Instant Pot Applesauce and How I Preserved It for Later

 Shout out to Laura Davidson of A Beautiful Plate (www.abeautifulplate.com) for this recipe. It checks all the boxes for me. It's easy, fast, no peeling, no sugar, and delicious. I can even take it to the next level and water bath preserve the applesauce for this winter. You can switch up the apple varieties or add in cranberries or blackberries for a different flavor. Credit where credit is due! You can read her notes here:

Instant Pot AppleSauce (No Sugar Added) - A Beautiful Plate

Instant Pot Apple Sauce

yield: 2 QUARTS

 

prep: 10MINUTES MINUTES

cook: 7MINUTES MINUTES

additional time: 10MINUTES MINUTES

total: 27MINUTES MINUTES

This incredibly easy instant pot apple sauce recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and tart, requires zero peeling, and contains zero added sugar. Using an Instant Pot, it can also be prepared in less than 30 minutes too!

Almost all of the dietary fiber in apples is found in the skin; since you will be blending the apples once cooked, the skin will make little difference in the end result and will produce a more nutritious applesauce. This also saves a lot of prep time! See recipe notes for apple substitution and other ideas.

Equipment

• Instant Pot 6 Quart 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Fuji apples (roughly 4) unpeeled, cored, and quartered
• 2 lbs Golden Delicious apples (roughly 4) unpeeled, cored, and quartered
• 1 lb Granny Smith apples (roughly 2) unpeeled, cored, and quartered
• 1 cup (240 mL) cold water *see notes
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼-½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 2 large pinches Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Instructions

• Place the quartered apples, cold water, vanilla bean paste, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt in a 6-quart (or larger) capacity instant pot. Stir to combine.
• Close the lid (*be sure to turn the valve to sealing*) and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and open via natural or quick release, being sure to avoid contact with any cooking steam. The mixture will look like a bit of a hot mess when you first open the lid but will blend beautifully.
• Carefully blend the apples to desired texture using an immersion blender (*this is the easiest method!) or transfer and blend the apple mixture in smaller batches in a high-powered blender or large food processor. The apple sauce will thicken considerably once cool. Allow to cool before transferring to a container or glass quart jars. Store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Flavor Variation: 

• Add 1 cup fresh (or frozen) cranberries or 1-2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries for a seasonal twist! 
• Feel free to adapt the dried spices to suit your taste preference. 

Tips for Success:

• Do not skip or reduce the water quantity in the recipe above. Pressure cookers require a minimum amount of liquid in order for them to come to pressure.
• I prefer to use a combination of apple varieties to produce a more nuanced applesauce flavor. Granny Smith apples contribute tartness, Fuji apples are balanced and high in moisture (lending themselves well to applesauce), and Golden Delicious contribute sweetness. If you don’t feel like buying a variety, this recipe works great with 100% Fuji or Pink Lady apples as well. 

I repeat, this is not my recipe. All the credit for the above goes to Laura. The only change I made was that while I cut up my apples, they went into lemon water to keep them from going brown. I didn't use the lemon water for cooking. 

I'm simplifying the water bath processing below. I assume you've at least watched a few YouTube videos so you know how to water bath process properly and safely. It's not that difficult, but you should be familiar with the tips and tricks like wiping down the rims of the jars before putting on the lids. 

While the apples are cooking in the Instant Pot, fill your water bath canner with water and start getting it hot. Wash your canning jars, lids and rings. Keep the bottles hot in the oven at about 200F. Set up your jar packing equipment (wide mouth funnel, lids and rings in very hot water, magnetic stick to pick up lids and rings, bubble remover/headspace measuring device, jar lifter, ladle, etc. Remember, everything is HOT and deliberately so. Stay safe! (Keep the kids and the pets safely away or you risk a trip to the ER.) Once the apples had been cooked in the Instant Pot, I ladled the hot applesauce into the hot jars using the funnel and a large ladle. I wiped down the rims of the jars so the lids could stick properly and screwed on the rings. According to the Ball Complete book of Home Preserving, I followed the Applesauce recipe for the processing instructions. They were popping the lids down to seal even as I took them out of the water bath after the appropriate amount of cooking time. That's such a gratifying sound. I waited 24 hours before I put the sealed jars away in the pantry with their labels, just to assure myself that they had all sealed and were safely cool enough to handle. 

The next day, I made a second batch that I did not water bath process. That was so we could have some applesauce immediately to satisfy the craving caused by that lovely scent wafting through the kitchen all day. Worth it!