What stands out: You won’t believe how straightforward it is to make this three ingredient crockpot applesauce recipe! Slow cooking breaks down the apples and intensifies their flavor, so you don’t even need to add any sugar to sweeten it.

How long it takes: 4 to 6 hours
Equipment you’ll need: slow cooker
Servings: makes 7 cups

Crockpot applesauce in a large white bowl with a serving spoon.

Maybe you think applesauce is synonymous with bland and boring, and we agree, store-bought applesauce is nothing to get excited about. From-scratch applesauce is a whole different ball game, whether it’s Instant Pot applesauce or this crockpot applesauce. In our mind, a warm bowl of from-scratch applesauce is total comfort food.

From-scratch applesauce is a real treat, and it’s also customizable. It can be cinnamon spiced, or you can experiment with other spices (we share some ideas below!); you can make it chunky, extra-smooth, or somewhere in between!

Different apples produce different flavors too, so you can double down on your favorite variety, or use a mix of a few varieties to see what happens.

Use this from-scratch crockpot applesauce as an accompaniment to spice rubbed pork tenderloin or air fryer pork chops, or just enjoy it as a lighter snack or dessert! We love to top our whole wheat pancakes or buckwheat pancakes with warm applesauce and cinnamon for a hearty breakfast.

Reasons to Love Crockpot Applesauce

Cozy, warm flavor. And not just flavor but aroma too. Your whole house will smell memorable while this applesauce cooks in your crockpot! The combination of cinnamon and apples is a little bit like a warm hug.
Ridiculously straightforward. All you need are apples, cinnamon, and water, and once you’ve prepped the apples, the hard work is done. It’s all hands-off while the slow cooker does its job.
It uses a lot of apples. If you overdid it at the apple orchard or couldn’t pass up a big bag of apples on sale at the grocery store, crockpot applesauce is a reliable way to put them to use. Apples are economical and lighter, too.
It freezes well. Since it makes a large batch, being able to freeze it is awesome! Freeze applesauce in smaller portions and then take it out of the freezer when you’re craving applesauce.

What goes in

Apples: Choose medium-sized apples, or if yours are bigger or smaller, go by weight. This isn’t a fussy recipe; using more apples or fewer apples won’t change the end result too much.
Ground Cinnamon: You can use more, less, or leave it out altogether.
Water: You may need to adjust this and add more if your apples aren’t yielding much juice as they cook. Some varieties have more juice than others.

Overhead view of ingredients needed for recipe, including many apples.

A standby Apples for Making Applesauce

McIntosh, Gala, Jonagold, Cortland, Ida Red, Golden Rich, and Rome apples are considered a standby choices because they cook down nicely. That being said, pretty much any variety of apple can be cooked into applesauce. Experiment with different varieties, or a combination, to make your applesauce uniquely yours!

How it comes together

Prepare the apples by washing, peeling, and coring them, then chop them into about 8 pieces that are roughly even in size.

Add the apples to the slow cooker with the cinnamon (optional) and water. Gently stir.

Cover the crockpot and cook the apples on the Low setting for 4 to 6 hours, or until the apples are soft and easily mashed. The applesauce can be served as is, or you can add more cinnamon or sweeten it with sugar, if desired.

Choose the texture you prefer (3 ways)

Once the apples are soft, there are three different methods to choose from:

Chunky applesauce: Serve the applesauce, as is. If there are any larger chunks, crush them with the side of a spoon, or use a potato masher to mash them to the desired consistency.
Smooth applesauce: Let the applesauce cool slightly. Process it with a food mill or chinois strainer. If you choose this method, you won’t need to peel the apples before you cook them because the food mill will strain out the peelings and cores.
Very smooth applesauce: If you are looking for applesauce with a velvety texture (like baby food), blend the warm applesauce with an immersion blender or carefully transfer the mixture to a regular blender. For this method, the apples can be cooked with the peelings but not the cores. The cooked peels will be pulverized right into the applesauce. With or without peels, it’s your choice.

Make a Bigger Batch

If you have a lot of apples and want to make a larger batch of crockpot applesauce, you can! Fill the crockpot all the way to the top with apples and increase the water to 1 cup. As long as the lid fits securely, you’re good. Stir the applesauce once or twice so it cooks evenly.

Before you start

Ways to change it

Try different spices. A chai spice blend is fabulous for crockpot applesauce, or you can use apple pie spice. If you want to come up with your own combination, in addition to cinnamon, other warm spices that work well with applesauce include cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.
Add pears. You can substitute pears for half of the apples for pear applesauce.
Infuse it with flavor. Speaking of that vanilla bean pear applesauce, you can use a whole split vanilla bean to infuse your applesauce with vanilla flavor, or throw a cinnamon stick in your slow cooker. If you have whole cloves, cardamom pods, etc., wrap them up in a small piece of cheesecloth, add them to the slow cooker, then remove them when the applesauce is finished cooking.
Looking for a faster method? Try Instant Pot applesauce. It’s ready to eat in less than an hour. You can also cook applesauce in a large pan, such as a Dutch oven, on the stove.

How To Serve From-scratch Applesauce

Side dish: A bowl of applesauce is a versatile side dish that goes well with almost any meal. It can be served as a salad or a dessert.

Breakfast: Spoon chunky from-scratch crockpot applesauce on top of crockpot oatmeal or layer it with yogurt and granola to make breakfast parfaits. Try layering warm applesauce on apple pancakes, French toast, or waffles for a breakfast “apple pie”.

Baking: Use applesauce for baking, like in this whole wheat applesauce bread. You’ll find applesauce as a “hidden” ingredient in many of our speedy bread and muffin recipes. Using applesauce reduces the need for oil, resulting in a healthier baked good. A couple of examples are banana bread muffins and triple chocolate banana muffins.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate/Freeze: Once the applesauce cools, transfer it to a covered bowl or into airtight containers. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months. If you freeze your crockpot applesauce, let it thaw in the refrigerator before serving.

Yield: 14 servings
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

15 medium-sized apples, about 5 pounds (see note)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, more to taste
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar, optional

Method

Wash, peel, core, and chop each apple into about 8 pieces. The size of the chunks don’t need to be precise as they will break down during cooking, but try to keep them somewhat even so they cook at the same pace.
Place the chopped apples in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon and water to the apples. Gently stir.
Cover the slow cooker and cook the apples on the Low setting for 4 to 6 hours (see notes). The apples should become soft and easily mashable.
Once the apples are soft, if necessary, mash any larger chunks with the side of a spoon, or use a potato masher to mash them to the desired consistency. For very smooth applesauce, put it through a food mill, blend it with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer the mixture to a regular blender.
Taste the applesauce. Add more cinnamon if desired. If you’d like the applesauce to be sweeter, add a quarter cup of sugar, or more to taste.
Allow the applesauce to cool before transferring it to a covered bowl or into airtight containers. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

Apple varieties: McIntosh, Gala, Jonagold, Cortland, Ida Red or Rome are good choices. A mixture of apples is great, too. Some apple varieties tend to be less juicy than others. You may need to add more water if the applesauce seems too dry.

Cooking notes: The exact cooking time will depend on the type of apples you choose and the size of the chunks. The apples will cook more evenly if you are able to stir the apples once or twice during the cooking time but it’s not essential. If you’d like to hurry things along, cook the apples on high for 1 hour, stir well, then cook on low for 2 hours.

Big batch: You can use more apples if you like. We've found that you can fill the crockpot right to the top, as long as the lid still fits securely. Increase water to 1 cup. We usually stir the applesauce once or twice during cooking time when the crockpot is full.