Make Applesauce in a Crockpot

Homemade applesauce is easy to make, especially when prepared in a crockpot. All you need to do is cut up your apples, add them to the slow cooker with a few other ingredients, and walk away. Your applesauce should be ready within a few hours. Here are the essential steps you need to take when preparing applesauce in a crockpot.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups (750 ml)

  • 8 medium apples
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
  • 1 Tbsp (15 ml) ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract

Steps

Preparing the Apples

  1. Wash the apples. Rinse the apples under cool to lukewarm running water and pat them dry with clean paper towels.
    • Even though you will be removing the skin from the apple, you should still rinse them to remove any noticeable dirt or grime before you do anything else. Dirt from the skin can get transferred to the flesh of the apple underneath during the peeling process.
    • The apples should be more sweet than sour, so Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Red Delicious, Melrose, Honeycrisp, and Golden Delicious are good options.
    • For the richest, most complex taste, use a variety of apple types.
  2. Peel the apples. Use a vegetable peeler or smooth paring knife to gently slice away the peel from each apple.
    • You could also use a three-in-one peeler-corer-slicer. These hand-operated devices accomplish all three tasks at once. You secure the apple on the base and rotate the apple against a small blade that peels it. Meanwhile, a sharp center ring cores the apple and another blade cuts it into slices.[1]
  3. Core and slice the apples. Use an apple corer to remove the core and a knife to slice the remaining apple into about eight pieces.
    • If you do not have an apple corer, you can either cut around the core with a paring knife or cut the core out of each slice after you cut the apple into slices.
    • There are also combination corer-slicers. This tool has a round center blade that cuts out the core, but it also has smaller straight blades that slice the apple as you press down on it.[2]
  4. Cut the apples into chunks.[3] Use a sharp knife to cut each slice down into four or so smaller chunks.
    • Technically, you can make applesauce in your slow cooker even without cutting the apples down this small. As long as you peel and slice them, you can still prepare applesauce. Cutting them down into chunks allows you to form slightly smoother applesauce, though.

Cooking the Applesauce

  1. Transfer the apples to the crockpot. Evenly disperse the apple chunks in the slow cooker, packing them in without crushing them.[4]
    • For this amount, you can get away with using a 3-quart (3-liter) crockpot. If you use a 5-quart (5-liter) crockpot, it will only be about half full. Anything larger than that will be too much.
    • The applesauce should not burn to the side of the crockpot, but if you want to be extra cautious, you can use a specially-designed plastic slow cooker liner to make clean-up even easier. You could also spray the bottom and sides of the crockpot with a light coating of nonstick cooking spray before adding the apples.
  2. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour the lemon juice directly over the apples and lightly toss the chunks with a wooden spoon to coat them.
    • The primary purpose of the lemon juice is usually to prevent cut apples from browning too much. Since the apples naturally brown during the cooking process, many cooks skip this step, finding it unnecessary. Lemon juice can also help balance the sweet flavor of the apples and other ingredients, however, so it is still recommended.
  3. Add your seasonings and water. Sprinkle the apples with your cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla. Gently pour your water over and around the apple chunks, letting it fill up empty gaps beneath the surface.
    • You do not need to cover the apples with water. In fact, doing so can lead to very watery, runny applesauce, so it is not recommended.
    • You could also mix the flavorings in with the water before pouring it all over the apples. Doing so can help to disperse the flavors throughout the entire bunch of apples chunks, but since this is being cooked slowly, anyway, the flavors will end up being spread out evenly even if you only sprinkle them over the top of the apples.
    • Some cooks also prefer to add the cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla at the end of the cooking process. Cooking these ingredients with the apples allows them to permeate the flavor more thoroughly, though, and the flavor may not be as “deep” or complex if you only add these ingredients in at the end.
  4. Cook on low for 6 hours. Cover the lid and cook the apples until they break down in mush.
    • Exact cooking time can vary. Some recipes only call for 4 hours on low, while others call for as much as 12 hours. Technically, you can leave the apples in overnight without ruining your applesauce, even though doing so is unnecessary.[5] A larger batch of apples may need to be cooked for at least 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, but for a batch of this size, 4 to 6 hours should be sufficient.
    • If the applesauce seems watery once it finishes cooking, leave the lid off and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes to help reduce the amount of water.
  5. Puree the applesauce, if desired. When you finish cooking the apples down, you will naturally be left with fairly chunky applesauce. You can puree this to make it smoother if you prefer chunk-free applesauce.
    • You can leave the applesauce as is if you prefer chunky applesauce, or you can gently mash it with a metal spoon to make the chunks a little smaller.
    • If you prefer smooth applesauce, use a hand mixer or immersion blender to puree the applesauce until smooth. You can blend the sauce while it is still in the crockpot.[6]
  6. Serve. Your applesauce is now ready. You can enjoy it warm or cool it down in the refrigerator before eating it.

Tips

  • You can store homemade applesauce in the refrigerator for four to five days. If stored in the freezer, you can store it for several months.

Things You'll Need

  • Vegetable peeler
  • Paring knife
  • Cutting board
  • Slow cooker
  • Wooden spoon
  • Metal spoon
  • Hand mixer or immersion blender

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.creativegreenliving.com/2011/11/how-to-make-apple-sauce-in-your-slow.html
  2. ↑ http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/10/crock-pot-applesauce.html
  3. ↑ http://thefrugalgirls.com/2010/10/homemade-crockpot-applesauce.html
  4. ↑ http://findtimeforfun.com/homemade-crockpot-applesauce-recipe/
  5. ↑ http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/2012/10/how-to-make-applesauce-in-the-crockpot/
  6. ↑ http://womenlivingwell.org/2012/09/homemade-crock-pot-applesauce/

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