Easy Crockpot Applesauce

Let me tell you, once you have made your own applesauce, you will never want the grocery store stuff again. This Easy Crockpot Applesauce has no added sugar, yet is somehow sweeter than store-bought applesauce…??

The best part is this recipe takes less than 10 minutes of prep and the slow cooker does the rest of the work!

If you are looking for more slow cooker vegan recipes, try this Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili.

For more vegan apple recipes, try these Vegan Apple Pie Crumble Bars, or Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal.

Want to use this applesauce in recipes? Try this Vegan Applesauce Cake or Apple Cinnamon Bread. 

Why You’ll Love This Sugar-Free Applesauce

• No added sugar – This unsweetened applesauce contains just three simple ingredients (one of which is water) and zero added sugar. It makes a great healthy snack or side for any fall meal.
• Customizable – If you are looking for something sweeter or even a unique flavor, you can easily adjust this recipe to add maple syrup or brown sugar to sweeten to taste. For more Fall vibes, add nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice in addition to cinnamon. Get creative!
• Allergy-friendly – While applesauce is usually a safe bet for allergens, you can guarantee no extras go into this recipe. As it stands, this recipe is free of all major allergens and is also oil-free and refined sugar-free.
• Easy storage – This applesauce will last up to 1 week in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. The recipe makes a very big batch, so you could keep some in the fridge and freeze the rest for later and you’ll always have a delicious snack on hand.
• Less waste – This easy recipe is a great way to use up extra apples before they go bad. It also works with pre-frozen apple slices (cook time will vary), so if you’ve got some of those lying around, you can use them up easily! For those of you with an apple tree, you know the pain of searching for ways to use up your bounty during peak apple season!

Ingredients

• Fresh apples – Pink lady or Honeycrisps are the best kind of apples for anything in my opinion, but especially for this applesauce. They’re the perfect balance of natural sweetness and tartness. But you can use any apple you like. You can also use a variety of apples to mix up the flavor.
• Ground cinnamon – This is optional! This applesauce will have the best flavor all on its own, but who doesn’t love a little cinnamon in the Fall? Feel free to omit or mix up your spice choice.
• Water – While the apples will release their own water while they cook, the extra water is necessary to prevent the apples from sticking to the bottom of the crockpot and burning. You can swap with unsweetened apple juice for more apple flavor. 
• Optional: A squirt of fresh lemon juice to balance sweeter varieties of apples. Pinch of salt to highlight the flavors.

Helpful Equipment

In addition to measuring cups and spoons, the following equipment is helpful for this recipe:

• Slow cooker
• Apple corer (optional)
• Apple peeler
• Chef’s knife
• Wooden spoon (optional, but friendlier to the crockpot surface)

How to Make Applesauce in a Crockpot

This is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to make this recipe including photographs. For the quick version, skip ahead to the recipe card below!

Making slow cooker applesauce is seriously so easy. All you have to do is peel and core the apples, slice them into evenly-sized pieces, then place them in the crockpot. Small pieces will cook faster.

Add the water and cinnamon into the slow cooker with the apple slices. Set the slow cooker to high, place the lid on, and cook on high for 2 hours.

There is no stirring necessary!

If you prefer to cook on lower heat, or you need more time before you are ready to serve this dish, you can cook the applesauce on low heat for 4-5 hours instead.

After cooking, the apples should be tender enough that they will break apart with simple stirring. This will produce a slightly chunky applesauce.

If you want a very smooth applesauce, you can mash any remaining apple chunks with a potato masher, use an immersion blender, or blend the cooked apples in a food processor to achieve your desired smoothness.

That’s it! Serve this applesauce warm or cold. Enjoy!

Variations

• For a sweeter applesauce, add 1/4 cup brown sugar, coconut sugar, pure maple syrup, or agave AFTER the apples have fully cooked. Stir until dissolved or fully mixed.
• Use all granny smith apples for a more tart flavor.

How to Store Homemade Applesauce

• Fridge: Store the applesauce in the refrigerator in an airtight container such as a mason jar for 7-10 days. Make sure the applesauce has fully cooled before storing.
• Freezer: This applesauce freezes well in a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
• Canned: If you have a canner, you could can this applesauce for up to 1 year.

More Tips

• Not Vegan? Add 1-2 tbsp butter to this recipe for added flavor. Serve this applesauce as a side dish to savory meat dishes like pork chops.
• Gluten-free? You are all set! This recipe is naturally gluten-free.
• Want to mix up the flavor? Add cloves, allspice, nutmeg or a pumpkin pie spice mix to this applesauce for more Fall flavors.

FAQ: Homemade Applesauce