Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter, made with either fresh or canned pumpkin puree, is easy to make and packed with warm fall flavors. Enjoy it on toast, waffles, oatmeal; even ice cream! Makes a wonderful holiday hostess gift, too.
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What's the Story on this Recipe?
Years ago, I started making pumpkin butter when I figured out how easy and inexpensive it is to make. Nearly everyone loves homemade fruit butter, and it makes a wonderful holiday hostess or neighbor gift.
This pumpkin butter recipe can be made with either fresh pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin. There are subtle differences in the texture and flavor of the butter, depending on which you use.
Canned pumpkin is clearly more convenient; it's ready to go as soon as you take off the can lid. It has that familiar, vibrant orange color that we all know and love, and the flavor is constant from one can to another.
Fresh pumpkin, on the other hand, takes more time, but I just love the end results! The color of the puree varies somewhat depending on the squashes used, but it generally has a lighter color, and a sweeter, more delicate flavor.
Fresh or canned, this easy to make recipe yields a thick, rich, silky pumpkin butter that is absolutely decadent. It's delicious with so many things: oatmeal, biscuits, toast, waffles, smoothies, and ice cream, just to name a few!
Note that the flavor of this pumpkin butter may be somewhat citrus-forward immediately after it comes out of the slow cooker, but in a day or two, it will mellow as the pumpkin, citrus, and spice flavors have time to fully meld and marry.
What Goes into this Recipe
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
★ Pumpkin: Use 2 pounds (fresh-roasted or canned pumpkin.
Fresh Pumpkin Puree: Use 2 pounds/4-5 cups (~1 liter) of prepared fresh pumpkin puree.
- A 5-pound fresh pumpkin will make 4 to 4½ cups of cooked puree or mashed pulp.
- Suggested squash varieties that make good "pumpkin" butter include: sugar pumpkins, butternut squash, Red Kuri squash, and Ambercup squash.
Canned Pumpkin: For a single batch of pumpkin butter, you will need about 2 pounds (~1 kilo) of canned pumpkin.
Do not use pumpkin pie filling!
★ Orange: Many butter recipes use apple juice as a liquid; however, we prefer using oranges in the pumpkin butter. The citrusy addition gives the butter a fresh taste, and the flavors blend together beautifully.
★ Lemon: Use fresh lemon juice. Bottled juice can be substituted.
★ Apple: Suggest varieties include McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Granny Smith, Cortland, or Fuji.
How to Make Pumpkin Butter in a Slow Cooker
Homemade pumpkin butter can be made with either fresh or canned pumpkin puree. If you are using canned pumpkin, skip down to the Slow Cooker instructions.
Roast Fresh Pumpkin (Optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F | 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
Cut squashes in half and clean out the seeds. (You can leave the halves intact, or cut them in smaller chunks.) Brush the exposed surfaces of the pumpkins with olive oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.
Place the pumpkin halves or pieces flesh side down on the parchment-covered baking sheet.
Bake squashes until tender. How long this step takes is totally dependent on how big the squashes are. (For example, a 3-pound sugar pumpkin will take about an hour.)
Check for doneness by piercing the skin with a fork: it should give easily, and the flesh should be very tender.
Puree Roasted Pumpkin
(Totally optional) I like to puree the pumpkin in a food processor or blender before putting it into the slow cooker. You don't have to do this, but I think it results in a silkier butter in the end.
To do this, add just enough water to the cooked pumpkin to allow the blades to work it down.
If you feel that your puree is too watery after pureeing, you can strain it through a cheesecloth-lined sieve before proceeding, but in this case, it probably isn't necessary. Because you are making a butter, a little extra water in the mixture doesn't affect the final outcome. The butter may have to simmer uncovered an extra hour to evaporate the additional water, but that's the only real impact.
If you don't want to use a food processor, just put the pumpkin directly in the slow cooker, add a little water, and use an immersion blender to break it down. The pumpkin will break down further as it cooks.
Slow Cook Pumpkin Butter
Pour the pureed pumpkin and remaining pumpkin butter ingredients into a slow cooker.
Use an immersion blender to blend until relatively smooth, adding a little water if necessary to get things moving. The mixture's consistency should be like very thick baby food.
Set the slow cooker on Low and cook 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
After 4 hours, remove the slow cooker lid and use the immersion blender again to smooth out any remaining lumps.
Continue to cook uncovered in the slow cooker, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 more hours, or until the puree reaches the desired thickness.
Use the immersion blender one more time to smooth out the mixture.
How to Store Pumpkin Butter
Refrigerate
Pour prepared pumpkin butter into canning jars or food-safe plastic containers. Refrigerate for up to a month.
Freeze
Pour in canning jars or plastic freezer containers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Allow the pumpkin butter to cool completely on the counter.
Pumpkin butter can be frozen for up to a year.
FAQs & Expert Tips
The flavor of the pumpkin butter will be very citrus-forward immediately after it comes out of the slow cooker, but it will mellow in a day or two as the pumpkin, citrus, and spice flavors have time to fully meld and marry.
Ways to Use Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin butter isn't just for spreading on toast! It's delicious with oatmeal, biscuits, toast, waffles, pancakes, and smoothies, just to name a few! (One of Mr B's favorite ways to enjoy it is on ice cream!)
USDA now recommends against canning pumpkin butter because, due to the density of the butter, the heat may not properly reach the center of the pumpkin butter in the jar.
More Pumpkin Recipes
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Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter
Equipment
- 1 Blender optional
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pumpkin puree fresh or canned pumpkin; about 4-5 cups
- 2 cups light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 large apple peeled, cored, and cubed
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice juice from 1 large orange
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest zest from 1 large orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fresh nutmeg
Instructions
Roast Fresh Pumpkin (Optional)
- Homemade pumpkin butter can be made with either fresh or canned pumpkin puree. If you are using canned pumpkin, skip down to the Slow Cooker instructions.Preheat oven to 350°F | 175°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Cut squashes in half and clean out the seeds. (You can leave the halves intact, or cut them in smaller chunks.) Brush the exposed surfaces of the pumpkins with olive oil, and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.Place the pumpkin halves or pieces flesh side down on the parchment-covered baking sheet.
- Bake squashes until fork-tender. How long this step takes is totally dependent on how big the squashes are. (For example, a 3-pound sugar pumpkin will take about an hour.)Check for doneness by piercing the skin with a fork: it should give easily, and the flesh should be very tender.
- Puree Pumpkin [Totally optional] I like to puree the pumpkin in a food processor or blender before putting it into the slow cooker. You don't have to do this, but I think it results in a silkier butter in the end.To do this, add just enough water to the cooked pumpkin to allow the blades to work it down.If you don't want to use a food processor, just put the pumpkin directly in the slow cooker, add a little water, and use an immersion blender to break it down. The pumpkin will break down further as it cooks.
Slow Cook Pumpkin Butter
- Pour the pureed pumpkin and remaining pumpkin butter ingredients into a slow cooker and use an immersion blender to blend until relatively smooth.Add a little water if necessary: the consistency should be like very thick baby food.
- Set the slow cooker on Low and cook 4 hours, stirring occasionally.After 4 hours, remove the slow cooker lid and use the immersion blender again to smooth out any remaining lumps.
- Continue to cook uncovered in the slow cooker, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 more hours, or until the puree reaches the desired thickness.Use the immersion blender one more time to smooth out the mixture.
How to Store Pumpkin Butter
- RefrigeratePour prepared pumpkin butter into canning jars or food-safe plastic containers. Refrigerate for up to a month.FreezePour in canning jars or plastic freezer containers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Allow the pumpkin butter to cool completely on the counter.Pumpkin butter can be frozen for up to a year.
Notes
Canning Pumpkin Butter USDA now recommends against canning pumpkin butter because, due to the density of the butter, the heat may not properly reach the center of the pumpkin butter in the jar.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Originally published November 8, 2012. Post has been updated with new content, images, and recipe instructions to improve reader experience.
Tammy says
Where is the link for canning this? Sounds delicious!!
Renée says
It is delicious! Unfortunately, this is one of the oldest posts on the blog, and is desperate need of a complete overhaul. (It's on the calendar!)
The link to the canning method previously highlighted is no longer viewable online; and due to the questionable safety related to canning, I now prefer to freeze pumpkin butter, rather than can it. (In the past, I canned it in pints in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.)
Paula@SweetPea says
This looks fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing with this week's Throwback Thursday party.