Instant Pot Applesauce – Two Peas & Their Pod

Instant Pot Applesauce is the easiest, fastest way to get homemade applesauce! You can make it as smooth or chunky as you want and the flavors are amazing.

Homemade Applesauce

One of my very favorite fall flavors is APPLE. Pumpkin gets a lot of love and attention this time of year (and with good reason, you know I am obsessed, hello pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin bread), but apple is a classic for me and I always try to make sure I celebrate apple season too! Every fall, we make homemade applesauce like it’s going out of style. It is a fall staple at our house.

This Instant Pot Applesauce is hands down the easiest way to make homemade applesauce. You don’t have to spend hours waiting for the apples to cook down. In the Instant Pot, it happens in just a couple minutes! And as soon as you open the lid of your Instant Pot and see that delicious, cinnamon-y, homemade applesauce…you’ll be obsessed. I know I am!

Easy Applesauce Recipe

I love this applesauce recipe because it is EASY and HEALTHY! Unlike the applesauce you buy in the store that’s made with preservatives and added sugars, this recipe only has a small handful of ingredients and they’re ALL healthy. This applesauce has no added sugars and is still plenty sweet and super delicious!

You only need 5 ingredients for this applesauce recipe:

• Apples
• Fresh lemon juice
• Water
• Cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

That’s it! I love that this applesauce is sweetened with just the apples and cinnamon! It lets their natural, delicious flavors really shine. If you want to add a little sugar, honey, or maple syrup, you can, but I don’t think it needs it!

What Kind of Apples Should I Use?

You can use just about any variety of apple to make homemade applesauce. I don’t like to use red delicious because the texture is usually a little more mushy, but any other apples are great, especially during apple season.

My favorite apples to use are a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. I love the sweet and tart combo! Fuji, Gala, Sweet Tango, Mcintosh, Cortland, Jazz, and Golden Delicious are all good options.

How to Make Applesauce

Really, it’s as simple as peeling and slicing apples and then using your Instant Pot!

• Add peeled apples, lemon juice, water, salt, and cinnamon into your Instant Pot and give it a good stir. Get very, very excited, because you’re only about 15 minutes away from fresh, homemade applesauce!
• Make sure the pressure knob is pointing towards “Seal.” This is super important! Using manual selection, set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 5 minutes.
• Let the steam release naturally for 5 minutes, then use the quick valve to get rid of the rest of the steam. Be SO careful here–that steam is hot!
• Remove the lid and give it all another stir. Now you need to decide how chunky you want your applesauce! You can use a potato masher to break it all up for bigger pieces of apple in your applesauce. Giving it a pulse with an immersion blender will get you smoother applesauce. You can also transfer to a blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. I like my applesauce chunky so only mash it a little bit.

Can I Make Applesauce in the Crockpot?

YES! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, no worries! You can easily make this applesauce recipe in the slow cooker.

Add tall of the ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally so the apples don’t stick. Use an immersion blender or pour the applesauce into a blender and blend until smooth. If you want chunky applesauce mash with a potato masher or stir and break up with a spoon.

How to Store

Homemade applesauce will keep in a sealed container for 7-10 days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it for up to 3 months. Go apple picking, make a TON of this Instant Pot Applesauce, and enjoy it all season long!

Uses for Applesauce

Applesauce is good on it’s own, the boys love eating it plain, but here are a few other ways to enjoy it!

• Spread it on toast, my favorite! Even better with peanut butter toast!
• Use as a topping for waffles, pancakes, and French toast
• Add applesauce to yogurt, cottage cheese, or ice cream
• Mix it into a bowl of oatmeal
• Use applesauce to replace oil or butter in baking recipes

If you like this applesauce recipe, try: