADE OF?
Traditionally pumpkin butter is a mixture of pumpkin puree, spices, and sugar that get cooked down to a sweet and thick spread, like apple butter. I made this homemade pumpkin butter with canned pumpkin puree so it would be even easier but you could use homemade pumpkin puree instead if you like. Then the pumpkin puree is slow-cooked with pure maple syrup (or a sweetener substitute of your choice) apple cider, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla until it is the perfect texture for spreading on toast, sandwiches, or enjoying at breakfast. Making pumpkin butter is easy, fast, and without special equipment. All you need is a slow cooker/crock-pot.
Does Pumpkin Butter Contain Butter?
No, pumpkin butter does not contain actual butter it's actually dairy-free. It is pumpkin in a rich tasty spreadable form kinda like apple butter.
SLOW COOKER PUMPKIN BUTTER INGREDIENTS
Before making this pumpkin butter, make sure you have these simple ingredients on hand.
- 2 15oz cans pure pumpkin puree- make sure it is pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie. This is my favorite.
- Sugar-free apple cider or apple Juice
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks or ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- pumpkin pie spice - for all the amazing autumn flavors
- lemon juice - adds so acidity and freshness.
- Pure vanilla extract - this adds a subtle but delicious flavor
- Pure Maple Syrup -Grade A will give this the best flavor
- Salt- to balance out the sweet
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER PUMPKIN BUTTER
This easy pumpkin recipe requires no prep work or hands-on cooking time because this pumpkin butter is easy to make in your slow cooker.
Before making this recipe decide which sweetener you want to use in the pumpkin butter. If you choose to use pure maple syrup then using grade A will give it the best flavor.
Add pumpkin puree and maple syrup (or sweetener of choice) to a slow cooker.
Stir the pumpkin mixture together until the pumpkin is completely blended with the sugar.
Now add apple cider, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon.
Turn your slow cooker to low for 5-6 hours or high for 4 hours stirring every 45 minutes or so until done.
You will know the pumpkin butter is done when the color has deepened and the pumpkin puree mixture has thickened.
Taste to see if you need to adjust seasonings adding more brown sugar or pure maple syrup for sweetness, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for flavor, lemon juice for acidity.
How To Make This Pumpkin Butter WITHOUT a slow cooker
If you don't have or want to use a crockpot, you can also make pumpkin butter on the stove it will just take a little more patience.
To make this on the stovetop, add all of your ingredients in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until it starts to bubble then reduce the heat to low. Cook uncovered for 30-45 minutes, stirring often.
The pumpkin butter is done when the color has deepened and the pumpkin puree mixture has thickened.
Taste to see if you need to adjust seasonings adding more brown sugar or pure maple syrup for sweetness, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for flavor, lemon juice for acidity.
WHY PUMPKIN BUTTER CAN’T BE CANNED
It is not recommended to can pumpkin butter because the density of the pumpkin puree prevents the right amount of heat transfer to the center of the jar and might allow harmful bacteria to survive. Also, Pumpkin butter is a low acid food and is not recommended to can at home because pumpkin and pumpkin puree does not have enough acidity to safely preserve it using the water bath method the pH of pumpkin butter isn’t low enough to suppress botulism growth. It is best to freeze this pumpkin butter for long-term storage.
HOW TO STORE SLOW COOKER PUMPKIN BUTTER
You will want to store this slow cooker pumpkin butter in an air-tight container. I like to store my pumpkin butter in ball mason jars as I find they work best and you can store them both in the fridge as well as the freezer. Click here to find them on Amazon.
HOW LONG DOES PUMPKIN BUTTER LAST AFTER OPENING?
Pumpkin Butter will last up to 2-3 weeks in the fridge in an air-tight container or air-tight mason jar. You can also freeze the pumpkin butter for up to 3 months in a ball mason jar or a freezer-safe container. Click here to find them on Amazon.
WHAT TO USE PUMPKIN BUTTER ON
This pumpkin butter is great on fresh-made bread like my Almond Bread Recipe or my Oatmeal Honey Bread, Pumpkin Cookies, Muffins, or Pancakes. It's also delicious in oatmeal with a splash of non-dairy milk. Or you can add a dollop to your coffee instead!
Here are some more pumpkin recipes you may enjoy!
DAIRY-FREE CHICKPEA PUMPKIN PIE (+GLUTEN FREE PIE CRUST)
GLUTEN-FREE PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS
Here are some more slow cooker recipes you may enjoy!
SLOW COOKER HEALTHY BEEF CHILI RECIPE
BBQ PULLED CHICKEN SANDWICHES WITH MANGO SLAW
Easy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 15 oz cans pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie)
- ⅔ cups unsweetened apple cider
- ½ cups pure grade A maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh if you have it)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks (or ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add pumpkin puree and maple syrup to slow cooker
- Stir the pumpkin mixture together until the pumpkin is completely blended with the pure maple syrup
- Now add apple cider, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon sticks (or ground cinnamon)
- Turn your slow cooker to low for 5-6 hours or high for 4 hours stirring every 45 minutes. You will know the pumpkin butter is done when the color has deepened and the pumpkin puree mixture has thickened.
- Taste to see if you need to adjust seasonings adding more brown sugar or pure maple syrup for sweetness, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for flavor, lemon juice for acidity.
- Let completly cool for up to one hour before adding to mason jars or air -tight container
- store in the refregerator in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months
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