Instant Pot Applesauce

Name: Instant Pot Applesauce
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 lbs Apples (peeled and cored); 1/3 cup Water

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This easy recipe for homemade instant pot applesauce is unsweetened, and all you’ll need is apples and water! Feel free to make it chunky or add cinnamon and lemon juice. Great for canning or making in small batches from scratch.

This recipe for instant pot applesauce is ridiculously easy for those of us with an instant pot. It’s so easy that it’s only ONE ingredient. I usually would say that is an anomaly here on the blog, but I did happen to make a one ingredient cashew cream sauce that broke the one ingredient record.

This recipe was strangely born out of my desire to make my own ketchup. Since I was on a Whole30 at the time, I needed something that would add density and sweetness to it but not any sugar, obviously.

Because I was already at it, it didn’t seem like too much of a chore to make applesauce since it had the perfect taste and texture.

🥣 How to Make Instant Pot Apple Sauce

1️⃣ Peel, core, and quarter each apple.

2️⃣ Add apples to the instant pot along with 1/3 cup of water.

3️⃣ Cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes.

4️⃣ Remove from heat and blend or mash until desired consistency is reached

👉 Instant Pot Applesauce Cooking Tips

Add salt, lemon juice, cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice to flavor your applesauce.
Some people do not add extra liquid or water to their instant pot when making apple sauce. This all depends on the thickness of applesauce you are trying to achieve. I found that the ratio between 3lbs of apples works well with 1/3 cup of water.
Although lemon juice may slow down the process of browning or oxidation on things that are visible to serve, like apple slices, it is not necessary to use lemon juice in homemade applesauce as it’s usually stored in an airtight container where oxygen has less of a chance of getting into the food.
Homemade applesauce can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost applesauce in the fridge overnight.
You can make homemade applesauce with peels. Just make sure that you are cutting your apple pieces up even further as the peels or apple skins will not break down as quickly as the inside of an apple. This will cut down on having large pieces of apple skins to break down once the applesauce is cooked.

🍎Best Apples to Use

You can use any apples to make apple sauce. I personally like using green granny smith apples because they have the least amount of sugar when it comes to apples. I like to avoid overly sweet things, and these work best for me. Some people use a combination of apples which can include any of these types of apples:

Empire Apples
Golden Delicious Apples
Pink Lady Apples
McIntosh Apples
Red Delicious Apples
Gala Apples
Honeycrisp Apples
Granny Smith Apples

❔ FAQ

Is applesauce paleo and Whole30?

Unsweetened applesauce is in compliance with a paleo and whole30 way of eating as it is a whole fruit without any sweetener added. If you are not eating paleo or whole30, you can add sugar, coconut sugar, or liquid stevia to your applesauce to create your desired level of sweetness.

Can I make applesauce in a slow cooker?

Yes! Simply add cored and peeled apples along with water to a slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 6-8 hours. Once apples are fully cooked through, mash with a potato masher or fork until desired consistency is reached.