Instant Pot AppleSauce
This easy and delicious Instant Pot Applesauce recipe can be prepared in less than 20 minutes, requires zero peeling, and has no added sugar.
This lightly spiced Instant Pot Apple Sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and tart (we’ll discuss apple varieties and options below!), requires zero peeling, and contains no added sugar. Crisp autumn apples and warm baking spices are the star.
While I don’t use an Instant Pot that frequently in the kitchen, it is my favorite method for making homemade apple sauce. It makes for fast hands-off work, and allows you to make large batches at once.
While you can certainly prepare apple sauce on the stove, the pressure cooker reduces cook time and requires zero attention. You’ll dump all of the apples, spices, and liquid in the pot, give it a quick stir, and walk away.
This applesauce recipe produces an applesauce that has a smooth texture and great balance of natural sweetness and tartness. If you find most apple sauces to be too sweet or one-note in flavor, you’re going to love this recipe.
Apple Sauce Ingredients:
What Varieties of Apples Should I Use?
Similar to apple pie, ideally you’ll use a few different varieties of apples in applesauce. Different types will contribute varying levels of sweetness, tartness, and overall texture.
Unlike apple pie, where you want the apple slices to hold their shape fairly well once cooked (eg. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, etc.), homemade applesauce benefits from varieties that become tender and release a fair amount of liquid once cooked.
Fuji and Golden Delicious are considered great apples for apple sauce as they both tend to lose their shape quickly and contribute sweetness. Granny Smiths add that signature tartness that balances the overall flavor.
During recipe testing, I noticed an improved texture and overall flavor when using a combination of apples. With that said, I’ve also had much success preparing this recipe with 100% Pink Lady apples. See recipe notes for suggestions.
How to Make AppleSauce in an Instant Pot:
- Place the quartered apples, cold water, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a 6-quart (or larger) capacity instant pot. Stir to combine.
- Close the lid (*be sure to turn the valve to sealing*) and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and open via natural or quick release, being sure to avoid contact with any cooking steam. The mixture will look like a bit of a hot mess when you first open the lid, but will blend beautifully.
- Carefully blend the apples to desired texture using an immersion blender (*this is the easiest method!) or transfer and blend the apple mixture in smaller batches to a high-powered blender. The apple sauce will thicken considerably once cool. Allow to cool before transferring to a container or glass quart jars. Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Tips for Success:
- You’ll be able to make this instant pot applesauce in just 7 minutes of high pressure cooking time. Since this calls for 5 pounds of fresh apples, it is very important to use a pressure cooker that is at least 6 quarts (or larger) in size.
- Do not skip or reduce the water quantity in the recipe above. Pressure cookers require a minimum amount of liquid in order for them to come to pressure.
- This recipe makes two quarts of applesauce. It can be stored in a container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days or frozen and thawed at a later date.
- For added flavor, we’ll add ground cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla extract. If you’re using the apple sauce for savory applications, reduce or omit the spices. Don’t forget a few pinches of kosher salt for balance!
Peeled vs. Unpeeled Apples
Most apple sauce recipes call for peeled apples, which takes a lot of preparation time. This recipe does not require apple peeling. Since most dietary fiber and nutrients are found in the skin, it will also be more nutritious.
It will look quite messy just after cooking, but blends perfectly with an immersion blender or high-powered blender.
How to Use This Instant Pot Apple Sauce:
- quick breakfast parfaits: spooned or layered with Greek yogurt and topped with crunchy granola. make your own DIY yogurt pots by layering yogurt and apple sauce in small glass jars and storing covered in the fridge.
- spooned on top of warm steel cut oats or waffles!
- served slightly warm on top of vanilla ice cream.
- in baked goods in lieu of store-bought apple sauce. just remember to reduce any other baking spices to account for the added flavor.
- reduce or omit the baking spices and serve alongside savory dishes, such as pork or chicken.
Flavor Variation Ideas:
How to Make Cranberry Apple Sauce: Add 1 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries for a seasonal tart twist.
How to Make Blackberry or Raspberry Apple Sauce: Add 1-2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries. It adds a touch of tartness and creates a gorgeous dark purple hue!
Instant Pot Apple Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Fuji apples (roughly 4) unpeeled, cored, and quartered
- 2 lbs Golden Delicious apples (roughly 4) unpeeled, cored, and quartered
- 1 lb Granny Smith apples (roughly 2) unpeeled, cored, and quartered
- 1 cup (240 mL) cold water *see notes
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼-½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 large pinches kosher salt
Instructions
- Place the quartered apples, cold water, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a 6-quart (or larger) capacity instant pot. Stir to combine.
- Close the lid (*be sure to turn the valve to sealing*) and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and open via natural or quick release, being sure to avoid contact with any cooking steam. The mixture will look like a bit of a hot mess when you first open the lid, but will blend beautifully.
- Carefully blend the apples to desired texture using an immersion blender (*this is the easiest method!) or transfer and blend the apple mixture in smaller batches in a high-powered blender or large food processor. The apple sauce will thicken considerably once cool. Allow to cool before transferring to a container or glass quart jars. Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Flavor Variation:
- Add 1 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries or 1-2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries for a seasonal twist!
- Feel free to adapt the dried spices to suit your taste preference.
Tips for Success:
- Do not skip or reduce the water quantity in the recipe above. Pressure cookers require a minimum amount of liquid in order for them to come to pressure.
- I prefer to use a combination of apple varieties to produce a more nuanced applesauce flavor. Granny Smith apples contribute tartness, Fuji apples are balanced and high in moisture (lending themselves well to applesauce), and Golden Delicious contribute sweetness. If you don’t feel like buying a variety, this recipe works great with 100% Fuji or Pink Lady apples as well.
22 Comments on “Instant Pot AppleSauce”
I’m using Black Twig apples from a tree in my garden, which are tart but sweet. (The twigs are regular brown.)
We had good rains this year so there are a ton of them! I cut the spots from the ugly ones picked up off the ground for applesauce, which I’ve always made in a pot on the stove after peeling, chopping dicing. Ugh. So much work! I am really glad to be able to leave the peels on, and more nutrition to boot! Thank you for this recipe.
I just made my first batch…delicious. It’s the cardamom! Thank you
I just made a batch to eat with latkes during Hanukkah this week and my whole apartment smells incredible! I’ve made this applesauce several times before and love how easy and delicious it is. This time I used up lots of different types of mystery apples (and one ripe pear) leftover from my CSA and added a bit of ground ginger and nutmeg. Now I just need to make the latkes!
Yay! Love this Abby! Thank you!
So delicious! I have made this recipe 4 or 5 times, and my kids always polish it off in a few days. My son would eat all of it in a single day if I let him (teenagers!).
Yay! I love that so much. This reminds me that I need to make a batch myself soon! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review and feedback! It is so helpful.
I made this today with a bunch of golden delicious from my backyard tree! it was incredibly easy and delicious! I added a knob of ginger to the pressure cooker since I didn’t have cardamom, and a couple glugs of bourbon 🙂 I’m eating it warm now while I wait for the water bath to warm up so I can preserve the rest. thanks!
I don´t have an instant pot or a pressure cooker. Will the recipe change if I use a normal pan?
You can definitely make apple sauce in a saucepan, but just be careful to watch it. It will take more time and you might need to increase the water quantity a bit. Hope this helps!
Heart of a Baker recommended this recipe to me. This is hands down the easiest and quickest way to make a flavorful applesauce! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I am looking forward to sharing it with friends this week!
I just got an 8 qt. Instant Pot. I have made applesauce before in my 6 qt., but I’d like to make as much at once as possible–I have to make applesauce and pear sauce today, they are too imperfect to eat. How much can I make at once. You said 5 lbs. for a 6 qt. Can my 8 qt. make 7 lbs.? or more? Thank you!
Delicious! I replaced 2 TB water with bourbon. Not sure if it made a huge difference but the result was delicious all the same. A little too thin, but next time i’ll just leave some of the liquid behind when I blend it up.
So happy to hear that, and love your adaptation – sounds delish!
Is the 5lbs of apples before or after they’re cored?
Before! Just a separate note, if an ingredient in a recipe provides the preparation style after the quantity, it is (or should be, according to recipe styling) referring to the ingredient quantity prior to preparation: ie. 2 cups apples, cored (that’s 2 cups of whole apples, then cored) vs. 2 cups cored apples (2 cups already cored apples). Hope this helps, great question.
Gotcha! Thanks for the quick reply and for the explanation. Now I know for future recipes!????????
PS. I just made this applesauce and now my house smells like a giant apple pie and I love it. Can’t wait to try it out in the morning!
Hi Laura,
I just got an instant pot (DUO80 8 qt) and it says not to use it for applesauce or oatmeal because of foaming. I guess this is one of those calculated risks that one can make with an appliance but wondering if you had any concerns about this?
It looks amazing and I’m tempted to try it anyway!
Thanks!!
Kristin, you can reduce foaming by adding a bit of fat – with beans, you can add some oil, and with apples, you can add some butter. That’s not even necessary, though, if you let it go to natural release. The problem arises when you want to quick release the pressure, as the foam will get forced through your valve, clogging it and spewing foamy apples or bean bits.
Laura, this is brilliant. I’ve always believed you had to peel apples in order to make apple sauce. We have a couple of apple trees in the backyard, but they are small and take forever to peel. Now that I know I don’t HAVE to peel them, I will be making many batches of apple sauce, with homegrown apples, in my Instant Pot! Thanks for the tip!
I’m just starting to use my instant pot more, but am totally curious about your skepticism regarding it’s rice cooking capabilities. I’ve used it as a rice cooker once or twice and it definitely is a lower rice:water ratio than I’ve ever seen before. What has your experience been??
As for this apple sauce. WHOA. Game changer. Definitely making a big batch to give to Remy with breakfast every day!
Yum! Want this applesauce with yoghurt right now! Like the photos too!
Love these photos! The parfait was delicious this morning!!!