We have a wonderful little apple orchard right up the road from us. Most people think Indiana is super flat, but Southern Indiana is actually quite hilly, and to get up to this orchard you climb a beautiful, windy country road up the side of a steep hill. When you crest the hill, you see sprawling fields of apple trees on one side, and miles and miles of brightly colored fall leaves on the other. Picking apples there is pretty much the epitome of a picture-perfect fall experience (especially when you add in the freshly fried apple cider donuts they make—drool).
I like to hit up this orchard every fall to stock up on apples. Apples are one of the few fruits out there that are excellent for keeping. If you just give apples the right conditions (just above freezing and damp) and pick the right kind of apples (the tart varieties store best– less sugar means less of a chance to go bad), you can keep apples through the entire winter. I’ve had great luck storing apples in the crisper of our basement fridge.
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I just load up the crisper with apples, and then dampen a tea towel and lay it over top of them. Every few days (usually when I go in to grab some apples), I use a nearby spray bottle of water to dampen the towel again. I’ve stored Stayman Winesap apples—a tart storage apple that we get at our local orchard—this way all the way until the next spring! They were a little wrinkly, but still perfect for turning into a pie.
Don’t have a spare fridge (or a root cellar) to store your apples this winter? Well, another good option is to make applesauce in your Instant Pot and freeze it! That is, if it even makes it to the freezer. Homemade applesauce is one of those foods that sounds too simple to be delicious, but you somehow can’t stop your spoon from dipping into the batch!
The Instant Pot makes quick work of applesauce. We’re talking only five minutes of cook time here! And no more babysitting a pot to make sure the sauce doesn’t stick—the process is mostly hands-off. The resulting applesauce is flavorful, sweet, and as smooth or as chunky as you want it to be! You control the final texture with your immersion blender.
I like Instant Pot applesauce with cinnamon and a touch of lemon juice, but honestly, even just plain apples will be delicious! Feel free to adjust the recipe below to fit your personal taste preferences. Happy fall!
Perfect Instant Pot Applesauce
Instant Pot Applesauce comes together in a snap, taking you from apples to applesauce in just 5 minutes. It is completely customizable to your tastes, too!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds tart green apples (like Granny Smith), cored and chopped into large chunks (about 8 medium-size apples)
- 2 pounds sweet apples (like Gala or Fuji), cored and chopped into large chunks (about 8 medium-size apples)
- Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons worth)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, optional
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in the basin of your Instant Pot. Close lid, turn knob to sealing, and set to Manual, High Pressure for 5 minutes.
- When pressure cooking time is up, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure. Because the applesauce is so liquidy, you don’t want to manually release the pressure or you might make an applesauce volcano!
- When pressure has naturally released, remove the lid, and using an immersion blender, blend up the applesauce until it’s your desired texture. I like it a bit chunky!
- Store applesauce in a covered container in the fridge for up to 10 days. Or, freeze in freezer-safe jars or zip-top bags for up to six months.
Notes
- You may be concerned that 1/4 cup of water is not enough liquid to properly operate the Instant Pot. No worries– the second the apples begin to heat, they release juice. The Instant Pot will have plenty of liquid by the time it is up to pressure.
- If you prefer a perfectly smooth applesauce, you can go ahead and peel your apples. For me, it’s only about 5% smoother for an extra hour of work—not worth it! Plus, a little added fiber never hurt.
- By using half sweet and half tart apples, I really don’t find the need to add any sweetener to the batch. If you have some particularly tart apples, feel free to add honey or maple syrup to taste right before you blend the applesauce at the end.
- If you don’t want your applesauce to taste like last night’s dinner, I highly recommend investing in an extra set of sealing rings. I like this color-coded set. I use the red for sweet and the blue for savory.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1/2 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 63mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 3gSugar: 22gProtein: 2g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
