Why waste your paycheck on a spiced apple candle when you can have the real deal?
The only thing that’s better than the cozy scent of cinnamon and sweet juicy apples floating through your home in the cooler months is being able to transform that fruity fragrance into something you can actually eat with a spoon.
Disclaimer: I am not inviting you to eat candles. But I am about to introduce you to the simple pleasure of homemade pressure-cooked applesauce.
If you’re already familiar with the process involved to make this sweet snack on the stovetop, then I certainly don’t have to convince you of the droolworthiness of all the yummy aromas.
However, this recipe shows you how to transform a produce bag filled with whole apples into a rustic, maple-infused applesauce in a fraction of the time that you’re used to.
After the brief period it takes for your appliance to come up to pressure, the cook time is a mere 5 minutes – doesn’t get much faster than that!
And though this tasty seasonal treat comes together at turbo speed, the perfume that wafts from your appliance’s steam valve could be enough to convince anyone who passes by that you slowly cooked those apples on the stove for an hour.
So yank whatever speedy little device you use to get food in your belly fast out of its hiding space and let’s get to peeling.
Choosing the right apple can be tricky business if you’re not well-versed in which varieties are best for cooking or eating fresh. That crisp, candy-like specimen may be a superstar for slicing and dunking into peanut butter, but its texture might turn mealy in a pie.
Don’t worry. No need to send yourself to fruit school. Give our apple guide a once-over and you’ll be good to go.
For this batch, juicy Honeycrisps as well as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Cosmic Crisp apples were a-plenty at the grocery store.
I wanted a little tartness to balance out the sweetness of the Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith’s signature citrusy tang was just the ticket. The honey and spice elements of the Golden Delicious apples play perfectly with the added sweetener and warming spice.
After mixing in a couple tablespoons of sweet, earthy maple syrup and a dash of warm cinnamon, all I had to do was wait 10 minutes for my Instant Pot to come to temperature, filled with anticipation.
A watched pot may never boil, but a pressure cooker that’s been glared at by a hungry cook will make one heck of an applesauce in 15 minutes.
Thanks to the Boiling Chamber of High-Pressure Steam – which is not, in fact, the 8th installment in the Harry Potter collection – I didn’t even have to break out the potato masher. My applesauce was rustic, chunky perfection.
If smooth and silky is your preferred texture, feel free to puree all you like with an immersion blender before serving.
Either way, ditch the pricey, kitschy fall candles this year and turn to our pressure cooker applesauce instead to breathe in a heavenly aroma of simmered fruit, maple syrup, and spices you can actually eat.
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Pressure Cooker Maple Cinnamon Applesauce
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Approximately 3 1/2 cups (about 7 servings) 1x
Description
Our spiced pressure cooker maple applesauce is just the thing to satisfy your cinnamon craving when cooler weather comes around.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds apples (about 4 large), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Add the apples, apple cider, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon to a 6-quart electric pressure cooker. Stir to combine.
- Secure the lid and set the timer to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then open the valve and carefully quick-release the remaining steam before removing the lid.
- Mash or blend the applesauce to your desired consistency.
- Serve warm or transfer the applesauce to a bowl and allow it to cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and chill for about 2 hours to serve cold. Store leftovers in the fridge for 7-10 days.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Fruit
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Snack
Keywords: applesauce, apple, cinnamon, maple, pressure cooker
Cooking By the Numbers…
Step 1 – Gather, Measure, and Prep Ingredients
Rinse, peel, core, and roughly chop your apples. About four medium-sized apples weigh 2 1/2 pounds, and I ended up with approximately 6 cups of chopped fruit.
I prefer to use a combination of sweet and tart apples to make a sauce. For this recipe, I used a combination of Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp, Granny Smith, and Golden Delicious.
Some tart or sweet-tart options include McIntosh, Jonathan, Pippin, and Granny Smith. For sweet varieties, look for Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp, Northern Spy, Stayman Winesap, or Golden Delicious, among others. Scout for new varieties at your local farmers market or farm stand this fall!
Measure the apple cider and maple syrup. You can use water in a pinch if you don’t have apple cider on hand, but it adds some additional fall flavor to the applesauce.
Juice half of a lemon and measure out about 1 tablespoon of the juice. Measure the salt and cinnamon.
Step 2 – Combine Ingredients in Pressure Cooker and Cook
Set up your 6-quart electric pressure cooker – I like to use my Instant Pot. Add the chopped apples, apple cider, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon to the insert and stir until everything is evenly distributed.
Secure the lid of the cooker, set to high pressure, and set the timer for 5 minutes. My Instant Pot took 10 minutes to come up to pressure before it started cooking and counting down from 5 minutes.
Step 3 – Release the Steam
Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes to complete the cooking process. The pin (or float valve) will begin to register a decrease in pressure during this time.
Open the valve carefully and quick-release the remaining steam before taking off the lid.
Step 4 – Serve Warm or Chill
Using a potato masher, or an immersion blender if you prefer a smoother finished product, mash or blend the applesauce to your desired consistency.
Serve the applesauce warm or transfer it to a bowl and allow it to cool completely at room temperature. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container and place in the fridge. It will take about 2 hours to chill fully.
Leftovers may be stored in the fridge for 7 to 10 days or you can freeze individually-sized portions for longer storage of up to 6 months and defrost in the fridge overnight – perfect for meal prep!
An Apple a Day
Snagging several different types of apples to make this recipe is certainly not a requirement. If you have a favorite that rocks in a sauce, go for it!
Be sure to choose a variety that’s excellent when cooked. As long as the weight requirement is satisfied, you can include as many different types as you like, or stick with just one.
If all roads lead to Honeycrisp, just expect more sweet than tart. If a zippy tang is what you’re after, no one will stop you from grabbing nothing but Granny Smiths.
This applesauce is the perfect accompaniment to latkes for the Hanukkah holiday, so consider pairing it with our sweet potato and potato pancake recipe if you prefer a sweet take with earthy warming spices. Don’t forget the sour cream.
Swirled into apple cranberry oatmeal? Dolloped over vanilla yogurt? Where will you adventure with this applesauce? Share your serving suggestions in the comments below! And don’t forget to give this recipe a five-star rating if you loved it.
Maple syrup is a magical ingredient, and you’ll still have plenty left in your jug after this applesauce is ready to serve. Continue spreading the sweet love with these recipes:
- Maple-Spiced Nuts and Seeds
- Maple Blueberry Coconut Oil Scones with Einkorn Flour
- Maple Glazed Pork Roast with Root Vegetables
Photos by Fanny Slater, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on February 19, 2015. Last updated on September 6, 2022.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Fanny Slater
Fanny Slater is a home-taught food enthusiast based in Wilmington, North Carolina who won the “Rachael Ray Show” Great American Cookbook Competition in 2014, and published her cookbook “Orange, Lavender & Figs” in 2016. Fanny is a food and beverage writer, recipe developer, and social media influencer. She was a co-host on the Food Network series “Kitchen Sink,” was featured on Cooking Channel’s longtime popular series “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” and continues to appear regularly on the “Rachael Ray Show.”
MM yummy looking piture and a great recipe.
What cool idea to use the pressure cooker like this!
Nice to be reminded that we can utilize our appliances for more than just one thing. I really like this recipe, especially that you have included the varieties you use.
My grandma was using pressure cookers to make sauce from various fruits since I can remember. I know I’ve always loved sauce made from pears. I’ve never really tried doing it myself.
That does look very tasty I must say. I use love when my mom would make a apple cake thing, I forget the proper name and there was apple sauce on the side, it was always so yummy for a snack.
I got a great deal on pears at a farmer’s market this week & this would be a great recipe to supplement the apples for the pears. My eyes were bigger than my family’s stomach & I may have went overboard in the poundage department. This is a great way to put those babies to use!
Wow, that’s so easy to make! I can imagine it would be fantastic to accompany a variety of desserts or even just on vanilla ice cream!
This is new to me. I have always believed apple sauce was made with just the grater. That is how I have done it in the past. I would always say, it never taste like Mott’s. So, I presume the pressure helps to blend the flavors and produce the texture. It usually takes my pressure cooker a while for the red part to raise up, so I hope the timing will still work. The recipe is so nice. I love maple syrup and cinnamon and apple cider. I actually do not know the apple types by name, but I see how the different types will give variety to the sauces I make. That’s exciting. It will never get boring. I look forward to trying this recipe. Of course your pictures really make my mouth just water. I can not commend you enough for your great content and perfect pictures.
I really want to get a pressure cooker after seeing the pictures applesauce. I love cinnamon and apple cider so this recipe look like it right in my alley. I also like how pressure pots sterilize everything. Sound like that could reduce worrying about something not being safe to eat.
Oh yet another kitchen gadget I am going to need to buy now 🙂 This looks delicious and so much better than store-bought. My kids love applesauce, but even buying the large jars, they eat it in a matter of a day or 2. This not only looks better, but would probably be less expensive – especially since we end up getting great deals picking our own apples from the orchards!
This looks delicious! Apple and cinnamon is such a winning combination. When I make applesauce I usually just cook it in a regular pan but that takes a lot of time, using a pressure cooker is a really good idea! I guess I have to buy one now 🙂
I it just me who gets intimidated by pressure cookers. I’ve never been able to cook on one because of the fear that it might explode. I have two in the house by the way. The wife uses them often and every time she does I get a little anxious and worried about her. She’s assured me time and again that these are reliable brands and isn’t likely to explode. That calms me down a bit. Anyone else experience this?
I don’t currently have a pressure cooker, but I’ll still take at least two things away from this article.
One: thanks for the tip about using steel as opposed to aluminum with apples. I’m filing that one away. Good to know.
Two: Using maple in applesauce is a combination I probably never would have thought of on my own, but it sounds delicious. Next time my daughter makes applesauce, I’ll have to head over with a bag of apples and some maple syrup in hand!
Never really used a pressure cooker but if that ustensil can do something this good I think I should buy one and learn how to use it, looks pretty good. Applesauce is really, really tasty!
I love eating apple sauce. I recently bought mango peach apple sauce cups from the store for the first time. It has been a while since I have had cinnamon flavored sauce. It is so addictive for me so I only get it every once in a while. Moderation is key.
My little boy loves applesauce..and homemade is even better. When looking for something to do with the apples that are going bad…this is a delicious tip. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe…it has much potential to be loved by my picky three year old son.