Lightened Up Apple Butter

With fall on the horizon, this healthy apple butter recipe needs to be part of your routine. It tastes amazing on everything and is much better for you than what you can buy in the store.

I have a deep and unrelenting love of peanut butter. I haven't met a peanut butter I don't like, and I almost sometimes wish I never met peanut butter at all. For those of you who possess self control, peanut butter can be a wonderful, protein-packed snack when it's limited to the recommended one (or even two) tablespoon serving. But for me, I turn that one or two tablespoons into a 16-tablespoon feast, scooping it right out of the jar and smearing on almost anything I can find to eat, and even things I can't, like my finger.

It is in this graceful fashion that I find myself consuming hundreds, if not thousands of calories in mere minutes. In an effort to curb my passion for peanut butter, I've taken a dive into developing other recipes for peanut-butter-like substances that are far less calories, but still delicious. I've yet to become addicted to apple butter, but that's probably just because I haven't found the right spoon yet.

If you have a problem with peanut butter, love apples, love butter, or just love condiments, dips, and spreads, then I promise you're going to love this easy recipe for apple butter.

Ways to Serve Apple Butter

I'm pretty sure you can use apple butter any way you want, including straight from the jar or through a straw like a milkshake (but you didn't hear that from me). Barring eating apple butter like an animal, I also enjoy apple butter in other ways.

• Add it to chicken or pork as a glaze while grilling.
• Top a cup of nice, hot oatmeal with apple butter. Stirring it in is optional.
• Smear it right across the top of a piece of toast or on a sandwich. It'll kind of have that same feeling and flavor as adding leftover cranberries to a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich the day after the holiday.
• Mix it into low-fat cottage cheese.
• Add it to plain Greek yogurt with a few slivered almonds for some sweetness and texture.
• Add it to vanilla ice cream as a healthier topping alternative to hot fudge (you can even warm up the apple butter first).
• Add it to the top of your morning stack of pancakes. Or, better yet, layer it between your pancakes.
• Try sprinkling some raisins, craisins, or nuts on top of apple butter on a piece of sourdough bread.
• Add it when recipes call for applesauce, like in breads or pancakes.
• Put a tablespoon or two to your favorite chia seed puddings.
• Add it to overnight oats.

What Makes Apple Butter Healthy?

While apple butter does contain some sugar, it is a healthier alternative to peanut butter, so long as you stick to the serving size.

• Apples not only help keep the doctor away, but also provide a lot of fiber that aids in digestion as well as vitamins B and C. The antioxidants found in apples can reduce your risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and some cancers.
• Pumpkin pie spice blend has zero calories but adds a whole lot of flavor. Spices are great when eating healthy because they add so much flavor to food without adding salt, fat, or calories.
• Some people swear by ingesting apple cider vinegar every day for good health, but here we are just using it to add a tangy flavor to the apple butter. However, apple cider vinegar is low calorie, and some studies have shown it can improve your cholesterol and possibly aid those with type-2 diabetes, improving insulin response.
• Water is hydrating and so necessary. I'll take water any way I can get it.
• Lemon juice is a great source of vitamin C and folate and is also low-calorie.

Ideas for Customizing Apple Butter

Like jellies and jams, I really think you can do a whole lot of experimenting with apple butter.

• Have an older nectarine/peach/pear? Toss it in with your apple butter mix. No one will know the difference and you just saved yourself from having to throw food away (I hate that).
• Switch up the spices. Try letting your apple butter simmer with some sage and lemon zest.
• Use a tablespoon or two of apple butter when making a vinaigrette instead of regular vinegar.
• Add a healthy dose of inflammation-reducing cinnamon to your recipe.
• Mix your fruits. Try apple-blueberry butter, apple-banana butter, apple-pear butter, or just about any apple-fruit combination you can dream up.

This post was originally published in 2012 but has been updated with new photos, tips, and ideas. Here is the original photo.