Unsweetened Crock Pot Applesauce

"I eat a LOT of applesauce (as a side dish, for breakfast, for a snack with a piece of cheese, you name it) and it seems silly to be buying it so frequently. I'm not always able to find unsweetened kind every single time I go to the store, so I make my own when I can, the way I like it and I finally got around to writing things down last night when I made a batch. Some may prefer a little more sweet in this recipe or may need to compensate for the apples being more more tart occasionally than other times. The types of apples I use vary, but I try for 2 or more kinds, any combination except Red or Golden Delicious as these types don't seem to make good applesauce. Organic seem to be best, but the selection wasn't very good for buying for this batch, so I peeled the non-organic apples before coring and chopping because I didn't want all the wax, but peeling is not an absolutely necessary step. Throwing it all in the crock pot is so easy and makes the house smell so nice!"
 
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photo by lauralie41 photo by lauralie41
photo by lauralie41
photo by lauralie41 photo by lauralie41
photo by Pvt Amys Mom photo by Pvt Amys Mom
Ready In:
8hrs 5mins
Ingredients:
8
Yields:
6-8 cups
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ingredients

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directions

  • Put all ingredients in crock pot, using 1 c cranberry juice if you prefer a thicker sauce, 1 1/2 c if you like a thinner sauce.
  • Stir to coat.
  • Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 3 hours.
  • Check consistency of applesauce, adding more cranberry juice if too thick.
  • Mash apple chunks with potato masher to desired texture, leaving it as chunky as you like.
  • Taste for preferred tartness or sweetness, adding any sugar, honey or sugar substitute for your tastes.
  • Cook on low for 1 to 2 more hours.
  • Remove vanilla bean and star anise.
  • Vanilla bean can be rinsed and kept for a few more similar uses.
  • Serve warm or cold.
  • Can be easily frozen and can be used when substituting for oil in reducing fat in some recipes.

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Reviews

  1. I added whole cranberries, also. Yum. Topped with my homemade vanilla yogurt.
     
  2. It never occurred to me to use a variety of apples in my applesauce but it worked terrifically. The pink of the cranberry juice was a bit off-putting but it is pretty. I understand lemon juice also turns applesauce pink. Most difficult part is peeling and coring the apples but I just got a mechanical one for Christmas so I'm looking forward to next year's apple crop. I'll zoom through this and I'll also try sugar free white grape juice for sweetening and skip the lemon juice.
     
  3. This recipe inspired me to make my own applesauce instead of purchasing it. I replaced the McIntosh apples with Jonagolds, used cinnamon instead of star anise and concentrated black cherry juice instead of cranberry juice. The apples were quite juicy enough without the extra liquid, so I just added enough concentrate to sweeten a little. My mother used to make her own sauce and freeze it. I miss her and her sauce. This is easy and I'll be freezing my own from now on. Thank you for the reminder of my mother and the inspiration. My 14 month old grandson got a taste of it and signed for more. My mother's legacy will live on in her great grandson thanks to you.
     
  4. Used Braeburn, Fuji and Granny Smiths...Fabulous, and no additional sweetener needed!
     
  5. We love this applesauce and the apples were perfect together. I did forget to get lemons so I added about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon flavoring, peeled the apples, added the star anise, and used 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice. This applesauce is so much better than what can be bought in the store!
     
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Tweaks

  1. This recipe inspired me to make my own applesauce instead of purchasing it. I replaced the McIntosh apples with Jonagolds, used cinnamon instead of star anise and concentrated black cherry juice instead of cranberry juice. The apples were quite juicy enough without the extra liquid, so I just added enough concentrate to sweeten a little. My mother used to make her own sauce and freeze it. I miss her and her sauce. This is easy and I'll be freezing my own from now on. Thank you for the reminder of my mother and the inspiration. My 14 month old grandson got a taste of it and signed for more. My mother's legacy will live on in her great grandson thanks to you.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

As my nickname might imply, one of my hobbies does have something to do with bikes. The motorized kind, I enjoy endurance motorcycle riding. I'm a big fan of car racing too, particularly the European stuff, road racing, and endurance car racing, not so much NASCAR, but no offense. The Beau and I get to take his car out once in a while for autocross and basically drive like speed demons and not get in trouble. I love driving in general and am one of the few nutz who enjoys shopping for cars. But I also love to cook. Believe it or not, my mom doesn't think I can cook. But she couldn't cook, so that's probably how she got on that track. My sister and I were latchkey kids and learned to help in the kitchen at a young age and I consider cooking a great outlet for my creative bits. I work full time but am in school on and off part time, plus try to keep up with current events and life in general, plus teach a weekly class to my co-workers, plus just hanging out with The Beau and all our good friends. Oh and I also pet/house-sit -- I used to do it for friends but recently hired on with a "company" and am now kinda one of their contractors. I'm a dog freak but don't have a good setup for dogs, so pet-sitting is how I get my dog fix. I have a kitty, she's 18 and at her age I figure she deserves a taste of whatever's on my plate.
 
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