Fall is apple season and one of the best things about crisp sweet apples is making homemade applesauce with this easy applesauce recipe.
It only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish in the electric pressure cooker and you only need 5 ingredients to make delicious homemade applesauce.
This apple recipe is a perfect fall recipe to use those fresh ripe and crisp apples you may have picked at an apple orchard or bought at the grocery store.
This easy apple Instant Pot recipe makes quick work of making a perfect batch of homemade applesauce for your family.
Ingredients
- fresh apples
- lemon juice or Fruit Fresh
- water
- sugar (optional)
- cinnamon (optional)
Directions
Prep: Scrub the apples under cold water. Peel, core and chop the apples into cubes.
Step 1: As you cube the apples add them to a large bowl. Add the lemon juice or Fruit Fresh to the bowl and toss the apple pieces to coat to prevent them from browning.
Step 2: Once all of the apples are cubed and added to the bowl of lemon juice/Fruit Fresh. You can rinse the apple pieces if you like to remove any flavor of the lemon juice or Fruit Fresh.
Step 3: Add the water, sugar (if using) and ground cinnamon (if using) to the Instant Pot.
Step 4: Add the chopped apple pieces to the Instant Pot and use a large wooden spoon to toss the apples pieces and combine with the other ingredients.
Step 5: Place the lid on the Instant Pot. Lock it into the sealed position. Make sure the pressure valve is turned to the sealing position.
Step 6: Pressure cook: Press the manual button and set the timer to 5 minutes.
Step 7: When the Instant Pot beeps notifying you that it has finished the pressure cooking cycle allow the steam to naturally release for 15 minutes. After fifteen minutes open the Instant Pot.
Step 8: Use a potato masher or immersion blender to break up the cooked apples. If you like a chunky apple sauce only mash or blend a few times.
For a smoother baby food like applesauce you can use a blender or a stick blender to get the smoothest applesauce consistency.
This recipe makes about 2 ½ to 3 cups of applesauce. Amounts will vary depending on the variety of apples used.
Instant Pot Apple Recipes
Instant Pot apple recipes are very easy to make and it only takes a few minutes to turn a bowl of apples into a delicious and sweet treat.
Besides making homemade applesauce in the instant pot you can make Instant Pot Cinnamon Apples.
Instant Pot Cinnamon Apples is a rich, thick and gooey apple dessert recipe that can be eaten in a bowl as a dessert, used as a dessert topping for pound cake or vanilla ice cream or it makes a fabulous apple pie filling.
Unsweetened Homemade Applesauce recipe
One the best things about making homemade applesauce is that you control the ingredients.
You can make unsweetened homemade applesauce or add a small amount of sugar.
This homemade applesauce recipe is naturally sweetened by the sugars in the apples.
What kind of apples are best for making applesauce?
What apple variety is best apples for making applesauce? As you probably know each apple variety has a slightly different flavor and level of sweetness.
If this is your first time making applesauce I suggest you start with an apple that you love to eat.
I have a couple of favorite apple varieties. Two of my favorite apple variety that I love to make applesauce with is Gala Apples and Honey Crisp Apples.
Homemade applesauce is so easy and delicious to make that you will be making it every chance you get so experiment with the variety of apples used until you find the perfect apple for your homemade applesauce.
You can also use a combination of apple varieties and come up with your own flavor combination for homemade applesauce
Expert Recipe Tips
- I used 10 fresh New York State apples that were small to large in size and two different varieties of apples.
- Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and add the remaining tablespoon if the apples start turning brown. Different varieties of apples may brown faster or even not at all as you peel them.
- This is a no sugar added applesauce recipe. I find that most apples are sweet enough on their own and don't need any added sugar when making homemade apple sauce.
- If you like a sweeter applesauce then add 1 or two tablespoons after the apple sauce has finished pressure cooking.
Need a few more Instant Pot recipes to make your life easier? Head over to the Flour On My Face Instant Pot Recipes page for more easy Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Applesauce Recipe
Instant Pot Applesauce is going to be your second favorite fall instant pot apple recipe. Instant Pot Applesauce is even easier to make than Crock Pot Applesauce.
While, both homemade applesauce recipes are easy to make. The Instant Pot Applesauce has the major advantage of only taking a few minutes to make compared to the hours it takes to make it in the crock pot.
It only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish in the Instant Pot.
You will of course have to peel and chop the apples before you can start the cooking process. The amount of prep time will vary from person to person. It takes me about 20 minutes.
More recipes
Check out these other instant pot recipes you may like.
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Instant Pot Applesauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 large Apples (peeled, cored and chopped - about 9 cups chopped diced apple)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (optional to prevent browning)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the apples by scrubbing them under cold running water. Peel, core and chop 2 to three apples at a time.
- Add the chopped apple pieces to a large bowl and add the lemon juice. Toss the apple pieces to coat with lemon juice to prevent them from browning.
- As you peel, core and chop the apples and add the chopped apple pieces to the bowl and toss the apple pieces to coat all sides of the apple pieces with the lemon juice.
- Once all of the apples are chopped and added to the bowl of lemon juice pour the apple pieces into the Instant Pot.
- Add the water and ground cinnamon to the Instant Pot. Use a large wooden spoon to toss the apples pieces and coat with the cinnamon.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot. Lock it into the sealed position. Make sure the pressure valve is turned to the sealing position.
- Press the manual button and set the timer to 5 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps notifying you that it has finished the pressure cooking cycle allow the steam to naturally release for 15 minutes.
- After fifteen minutes open the Instant Pot. Use a potato masher or immersion blender to break up the cooked apples. If you like a chunky apple sauce only mash or blend a few times. For a smoother baby food like apple sauce you can use a blender or a stick blender to get the smoothest applesauce consistency.
- Makes about 2 ½ to 3 cups of applesauce. Amount will vary depending on the variety of apples used.
- Refrigerate the applesauce and use within a week.
Video
Recipe Expert Tips
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Different models of electric pressure cookers may have a more sensitive BURN notification. If your IP is sensitive you may need to increase the amount of water used in this recipe. You may have to increase the amount of water slowly by adding about ¼ of a cup or less until you find the right water ratio. This will yield a thinner applesauce.
- Apples: Different apple varieties will also play a hand in this. A juicier apple will release more liquids while cooking. It is best to start with a smaller amount of water and add more as needed.
- I used 10 fresh New York State apples that were small to large in size and two different varieties of apples.
- Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and add the remaining tablespoon if the apples start turning brown. Different varieties of apples may brown faster or even not at all as you peel them.
- This is a no sugar added applesauce recipe. I find that most apples are sweet enough on their own and don't need any added sugar when making homemade apple sauce.
- If you like a sweeter applesauce then add 1 or two tablespoons after the apple sauce has finished pressure cooking.
Sarah Tevis
I love homemade applesauce, and I love even more that it's possible to make it in the Instant Pot!! Thanks for your recipe, pinning for later. 🙂