What Makes This Recipe So Good
The Instant Pot makes homemade apple sauce unbelievably easy! It’s super quick, too. Just a 5 minute cook time and then a natural pressure release gives you a big batch of rich, flavorful applesauce.Instant Pot applesauce is healthier than the store-bought, prepackaged kind. It calls for fresh, whole ingredients and no artificial flavors or preservatives. You can even make a no-sugar-added applesauce by swapping out the granulated sugar for a natural alternative sweetener like erythritol, monk fruit, or coconut sugar. If you use very sweet apples, you may want to leave out the extra sugar altogether!Making your own applesauce lets you customize the flavors and texture so you’ve always got your perfect applesauce. Make it extra sweet or pull back on the sweetener completely. Use all sweet apples or all tart apples, or a combo of the two (that’s what I do!). Add a little cinnamon or apple pie spice. Keep it chunky or blend it until it’s silky smooth.
Key Ingredients
Apples – I use 3 sweet apples and 3 tart apples, but use whatever you like best! Any apples that are good for baking will work here. You don’t want to use McIntosh, Fuji, or Red Delicious. They just won’t stand up well to heat and pressure, and can make the applesauce soupy. Instead, think Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious, etc.Water – Crucial for Instant Pot recipes! If you don’t add a liquid (or enough of a liquid), you’ll get a “burn” notice that will keep your pressure cooker from pressure cooking. For more appley flavor, use apple cider instead of water.Sweetener – Granulated sugar works really well here, so don’t feel like you have to pick up something extra. Brown sugar or coconut sugar would add a delicious richness and warmth to the Instant Pot applesauce, though. You could also swap out the sugar for granular Swerve or monk fruit, for a no-sugar-added applesauce. You could use maple syrup, but keep in mind that it may give the applesauce a thinner consistency.
Chef’s Tips
The lemon peel gives Instant Pot applesauce a nice, light brightness that’s unbelievably delicious. It doesn’t make the applesauce taste “lemony” at all, but it does add a complexity that you just won’t be able to get enough of. Don’t skip it!For a thicker applesauce, after you remove the lid, set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Let the applesauce simmer on low heat until it’s thickened a little, stirring occasionally.Instead of using a potato masher to mash the apples, you could use an immersion blender! Carefully remove the pot insert from the Instant Pot, or transfer the applesauce to another container, then blend until you’ve got your desired applesauce texture.Careful not to overfill the Instant Pot! The applesauce will expand as it cooks, so if you start out with the pressure cooker too full, you’ll likely end up with a big mess to clean up later.
Try These Other Instant Pot Recipes, Too!
Instant Pot Chicken WingsInstant Pot JambalayaDreamy Instant Pot Chicken and RiceInstant Pot Broccoli with an Easy Lemon Butter SauceMoist & Buttery Instant Pot CornbreadInstant Pot Chicken WingsThe Best Instant Pot Chicken Tikka MasalaInstant Pot Lentil Soup
