Once you taste this recipe for Homemade Applesauce, you won't be able to eat it from a jar ever again! Let me show you how to celebrate the start of Fall with another one of our delicious apple dessert recipes.
Directions for either the instant pot or crock pot are included. Don't forget to print out the FREE Cheat Sheets!
When my children were babies I made homemade applesauce for them all the time. Then life got busy and I started purchasing it in those cute little containers to put in their lunch boxes.
However, over the weekend, we stopped by a local farm and purchased apples and I decided to make applesauce again and share the recipe here on my site.
Applesauce is not only great to serve as dessert. It pairs nicely with savory recipes as well to serve as an easy Vegetable Side Dish when making your favorite pork recipe.
The next time you're preparing pot roast or barbecue chicken, serve applesauce as a side dish.
This is the perfect sweet snack or dessert that really does taste like the inside of a Homemade Apple Pie.
Table of Contents
- Instant Pot Apple Sauce
- What are the Best Apples to use for Applesauce?
- 🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools
- Main Ingredients Needed:
- Instant Pot Directions
- Quick Release
- Serving Tips
- Homemade Apple Sauce in Crock Pot
- Before You Begin!
- Tips on Freezing Homemade Applesauce
- Things to make with Applesauce
- 🌟Try these recipes next...
- 📖 Recipe Card
- 💬 Comments
Instant Pot Apple Sauce
One of the reasons why I love this recipe, is because you can make the applesauce in the crock pot or the instant pot.
Instant Pot Apple Sauce is one of the easiest things to cook and with an instant pot you can enjoy it in just 20 minutes! This honey and cinnamon version is a nice spin on a classic that you’ll love.
Whichever way you decide to make the applesauce you'll love how your house will smell while the apples cook.
What are the Best Apples to use for Applesauce?
The following apples are perfect to make applesauce because they are a sweet apple. You want to try to use a sweet apple for applesauce so you don’t have to add too much sugar to the apples while they cook.
- Gala
- Rome Beauty
- Stayman
- Golden Delicious
You can also check out this post I did on How to Choose the Best Apples for Baking and Eating to help you decide which apples to select once they start appearing in the grocery store or local farmer's market.
🛒Helpful Kitchen Tools
More InformationMore InformationMore InformationMore Information
Main Ingredients Needed:
Here's a quick overview of the ingredients for this recipe. Find the exact amounts and click the Instacart button to easily add them to your cart – all in the printable recipe card below!
- 3 lbs (or 5 medium-large) apples
- Water
- Ground cinnamon
- Honey
- Pinch of salt
Instant Pot Directions
Instructions for the Crock Pot method are at the bottom of this post!
- Step 1: Peel and core the apples then cut them into even-sized chunks.
- Step 2: Place the apple pieces into the pressure cooker pot then sprinkle in the cinnamon and salt, then pour in the honey and then the water.
- Step 3: Give the ingredients a good stir until well combined.
- Step 4: Place the lid on the instant pot/pressure cooker and set the valve to "Sealing" then press "Pressure Cook", High and for 5 minutes.
Quick Release
- Step 5: Once the cooking time has completed allow to sit for 5 minutes then turn valve to "Venting" to do a quick release and allow all of the pressure to release. Carefully open the lid away from your face.
- Step 6: Mash the apples to the consistency you desire.
📌Cooking Tip: Use a potato masher or an Immersion Blender to mash the applesauce to your desired consistency.
- Step 7: If the applesauce is too liquidy for your taste you can set the pressure cooker to sauté and cook it down to your desired thickness. Taste and adjust honey if desired.
Serving Tips
- Serve applesauce warm or allow to cool in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- This applesauce will keep fresh in the fridge for about a week — if it lasts that long.
Homemade Apple Sauce in Crock Pot
- Combine all the ingredients into a crock pot that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until the apples are cooked down.
- Serve as is for chunky styled applesauce or use a potato masher for finer applesauce
Before You Begin!
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Tips on Freezing Homemade Applesauce
One of the things I love most about this recipe is it's so easy to freeze! Here are a few freezing tips to follow:
- Wait until the applesauce has cooled completely.
- Spoon the cooled applesauce into freezer-safe containers.
- You can also use freezer-safe bags! This is really great if you don't have a lot of room in your freezer.
- Homemade applesauce can last up to two months stored in the freezer, however, you should not refreeze it once it has thawed.
Things to make with Applesauce
- If you want to use applesauce for baking, it's best to prepare the applesauce unsweetened. So leave any sweetener out of the baking process.
- Try this recipe for Simple Oatmeal Cookies for Diabetics that uses applesauce!
- Substitute ½ cup unsweetened applesauce for ½ cup of vegetable oil. This will also help cut down on the calories in a recipe.
Remove the container or bag from the freezer and place in the refrigerator overnight or for several hours. If the water in the applesauce separates a little, stir the applesauce to bind everything together to its original texture. Do not refreeze defrosted applesauce.
Homemade applesauce stored in an air-tight container should last for up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
🌟Try these recipes next...
📖 Recipe Card
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Homemade Applesauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 lbs or 5 medium-large red apples
- 1 cup of water
- ½ to 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup of honey
- large pinch of salt
Instructions
- Peel and core the apples then cut them into even-sized chunks.
- Place the apple pieces into the pressure cooker pot then sprinkle in the cinnamon and salt, then pour in the honey and then the water.
- Give the ingredients a good stir until well combined.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker and set the pressure cooker valve to Sealing then press Pressure Cook, High and for 5 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has completed allow to sit for 5 minutes then turn valve to Venting to do a quick release and allow all of the pressure to release.
- Carefully open the lid away from your face.
- Use a potato masher to mash the applesauce to your desired consistency, or you can also use a stick blender to blend until completely smooth.
- If the applesauce is too liquidy for your taste you can set the pressure cooker to sauté and cook it down to your desired thickness.
- Taste and adjust honey if desired.
- Serve warm or allow to cool in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Instructions on how to make this recipe using the crock pot:
- Combine all the ingredients into a crock pot that's been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until the apples are cooked down.
- Serve as is for chunky styled applesauce or use a potato masher for finer applesauce.
This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2013 with new photos and a new printable recipe card that includes nutritional information. I'm also including instructions on how you can make applesauce using the instant pot. I hope you enjoy the updates as much as I enjoyed working on them!
Marilyn says
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Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too! Please stay safe and healthy. Come party with us at Over The Moon! Catapult your content Over The Moon! @marilyn_lesniak @EclecticRedBarn
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angie says
love homemade applesauce oh boy can remember as akid that we would travel over to the apple orchard and for days afterward we would have treats made from apples... applesauce was one of my personal favorites. Thanks for sharing
Lois says
Thank you. My kids loved this recipe!
Miz Helen says
We just love homemade Apple Sauce, it is really delicious! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you are having a great weekend and come back soon!
Miz Helen
Cynthia Landrie says
Great job Lois! I just made applesauce in the slow cooker too. We always add cinnamon and other spices. Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party! See you next week.
Cindy Jamieson says
I love making apple sauce in the crock pot. The kids love it better than store bought! Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.
Vee says
If I get ahold of those wild apples...
Joanne DiPalo says
Love homemade applesauce Lois. BUT I never used a crockpot. I'm still on the hunt for one - actually I've been so busy that I really haven't been able to pick one up. Thanks for sharing your recipe which I will try as soon as I can buy my crockpot :).
Eric Pepple says
Nothing quite like homemade apple sauce, such a delicious treat and wonderful this time of year. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Beth says
I love homemade apple sauce. It tastes so much better than the canned kind. Thank you for the recipe.