Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter (Canning Or Freezing)

Name: Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 370 min
Ingredients: 10 cups of blueberries; 3 cups sugar; 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 teaspoon cinnamon

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Do you have more blueberries than you know what to do with? This slow cooker blueberry butter is a smooth, spreadable fruit butter made with blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and a touch of cinnamon. It’s become a family favorite around here, my kids actually ask for it more than blueberry jam, and it’s just as good spread on toast, biscuits, or pancakes.

Unlike jam, this recipe uses less sugar and no pectin, and the slow cooker does almost all the work for you.

Fresh or frozen blueberries both work just as well, so you don’t have to wait for blueberry season to make a batch.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

Recipe Name: Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter
Cook Time: 6 hours (mostly hands-off)
Servings: 5 half-pint jars (about 80 tablespoon servings)
Main Ingredients: Blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon
Dietary Info: Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian
Difficulty Level: Easy

Three sealed jars of slow cooker blueberry butter with fresh blueberries beside them.

This is an easy recipe I make all summer long, it’s just so simple. I stir it together, prop the lid open, and let it cook down low and slow while I go about my day, so I don’t mind starting a batch even when things are busy. My kids ask for it more than they ask for jam, which is really saying something.

Why You’ll Love This Blueberry Butter

Kid Approved: My kids love this blueberry butter even more than blueberry jam.
Less Sugar Than Jam: This recipe uses less sugar than a traditional blueberry jam recipe.
Hands-Off Cooking: The slow cooker does most of the work, so it needs very little attention while it cooks.
No Pectin Needed: It thickens naturally as it cooks down, no pectin or added thickeners required.

Ingredients

10 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen both work)
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

How To Make Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

Step 1. Prepare The Berries

Rinse your blueberries under cool water and remove any bad berries, stems, or flowers.

Place your cleaned berries into a food processor and puree.

Step 2. Cook The Blueberry Butter

Freshly pureed blueberries poured into a black slow cooker. The mixture is bright purple with visible flecks of blueberry skin.

Blueberry mixture in a black slow cooker topped with a large mound of white sugar and brown ground spice.

Pour the blueberries into the slow cooker and add the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon, and stir well.

Blueberry puree in a slow cooker after stirring in the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon.

Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 1 hour.

Step 3. Uncover And Cook It Down

Slow cooker blueberry butter cooking with the lid propped open by a wooden spoon to let steam escape.

After the first hour, prop the lid of the slow cooker open with a wooden spoon to let the liquid evaporate. Continue cooking on low for 4 to 5 hours. Check every hour to see how thick it is.

Step 4. Store The Blueberry Butter

A spoonful of thick, glossy blueberry butter held above the dark purple mixture in the slow cooker. The close-up shows the finished spreadable texture.

It’s done when the butter mounds on a spoon and doesn’t run off. Ladle the blueberry butter into jelly jars or airtight storage containers, cool, and store in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

For long-term storage, see the freezing and canning directions.

Canning

Open jars filled with thick dark purple slow cooker blueberry butter resting on a blue and white checkered towel.

Ladle the blueberry butter into half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Using a debubbler, remove any air bubbles in the jar. Then wipe the rims clean with a damp kitchen towel.

Three sealed jars filled with dark purple slow cooker blueberry butter resting on a blue and white checkered towel.

Place the lids and rings on, tightening them finger-tight. Then place the jars into your hot water bath canner.

Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes, or 15 minutes if you’re above 6,000 feet.

Properly sealed and stored in a cool, dark place, canned blueberry butter will keep for 12 to 18 months or longer.

Freezing

Ladle the blueberry butter into freezer-safe containers. Let it fully cool and freeze for up to a year. When ready to use, remove the container from your freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw.

Toast spread with thick dark purple slow cooker blueberry butter on a white plate with a jar of blueberry butter and fresh blueberries in the background.

Recipe Notes & Tips

Fresh or frozen: I’ve made this with fresh blueberries and with a bag of frozen ones from the freezer, and honestly, I can’t tell much difference. Don’t wait for blueberry season to make a batch.
Watch it near the end: Every slow cooker cooks a little differently, so start checking on it every hour once the lid is propped open. Yours might thicken up faster or slower than mine did.
Stir occasionally: I like to give it a stir every so often while it’s uncovered, especially near the end, so it doesn’t scorch on the bottom.

Substitutions

Lemon Juice: I usually just use whatever bottled lemon juice I have on hand, but fresh works too if that’s what you’ve got.
Cinnamon: I always add it, but you can leave it out if you’d rather have a plain blueberry flavor, or try a pinch of nutmeg instead.
Sugar: You can cut back on the sugar a little if you like. Just keep in mind it won’t thicken or keep quite as well if you go too low.

Variations

Spiced Blueberry Butter: Add a pinch of nutmeg or allspice along with the cinnamon if you want something a little warmer.
Lemon Blueberry Butter: A little lemon zest along with the juice brightens it up nicely.

More Recipes:

FAQ’s

Yes, and honestly I do this all the time. Let them thaw just a little, then puree and dump them right into the slow cooker.

It uses less sugar than a traditional jam recipe, and there’s no pectin. It thickens naturally just from cooking low and slow with the lid propped open, instead of getting help from added pectin like jam does.

Stored in the fridge, it’ll keep for about 2 weeks. Frozen, it’ll last up to a year, and properly canned, it’ll keep for 12 to 18 months or longer in the pantry.

No, and that’s exactly why I love this recipe. Give it an occasional stir while it cooks down, and let the slow cooker do the rest.

Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

This slow cooker blueberry butter is a smooth, spreadable fruit butter made with blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. It uses less sugar than jam and needs almost no attention while it cooks. Our whole family loves it even more than blueberry jam!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 6

Total Time 6 10

Serving Size servings (5 half-pint jars)

Ingredients

10 cups of blueberries
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

Sort the blueberries removing any bad berries, stems, and flowers. Then rinse with cool water to clean.
Puree the blueberries in a blender or food processor.
Pour the blueberries into the slow cooker and add the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Stir well.
Turn the slow cooker on to low and cook for 1 hour.
After the first hour, prop the lid of the slow cooker open with a wooden spoon to let the liquid evaporate. Continue cooking on low for 4 to 5 hours. Check every hour to see how thick it is.
It’s done when the butter mounds on a spoon and doesn’t run off.
Ladle the butter into half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.

To Can:

Ladle the butter into half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Remove air bubbles with a debubbler, then wipe the rims clean.
Add lids and rings, tightening finger-tight, then place jars in a water bath canner.
Process for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let the canner sit for 5 minutes to cool down.
Remove the jars from the canner and place them on a towel. Let them sit undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Then check the seals. Any jars that didn't seal, place them in your fridge to use up first. Then wash, dry, and label the other jars for storage.

To Freeze:

Ladle the butter into freezer-safe containers.
Let it cool fully, then freeze for up to a year.
Thaw in the fridge before using.

Notes

If you live above 6,000 feet in elevation, increase the canning time to 15 minutes.

Nutrition

These values are from a nutritional database and automatically calculated, and should only be used as an approximation.

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Kim

Kim Mills is a homeschooling mom of 6 and lives on an urban homestead in Ontario, Canada. Blogging at Homestead Acres she enjoys sharing tips to help you save money, grow and preserve your own food.