Easy Homemade Vanilla Applesauce
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With just 6 delicious ingredients, our Vanilla applesauce can be made in both a slow cooker or stovetop and ready for your family to enjoy anytime!
Delicious Family Traditions
We have a family tradition of going apple picking every fall. Then I make a big batch of vanilla apple sauce and send it home with all of my kids.
Vanilla applesauce goes great on everything from waffles to ice cream and it’s the base for our Caramel Apple Slushies!
Applesauce is so easy to make, that you can make a little or a lot, any time of year. But we believe hand-picked apples are the best!
Can I freeze applesauce?
Yes, you can! To freeze, you simply need to allow it to come to room temperature and transfer to a freezer-safe storage container.
Can I use the Crockpot?
Ahh YEAH! This is one of my favorite ways to make applesauce. I can put all of the ingredients into the slowcooker, set it for 6 hours, and go.
Crocktober! I love this silly word. But even more, I love that it inspires me to write more recipes to share with all of you. Like our Easy Vegan Crock Pot Chili recipe!
This week’s recipe is a house staple because I use it for so many different recipes as well as an easy side dish that my family loves.
What is Crocktober?
October is the time of year when our lives are still hectic, the weather is cooling off, and many of us start to pull out our slow cookers and reach for hearty warm recipes to come home to.
What are the best apples for applesauce?
There are so many different types of apples, but which ones are best for making applesauce? It depends on what level of sweetness and tartness. You can also mix them together for your own blend!
For Sweet Applesauce:
- Fuji
- Gala
- Golden Delicious
For Tart Applesauce:
- Cortland
- McIntosh
- Liberty
- Rome
Time saving gadgets!
Making applesauce from a basket of fresh-picked apples can take some time and effort. However, we discovered how much fun it can be to use an apple corer/ peeler. You just stick the apple into the pointy end and start cranking. Then it cores the apple at the same time that it peels it. And they come out in fun spirals!
We love our Buffalo Tools Hand Crank Peeler because it clamps down on the table and it is easier to crank.
This peeler allows you to quickly and easily remove the skin from apples and potatoes. The peeler attaches to 1-1/2 in. tables or countertops and features an adjustable flat blade and 3-prong fork for easy paring.
We have used traditional vegetable peelers. For small batches, they work great.
We like the Zyliss Smoothglide Peeler. It is the go-to, all-purpose peeler for kitchen tasks from apples to winter squash. Topped with a sturdy steel tip to remove potato eyes or blemishes, the European inspired designed Smoothglide Peeler shows off its ergonomically-enhanced body, which is tailor-made to fit the hand comfortably. The peeler set is dishwasher safe and comes with a 5-year warranty.
Homemade Vanilla Applesauce
For Slowcooker Recipe:
Place the cored apples with the rest of your ingredients into the slow cooker and allow to cook for 6 hours. Then turn off and allow to fully cool before using an immersion blender or masher to blend to your preferred chunkiness.
For Stovetop Recipe:
Place the apples and other ingredients into a large pot on low to medium heat. Stirring regularly to keep it from sticking, cook for 15-20 minutes until the apples are tender. You may add more water if it becomes too thick. Once the apples are soft. Turn off and remove from heat. Allow to cool before pressing with a potato masher or immersion blender.
If you are going to make larger batches, we suggest the stovetop method and peeling your apples with an apple peeler. In the photo below, we did 10 lbs of apples in just a few minutes with an apple peeler that also did the coring.
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator and use within a week.
Ingredients
Directions
For Slowcooker Recipe:
Place the cored apples with the rest of your ingredients into the slow cooker and allow to cook for 6 hours. Then turn off and allow to fully cool before using an immersion blender or masher to blend to your preferred chunkiness.
For Stovetop Recipe:
Place the apples and other ingredients into a large pot on low to medium heat. Stirring regularly to keep it from sticking, cook for 15-20 minutes until the apples are tender. You may add more water if it becomes too thick. Once the apples are soft. Turn off and remove from heat. Allow to cool before pressing with a potato masher or immersion blender.
If you are going to make larger batches, we suggest the stovetop method and peeling your apples with an apple peeler. In the photo below, we did 10 lbs of apples in just a few minutes with an apple peeler that also did the coring.
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator and use within a week.
