Slow Cooker Stewed Apples (Printable)

Tender apples slowly cooked with honey and cinnamon for a sweet, comforting compote.

# What You'll Need:

→ Fruit

01 - 6 large apples (Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Fuji), peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks

→ Sweeteners & Flavors

02 - 1/4 cup honey
03 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
04 - 1 tablespoon lemon juice

→ Liquids

05 - 1/4 cup water

→ Optional Additions

06 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
07 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
08 - Pinch of salt

# Directions:

01 - Place peeled, cored, and chopped apples into the slow cooker.
02 - Drizzle honey and lemon juice over the apples.
03 - Sprinkle ground cinnamon and nutmeg, if using, over the apples.
04 - Pour water and add a pinch of salt, if desired.
05 - Gently stir the mixture to evenly distribute all ingredients.
06 - Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, stirring once or twice during cooking until apples are tender and juicy.
07 - Stir in vanilla extract if using, after cooking is complete.
08 - Serve warm alone or as a topping over oatmeal, pancakes, yogurt, or ice cream.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It's legitimately hands-off once you've assembled the ingredients—perfect for mornings when you need breakfast sorted before leaving the house.
  • The flavor deepens and becomes more complex the longer it sits, turning simple apples into something that tastes like you labored for hours.
  • It works equally well warm with ice cream, stirred into yogurt, or spooned over pancakes without any adjustment needed.
02 -
  • Don't overfill your slow cooker—apples take up more space than you think before cooking, and they need room to steam and soften properly.
  • If you absolutely must use a food processor to speed things up, pulse it gently; over-processing turns everything into applesauce before you've even started cooking, and you lose all that lovely texture variation.
03 -
  • Line your slow cooker with a slow cooker liner before you start—it makes cleanup literally effortless and means you're more likely to make this again next week.
  • If your apples are particularly small or large, adjust the cooking time slightly; you're looking for tender, not mushy, so start checking around 2.5 hours if your pieces are smaller than an inch.
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