Healthy Crock Pot Applesauce

The first thing I had to do after learning about my son’s food allergies was figure out how to read food labels. At first, I was completely overwhelmed. One of his food allergies (and mine, I’ve since learned, too) is corn; corn is in almost everything. It hides in the craziest places…like applesauce, which my son absolutely loves.

Below are some popular brands of applesauce. Things underlined contain corn.

Mott’s Original Applesauce
Apples, high fructose corn syrup, water, ascorbic acid

Musselman’s Natural Applesauce
Apples, water, ascorbic acid.

Earth’s Best Applesauce
Organic apples, water, ascorbic acid.

Santa Cruz Organic Applesauce
Organic apples, ascorbic acid.

Although you may not have a corn allergy, you should still be aware of the issues and concerns with ascorbic acid (which you unfortunately find in the majority of foods on grocery store shelves).

  • What is ascorbic acid? Simple…it’s vitamin C.
  • Why is it added? Companies will tell you it is there to preserve the taste and color while adding nutritional value to their products.
  • From where does it come? Corn…and almost certainly, this is GMO corn (because that’s the cheapest way to make it).

Sorry, I digress…

Back to applesauce. Shouldn’t applesauce just be…well, apples!? Since my son needs his applesauce it was one of the first things I learned to make in my scratch kitchen. Luckily, it is super easy, very tasty, and oh so good for you.

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Healthy Crock Pot Applesauce
Ingredients:
SpicesCrockPotApplesauce
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  • 12 apples (I like to use Pink Ladies, but your favorite sweet apples will be great)
  • 2 T water
  • 1 t raw, unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar (ACV)
  • 1 T cinnamon
  • 1/8 t fresh nutmeg (optional, but really increases the flavor)
Place the water, ACV, cinnamon, and nutmeg in your crock pot.Core and quarter your apples.I leave the skins on my apples, as they breakdown nicely in the crock pot. If you (or your kiddos) can’t stand the peels, then peel away. HOWEVER…please note that you are losing a lot of great nutrition when you peel them (the peels house a great deal of vitamins and minerals).

Toss the apples into your crock pot and stir everything around so you coat the apples with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ACV.

Let your apples cook down for about 3-3.5 hours on low.

Stir, plate, and enjoy!

JUST apples and spices, please!
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JUST apples (& healthy spices), please!

There is no reason to make applesauce into something it should not be. This is super easy, very healthy applesauce (with no high fructose corn syrup or other added GMO corn). We really don’t need those awful things in our applesauce anyway, huh!?

After my applesauce cools, I place it into ice cube trays and freeze. I just pop those out into a freezer bag and I have applesauce anytime I like.

Let me know when you give this a try…I just know you’ll love it (and your kiddos, too). 🙂

xoxo,
Jess, aka Scratch Mommy


This post was shared at Fresh Bites FridayWellness WednesdaysWeekend Wrap-Up PartySweet Saturday Link PartyHearth & Soul HopSimple Meals Friday, Inspiration In Progress, Pennywise Platter, Saturday Spotlight, Foodie Friday, Well Fed Wednesdays, Real Food Wednesdays.

Comments 26

  1. Great recipe! I’m going to have to try crockpot applesauce. I’ve never made it this way before. I’ve always made it on the stove-top and canned it.

    And you’re so right… why must they add so many unnecessary ingredients to food that tastes wonderful without!

    Thanks for linking up with us on Wellness Wednesday! I hope to see more of your posts in the future 🙂

    1. Ooooo, great question!

      There are a few good things going in this recipe that help retain the nutrients. First, I do not peel them. There are lots of great goodies (nutrients) in the outer layer of the apple, so leaving them on is a great idea. Second, I do not add any sugar. Apples are so sweet on their own, it simply isn’t needed. When sugar, butter, etc. is added into veggies/fruits as they cook for a long time (such as in baking or the crock pot), the nutrient profile is greatly changed. Finally, since they are in the crock pot and not baking, they aren’t dehydrating. Instead, they are staying moist and retaining all of that “good for us” stuff. We aren’t throwing out any liquid where nutrients might have leached, instead, we are eating it all.

      Now, this is my understanding, but I’m not a nutritionist. If someone is a nutritionist and stumbles up on this post, please feel free to chime in with your thoughts. 🙂

      Thanks for the question, Ryan!

  2. For a fun mix-up of this, if you make your own caramels or can get caramels made from organic ingredients that don’t contain corn, toss in a couple handfuls of caramels about an hour before the applesauce is finished, stir occasionally until the caramels are melted and thoroughly mixed in for Caramel Apple Applesauce.

    I also do this for Apple Butter to get Caramel Apple Butter.
    Allison

  3. Thank you for this. I am eating a bowl full of homemade applesauce as I type this! Hahaha. But as I was peeling and coring I thought about if I have to peel them! So thank you for the answer! It will save me so much time!

  4. Hi! I’m sorry to bother! Is it only one tablespoon of water and one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar all the liquid I need? Thank you!

  5. Not only is corn genetically modified, it is bombarded with chemicals in order to extract the sugars, oils, starches etc. It is soaked in sulfites for 3 DAYS in order to process. So any corn product unless labeled as organic is a chemical delivery system.

  6. Your applesauce sounds good. I make my sauce more chunky and just use two ingredients…the apple slices and cinnamon. I love it as a side with ham or pork chops.

  7. Great recipe!!! My 6 year old is allergic to apples so I will be subbing pears for this but I wondered if you need the Apple Vinegar? My girl as I said before can’t eat apples so would it still come out if I left it out and just added 2 T water? Thanks…

    1. Hi Sheila,

      Thank you! This would be delish with pears. 🙂

      You do not ‘need’ the ACV, as it simply helps the apples to not turn brown. I would just add the water and you should be fine.

      If you have a chance, please stop back by and let me know how it turns out with pears.

      Best,
      Jess

  8. Sheila, why don’t you try substituting lemon juice for the ACV. It is used interchangeably in many recipes. Good Luck!

  9. I just made Organic Pink Lady apples, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. I made it in an enamel coated cast iron saucepan and then cooled on the stovetop, left it overnight in the fridge before consuming.
    It all began because I found the apples flat in taste, but then decided to use them this way.
    Finally, when I make applesauce, I wash them, chop them skin, seeds etc.
    Delicious

  10. I’m making this for the second time today (apples are cooking as I type)! So so good and simple. I love that there’s no sugar or unnecessary add-ins. It’s a great way for my toddler to eat apples! She loves this and I do, too!

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