Crockpot Applesauce
I have an overabundance of apples in my house right now. This past week honeycrisp apples were on sale for $.98/pound, an amazing price, so of course I stocked up. We also already had plans to go apple picking with friends, so I picked up a bag there as well. Then, I came home one day to find a package of apples from Michigan Apples on my doorstep! Let’s just say eating an apple a day is a minimum requirement around here at the moment.
It actually works out well since I was already planning to try out a crockpot applesauce recipe this past weekend. The recipe turned out great, and actually it was so simple to prepare and turned out so well that I’ve got another batch planned for sometime this week. (I did invest in one of those peeler, corer, slicers over the weekend, which made a huge difference in the simplicity factor.) There’s not much of a recipe to applesauce, and it’s easy to adjust to your preferences, but I’ll include the recipe I followed. It cooked perfectly in the crockpot in about 3 1/2 hours before I pureed it with my immersion blender (we aren’t chunky applesauce people). It tasted great and only took about 15-20 minutes of hands on time to prepare. I think it’s safe to say that our freezer will be full of homemade applesauce by the end of apple season. 
Crockpot Applesauce
Yield: 4 cups
Cook Time: 4 hours
Ingredients:
3 pounds apples (6-9), peeled, cored, and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup apple juice or apple cider, plus extra as needed
2 Tbsp sugar, plus extra as needed
pinch salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (or 2 cinnamon sticks) *optionalDirections:
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover and cook until apples are very soft and beginning to disintegrate, about 4 hours on low. Remove cinnamon sticks if using. Mash apples thoroughly with potato masher (or blend with immersion blender). Season with additional sugar/cinnamon to taste and adjust consistency with additiona hot apple juice or cider as needed.
*Recommended apples: Jonagold, Pink Lady, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Empire, Mcintosh, Rome
Not Recommended: Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Cortland, Baldwin, Norther Spy, Honeycrispfrom Slow Cooker Revolution
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Autumn@Good Eats Girl — October 16, 2011 @ 10:11 pm
Oh, this sounds so simple and like a great way to use up some apples! I need to try this soon! My girls love applesauce!
Rxx — October 17, 2011 @ 8:46 am
I think I might actually try this! I usually just read your blog for the incredible food porn, seeing as how I cannot cook for anything, but I am in love with the ease of a crockpot, so I’ll give this one a try!
Nicole@The Galley Gourmet — October 17, 2011 @ 10:23 am
We love homemade applesauce in our house, but ours never makes it to the freezer:) What a lovely blog! Thanks for introducing me to yours.
BusyWorkingMama — October 17, 2011 @ 10:34 am
Love crock pot recipes. Thanks for the inspiration!
cindy — October 17, 2011 @ 11:24 am
I’m on the lookout for more ways to use my slow cooker. This look wonderful. Nothing better than homemade applesauce. Thanks
Have a great day.
Charlotte Moore — October 17, 2011 @ 1:34 pm
I have made crockpot applesauce for years at school for the kindergarteners. All we did was put about half full with sliced apples, cinnamon, sugar, and maybe 4 tablespoons of water. When it was cooked I would use a potato masher and it was ready to eat. Most all the kids thought it was great to see it made. They were so cute saying it is the best I ever eat.
movita beaucoup — October 17, 2011 @ 2:04 pm
Oh, applesauce! How I love thee! So, I guess I’ve gotta get the crockpot out…
Saira — October 17, 2011 @ 2:10 pm
Megan the sauce looks so nice …. I am so into cinnamon right now …. I cant wait to try this easy recipe … Thanks for sharing
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen — October 17, 2011 @ 9:54 pm
Crockpot applesauce is my favorite! It makes your house smell soooo yummy!
Nutmeg Nanny — October 17, 2011 @ 11:43 pm
Yum, yum, yum! I bet this made the whole house smell amazing! Then you get to eat all this deliciousness….yum!
Sarah — October 18, 2011 @ 12:52 pm
Are you just putting it in containers to freeze, or are you doing something special?
megan replied: — October 18th, 2011 @ 8:24 pm
We are just freezing it, nothing special. My husband LOVES applesauce and devours it quicker than you can imagine, so I’m sure it will get eaten
carpeseason | Liz — November 3, 2011 @ 12:05 am
Perfect time of year for some applesauce! I’m glad I found your site on StumbleUpon. Great typography btw. I love ‘Lobster’ font!
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Janelle — December 1, 2011 @ 11:59 am
I made this last nite (with apple cider) and it was so delicious! I could’ve eaten the whole pot warm right then. And I agree with Katrina above: it makes the whole house smell like cinnamony goodness! Thank you so much for sharing this!
megan replied: — December 3rd, 2011 @ 6:06 am
I’m so glad you liked this! Thanks for commenting to let me know how it turned out
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Ronda — January 10, 2012 @ 12:53 pm
Why not honeycrisp? I’m just curious. I lucked into a lot of honeycrisp apples last fall–a local orchard let me glean the drops, of which there were THOUSANDS, and I still have a few that need using, so I was searching for a crock pot recipe. I normally make applesauce in huge bulk in the fall, but it sounded cozy just to make a little crock pot full. I was all excited when you mentioned honeycrisp, and was copying down the recipe, but when I got to the bottom, I saw that you don’t recommend them. Now I’m wondering if I should go ahead or not….so why?
megan replied: — January 15th, 2012 @ 5:46 pm
Hi Ronda – sorry to take so long to reply! I actually am not sure why the book didn’t recommend honeycrisp. Maybe it has to do with the texture of the apples? I’m not sure. But I have used red delicious for applesauce before (not this recipe) without problems, and it’s also on the not recommended list, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If I were you I would use the honeycrisp anyway – I’m pretty sure the applesauce will taste great regardless. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Ronda — January 16, 2012 @ 12:57 pm
Thanks, Megan! I decided to go ahead, and it turned out lovely. When it was done, we thought it was fairly blah, so decided to add a shot of lemon juice. That perked it up quite nicely and we’re loving it! I wonder if perhaps honeycrisp are just too sweet and need a little zing to make good sauce? But lemon juice fixes it easily, IMO, and the texture is perfect. Thanks for a great recipe!
megan replied: — January 16th, 2012 @ 8:11 pm
I’m so glad it turned out well! Great idea adding the lemon juice. And maybe you’re right about the sweetness being the reason honeycrisp aren’t recommended.