10 Best Apple Butters To Indulge In This Fall

Every time autumn rolls around, I get the urge to indulge in every type of orchard fare, a compulsion I don't experience the rest of the year. Autumn is my favorite season (I know I'm not unique in this opinion), and I particularly love it because of the bounty it brings to my kitchen — apples, gourds, and soups galore. I'm a sucker for anything cozy, from drinks and meals to the condiments I keep in my fridge. Thus, to me, fall equals apple butter time. 

This year, I made it my mission to track down some of the best apple butters available. What I ended up with was a selection of 10 incredible jars, each different enough to appeal to a variety of tastes and apple butter preferences. I tried each before picking them for this list, and I aimed to get a variety to feature here (for more about my ranking criteria, refer to the "Methodology" slide at the end of this article). From herbal butters to jammy, savory ones and ultra-spiced jars, here are some of the best apple butters to indulge in this fall season. 

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Founded by Dot and Ben Naylor, Sidehill Farm's various jams and butters are made from family recipes, and the company is still family-run today. You can find its lineup in stores throughout the New England area, but it will also ship straight to you (which is how I got these jars all the way on the West Coast). Its apple butter is as pure as it can be, the only ingredients being New England apples, pure cane sugar, cider, and spices. Spoiler alert: I absolutely adored this apple butter.

Ordinarily, I'd see it as a negative that Sidehill Farm's apple butter comes in such a small jar. However, believing that good things deserve to be savored (rather than indulged in indiscriminately) makes this a fitting vessel for what's inside: one of my personal favorite apple butters in this lineup. Opening the jar for the first time unleashes a delightful cider aroma, and the butter has a super thick viscosity that's just begging to be spread on some rustic bread. When tasting it, it's bright and tangy, slightly sour, and gives the pure essence of incredible apples. The multi-dimensional apple butter is impeccably smooth and not grainy in the slightest, and yes, I did have a few spoonfuls when taste-testing — strictly out of necessity, of course. 

Sure, as a native Oregonian, I'm biased toward the Oregon Growers brand, but its apple butter wouldn't have made this list if it weren't a grand representation of the craft. Oregon Growers uses produce from the Hood River Valley region of Oregon to make its product line, and as someone who lives nearby, I can attest that the quality of the produce is incredible. Don't worry if you don't live in the Pacific Northwest; the company can ship its products around the country.

The ingredients in Oregon Growers' apple butter are as follows: apples, cane sugar, spices, citric acid, and fresh thyme. Yep, you read that right: thyme. I was too excited to try this once I knew it would have a slight herbal tinge to it, and my gut was correct in thinking it would be incredible to taste. Though not at all boastful of its presence, thyme brought a super subtle herby undertone to the butter, which just added depth and dimension to an already great spread. I don't even know if I'd have accurately identified the thyme if I wasn't already aware of its presence in the spread. Thyme aside, the apple butter is sweet and warmed with cinnamon and nutmeg, touting an umami appeal that made my mouth water. It's simply superb. 

Based in Southern Colorado, Wendi's Good Things Market emerged as a pandemic-era pivot when a farm-to-table restaurant needed to adapt to the restrictions imposed on society by COVID-19. Since then, the market has blossomed, a result of dreams to bring quality staples into people's homes. Part of Wendi's lineup is, obviously, apple butter. The above-pictured 16-ounce jar is made with Colorado-grown apples, sugar, water, citric acid, ascorbic acid, spices, pectin, calcium chloride, and caramel color.

Opening the jar greets you with a delightful, subtle spiced apple smell. The butter itself has a thick yet impeccably smooth body, and its flavor is cozy and warm — like snuggling up with some tea and a book on a cold winter night. It's not at all too sweet, and the spices bring the depth you look for in an apple butter without being at all too overbearing. This is a well-balanced, easily crowd-pleasing jar, and it's big, too — 16 ounces. The texture is like spreadable butter. I'm simply obsessed, and have been unabashedly eating this with a spoon straight from the jar. Upon telling Wendi herself this tidbit, she told me she does the same. 

Washington-based Country Mercantile has two locations you can visit if you're ever in the state, and the local community looks forward to its annual Harvest Festival every fall. You can get treats made in-house and shelf-stable specialty goods. It uses regional foods when crafting its product, and its commitment to producing high-quality goods was apparent from the moment I opened this jar of apple butter. 

Yes, it smelled incredible, and yes, the scent made me want to pause what I was doing and head straight to an apple orchard. This spread contains apples, sugar, water, citric acid, cinnamon, clove, pectin, calcium chloride, caramel color, and ascorbic acid. The cinnamon is strong in this butter, which I adored. It also has a slightly more "gooey" texture (and I mean this as a good thing) — it has a viscosity similar to a very thick honey or molasses, which makes it satisfyingly spreadable. There's a nice sweetness to the butter, but it's by no means saccharine. It's another comforting spread for the fall and winter seasons, and another that's hard to keep the spoon out of. 

Plimoth Patuxet Museums is aptly located in the oldest town in New England: Plymouth, Massachusetts. Authentic representation of 17th-century communities is at the heart of Plimoth Patuxet's operations; it says on its website, "In preserving the histories of the Native and English inhabitants of this region, we commit ourselves to the re-vitalization of pre-industrial crafts, trades, domestic skills, husbandry, horticulture, and the maritime arts." And of course, its store sells an array of various fare, with various spreads (including apple butter) among them.

In case you were wondering — yes, the cute and quirky green-checkered label is an accurate representation of what's inside. Plimoth Patuxet's apple butter set itself apart from the rest; if I needed an apple butter to stand out among a slew of other ingredients, I'd probably reach for this jar. The butter itself has almost a preserve-like texture; as such, it was the thickest, most jammy, and most textured of the lot. It also had a slightly herbal appeal on the nose that I didn't notice in many of the other butters, alongside a distinct (and welcome) punchy spice flavor that I couldn't put my finger on. The best way I can describe it is to say that it reminded me of inhaling the wonderful smell of a vintage book, or being immersed in something deeply historical — like the museum injected a bit of itself into the spread.

Located in Illinois, Abbey Farms isn't just a place you go to get specialty goods (though it certainly is that) — it's also a site that hosts field trips, group activities, and annual year-round events. Its "Pumpkin Daze" season, which runs from September 20 to October 30, has a myriad of attractions (think: corn maze, zip lines, slides, and wagon rides). The cream of the crop is likely its farm store, with over 6,000 square feet of food goods and produce for sale. 

I loved this apple butter, and it tasted similar to another on this list (in fact, I suspect this may be a private label of the one it tastes like) — however, it still merits a spot here for a couple of reasons. First, the two butters did have slight textural differences; second, if you want your proceeds to support a non-profit farm owned and operated by a monastery, this would be a worthy cause. Now, onto its flavor. This spread reminded me of Christmas, and you can bet it's one I'll have around during the holidays. Fruit pectin makes it jelly-like in texture, though not as jiggly as you'd expect from a jelly. Its flavor is well-balanced between apples and spices, and I suspect cloves are the source of the "Christmas" feel I'm getting — either way, it's exceedingly good. 

Braswell's takes pride in its history, something that's apparent from a glance at the jar. Founded in 1946 by Albert Braswell, the company grew its small-batch production techniques into a business whose products have won multiple awards; it's even become (according to its website) "one of the leading Private Label manufacturers in the U.S." Sound familiar? That's right — I suspect that Braswell's produces the previously mentioned jam from Abbey Farms. 

Braswell's ingredients list is identical to the former, and its flavor is remarkably similar as well, down to the distinct Christmas-y essence boasted by each. It, too, has a strong sense of cloves, but it's not quite as jelly-like as the former; texturally, it's a little looser. This may be an advantage to some consumers who want an apple butter that's easier to mix with other spreads (like cream cheese or just standard butter), so which you choose between the two will likely depend on what consistency you're after and how shipping costs affect the total price of each.

Simpson & Vail traces its roots back to 1904, when it was originally founded as a coffee merchant company by Augustus M. Walbridge. When it was sold in 1929 to a certain Simpson and Vail, the company as it stands today was born, first as a bulk tea retailer, then as a seller of coffee, tea bags, and eventually, spreads. Today, it's operated by the Harron family, who continues its long-standing legacy of bringing fine culinary goods to kitchens around the nation. 

My only qualm with Simpson & Vail's apple butter is that the label on mine doesn't center on the front of the jar — on the other hand, I appreciate the hand-labeled implications. Inside the jar is a rich, thick apple butter that's also one of the sweetest on this list. It has a slight astringency to it that could almost convince me it was alcoholic (which it's not). Its ingredients are as follows: apple puree, water, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, apple juice, molasses, spices, apple cider vinegar, and salt. This butter, too, has an almost honey-like viscosity, and the molasses is readily apparent; it adds a certain depth to the butter. This jar tastes high-class, luxurious, and indulgent (and, obviously, easily spoonable). It would make a fine accompaniment to a batch of English scones. 

Ozark Mountain currently has operations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, and is expanding to other states throughout the Midwest. The company is all about supporting its community, and works with local farmers whenever possible when producing and distributing its goods. Its social media pages are littered with pictures of vast farm fields, fresh produce, and, of course, the company's own range of jarred goods. 

Ozark Mountain's apple butter is wonderfully simple, with its only ingredients being apples, sugar, apple cider, vinegar, and spices. Open the jar and you'll be greeted by a spread that looks much akin to applesauce: It's lighter in color than many others on this list and has a loose consistency. But don't be fooled by appearances. I'd call this one of the most spice-packed of the bunch, and I'm dying to try the incredibly flavorful spread as a dessert topping (over an apple crisp, perhaps?) There's a lot of dimension to this spread, and while it definitely boasts some warmth, it's also bright and somewhat tangy. In other words, I loved it. 

Last but by no means least, Mast General Store has been in operation since 1883, and throughout its history, it has focused on providing high-quality provisions to its customers. The store itself (located in Valle Crucis community of North Carolina) has served many functions as a gathering place, office space, and trading center, all the while serving as a grocer of sorts. Nowadays, multiple branches of the store are spread across the state, but it remains as dedicated to quality as ever — a fact which is quickly apparent when you try its apple butter.

All that goes into this butter are apples, sugar, and spices, a testament to the fact that few ingredients can produce something truly stunning. Texturally, it's thick and jammy, and its limited ingredients make this taste somewhat like a spiced applesauce (though it's not quite as loose as applesauce). It's slightly tart, and I also felt I may have tasted some ginger in the spread. Moreover, because the spread is by no means too sweet, it would make for a great pairing when you want to amp up the flavor of sweeter bakes without running the risk of making them too cloying. This apple butter tastes pure and unadulterated, ideal for those who try to embody simplicity in every aspect of their lives. 

I based my selection of the "best" apple butters on online recommendations and reviews. I looked for companies (ideally small companies) that were either recommended elsewhere, had good reviews, and/or used minimal, local ingredients in the production process. From there, I tried each apple butter; had I tasted any that weren't up to snuff, they wouldn't have made this list. Remarkably, all of these apple butters managed to taste pretty different from one another. They had varying levels of spice and herbaceousness, and wildly different textures. 

I looked for spreads that lived up to their name and were smooth in texture, with Plimoth Patuxet's being the only outlier here; however, it still merited a spot due to its unique tasting notes and preserve-like texture. Regardless of which you choose to get (or if you decide to get multiple and conduct your own taste test — I won't tell), bake yourself a batch of homemade muffins or scones to enjoy them with, and thank me later.