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Pumpkin Butter is a sweet spread made up of cooked pumpkin puree with added sweetener and warm spices. It can be made either in the Instant Pot or in the Slow Cooker and is guaranteed to make your home smell delicious while it’s cooking! Use it on your favorite bread, muffin, on top of oatmeal or straight from the spoon!

Pumpkin Butter Recipe

I first tried pumpkin back in my college days at this adorable little restaurant called Judie’s. Back before I changed my diet, I would enjoy the giant popovers they served, slathered with the most delicious pumpkin butter or apple butter. It has been a while since I’ve been there, but luckily I get to remember it every time I make and eat this amazing healthy pumpkin butter! This sweet spread is easily made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot and is perfect to serve on just about anything. We also use it to make our new favorite Easy Pumpkin Coffee, with a recipe coming for that this week!

Ingredients Needed

Pumpkin Puree (homemade or store-bought)
Honey or Maple Syrup
Coconut Sugar
Cinnamon
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Sea Salt
Apple Cider

How to Make Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter

Making crock pot Pumpkin Butter couldn’t be easier because all you do is add in all the ingredients and let it cook away for 6 hours, or until it’s reach the desired consistency! The recipe calls for a total of 4 cups of pumpkin puree and assumes you are using a standard 6 quart model. If you had a smaller slow cooker you could (2-3 quart) halve the recipe with success.

How to Make Pumpkin Butter in the Instant Pot

Cooking it in the Instant Pot is a bit more complicated than in the slow cooker. Because the pumpkin puree is pretty thick, there is a possibility that the mixture has a “burn” notification when cooked in the Instant Pot. To avoid this you must place your ingredients in the Instant Pot in a certain order, and not mix all of the ingredients together. Don’t worry all of the flavors still infuse throughout, and will be thoroughly whisked together after it’s finished cooking.

In addition, because the Instant Pot does not let any liquid escape during cooking, the Instant Pot Pumpkin Butter isn’t as concentrated as Crock Pot Pumpkin Butter. We didn’t find this to be a problem, and really enjoyed the flavor of both versions, but if you prefer a thicker spread feel free to let it sauté for 10 or so minutes after it has finished cooking or until it’s reached your desired consistency.

A Note about Pumpkin Puree

We tested this recipe with several different brands of pumpkin puree, as well as a homemade version. They all varied in thickness and concentration. The homemade version, depending on the type of pumpkin you use, will have a higher water content. Organic pumpkin puree also has a higher water content compared with the conventional store-bought puree. If you find your pumpkin butter feels too thin, feel free to cook it until it reaches your desired consistency.

How to Use It

Use this pumpkin butter just like you would apple butter:

On toast
On a muffin
In oatmeal
In Pumpkin Bread (recipe coming soon)
In Coffee (recipe coming soon)

If you like this fall recipe check out these others:

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Pumpkin Butter is a sweet spread made up of cooked pumpkin puree with added sweetener warm spices. It can be made either in the Instant Pot or in the Slow Cooker and is guaranteed to make your home smell delicious during cooking! Use it on your favorite bread, muffin, on top of oatmeal or straight from the spoon!

Servings 4 cups

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 30

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Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh apple cider
4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

In the Slow Cooker:

Place all ingredients into your slow cooker. Set on low for 6 hours or until it's reached your desired consistency, stir occasionally throughout cooking time.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.

In the Instant Pot:

Place fresh apple cider in the liner of an Instant Pot. Then add place in the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, coconut sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in the liner without mixing together.
Close the lid and set the valve to sealing. Cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes, with a 5 minute natural release.
Release any remaining pressure and then whisk together the pumpkin butter. If it is too thin, use the sauté function until it has reached your desired consistency.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.

Notes

For the Instant Pot version you are adding all the ingredients without mixing to prevent the mixture from burning on the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Course: Spread

Cuisine: Gluten-free, Paleo, Vegan

Author: Lexi

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