Instant pot Applesauce

Instant pot Applesauce by DK on Nov 30, 2020

We love applesauce in our house which is probably pretty evident to my regular readers who have already seen my 6 min Applesauce (using pressure cooker), Unsweetened Applesauce with Quince and Apple Butter. Now here I am once again with an another applesauce post, this time using Instant Pot. With all these methods and variations, one thing that's most evident is the ease with which you can make your own applesauce. Next time your hand reaches out to the jar from the store, please stop! You can make something far superior (quality and flavor wise) one that's also easy on your wallet.

I tend to make a huge batch and freeze some (and refrigerate rest) since we use it regularly. Ever since we started solids for the baby I have been on an applesauce making spree where I tend to also use other fruits and dried fruits to bump up the nutrition. The fact that the whole family loves it is an additional incentive.

Cook time: Under 15 min
Prep time: Under 15 min
Yields: Around 6 cups

Ingredients

3 lbs (abt 8 large) Apples, see Tips
1/2 cup Water
1 large Lemon

Optional Additions

1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
Naturally Sweetened Applesauce: 1/3-1/2 cup Dried Fruits like Raisins, Prunes, Dates etc
Mixed Fruit Applesauce: Replace part of apples with 1 lbs of other fruits like peach, apricot, pear etc

Tips

1. Apples: Braeburn, Cortland, Crispin, McIntosh, Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Liberty, Jonamac, Ida Red, Rome and/or any soft variety are great for applesauce. These cook faster as well. If you like your applesauce sweet, then go for the sweeter varieties of apples to avoid adding any sugar. Personally, I like to combine few different types since they make the most flavorful applesauce in my book.

Method

1. I do not believe in peeling the apples (organic recommended hence) since the skin has lots of nutrients as well. Wash the apples well and core them. If you do not have a corer, simply cut the apples in half and slice off the center section with the seeds.

2. Chop them roughly.

3. Add them to the Instant pot. If making mixed fruit applesauce, add the other fruits as well. I have used a mix of all the fruits mentioned since ~~that way I "eat" more fruits in a day :)~~ we love our applesauce that way.

4. I prefer adding some dried fruits to enhance the nutritional aspect esp since these are consumed by my kids on a daily basis. I tend to use mix of dried fruits as well - more so on prunes and raisins since I feed this to the baby and we all know that prunes+baby=smooth....err..you know what :) I always eye ball the amount, but you can add as much or as little depending on the sweetness of your fruits and personal preference.

5. Next add 1/2 cup water.

6. Place the inner pot inside the Instant Pot. Add the lemon juice and (if using) cinnamon along with salt. Stir to combine.

7. Make sure to turn the Steam Release Knob to the "Sealing" position.

8. "Pressure Cook" it for 5 minutes.

9. Once done, I tend to do a controlled quick release to maintain the color of the fruits and avoid overcooking. But you have two other options - either choose natural release for 10 minutes and then do quick release, or do natural release until the float valve is down.

10. Open the lid. This is how it looks - see the color looks vibrant. You can choose to use an immersion blender or potato masher to make your applesauce.

11. Or transfer the contents to a blender and puree until smooth or as per your texture preference.

Your applesauce is now ready. We use applesauce is so many ways in our house. We enjoy it as it is, as a topping for our pancakes, over our oatmeal/waffles, ..etc. My toddler especially loves it over oatmeal along with peanut butter.