Slow Cooker Applesauce (No Added Sugar)

Slow cooker applesauce is an easy way to make a big batch of your own homemade unsweetened applesauce. The long slow cooking brings out the natural sweetness of the fruit, and there's little preparation required.

I make this slow cooker applesauce recipe in near industrial quantities. We are lucky enough to have 3 apple trees in our garden, and there's always plenty of windfalls to keep me supplied.

Making applesauce in the slow cooker (or crockpot) means that you can easily make big batches of applesauce without having to watch over a pan on the stove.

When I've made applesauce on the stovetop, I've often ended up with burnt apples and a scorched pan.

Long slow cooking in the slow cooker also results in deliciously tasty apples, and the skin softens perfectly so there's no peeling required.

This recipe for unsweetened applesauce is made without added sugar or any other sweetener.

Why make slow cooker applesauce?

• Applesauce an ideal ingredient to have in the freezer, ready for baking or a quick dessert
• Serve it with yogurt for a flavourful dessert with no added sugar
• Unsweetened applesauce is a great way to get kids to eat an extra portion of fruit
• Using the slow cooker is ideal for bulk cooking a big batch of fruit
• Long slow cooking means the skins will break down and there's no need to peel the apples

Ingredients

All you'll need is apples, and a splash of water.

Which are the best apples for applesauce?

You can use most varieties of eating apples to make this delicious slow cooker applesauce. I usually use Golden Delicious as that is what I have, but although they are not my preferred eating apple, they make a lovely sauce.

The slow cooking process will bring out the sweetness and flavour in the apples. If you use cooking apples, you'll find that your sauce is a bit more tart, so taste it and if necessary, add a tablespoon or two if honey.

Applesauce is a great way to use up apples that are slightly past their best. Wrinkled apples will work perfectly well, and if there are brown patches, just trim them off.

How to prepare apples for applesauce

I use unpeeled apples when I make this slow cooker applesauce. Not only does it save a huge amount of time, it also helps to preserve the nutrients which are stored just under the skin.

I've experimented with a few different ways of preparing large quantities of apples, and I've found that the quickest way is to cut the apple off the core.

With the apple upright, make one cut alongside the core.

Turn the apple with the cut side uppermost, and make another cut alongside the core.

Continue until you've done 4 sides. You'll end up with a square core.

Then roughly dice the pieces of apple. For this recipe, you'll want cubes about 2 cm square.

There's no equipment required other than a large knife.

Recipe tips

• Ideally, you'll want your slow cooker or crockpot to be about two thirds full. 3 kg of apples is just right for my 6.5 l slow cooker, but adjust the quantities to suit. If you cook a smaller batch of applesauce, reduce the cooking time.
• You'll need to add a small amount of water to avoid the possibility of the apples sticking to the bottom of the pot. Depending on the variety of apples, you may well end up with some syrupy liquid at the bottom of the cooking pot. This is great for adding an apple-y sweetness to your baking.
• In my slow cooker, a 3 kg batch takes 4 hrs on medium. However, slow cookers do vary, so you might need to experiment the first time. The apples should be completely tender, but not absolute mush.
• If you like, you can blitz your crockpot applesauce with a handheld stick blender for a super smooth unsweetened apple puree.

How to use and serve slow cooker applesauce

Homemade applesauce is delicious served for breakfast, or as dessert. Try it on top of porridge or muesli, or stirred into natural yogurt, and topped with flaked almonds.

This low sugar granola recipe also uses apple puree. Or use it to whizz up this spinach and apple puree smoothie.

Applesauce is also traditionally served with roast pork and cold meats, as the acidity of the apple helps to cut through the richness of the meat. You can serve it either cold or warm.

Unsweetened applesauce or apple puree is also a great way of adding natural sweetness to your baking. These healthy apple flapjacks, quinoa breakfast muffins, fat free fruit cake and adzuki bean brownies all use applesauce as a sweetener.

Both this healthy sticky toffee pudding and gingerbread cake recipes use applesauce in combination with dates as a natural sweetener.

These recipes with applesauce also tend to be low in fat, as it adds moistness without the need for lots of butter or oil.

If you want to experiment yourself, generally you can replace an equal amount of oil or butter with applesauce, and then cut right down or omit the sugar.

Healthy recipes with applesauce

These healthy baking recipes all use applesauce as a natural sweetener.

Frequently asked questions

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Recipe

Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.