Plain Unsweetened Crockpot Applesauce

Want the whole story? This recipe came from the 75 pounds of orchard “duds” I brought home and turned into 50 pints of applesauce (plus a few bags of apple pie filling). You can read about the whole preserving day in What I Did With 75 Pounds of Apples.

This plain unsweetened applesauce is about as simple as it gets… just apples cooked low and slow until they’re soft enough to run through a food mill. No added sugar and no peeling required.

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I make a big batch when apples are in season and water-bath can it in pint jars so we have homemade applesauce on the shelf all year.

A food mill makes this especially easy because there’s no need to peel the apples first. Cook the apples until soft, then run everything through the mill to separate the skins and cores. I leave mine completely plain and unsweetened, which makes it easy to use for snacking, baking, or cooking later.

Plain Unsweetened Crockpot Applesauce

Simple, unsweetened homemade applesauce made in the crockpot, finished through a food mill, and preserved using a water-bath canner.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Course: Preserving

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Apples
• Water apple juice, or apple cider — as needed to prevent sticking

Equipment

• Crockpot Multiple depending on your yield
• Food mill or fine mesh strainer
• Water bath canner
• Canning jars and lids

Method

 

1. Make the Applesauce
2. Wash the apples thoroughly and remove any bruised, damaged, or spoiled areas.
3. Cut the apples into chunks. There’s no need to peel them if you’re using a food mill.
4. Fill the crockpot with apples. Add a small amount of water, apple juice, or cider to the bottom if needed to prevent sticking.
5. Cook until the apples are completely soft and falling apart.
6. Run the cooked apples through a food mill to separate the applesauce from the skins, seeds, cores, and other solids.
7. Transfer the applesauce to a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
8. Water-Bath Canning
9. Ladle hot applesauce into hot pint jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
10. Remove air bubbles, adjust headspace if necessary, and wipe the rims clean.
11. Center the lids and screw the bands on until fingertip tight.
12. Place jars in a boiling-water canner, making sure they’re covered by at least 1 inch of water.
13. Cover and bring the water to a full rolling boil. Begin timing once the water reaches a boil.
14. Process pint jars for 15 minutes at 0–1,000 feet elevation. Adjust processing time for higher elevations.
15. When processing is complete, turn off the heat, remove the lid, and wait 5 minutes before removing the jars.
16. Transfer jars to a towel or cooling rack and leave undisturbed for 12–24 hours before checking the seals.

Notes

I leave my applesauce completely plain and unsweetened so we can sweeten or season individual jars when we open them. Processing times should always be adjusted for your elevation and based on current tested water-bath canning recommendations.

If you don’t have a food mill, I highly recommend picking one up. It has so many other uses, you’ll be sure to see it in action again here when it’s marinara time! 

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