Instant Pot Applesauce

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Instant Pot applesauce is the easiest and fastest way to make homemade applesauce that tastes so much better than store-bought.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Course: Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: fall, quick

Servings: servings

Wash the unpeeled apples thoroughly and add them to the Instant Pot. For 10-12 apples add 1/2 cup filtered water. For a 6 quart Instant Pot full of apples, add 3/4 cup to 1 cup filtered water. The apples release a lot of liquid during the cooking process, so I find that it is best to use a very small amount of liquid.
Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Natural release for a few minutes and then let out the rest of the pressure.
Ladle a few cups of cooked apples into the food mill. Spin the handle until all the cooked apples go through the mill, and all seeds and peels are on the top.
Repeat until you have put all the cooked apples through the food mill. I find that it is best to work in small batches and not overfill the food mill. If you do, the holes will get clogged up with peels and it will be hard to get the applesauce through.
Add a teaspoon of cinnamon, if desired, and give it a good stir.
I chose to not add any additional sweetener, but you could drizzle in a little honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup at this point if you want it to be a little sweeter.
Use a funnel to pour the finished applesauce in pint size mason jars.

I find that it is best to work in small batches and not overfill the food mill. If you do, the holes will get clogged up with peels and it will be hard to get the applesauce through.
While I usually just add whole apples directly to the Instant Pot, you can fit more apples into the Instant Pot by chopping and coring the apples. You can still leave the peels on.
If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can also just use a slow cooker. Place all the apples into a slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Once soft, run through the food mill.
To get smooth applesauce without a food mill, peel and chop the apples and then run them through a blender, food process, or use an immersion blender.