Fig Butter Recipe
This fig butter is delicious on your morning, whole grain toast!
I have two fig trees outside my front door. They seem to take turns offering up their delicious fruits, so I’ve had a plentiful supply since I moved into my new place.
What To Do With Lots Of Fresh Figs?
While there are tons of fig recipes out there, my favorite way to eat them is as a jam or fruit butter. I enjoy this because first, it tastes great, and second, it uses up a ton of figs in one batch.
Figs can be enjoyed raw, with a few different kinds of cheese such as goat cheese, blue cheese, brie, and more. Pair all that with some whole grain crackers for a delicious snack or appetizer. You can even put figs in homemade ice cream! (Though for flavor, it’s better to use butter like this with a few fresh figs thrown in for texture).
Figs pair well with meats such as chicken, beef, or pork. They are wonderful roasted with any of these meats.
What Does Fig Butter Taste Like?
The only way I can describe it is that it has the sweetness of any jam, but with a sort of “raisin” or molasses” flavor from the figs. Figs truly have a flavor all their own. A fresh fig is sweet (depending on the variety), fresh and chewy with a bit of coarseness from the seeds. Some varieties are milder while some have a real punch of flavor.
Are You Supposed To Peel Figs?
The only thing you definitely want to discard from a fig is the stem. As long as they are washed, you can eat the skin along with the flesh. Some people do prefer to peel them, but that’s a matter of personal preference. It’s worth noting that some varieties of figs might taste better without their skin, but again, that’s a personal choice. The skin is edible, but the stem is not.
How To Use Fig Butter
Fig butter is wonderful stuff. Primarily, you can use a healthy dollop on your morning toast. But it’s equally delicious with other things, including some savory applications. Here are some suggestions:
- with graham crackers for dessert
- over vanilla ice cream
- glaze pork chops
- add to a grilled cheese sandwich
- add to a quesadilla
- use on crostini
- use to glaze roast chicken
- mix with Sriracha sauce for a delicious wing sauce
- spread over flatbread with smoked blue cheese
- stuff chicken breasts with fig butter and goat cheese
- on bagels
- on waffles
- on pancakes
- As a filling in cake
What You’ll Need
Figs – stems removed.
Apple juice – no sugar added, 100% juice.
Balsamic vinegar
Lemon juice – fresh or bottled with no added sugar.
Pure vanilla extract – do not use vanilla flavoring.
Ground cinnamon – just cinnamon, no added sugar.
How To Make Fig Butter
Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until the figs are very soft.
Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a regular blender), blend the figs while they still have some liquid left in the pot. If you have to add more juice or some water, feel free. Blending this without enough liquid will leave you with a very thick paste. So add liquid as needed to get the consistency you like. If the fig butter is not sweet enough for you, now would be a good time to add some honey or maple syrup.
Blend until smooth and transfer to a jar. Store for up to 2 weeks in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Recipe Supplies
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More Fruit Butter Recipes
Fig Butter Recipe Card
Fig Butter
Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 4 lb. figs (stems removed)
- 4 cups apple juice (no sugar added, 100% juice)
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil.
- Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until the figs are very soft.
- Using an immersion blender (or transfer to a regular blender), blend the figs while they still have some liquid left in the pot. If you have to add more juice or some water, feel free. Blending this without enough liquid will leave you with a very thick paste. So add liquid as needed to get the consistency you like. If the fig butter is not sweet enough for you, now would be a good time to add some honey or maple syrup.
- Blend until smooth and transfer to a jar. Store for up to 2 weeks in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it!
this spread is great on a fresh turkey sandwich.
Deborah – Oh yum!!! So glad you’re enjoying it! 😀
great flavor, i have the turkish brown fig…otherwise i followed recipe to a T and came out with fig soup! in past when making butters, never have added so much juice… also, have had to reduce it in the oven slowly, to make it a butter consistency. Was that step missed? Just curious? Read it over several times.
Saundra – the only thing I can think is that maybe the different figs made a difference. But I can’t be sure because I’ve never tried it with that type of fig. At the end of the day, you just have to simmer it down further. Glad you enjoyed the flavor!
If I wanted to can this product, would you happen to know if it could be processed in a water bath as opposed to a pressure canner?
I’m sorry, I know nothing about canning. You would have to show the recipe to a master canner.
I made this yesterday, with the bounty of figs from our garden. I filled up my large (6.5 quart) slow cooker, having washed & stemmed the figs. It took 20 hours for the juices to cook down – I had to leave it overnight so it might have been done sooner, but I didn’t want to get up at 3 a.m. to check! It is beautifully thick. I think that next time I will start out with 2 cups of apple juice, and top it up as needed.
I was wondering about how long it took to cook down on the stove top, in case I decide to use that method.
Betty – That would really depend on how much you have in the pot and how much liquid you use. It’s definitely faster than a slow cooker, but again, timing depends on the amounts. If you follow this recipe, it would probably be about 1-4 hour depending on how low you keep the flame.
A crockpot loses very little moisture through evaporation compared to stovetop, so yeah, much, much less liquid to start. Also useful to consider when cooking w/ wine that a crockpot doesn’t allow the alcohol to evaporate either, and the result can be quite boozy. lol
Hi Tiffany, I made this tonight but it’s too runny. I didn’t let juice reduce enough. Do you have any tips so I can make it thicker?? It is yummy but not quite right.
Serina – If it’s still runny, just return it to a pot and reduce the liquid more over low heat.
Thanks. Will it still reduce even though it has already been puréed?
Serina – It should. Just watch it carefully. You may need to stir often to avoid burning on the bottom of the pot. Keep the heat low and let the liquid cook down.
Hi again, it worked 🙂 I now have some thicker fig butter. I just had to be more patient, I didn’t realise it would take so long. Thanks again for your help & for sharing your recipe.
Serina – My pleasure! I hope you enjoy it! 😀
Help. My 25 pounds of figs smelled fermented after I began cooking. The figs were absolutely delicious to start with not one fig bad.
I added the ingredients that were given.
I just kept filling the pot and ended up with that many figs so just was going to multiply the batch! My husband said I should have made such a big batch to start with !
My only deviation was the amount if Apple juice! I only put in 8 cups because the pot wouldn’t hold any more. But I cooked it down and the consistency seems perfect but like I said the fermentation smell and now taste is really bad.
Please help.
Naomi – The only thing I can figure is that the batch was too big and cooked for too long without enough liquid. I know that some people ferment figs on purpose, but I don’t know how to do that safely. I hate to say it, but I would throw the batch out. It doesn’t sound safe. I’m really sorry.
Any idea if this would work with dried figs? What amount would I use?
Kathy – I’ve never worked with dried figs, so I really have no idea. I’m sorry. 🙁
I made this, this weekend, with some pale yellow-green figs (somebody gave my mother a twig off their tree, years ago, and if they told her the variety, she forgot it, also years ago), and 1/2 a cinnamon stick (fished out before canning) instead of the ground. It is DELICIOUS (and I don’t like fresh figs), but took forever to cook down – I think next time (there will be a next time) I’ll use 3-4 grated apples instead of the juice.
Sandy – Sounds wonderful! I’m glad it worked out! Enjoy! 😀
Ok, this is my first try do u put the whole fig in ? Outside skin and all?
Kathi – Yep! I just cut off the stems after washing.
Is there a substitute for pure vanilla extract??
Emi – No, but you can leave it out. It’ll be fine. 🙂
Ok thank you
I have made this several times. I use it in a cake that needs fig butter. Our family likes it.
Nunu – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂