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Homemade Crock Pot 3-Ingredient Applesauce recipe tastes better than store bought and is super easy to make! Cooking the apples in the crock pot also fills the home with the delicious scent of apples. Eat this applesauce as a snack, a side dish or use it in recipes! Adults and children are sure to love this recipe that is naturally gluten free, dairy free, and low in added sugar.
Ingredients for 3-Ingredient Applesauce
All you need for this recipe is 3 simple ingredients. This easy recipe makes better apple sauce than those you will find at the grocery store. Apple season is the best time to make your own applesauce because you will find all apple varieties on sale. Even better if you go apple picking you will have lots of apples on hand. For this recipe you will need:
- fresh apples- we used a mix of granny smith apples and gala apples for a sweet and tart flavor combination
- lemon- for fresh lemon juice
- honey- this can be left out if you prefer no added sugar in your applesauce
How to Make 3-Ingredient Applesauce
This recipe could not be easier to make! To start, wash and peel your apples. Remove the cores and cut apples into chunks and drop them into the crock pot. It doesn’t matter if the apples are in large chunks or small pieces since they will be blended up later. I usually let the kids do this step and the apple pieces are all different sizes.
Next, add the lemon juice to the crock pot. Toss the apples around to coat the apples well in lemon juice. This will give the applesauce a slight lemon flavor while also keeping the apples from becoming too brown.
Set the crock pot on low for 4 hours and let the apples cook. If you are around, feel free to stir intermittently. The apples are done when they can be easily smashed with a fork.
Once the apples are cooked, decide how you want to smash them. This can be done many ways. For a smoother texture either use an immersion blender (hand blender), traditional blender or food processor. For a chunkier texture mash apples with a potato masher.
Mash or blend your apples and then add the honey (if desired) one tablespoon at a time until your desired sweetness level. If necessary add water to adjust the consistency to your liking.
Note: if you do not want the added sugar, the honey can be skipped all together.
More Applesauce Recipes
If you enjoy applesauce try these other recipes as well:
Frequently Asked Questions
Homemade applesauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. I like to store my applesauce in a glass jar such as a mason jar.
Yes, portion out the applesauce into airtight containers and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before using.
Skip the honey and try either maple syrup, granulated sugar, brown sugar or stevia!
Of course! For cinnamon applesauce add some ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick to the slow cooker while it is cooking. Be sure to remove the cinnamon stick before blending if you choose to add that. Other spices like nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice and ginger would also pair well with this recipe to create a different flavor.
Almost all apples will make great applesauce. Try apples such as granny smith, gala, fuji apples, red delicious, pink lady and more! For best results I suggest combining two varieties of apples.
For a behind the scenes look at Return to the Kitchen, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest! Also, if you make this recipe or any of our recipes be sure to tag us @returntothekitchen!
Looking for more snack ideas? Try our Homemade Cilantro Lime Hummus, Lemon Blueberry Snack Cake, Healthy Deviled Eggs Recipe, Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal, Pumpkin Spice Granola Bark with Dark Chocolate, Dairy-Free Queso with Ground Chicken, Healthy Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dessert Hummus, Chickpea and Black Eyed Peas Salsa, Homemade Salsa Verde with Pineapple and Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Acai Bowl.
Homemade Crock Pot 3-Ingredient Applesauce
Homemade Crock Pot 3-Ingredient Applesauce tastes better than store bought and is super easy to make! Eat this applesauce as a snack, a side dish or use it in recipes!
Ingredients
- 3 gala apples
- 3 granny smith apples
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp honey
- water (if needed)
Instructions
- Wash and peel all apples. Remove the core and slice into chunks.
- Put apples into the crock pot.
- Juice the lemon and add lemon juice to crock pot. Toss apples to coat in the lemon juice.
- Turn crock pot on low for 4 hours. Stir intermittently if possible.
- Once apples are easy to mash with a fork, decide how to mash you apples. An immersion blender, traditional blender or food processor will all give a smooth applesauce. For a chunky applesauce use a potato masher.
- Once apples are mashed to desired consistency (add water if needed to thin it out), slowly add honey until desired sweetness is reached. If you prefer applesauce unsweetened skip the honey!
- Serve applesauce immediately or let cool and store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
Add cinnamon if desired.
Other sweeteners such as maple syrup, granulated sugar, brown sugar and stevia can be used.
Jessica Mullins
Saturday 29th of January 2022
Can I make without lemon. I don’t like lemon
Melissa
Saturday 29th of January 2022
Yes! It may brown a bit in the crock pot but it is still safe to eat!