Every year during apple season, I get a little overzealous in my apple buying and usually end up with a bunch of apples that have lost their crunch. Personally, I don’t like eating soft apples. The flavor may still be great, but it doesn’t matter—if the texture is off, I don’t want to eat them.
But the fabulous thing about apples that are no longer great to eat, they’re perfect for baking with. Like our Apple Walnut Crumble Pie, Apple Coffee Cake, Apple Crumble Tart, Easy Apple Pie, and Yogurt Apple Cake.
Or applesauce. *swoon*
Homemade applesauce has no comparison. And I feel it’s only right that I should warn you: once you’ve made homemade, you cannot go back to store bought. The incredible flavor of this applesauce will forever make anything you buy at the store pale in comparison.
Have I mentioned yet that making applesauce is easy? It’s a little time consuming to peel, core, and chop the apples, but it’s well worth the time investment and it’s a great activity to get the kids involved in if you have little (or big) kids. My two youngest have been happily helping to chop the apples since they were 4 and 7.
I used to make applesauce on the stove top, but when I realized I could make it in the crock pot—and use less water (which would mean more flavor)—I was SOLD.
And the fact that I have a very large crockpot and fill it to overflowing means that I end up with a LOT of applesauce in my fridge. (Which is good because there are four of us in this house that eat it, so it only lasts a few days.)
The recipe is simple and fully customizable to whatever size crockpot you have. It only takes five simple ingredients, and you can adjust amounts based on your tastes.
Peel, core, and chop the apples to fill your crockpot. Add a little apple juice or water, a little bit of sugar if you want, and some cinnamon. Place the top on your crockpot, turn it on high, and you’re done.
Mostly. About six hours later, when your house is smelling amazing and the apples are nice and soft, take a potato masher or immersion blender and sauce up the apples. Add a splash of lemon juice, if you’d like, and that’s it. Let it cool, and dig in.
Happy apple season, y’all!
Ingredients
- chopped apples to fill your crockpot
- 1/3 cup apple juice or water (or 2 Tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate + 3 Tablespoons water)
- 1/2 cup sugar (brown, raw, or granulated) (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (optional)
- lemon juice to taste
Instructions
- Peel, core, and roughly chop apples, enough to fill your pot. (Keep in mind that the apples will cook down by about half.) Add apple juice or water (or apple juice concentrate and water), sugar, and cinnamon.
- Turn crockpot on high and let the apples cook for about 6 hours until soft. Mash with a potato masher or use an immersion blender to turn them into sauce. Add a splash or two of lemon juice to taste.
- Let cool before eating and store in the refrigerator.