There’s nothing quite like the smell of warm apples simmering away in the kitchen—and this No Sugar Added Slow Cooker Applesauce is the coziest, easiest way to capture fall flavors any time of year.
With just a few ingredients and zero added sugar, this homemade applesauce is naturally sweet, customizable, and totally hands-off thanks to your slow cooker.
In my backyard, when I moved into this house, there was an apple tree. It had an abundance of apples on it, and we ended up having to cut it down because it was dying. Two years ago, I planted an apple tree in my backyard. Sadly, I won't be able to enjoy those apples one day but someone else will. I envy anyone who has an apple tree in their backyard!
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💛 Why You Will Love This Recipe
As someone who loves homemade over store-bought whenever possible, I can honestly say this slow cooker applesauce is one of my favorite low-effort, high-reward recipes. It's naturally sweet from the apples alone—no need for added sugar—and the slow cooking brings out deep, caramelized flavor.
This whole recipe is zero points kind of like this Sugar-Free Strawberry Sauce or Rhubarb Freezer Jam!
It’s kid-friendly, WW-friendly, freezer-friendly, and makes your house smell like an apple orchard. What’s not to love?
Ingredients Needed
- 8 medium-sized Honey Crisp Apples
- 3 orange peels from one orange
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ teaspoon of allspice
Substitution Tips
- Use a mix of sweet and tart apples for depth of flavor. (Try Honeycrisp + Granny Smith!)
- No lemon juice? A splash of apple cider vinegar works too.
- Add a dash of vanilla or nutmeg for extra warmth.
How to Make Homemade Applesauce
Step 1 Peel and slice apples. Add apples to your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and then add the cinnamon sticks, orange peels, and allspice on top of the apples.
Step 2 Slow Cooker: Cook the apples for 6 hours on low. If you are using a slow cooker just place all the apples and spices and orange peels in your slow cooker.
Step 3: After the apples are done cooking, take out the orange peels and cinnamon sticks with a pair of tongs. Puree with an emersion blender or add the apples to a blender and blend until smooth.
Instant Pot: Close the lid on your Instant Pot and set the steam valve to sealing. Then set the timer to 20 minutes. When the time is up do a quick release.
After the apples are done cooking, take out the orange peels and cinnamon sticks with a pair of tongs. Puree with an emersion blender or add the apples to a blender and blend until smooth.
Serving size: ½ cup.
Serving Suggestions
- Serve warm with oatmeal or yogurt
- Add on top of Ninja Creami Vanilla Ice Cream or Ninja Creami Dairy Free Ice Cream (High Protein)
- Spoon over Oatmeal Pancakes - Dairy Free and Gluten Free, Air Fryer Frozen Waffles, Blackstone French Toast
- Use in baking (muffins, breads, cakes)
- Eat it cold straight from the fridge—it’s that good!
What Crock Pots are the Best?
- When choosing a slow cooker think of the size of your family first. Do you have a large family of 6 or more? You probably want a larger crockpot that is 7 qt or more. For smaller families that are 4 or less choose a 4 qt slow cooker and just adjust the recipe ingredients in half. No need to change the cooking times.
- Elite Gourmet - Electric oval slow cooker has adjustable temps and can make anything from entrees, sauces, stews & dips. Plus it’s dishwasher safe. This one also comes in a 4 quart size!
- Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval - Manual Slow Cooker | Stainless Steel (SCV700-S-BR) Spatious 7 quart manual slow cooker that servers up to 9 people. Fits a 7 pound roast. Keeps food at an ideal serving temperature for as long as you need to so you can make dishes ahead of time!
Recipe FAQS
Yes, but you'll want to follow proper sterilization and water-bath canning procedures. This recipe is naturally safe since it contains lemon juice.
Absolutely! It works great as a natural sweetener or to replace oil in muffins, breads, and cakes.
Try a mix of sweet (Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp) and tart (Granny Smith, McIntosh) for the best balance.
Other Recipes to Try
If you tried this Slow Cooker Applesauce (Sugar Free) or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you! Follow along on Tiktok @jennarecipediaries
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Sugar Free Applesauce
- Prep Time: 20min
- Cook Time: 6hr
- Total Time: 6hr 20min
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Easy
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
When life hands you apples you make a lot of applesauce and this recipe is completely sugar-free and 0 smart points! It can be made in the slow cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 8 medium sized Honey Crisp Apples
- 3 orange peels from one orange
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ tsp of allspice
Instructions
- Peel and slice apples. Add apples to your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker and then add the cinnamon sticks, orange peels, and allspice on top of the apples.
- Instant Pot: Close the lid on your Instant Pot and set the steam valve to sealing. Then set the timer to 20 minutes. When the time is up do a quick release.
- Slow Cooker: Cook the apples for 6 hours on low. If you are using a slow cooker just place all the apples and spices and orange peels in your slow cooker.
- After the apples are done cooking, take out the orange peels and cinnamon sticks with a pair of tongs. Puree with an emersion blender or add the apples to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Serving size: ½ cup.
Notes
WW points: Blue Points: 0; Green Points: 0; Purple Points: 0
The sugars listed below are naturally occurring sugars.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ cup
- Calories: 70
- Sugar: 14
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 0g
Jennifer says
I love this recipe and make it every year in the Fall.
Brian says
Great applesauce recipe! I love that there’s no extra sugar off.
Jenna says
No Step 2 is for slow cooker settings. If you use your Instant Pot the applesauce is done in 20 minutes. I updated the recipe so that was more clear.
Star says
Hi there!
Thank you for the recipe. This is a long shot since this was posted so long ago but I have a question. I’m using an insta pot and just put everything in for 20 minutes. In step 2 it sounds like I leave it in for an addition 4 hours on low? Is that correct?
Thanks
Jenna says
Yes from one orange. I updated it to make more sense.
Shirl says
Just to clarify, after watching the video, just a few pieces of orange peel, not the peel of 3 oranges? Also, no problem with the Instant Pot scorching since no liquid was added? That part makes me nervous, but I do like thick applesauce. I am going to try this as soon as I get piece of mind on the above two concerns. Love your recipes! Thanks so much!