Instant Pot Applesauce
This Instant Pot Applesauce is irresistibly flavourful like warm apple pie filling. Perfect warm or cold and as a side dish or dessert. Suitable for Vegan, Gluten-Free and Paleo diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.

Guys, when this Instant Pot Applesauce comes out of the pressure cooker it tastes just like warm apple pie … you could eat a litre of this in one sitting. Plus, It makes the best condiment or quick and easy dessert that can be served warm or cold.
Homemade applesauce is so much better than store-bought applesauce. Let’s start with the smell of apples cooking in cinnamon permeating all throughout the home. And how about how comforting applesauce can be on cosy fall days. Plus this version has way less sugar than store brands.
Table of Contents
Easy Applesauce Recipe
Like my Strawberry Compote And Instant Pot Strawberry Jam, this is a great Instant Pot beginner’s recipe. If you’ve been searching for the world’s easiest Instant Pot Apple Sauce, this is it. With just 7 simple pantry ingredients and 5 minutes of prep time, you’re on your way to an easy sauce.
Why Make This Recipe
- Quick and easy – done in one pot with 5 minutes of hands-on time.
- Healthier – sweetened with a little maple syrup.
- Pantry-friendly – made with pantry items you already own.
- Freezer-friendly – use up your extra apples to make a big batch and freeze.
- Dietary – suitable for vegan and gluten-free diets.

Ingredient Notes
- Apples – I like Pink Lady and Granny Smith for my applesauce recipes. Both are a bit tart so I can add sweetness as I desire.
- Water – Helps loosen up the apple sauce.
- Maple syrup – I prefer maple syrup to sweeten this recipe but you could use sugar or honey (if not vegan). If you prefer you can skip the sweetener completely. Just start with very sweet apples.
- Lemon juice – this helps balance the sweetness of the apple sauce by adding in some tartness. I have used apple cider vinegar when I am out of lemon juice.
- Spices – my favorite combination is cinnamon and nutmeg but you can use others like apple pie spice.
- Salt – a pinch of salt completes this.
Ready to make Applesauce Instant Pot? Gather your ingredients and let me show you…
How to Make Instant Pot Applesauce Step by Step
Ingredient quantities and full recipe in the recipe card below
- Cut apples into large cubes. No need to peel them.
- Add all the ingredient into the Instant Pot insert, cover, select manual/pressure cook, high pressure and set the timer for 5 minutes.
- Cook till done, allow the pressure to release naturally and then open the pot.
- Let cool for a few minutes and use your immersion or a regular blender to blend to your desired consistency.
- You can add a bit more spices to the Instant Pot Applesauce to your taste at this stage if you prefer.

How to Make Slow Cooker Applesauce
You can also make a slow cooker applesauce if you prefer. This option is perfect to get that fall apple cinnamon smell in your home with a much slower cook time of 4 plus hrs on high or 8 hrs on low. Just add everything to the slow cooker and press go. Blend when done if you want a smooth sauce.
Applesauce Instant Pot Recipe Tips
- Let the sauce cool down a bit before blending as it can be quite hot. Please blend carefully.
- Apples vary in flavour. So if you use sweeter apples you could skip maple syrup. If you’re using sharper apples you might want to add more sweetness as you prefer.
- You don’t have to peel the apples. Peeling is completely optional and saves you a lot of time. The peels will be soft and they’ll disappear when you blend.
Delicious Variations
- Like a chunky applesauce? Skip blending.
- You can use any sweetener you prefer for this Pressure Cooker Applesauce. I love the flavours of maple syrup but honey is also a perfect substitution. You also don’t have to use any if you’re starting with sweeter apples.
- Vary the flavoring – Instead of ground cinnamon, flavour your applesauce with this delicious homemade Instant Pot Cinnamon Extract.
- Vary the spices – Play around with spices. Go ahead and add what you like. Some options include All Spice, cardamom, a pinch of ground cloves and ginger.

Storage
- Storing – Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze – Freeze cooled sauce for up to 3 months. Store in ice cube trays or small pots in the sizes you would normally need so you can just defrost what you need.
- Defrost – Thaw overnight in the fridge.
FAQs
Folks, sit down for this one. There are over 7,500 varieties of apples in the world. Can you believe it?? (I will take one of each please.)
What are the best apples for applesauce? You can make this using any type of apple you prefer. If you’re looking for a sweet apple, try Cortland, Fuji or Golden Delicious. Apple varieties that are a little more tart with a hint of sweetness are Pink Lady, Granny Smith and McIntosh apples.
You totally can. Double or triple the ingredients as long as you don’t fill your Instant pot past the maximum fill line and cook for the same amount of time.
Apples are a good fruit if you are looking to add fibre. A medium apple with skin has roughly 5 g of fibre. If you remove the skin, your apple still packs 3 g of fibre per medium apple.
A medium apple has 14% of your daily Vitamin C and are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol.
Apples are a great low-calorie snack. A medium apple has about 95 calories, making this a healthier snack or dessert choice.

Serving Suggestions
- Best Buttermilk Waffles ever.
- Instant Pot Oatmeal.
- Instant Pot Yogurt.
- Delicious fluffy Pumpkin Waffles.
- Side for Pork Chops.
More Apple Recipes Or Other Recipes You’ll Like
- Instant Pot Baked Apples. <= delicious breakfast or dessert.
- Baked Apples With Pecan Streusel. <= kids love this
- Easy Strawberry Compote or Blueberry Compote. <=use up you leftover fruit.
- And pectic free Instant Pot Strawberry Jam or Instant Pot Cherry Jam.
Weight Watchers Points
If you replace the maple syrup with a calorie-free sweetener, there are 0 Blue Plan Smartpoints in one serving!!
Tools Needed
- Your trusty Instant Pot.
- A cutting board.
- A sharp knife.
- Mason jars for refrigerating.
Thank you for reading my Pressure Cooker Applesauce recipe post. And please visit again as I continue dreaming up recipes, traditional African recipes, African fusion recipes, Sierra Leone recipes, travel plans and much more for you. Thanks for reading Recipes from a Pantry, UK food blog.
Get The Instant Pot Applesauce Recipe:
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Instant Pot Apple Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 lbs (1.35kg) apples of your choice My preference is a mix of Pink Lady and Granny Smith, peeled or unpeeled
- 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 2-3 tbsp maple syrup or honey if not vegan, optional
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Cut apples into large cubes.
- Add all the ingredient into the Instant Pot insert, cover, select pressure cook, (or manual), high pressure and set the timer for 5 minutes.
- Cook till done, allow the pressure to release naturally and then open the pot.
- Let cool for a few mins and use and immersion blender or a regular blender to blend to your desired consistency.
- You can add a bit more spices to your taste at this stage.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Cut apples into large cubes.
- Add all the ingredient into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hrs or low for 6-8.
- Let cool for a few mins and use and immersion blender or a regular blender to blend to your desired consistency
- You can add a bit more spices to your taste at this stage
Video
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Notes
- Let the sauce cool down a bit before blending as it can be quite hot. Please blend carefully.
- Apples vary in flavour. So if you use sweeter apples you could skip maple syrup. If you’re using sharper apples you might want to add more sweetness as you prefer.
- You don’t have to peel the apples. Peeling is completely optional and saves you a lot of time. The peels will be soft and they’ll disappear when you blend.
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- If you replace the maple syrup with a calorie-free sweetener, there are 0 Blue Plan Smartpoints in one serving!!
Looks delicious and attractive, thank you for sharing the way.
Homemade applesauce is so good!
This looks like such a fun way to put the Instant Pot to work, especially with the fall almost here. I can’t wait to try this!
We love putting apple sauce on our pancakes or in porridge. I am definitely going to have to try it in the instant pot.
My son’s teacher was making applesauce with the kids this week! Maybe I should gift an instant pot so that she’s not waiting two days to do it. Great recipe, Bintu!
Scrumptious! I am going to try this out. Thank you for sharing this great recipe. YUM!
I absolutely love apple sauce on the side of my pork dishes. I’ve just taken delivery of a new pressure cooker, so I’ll have to try this out in it!