If you have a hankering for applesauce, it really doesn’t get any easier than Instant Pot applesauce with peels!

When I would grocery shop with my mom growing up, I really didn’t pay much attention to apples. Actually, I pretty much thought there were like, 5 kinds: sour green (too sour for me!), red delicious (boring), soft yellow (always mealy), and a couple other red ones that were too expensive anyway. 😀

A bag of red delicious apples were pretty much a weekly staple at our house… and since I considered them bland as bland can be, I just assumed apples were one of the more boring fruits available.

Okay, Did you know that there are over 7,000 varieties of apples? I know. I was shocked too. Only about 100 varieties are grown commercially in the United Stated though… cause that is just #toomanyoptions.

My first clue that maybe apples could be actually delicious was in high school. I worked at a local grocery store, and I remember one of my co-workers begging the produce manager to order in this certain kind of apple, because they were soooo good. I thought she was crazy… in my mind, apples were either bland, sour or soft… or a combination of all. So when the shipment of Cripps Pink Lady Apples arrived, I was intrigued. Well, as you can guess, I couldn’t believe how delicious they were! These apples weren’t soft, or sour… and they certainly weren’t bland! For the rest of high school, I made sure that a fresh Pink Lady Apple was included in every snack. My favorite was to dip it in yogurt with granola… or peanut butter.

Fast forward a few years, and while I like to think I’m much more worldly about the different apple varieties… although I’m probably not. 😀 I still buy Pink Lady Apples every single time I’m at the grocery store. However, when we took a trip this fall to the local apple orchard, I knew it was time to branch out! See what I did there? ;D

This was our first time to the orchard. It was really a fun experience, and they had samples of the different apple varieties out to sample. Warner even helped pick some of the best ones! Every apple looked so good… we ended up with like, 30 pounds of huge delicious apples. We stuck to two varieties: Cortland, and Honey Crisp. While Honey Crisp is pretty common at the grocery store, we had to have a big bag because they store so well, and these were so much cheaper!

Apples actually stay good in the refrigerator for up to six months. We snacked on those bags for quite some time!

However, there were a few bruised apples (likely from transportation). Naturally I wanted to make applesauce with them. I love this recipe for applesauce because

1. THERE IS NO PEELING. If we can have an honest moment, here… when I see a recipe that requires peeling … I skip it. I hate peeling!
2. You can spice it up to your own preference. I love a bit more extra spicy cinnamon.. so I always add an extra dash. You can add whatever spice seems reasonable to you!

My secret ingredient is orange juice.. it just gives this no peel applesauce a little kick! You can use water or another kind of juice.. but if you are making it in the Instant Pot, be sure to use 1 cup of some liquid- otherwise the pot won’t come to pressure.

Super Easy Cinnamon Instant Pot Applesauce with Peels

Equipment:

• Instant Pot
• Immersion Blender

Ingredients:

• 7-8 Large Apples – quartered and halved.
• 1 cup Orange Juice
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tsp Ginger

Instructions

1. Quarter your apples, and then halve the quarters. Be sure to remove the seeds and stems.. but no need to peel!
2. Add 1 cup of Orange Juice and spices to the Instant Pot.
3. Add the trivet or steam basket (it is easier with the steam basket), and add the apple chunks.
4. Make sure the IP is set to seal, and set the Instant Pot for Manual – High, and adjust the time to 4 minutes. Now, if you have small apples, or smaller chunks, just cook for 3 minutes. If you have large apples, or maybe only wanted to cut quarters, try 5 minutes.
5. Wait for pressure to release naturally. (Your house should smell delicious!) 😀
6. When pressure is released (the metal pin is dropped), open the lid. If you want chunky applesauce, carefully drain the liquid. (I left it to blend in!)
7. Remove the apples from the steam basket, and replace in the pot. Use your immersion blender to blend to your desired consistency. (You could also transfer to a blender).
8. Serve hot or cold! I add more cinnamon.. and sometimes a big scoop of vanilla greek yogurt.

We had so many huge apples that I made a couple batches and froze some. I used quart freezer bags. My method:

1. Fill the bags (with cooled applesauce) about 3/4 of the way full.
2. Seal the bags most of the way, and slowly lay the bags out flat. Finish closing the bags just as the applesauce is about to escape! This should remove most of the air.
3. Lay flat and freeze!
4. To eat simply thaw in the refrigerator or counter, store in the refrigerator when thawed.

There you have it!  A long story about how I didn’t know any better, and short recipe for easy no peel applesauce!

I would love to hear how you spice yours up.. leave a comment to let me know!