Instant Pot Applesauce is the EASIEST way to enjoy homemade applesauce. This recipe for Pressure Cooker Applesauce is made in less than 30 minutes from start to finish and is naturally sweetened and perfectly delicious!
This Instant Pot Applesauce is delicious eaten alone but is also fantastic used in recipes like Cinnamon Applesauce Muffins, Banana Oatmeal Cookies, and Healthy Zucchini Bread.
There is something about a warm bowl of freshly made applesauce with seasonal apples!
The taste of homemade applesauce made with fresh apples is unbeatable. And with the help of the Instant Pot, you can have Instant Pot Applesauce on the table in less than 30 minutes–from start to finish!
This recipe for Instant Pot Applesauce is the absolute best. It is SUPER easy to make–you don’t even have to peel the apples! And it is perfectly sweet, with absolutely zero added sugar!
Once you taste this applesauce, you will never want store-bought applesauce again!
How to Make Instant Pot Applesauce
Step One: Prepare your Apples
The first thing you need to do to make applesauce is to select your apples. Because I do not add sugar to my applesauce, I want to be sure I select apples that are naturally sweet and somewhat firm.
For this recipe for Instant Pot Applesauce, my favorite apples to use are Gala, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Ambrosia, and/or Honeycrisp. A blend of any of these apples produces the most delicious, sweet applesauce ever.
After washing and drying the apples, you just need to remove the core from your apples, either by using an apple corer, or by cutting around the core and cut into 2-inch chunks.
That’s right!! I leave the skin on the apples!!!!
By all means, you can peel your apples, but the skin of the apple has so many nutrients and added fiber–so why not save yourself the laborious step of peeling apples and enjoy some health benefits as well! Trust me, the pressure cooker cooks the apple skin so well, the skin blends into the applesauce perfectly.
Step Two: Pressure Cook Apples
The next thing you need to do is to place the apples inside the Instant pot with liquid.
I highly recommend using 100% apple juice as the cooking liquid because it adds natural sweetness to this applesauce. Apple cider (NOT APPLE CIDER VINEGAR) is also a fabulous choice and water works just as well.
I use a full 1 cup liquid for this homemade applesauce regardless if I am cooking in my 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot. The apples will give off enough liquid for pressure to be reached and maintained.
Step Three: Mash or Blend Apples into Applesauce
Once the applesauce has finished cooking you can either choose to allow pressure to release naturally or do a quick release of pressure. This is one recipe that it makes no difference in finished product. For more on how to do a quick release of pressure, visit Instant Pot 101.
As for blending up your applesauce, the choice is yours! Either mash applesauce with potato masher, immersion blender, or transfer to a blender or food processor to blend into smooth. Note: If blending hot apples in a blender, be sure to crack the lid open and then drape with a kitchen towel to prevent steam from bubbling up in your face!
Modifications for Instant Pot Applesauce
- Cinnamon Applesauce: To make cinnamon applesauce, stir in 1-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon AFTER applesauce is ready. Start by mixing in 1 teaspoon cinnamon and tasting to determine if you need to add more.
- Tart Applesauce: Use granny smith for half the amount of apples and add in 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.
- Thick Applesauce: This recipe for Instant Pot Applesauce is on the thinner side. To make this applesauce thicker, decrease cooking liquid to 1/2 cup for 6 quart and 3/4 cups for quart. The Instant Pot will still be able to come to pressure due to the moisture content of the apples. HOWEVER, if you have a pressure cooker that is prone to burn warnings, you may want to stick to using a full 1 cup liquid. (Instant Pot Models vary greatly with their sensitivity levels!)
- Sweetened Applesauce: If after making your applesauce you notice that it is not as sweet as you prefer, add in 1-2 tablespoons white or brown sugar.
How to Store
This Instant Pot Applesauce is SO delicious, you will want to make a large batch! In fact, when apples are in season, you may want to make this recipe several times to freeze to use throughout the winter.
- To Store in the Refrigerator: Allow applesauce to cool slightly before transferring to glass jars or plastic containers. And then store in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- To Freeze Homemade Applesauce: Allow homemade applesauce to cool completely and then place in freezer-safe bags or containers and fill 2/3 of the way full. Freeze until solid. Homemade Applesauce lasts for 4-6 months in the freezer.
More Recipe for Fresh Apples
- Chili Lime Pan Seared Tilapia with Apple Salsa
- Easy Apple Crisp Recipe
- Easy Cream Cheese Apple Dip
- Spiced Apple Bread
- Apple Crisp Bars
- Slow Cooker Apple Pork Roast
Instant Pot Applesauce
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples about 12 small apples, 9 medium apples
- 1 cup apple juice or cider or water
Instructions
- Wash and dry your apples. Remove core from apple--I simply, cut around the core, but you can use an apple corer if you'd like. Cut apples into 2-inch chunks.
- Place apples in the inner pot of Pressure Cooker. Pour in 1 cup apple juice or apple cider over apples.
- Close lid on pressure cooker and seal vent knob. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes before releaseing pressure.
- Either mash applesauce with potato masher, immersion blender, or transfer to a blender or food processor to blend into smooth.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- Apples to Use: Golden Delicious, Ambrosia, Fuji or Honeycrisp apples are all good options for homemade applesauce.
- If you prefer thicker applesauce, only use 1/2 cup apple juice or water for the 6 quart and 3/4 cups for 8 quart models. The apples will give off plenty of liquid you don't need to worry about not having enough liquid in your pressure cooker.
- Tart Applesauce: Use granny smith for half the amount of apples and add in 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.
- Sweetened Applesauce: If after making your applesauce you notice that it is not as sweet as you prefer, add in 1-2 tablespoons white or brown sugar.
- Cinnamon Applesauce: stir in 1-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon AFTER applesauce is ready. Start by mixing in 1 teaspoon cinnamon and tasting to determine if you need to add more.
- Store applesauce in the fridge for 5-6 days and freeze for 3-6 months.
Just finished making a batch, definitely should have strained the apples before I mashed them 😬. Live and learn 🤣
Well, next time it will BE PERFECT!!!!
I fill the instant pot up with my apples chunks (I have a 6 qt) and add 2 to 2 1/4 cups water. This sounds like a lot, but we love the apple juice it gives us once done. I strain the apples after cooking and reserve all the liquid. I add back in only what I need (if any) to get the desired consistency of my applesauce, then we keep the rest for drinking. It is absolutely delicious!!
I am so so glad you enjoyed! And why not use extra water—if you can enjoy the juice. YUM!
Made this with water first time. Next, I made it with cinnamon tea. Both came out beautifully. Thank you.
What a great idea to use cinnamon tea. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Made this for my baby using Granny Smith apples and water. He loved it. And so did his picky toddler brother and parents. So easy. Fool proof. Thank you!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed Jennifer.
Comes out perfect every single time!
I love hearing that Katie! Thank you for sharing.
I make this about every week, and my two young kids have a small serving of it daily. I love that this isn’t really a recipe so much as a method. I’ve switched it up in all kinds of ways. I throw overripe bananas and berries in a bag in the freezer and then put them in when it comes applesauce making day.
I only add just a thin layer of water at the bottom of the pot to avoid a burn notice, but otherwise there is no other juice or sweetener added. My kids find it sweet enough as it is.
I put various apples in it, usually the ones that are cheapest since a lot of the qualities that make them a good fresh apple don’t matter for sauce. I will say that Red Delicious are the variety that I’ve found to be not worth it, no matter how cheap they are. The sauce tastes fine, but you have to drain off a lot of water (even with my almost-no-water-added method). And the skins seem extra tough and bitter.
I also pack the apples almost to the top of the pot, much more so than I would with any other recipe. They break down and settle quickly, so the IP doesn’t seem to care.
I am so glad you enjoy this recipe Jason! I agree, red delicious apples are not well suited to applesauce.
I love this recipe. As another suggested, I poured off excess liquid (2cups) before blending to avoid a thin sauce. The nice thing is, it’s apple season so I saved the extra juice for the next batch I made a week later and it was just as yummy. I made the sauce in an 8 qt with 6 lbs of apples and 1.25 cups apple juice with no burn issues. Finally, we like a chunky sauce so I tried the potato masher at first, but did not like the large peels. I ended up using the immersion blender and the peels were not an issue. I’d much rather have a smooth apple sauce and NOT peel 6lbs of apples =). Thx for the recipe!
Such a great idea to use the excess liquid to make more applesauce. I bet it would be delicious in baked goods as well. And gotta love that immersion blender 😉 Thanks for letting us all know how much you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
I made applesauce tonight. I used 8 apples: 6 Fuji, 2 Golden Delicious. I didn’t peel them. I added the juice of 1 lemon, 1.5 tsp cinnamon and I cup water. 8 min in the Instant Pot and then instant release. The apples were perfectly cooked. I used a potato masher to break it up because I like it a little chunky. It turned out so sweet and delicious! My husband couldn’t stop eating it.
I love Instant Pot Applesauce so much, as does my family! I am so glad that your family enjoyed as well Marcia 🙂
This recipe did not work. The bottom burned and the top apples did not cook. Next time I will stick to my Mom’s recipe of just putting on inch of water at the bottom of a pot.
Hi Melanie! This actually sounds like your instant pot may have not been sealed properly. This recipe if anything has too much liquid so should never burn, unless the seal was missing, the vent knob was open, etc–then it would leak out that moisture and burn as it came to pressure.
This is a great recipe. The second time I made it, before blending the cooked apples, I poured off most of the liquid (reserving for drinking later!). The resulting applesauce was thicker and more the texture I like. I love how easy and healthy this recipe is!
I am so glad you enjoy this recipe and what a great idea to drink the juices for thicker applesauce.
Is the cup measurement a regular cup or the IP cup that comes with IP?
My measurements are all based off standard cup measurements.
I am wondering how you could cook this longer to turn it into apple butter?
Hi Brook! Apple butter does not only need to cook longer, liquid must evaporate to allow it to thicken. So to turn this applesauce into apple butter, once you have prepared the apple sauce and blended, turn your pressure cooker to saute. With the lid off, cook the applesauce for 30-90 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. This can be a bit messy as the applesauce may splatter. Another option is to turn your Instant Pot to Slow cooker function with lid off and cook for an additional 4-6 hours on normal slow cooker function. I hope that helps 🙂 Enjoy!
Can you can this applesauce (using a hot water bath method)?
Hi Karen! I am not familiar with the ins and outs of canning myself to give you instructions on how to can. I also know that lemon juice needs to be added for applesauce to be safely canned.