Effortless, “dump and go,” homemade applesauce made in Instant Pot without any sugar! A versatile applesauce recipe that you can relish as is or use in baking or other desserts or make delicious apple-flavored waffles or pancakes.
As much as I love fresh apples, I love applesauce(in fact more than the kiddo), apple-based desserts(linked below), and pickles as well. IMO, the combination of apple and cinnamon is heavenly.
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Instead of grabbing a piece of chocolate or other sugary treats, a ¼ cup of this naturally sweetened apple sauce would be perfect, especially if you follow any specific diet.
What’s so special about this applesauce,
- No added sugar. The sweetness naturally comes from apples making it a healthy snack.
- You can customize this applesauce to taste by combining different apples. Make it tangier by using more granny smith or sweeter by adding more gala! Also, make it smooth or chunky. Ahh, the perks of making things from scratch at home!
- Effortless to make. It’s a dump-and-go Instant Pot recipe, and you don’t need to babysit.
- Kids friendly and toddler friendly.
Ingredients required
We only need five ingredients for this recipe. All we need is some apples; I used a mix of gala and honey crisp, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, ground cinnamon, and water. The detailed measures are in the recipe card, and don’t forget to check the FAQ session.
Dietary specifications & storing suggestions
This Instant Pot apple sauce is naturally vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free. Make sure you cool the apple sauce before storing them in air-tight containers or jars. I have stored it for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them for more extended use. Just thaw them before using them.
How to use the applesauce
While you can relish the applesauce, you can also use it in various dishes.
- It’s naturally unsweetened so that you can use them in baking. Skip the ground cinnamon if you are exclusively making this for baking as an egg replacer.
- Add it to your pancake batter or waffle batter and make delicious apple-flavored pancakes or waffles.
- Add this applesauce to your cooked oatmeal for additional flavor.
- You can also add it to your beverages and mocktails.
How to make apple sauce in Instant Pot?
- Add the peeled and chopped apples, lemon juice, salt, ground cinnamon, and water into the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Mix well. Close the Instant Pot. Ensure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook the apples at high pressure for 10 minutes, and after the cooking is done, naturally release the pressure.
- Then carefully open the Instant Pot, and here is how the cooked apples look.
- With a back of a spoon or ladle, mash the apples thoroughly.
- Here are the mashed apples and let them cool completely before storing them in an air-tight container.
Recipe notes
- You can make this on the stove-top too. Add the apples and water to a saucepan and cook until the apples are soft and mashable. Then add the lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and mash it well. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.
- Similarly, you can make pear sauce also or add one or two pears along with apples.
- Please check the FAQ section for other options and variations.
Frequently asked questions
You can use any available variety. I love to combine different varieties, especially gala and honey crisp. Pink lady, fuji, McIntosh, granny smith works well too. Combine or add the variety depending on how sweet or tangy you want your apple sauce to be.
Unless it’s from my backyard or my friend’s backyard, I always peel the apples. You can include apple skin, no need to peel them. With apple skin, you will get a chunky apple sauce. Make sure to buy good-quality apples without wax on the skin.
Not needed, but if you prefer sweeter applesauce, you can add brown sugar before serving.
Explore other apple recipes
PS: If you try this Instant Pot applesauce, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it ASAP. Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Applesauce
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- 4 apples approx 2 pounds 3.2 oz, peeled, seeds removed and chopped
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/16 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Add the peeled and chopped apples, lemon juice, salt, ground cinnamon, and water into the inner pot of the Instant Pot.
- Mix well. Close the Instant Pot. Ensure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook the apples at high pressure for 10 minutes, and after the cooking is done, naturally release the pressure.
- Then carefully open the Instant Pot, and here is how the cooked apples look.
- With a back of a spoon or ladle, mash the apples thoroughly.
- Here are the mashed apples and let them cool completely before storing them in an air-tight container.
Notes
- You can make this on the stove-top too. Add the apples and water to a saucepan and cook until the apples are soft and mashable. Then add the lemon juice, cinnamon, salt and mash it well. Cook for a minute and turn off the heat.
- Similarly, you can make pear sauce also or add one or two pears along with apples.
- Please check the FAQ section for other options and variations.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
I love applesauce even if I am out of the kids age range and yours looks perfect
Hmm mine are too old for this sauce but can use it as a replacer for eggs.
A great one.I have seen plain apple sauce being fed to tiny infants in small doses in our home and the infants love it.
If not for the infants, you can use it to replace eggs and butter in baking.
We just came back with a ton of apples after apple picking this weekend. This apple sauce looks like the perfect use for them.
Such a kids friendly apple sauce, my lil one love this sauce.
A easy and versatile sauce.
Healthy sauce.. very tasty too
I love apple with cinnamon..Must try recipe for me..bookmarked.
Oh that’s a useful post..I love apple sauce for my eggless bakes..
Very easy and healthy to make at home.
Only last weekend I made a similar apple sauce Vidhya.. I used it in a cake recipe, but little sodhappal.. cake turned out super dense :( I have to try it again – I mean the cake with apple sauce as the egg substitue.. :)
How much did you use? I usually go with 1/4 cup and add 1 tbsp of oil (for 1 egg) for my eggless bakes.
Amazing ! This apple sauce will be so versatile :)
Yeah.. Thanks Prachi.
This ss one of my son’s fav when he was 8 months.. Now a days he s not at all eating fruits and I almost forgot preparing this, thanks da for reminding.. BTW pic lighting sema
Thanks da.. Vaandu still eats this apple sauce. I dunno if its good or not. He likes the cinnamon flavor. Photo yedo fluke la vandadu.
healthy and delicious apple sauce.Nice choice.
Thanks Vaishali
I like cinnamon with apple.Looks yummy.
Thanks Sapana
That is a nice homemade sauce. That is a good one for condiments theme
:-) Kiddo still likes it so thought of adding it