Name: Instant Pot Applesauce (4 ways!)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 3 lbs apple, unpeeled, cored and large slice (see notes 1 and 2); 1/2 cup water; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 8-12 ounces additional fruit (peach, strawberry, blueberry) (optional)

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You need just 3 ingredients to make Instant Pot Applesauce. Add peach, strawberry or blueberry for a fun flavour twist. It’s perfect as a healthy snack or dessert with no added sugar!

Four flavours of Instant Pot applesauce in decorative mason jars surrounded by strawberries, blueberries and a peach

Isn’t it beautiful? I just love the colours of this Instant Pot Applesauce. Peaches, strawberries and blueberries give amazing natural colour to the sauce. Even better than the colour is the smell of your house while it’s pressure cooking. The air gets filled with apple cinnamon goodness!

You’ll love this Instant Pot Applesauce because it’s

incredibly easy – just 5 minutes to core and slice the apples and dump everything in the Instant Pot (see the video for how easy it is).
healthy – there’s no added sugar and using unpeeled apples adds more fibre to your day!
cost effective – this recipe makes 4-6 cups (depending on whether you add the second fruit). Stock up on apples when they’re on sale or at the orchard!
insanely good – I like to eat the apple cinnamon and peach flavours while they’re warm. It’s basically dessert.

Ingredients

You need just 3 ingredients for basic apple cinnamon, plus one more if you’re flavouring with fruit! See the detailed recipe card below for exact amounts and instructions.

Apples (feels silly to write this down, like, no kidding!) – see below for suggestions on which variety to use
Water
Cinnamon
Optional fruit for flavour (peach, blueberry, strawberry)

Instant Pot Applesauce in a decorative mason jar with blueberry, strawberry and peach flavours in jars behind it

How to make it

First, core and slice your apples. Don’t peel them. Seriously, you really don’t need to spend all that extra time tediously peeling the apples. Once pressure cooked, the peels will be super soft and blend easily. Plus, you get the added benefit of more dietary fibre!

sliced apples on a wooden cutting board with a black-handled paring knife next to a blue linen

Next, add the sliced apples, water and cinnamon to the Instant Pot. Add the additional fruit, if you’re using it.

sliced apples and cinnamon in an Instant Pot

Pressure cook on Manual High pressure for 10 minutes. It will take 15-20 minutes to come to pressure. At the end of cooking time, allow pressure to release naturally (NPR). This will take 20 minutes or so.

pressure-cooked sliced apple with cinnamon in an Instant Pot

Then, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce right in the Instant Pot. Or, if you want an extra smooth sauce you can carefully transfer the apple/fruit mixture to a high-speed blender.

applesauce in an Instant Pot with a wooden spoon

Finally, transfer the applesauce to a storage container and cool it completely before chilling in the refrigerator. I like to use mason jars to store it if we’ll be eating it soon, otherwise I put it in a larger sealable container to freeze the whole batch. Note that the applesauce will thicken a bit as it chills.

What variety of apple should I use?

Choose a variety of apple that will result in your desired level of sweetness. We like it somewhat sweet, so we use Golden Delicious. This article has a helpful infographic that ranks apples from most tart to sweetest.

Sweeter apple varieties

Fuji
Gala
Ambrosia
Honeycrisp
Golden Delicious

Tart apple varieties

Granny Smith
Mcintosh
Empire
Courtland
Envy

Instant Pot Applesauce in a decorative mason jar next to a red apple, cinnamon sticks and a brown linen

Can I use frozen fruit for the added flavour?

Absolutely! I like to use frozen fruit because it tends to be more cost effective than fresh.

Tips for Success

1. Adjust the amount of fruit or water to achieve your desired texture. The basic apple cinnamon flavour, as written, results in a texture similar to applesauce you would buy at the store. If you’re adding a high water content fruit like blueberries and strawberries, I suggest adding a couple more apples to maintain the thicker texture. If you prefer a thinner applesauce, you could add a bit more water. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

2. Choose an apple variety that will result in your desired colour. I like to use Golden Delicious for the flavour, but also because it has a lighter skin so it results in a paler sauce. The colour of the added fruit really shines with a paler applesauce base.

3. Use a high-speed blender for an extra smooth texture. Though I find the immersion blender does a great job and it’s so much easier to clean than a traditional blender.

4. Be careful when blending the hot apples! Immersion blenders are notorious for unexpected splatter, so I suggest letting the cooked apples cool a bit before blending. Also be careful if you’re transferring the fruit to a high-speed blender while it’s hot.

Four flavours of Instant Pot applesauce in mason jars in a vertical line with text showing the flavour beside each jar

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