Crockpot applesauce makes it easy to make a big batch of applesauce from scratch! Slow cooking breaks down the apples and intensifies their flavor, so you don’t even need to add any sugar to sweeten it.
Why you’ll love it: You won’t believe how easy it is to make this three ingredient applesauce recipe!
How long it takes: 4 to 6 hours
Equipment you’ll need: slow cooker
Servings: makes 7 cups
Maybe you think applesauce is synonymous with bland and boring, and I agree, store-bought applesauce is nothing to get excited about. Homemade applesauce is a whole different ball game, whether it’s Instant Pot applesauce or this crockpot applesauce. In my mind, a warm bowl of homemade applesauce is total comfort food.
Homemade applesauce is a real treat, and it’s also super customizable. It can be cinnamon spiced, or you can experiment with other spices (I share some ideas below!); you can make it super chunky, extra-smooth, or somewhere in between!
Different apples produce different flavors too, so you can double down on your favorite variety, or use a mix of a few varieties to see what happens.
Use this homemade crockpot applesauce as an accompaniment to spice rubbed pork tenderloin or air fryer pork chops, or just enjoy it as a healthy snack or dessert! We love to top our whole wheat pancakes or buckwheat pancakes with warm applesauce and cinnamon for a hearty breakfast.
Reasons to Love Crockpot Applesauce
- Cozy, warm flavor. And not just flavor but aroma too. Your whole house will smell amazing while this applesauce cooks in your crockpot! The combination of cinnamon and apples is a little bit like a warm hug.
- Ridiculously easy. All you need are apples, cinnamon, and water, and once you’ve prepped the apples, the hard work is done. It’s all hands-off while the slow cooker does its job.
- It uses a lot of apples. If you overdid it at the apple orchard or couldn’t pass up a big bag of apples on sale at the grocery store, crockpot applesauce is a perfect way to put them to use. Apples are economical and healthy, too.
- It freezes well. Since it makes a large batch, being able to freeze it is awesome! Freeze applesauce in smaller portions and then take it out of the freezer when you’re craving applesauce.
Ingredient Notes
- Apples: Choose medium-sized apples, or if yours are bigger or smaller, go by weight. This isn’t a fussy recipe; using more apples or fewer apples won’t change the end result too much.
- Ground Cinnamon: You can use more, less, or leave it out altogether.
- Water: You may need to adjust this and add more if your apples aren’t yielding much juice as they cook. Some varieties have more juice than others.
How to make Crockpot Applesauce
Prepare the apples by washing, peeling, and coring them, then chop them into about 8 pieces that are roughly even in size.
Add the apples to the slow cooker with the cinnamon (optional) and water. Gently stir.
Cover the crockpot and cook the apples on the Low setting for 4 to 6 hours, or until the apples are soft and easily mashed. The applesauce can be served as is, or you can add more cinnamon or sweeten it with sugar, if desired.
Choose the texture you prefer (3 ways)
Once the apples are soft, there are three different methods to choose from:
- Chunky applesauce: Serve the applesauce, as is. If there are any larger chunks, crush them with the side of a spoon, or use a potato masher to mash them to the desired consistency.
- Smooth applesauce: Let the applesauce cool slightly. Process it with a food mill or chinois strainer. If you choose this method, you won’t need to peel the apples before you cook them because the food mill will strain out the peelings and cores.
- Very smooth applesauce: If you are looking for applesauce with a velvety texture (like baby food), blend the warm applesauce with an immersion blender or carefully transfer the mixture to a regular blender. For this method, the apples can be cooked with the peelings but not the cores. The cooked peels will be pulverized right into the applesauce. With or without peels, it’s your choice.
Make a Bigger Batch
If you have a lot of apples and want to make a larger batch of crockpot applesauce, you can! Fill the crockpot all the way to the top with apples and increase the water to 1 cup. As long as the lid fits securely, you’re good. Stir the applesauce once or twice so it cooks evenly.A good applesauce apple is the opposite of a good baking apple. In this case, you want an apple that will break down with heat. These apples form the foundation of your applesauce. If you choose another variety that tends to be firmer, like Pink Lady or Honeycrisp, your applesauce will be a bit chunkier.
If you’re pressing the apples through a food mill, you can leave the skins on; the food mill will separate the skins from the rest of the fruit. A blender or stick blender will pulverize the cooked apple peelings but I find that the texture becomes almost too smooth, a bit like baby food.
Recipe Variations
- Try different spices. A chai spice blend is fabulous for crockpot applesauce, or you can use apple pie spice. If you want to come up with your own combination, in addition to cinnamon, other warm spices that work well with applesauce include cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
- Add pears. You can substitute pears for half of the apples for pear applesauce. (I love this vanilla bean pear applesauce too!)
- Infuse it with flavor. Speaking of that vanilla bean pear applesauce, you can use a whole split vanilla bean to infuse your applesauce with vanilla flavor, or throw a cinnamon stick in your slow cooker. If you have whole cloves, cardamom pods, etc., wrap them up in a small piece of cheesecloth, add them to the slow cooker, then remove them when the applesauce is finished cooking.
- Looking for a faster method? Try Instant Pot applesauce. It’s ready to eat in less than an hour. You can also cook applesauce in a large pan, such as a Dutch oven, on the stove.
How To Serve Homemade Applesauce
Side dish: A bowl of applesauce is a versatile side dish that goes well with almost any meal. It can be served as a salad or a dessert.
Breakfast: Spoon chunky homemade crockpot applesauce on top of crockpot oatmeal or layer it with yogurt and granola to make breakfast parfaits. Try layering warm applesauce on pancakes, French toast, or waffles for a breakfast “apple pie”.
Baking: Use applesauce for baking, like in this whole wheat applesauce bread. You’ll find applesauce as a “hidden” ingredient in many of my quick bread and muffin recipes. Using applesauce reduces the need for oil, resulting in a healthier baked good. A couple of examples are banana bread muffins and triple chocolate banana muffins.
Refrigerate/Freeze: Once the applesauce cools, transfer it to a covered bowl or into airtight containers. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months. If you freeze your crockpot applesauce, let it thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
More Apple Recipes
Crockpot Applesauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 medium-sized apples, about 5 pounds (see note)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, more to taste
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar, optional
Instructions
- Wash, peel, core, and chop each apple into about 8 pieces. The size of the chunks don’t need to be precise as they will break down during cooking, but try to keep them somewhat even so they cook at the same pace.15 medium-sized apples, about 5 pounds
- Place the chopped apples in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon and water to the apples. Gently stir.1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, more to taste, ¼ cup water
- Cover the slow cooker and cook the apples on the Low setting for 4 to 6 hours (see notes). The apples should become soft and easily mashable.
- Once the apples are soft, if necessary, mash any larger chunks with the side of a spoon, or use a potato masher to mash them to the desired consistency. For very smooth applesauce, put it through a food mill, blend it with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer the mixture to a regular blender.
- Taste the applesauce. Add more cinnamon if desired. If you’d like the applesauce to be sweeter, add a quarter cup of sugar, or more to taste.¼ cup sugar, optional
- Allow the applesauce to cool before transferring it to a covered bowl or into airtight containers. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Apple varieties: McIntosh, Gala, Jonagold, Cortland, Ida Red or Rome are good choices. A mixture of apples is great, too. Some apple varieties tend to be less juicy than others. You may need to add more water if the applesauce seems too dry.
- Cooking notes: The exact cooking time will depend on the type of apples you choose and the size of the chunks. The apples will cook more evenly if you are able to stir the apples once or twice during the cooking time but it’s not essential. If you’d like to hurry things along, cook the apples on high for 1 hour, stir well, then cook on low for 2 hours.
- Big batch: You can use more apples if you like. I’ve found that you can fill the crockpot right to the top, as long as the lid still fits securely. Increase water to 1 cup. I usually stir the applesauce once or twice during cooking time when the crockpot is really full.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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