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Slow Cooker Plum Butter

ByKim Posted on Updated on

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This slow cooker plum butter is a smooth, spreadable fruit butter made with fresh plums, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a splash of lemon juice. It’s perfect for spreading on toast, biscuits, or even pancakes, and the slow cooker does almost all the work for you. Unlike jam, this recipe uses no pectin, it just cooks down low and slow until it’s thick and rich.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

  • Recipe Name: Slow Cooker Plum Butter
  • Cook Time: About 8 hours (mostly hands-off)
  • Servings: 5 half-pint jars (about 80 tablespoon servings)
  • Main Ingredients: Plums, brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice
  • Dietary Info: Gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, vegetarian
  • Difficulty Level: Easy
Close-up of slow cooker plum butter on a spoon above an open jar of plum butter.

Plums have been one of my favorite fruits since I was a kid, I love that sweet-tart blend you get from a good blue plum. They also have such a short season. You’ll usually only find them in stores or at the farmers’ market for a few weeks in August and September, so I like to make the most of them while they’re around.

I used to have an Italian plum tree of my own, but sadly we lost it to winter damage years ago, so now I look forward to picking some up each fall instead.

This is such an easy way to use up a big batch of them without much hands-on effort. Just like with my slow cooker apple butter and roasted peach butter. The slow cooker does the work while you go about your day, so it’s an easy recipe to start even on a busy one.

Best Plums For Plum Butter

Blue or purple plums work best for this recipe. Italian plums (Stanley) are a great choice for cooking, they have a nice balance of sweet and tart flavor and break down into a rich, smooth butter.

Damson plums are small and tart with great flavor, and they’re a popular choice for jams and butters too. Bluebyrd and Blue River plums are also good options if you can find them.

Why You’ll Love This Plum Butter

  • No Pectin Needed: It thickens naturally as it cooks down, no pectin or added thickeners required.
  • Hands-Off Cooking: The slow cooker does most of the work, so it needs very little attention while it cooks.
  • Versatile Storage: Store it in the fridge, freezer, or can it for your pantry, whatever works best for you.
  • Simple Ingredients: Made with just plums, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.

Ingredients

  • 7 pounds blue plums
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

How To Make Slow Cooker Plum Butter

Step 1. Prepare The Plums

Wash the plums, slice them in half, and remove the pits.

Step 2. Cook The Plums

Halved and pitted plums piled inside a slow cooker.

Transfer the plums to your slow cooker and add the water. You want just enough water to keep the skins from burning until the plums start to release their juice.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 2 hours on high, or until the plums are soft and have released their liquid.

Step 3. Puree The Plums

Smooth red plum puree filling a slow cooker after the cooked plums have been blended. This stage of slow cooker plum butter is ready to continue cooking until thickened.

Using an immersion blender, blend the plums until they’re smooth. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and stir well.

Step 4. Cook It Down

Slow cooker plum butter cooking with the glass lid propped open by a wooden spoon to let steam escape and help the mixture thicken.

Lay a wooden spoon across the rim of the slow cooker and set the lid back on so it vents. Turn the slow cooker down to low and cook the plums for 6 to 10 hours, until it’s nice and thick. Make sure to taste your plum butter and adjust the sweetness to taste.

Some plums are very sweet and others more tart. So each batch can be a little different. If you add more sugar, just stir until it’s thoroughly dissolved.

Thick slow cooker plum butter being stirred in the slow cooker with a ladle. The plum butter has cooked down to a smooth, glossy consistency.

Step 5. Store The Plum Butter

Ladle into containers and store in the fridge, or process as below for long-term storage.

Canning Plum Butter

Open jar filled with thick dark red slow cooker plum butter with two larger jars of plum butter in the background.

Ladle the plum butter into half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel to remove any sticky residue.

Then place the lids and rings on finger-tight. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for your altitude.

When the time’s up, turn off the canner and let it sit for 5 minutes, then remove the jars and set them on a towel. Let the jars sit undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours to let the seals set.

Any jars that don’t seal should be reprocessed with a new lid or placed in the fridge.

Sealed mason jar filled with dark red slow cooker plum butter on a gray counter.

Altitude Adjustments For Canning Plum Butter

Altitude adjustments for half pints and pint jars are:

  • 0 to 1,000 feet: 5 minutes
  • 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes
  • Above 6,000 feet: 20 minutes

Freezing

Let the plum butter cool, then ladle it into freezer-safe containers, leaving 1 inch of room for expansion. Label and place in the freezer.

Recipe Notes & Tips

  • Adjust the sweetness: Taste the butter near the end of cooking and adjust the sweetness if needed, plums vary in tartness depending on the variety and ripeness.
  • Watch it near the end: Every slow cooker heats a little differently, so start checking every hour or so once it’s turned down to low and vented.
  • Vent the lid: Propping the lid open with a wooden spoon lets the liquid evaporate so the butter thickens properly.

Substitutions

  • Lemon Juice: Bottled or fresh lemon juice both work fine in this recipe.
  • Brown Sugar: You can also use white sugar or honey.

FAQ’s

No, there’s no need to peel them. The plums are pureed with an immersion blender once they’re soft, so the skins blend right in.

Yes, let it cool completely, then ladle it into freezer-safe containers, leaving about 1 inch of headspace for expansion, label, and freeze.

Close-up of slow cooker plum butter on a spoon above an open jar of plum butter.

Slow Cooker Plum Butter

This slow cooker plum butter is a smooth, spreadable fruit butter made with fresh plums, brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. It needs almost no attention while it cooks, and a single batch makes 5 half-pint jars!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Processing Time 10 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Serving Size 80 servings (5 half-pint jars)

Ingredients

  • 7 pounds blue plums (or purple)
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

  • Wash the plums, slice them in half, and remove the pits.
  • Transfer the plums to your slow cooker and add the water. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 2 hours on high, or until the plums are soft and have released their liquid.
  • Using an immersion blender, blend the plums until they are pureed.
  • Add the sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and stir well.
  • Lay a wooden spoon across the rim of the slow cooker and set the lid back on so it vents.
  • Turn the slow cooker down to low and cook the plums for 6 to 10 hours until it’s nice and thick. Adjust the sweetness to taste.
  • Ladle into containers and store in the fridge, or process as below for long-term storage.

To Can:

  • Ladle the plum butter into half-pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.
  • Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel, then place the lids and rings on finger-tight.
  • Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes, adjusting the time for your altitude.
  • When the time’s up, turn off the canner and let it sit for 5 minutes, then remove the jars and set them on a towel. Leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours to let the seals set. Any jars that don’t seal should be reprocessed with a new lid or placed in the fridge.

To Freeze:

  • Let the plum butter cool, then ladle into freezer-safe containers, leaving 1 inch of room for expansion.
  • Label and place in the freezer.

Notes

Altitude adjustments for half-pint and pint jars are:
  • 0 to 1,000 feet: 5 minutes
  • 1,001 to 6,000 feet: 10 minutes
  • Above 6,000 feet: 20 minutes

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 39kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 137IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.1mg

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

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