This delicious homemade slow cooker applesauce recipe only uses three ingredients!
It’s officially apple season! The first time I made this wonderful homemade applesauce, I thought it would be a long, laborious process involving smashing 25 apples by hand or something like that.
My friend Cristina shared this easy Crock-Pot recipe with me years ago. When I asked how she made it, she was all, “Oh I just throw the apples in a pot with some cinnamon, it’s totally easy” and my mind was BLOWN.
I had no idea! So I did a little research and found she was totally right. (Not that I didn’t believe her of course.) You can make it even easier than I did — check out some of my tips later in the post.
This is my favorite recipe to make after a fall trip to the apple orchard!
Here’s the recipe I use in my slow cooker – I throw it all in and we have delicious applesauce a few hours later. **See my tips for types of apples to use later in the post!
Three ingredient homemade crockpot applesauce
Ten to 12 apples — peeled*, sliced, cored
1/2 cup sugar*
Cinnamon and/or other spices
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The first step is the only one that takes time – peeling, coring and cutting up the apples.
This one is called the Peelota. Ha! I don’t think they’re made anymore, but this apple peeler is beautiful and will hold up even better than my plastic one.
It ROCKS:
It makes quick work of getting the apples cored and peeled.
You do NOT have to peel apples for applesauce! It will turn out just as delicious with peels intact.
I just cut the apples in half from the top.
What apples are best for applesauce?
Almost any apple is fine! It depends on your preference — sweet or tart?
- If you like tart apples go with a Granny Smith.
- I prefer sweeter sauce so always go with an apple like Jonathan, Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp.
- Softer apples will cook up faster — varieties like Golden Delicious, McIntosh and Fuji will make the process go quicker.
- Mix two or three varieties in homemade applesauce for great flavor!
Red Delicious apples don’t heat well and will not turn out as well in applesauce.
I add a couple dashes of nutmeg too — YUM!
The original recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, but I find you can use less and it’s just as delicious. You may not even want to add it — taste test the applesauce a couple hours in to see if you want to add some sweetness.
No need to stir while cooking — just pile them in, put the lid on and set the Crock-Pot to cook on high for four hours.
We like it chunky (name that movie) so I call it done after about four hours. If you like thinner applesauce, you can use a potato masher to mash out any chunks.
It is especially delicious warm right out of the slow cooker. It’s like a dessert really — have you ever heated up your applesauce?
Variations on this homemade applesauce recipe:
- Add more spices to give it a bit of a kick — clove, allspice and my nutmeg addition are all perfect.
- Pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice are also delicious!
- If it’s too watery for your taste, strain the juice and keep for apple cider. (Add brown sugar, cook for a few more hours and then strain.)
- Make this recipe much faster with a pressure cooker!
- If your kids like to “dip” their foods, try it with cinnamon graham crackers.
And not too horrible for you either!
What to do with extra applesauce:
- If you let it keep cooking and add brown sugar, you’ll end up with slow cooker apple butter!
- Eat with vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert. 😋
- Pile on warm crepes or waffles.
- Use it to make donuts or apple bread (replace the pumpkin in my easy pumpkin bread recipe with applesauce).
- Jar the applesauce for lovely fall or holiday gifts. I gifted my homemade salsa last year and this will be our gift this year.
- Warm and add to the top of your oatmeal at breakfast.
- Use it instead of apple slices in my amazing Mountain Dew apple dumplings!:
There you go – have I blown your mind? Or all you thinking, duh Sarah…it’s totally easy.
I really had no idea. Now go get some apples and cook it up! You will thank me. 🙂