Perfect recipe for the day! My son's kindergarten class is heading up to Apple Hill for a field trip today so I'm sure we'll be bringing home our first apples of the season. Thanks for another great crockpot idea! I check your blog every day!

Funny that you posted this! I just made this with my child care kiddos today:) I didn't add the vanilla though! I may have to try that one!!

This recipe is awesomely simple! I found a recipe for crockpot apple butter and thought of you! Here's one for apple peel jelly, it doesn't call for a crockpot, but I'm guessing you could do it!

Yay! I love this! I use cinnamon red hots for a fun pink color and yummy cinnamonny flavor. I then don't even need more sugar!

Gosh, it looks pretty, too. This is a must-try for my three babes.

I make crockpot applesauce all the time, but do it somewhat differently. I wash the apples, core them, and cut them into chunks (leaving the skin on). I also do not add any water (but am careful to not lift the lid until they are done cooking to keep the apples' natural moisture inside). After a few hours, I blend the mixture, skins and all, in the Vitamix or using an immersion blender. The Vitamix results in a silky smooth texture, where the skin is indiscernible; the only thing is, when blending hot liquids, do not fill the blender more than 50% or it can explode since hot foods expand. I don't add sugar/sweetener, but I do experiment with adding different spices, like chai spice, and liquids, like Calvados! :) It's delicious and healthy!

Last night I used a very similar recipe to use up some pears given to me to make "pearsauce" Turned out great!

Mmm, that sounds delicious.

I love crockpot applesauce! I leave out the sugar and use my stick blender to make apple baby food - my 10 month old loves it!

This looks super yummy!

I wanted to let you know also, that I mentioned your blog (and linked it) in my brand new blog. I was inspired by you to blog :)

you can also take the skins from apples and make apple chips. toss with cinnamon and sugar and place in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. Learned this from an online buddy and we've been anticipating autumn ever since! But, since you have to use the oven, I guess you won't be making any apple chips until January :o)

Wow that looks good. Our high school's marching band will be selling fruit before too long and we'll probably buy apples and now I will have something to make with them, besides pie and crisp.

I've never been in the mood for applesauce until now. Hot applesauce right out of the crock-pot sounds soo good. it's chilly outside!

I love crock-pot applesauce, but have not made it in years. Have you tried making apple-butter in the crock-pot yet? I have a wonderful recipe....it is so easy and good.

We lived on a ranch many,many years ago that had an apple orchard that dated back to the late 1890's.....it was amazing! We had apples coming out of our ears for years and years. Sadly we moved away and that orchard is now gone as well.

Again, something I didn't think about doing in the crockpot...and this way you KNOW what is in the applesauce! Thanks AGAIN!!!

I can't wait to try this! My kids and I love applesauce, and I like to bake with it too, instead of oil. I've been craving apple butter, too, so thanks to a previous commenter for the link.
I love your blog, adn I love using my crockpot, especially on my working days.

I love this idea. I got apples from the orchard last week. I am going to have to try this. Thanks.

A perfect selection with Fall coming....bet your house smelled delish!
I check you daily, and have your link on my blog.
Love ya!

gonna buy extra apples on my weekend shopping trip and try this!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. We have apples from applepicking a couple of weekends ago and I've been meaning to find a recipe. This is great!

BTW, I made a meal we all enjoyed tonight. I had chicken thighs in the freezer that I wanted to use up. I found http://www.recipezaar.com/319522 It was so good. I also served it with brown rice and stir fry veggies.

I will definitely be trying this! Can't knock $.89/lb. PYO apples!

Thanks for yet another great recipe!

My mom has apple trees and I'm going to give her this recipe to use on some of her crop. Thanks for all your recipes...you have inspired me to start my own cooking blog!

yum! that looks so good. and i bet the house smelled great all day too!

I make applesauce in the crockpot all the time and we just can't get enough of it. I do add a little more brown sugar and use pumpkin pie spice. I made a applesauce cake
with half of one batch the last time I made applesauce in the crockpot and we all inhaled it. Store-bought applesauce has nothing on homemade!

JUST STARTED making applesauce in the crockpot, after an entire season of making on the stovetop.the secret is water. tried crocking it last year just apples, didn't work. i don't add sugar, i use a stick blender, and a piece of cinnamon stick. try adding some DRIED CRANBERRIES, they soften and add a tang. a handful of FRESH CRANBERRIES from the bag works too. (hint: keep bags of cranberries in the freezer all year round)

i am crazy for this blog. was wondering when i'd see APPLESAUCE on it.

I am soooo making this! I have a ton of apples that I don't want to throw away AND the stores are raising the prices higher and higher each week!!

Thank you!

I confess that I start with unsweetened applesauce in a jar, but I make apple butter from it. Pour it in, add cinnamon and other spices, and cook. Cook until the neighbors think you must be trying to sell your house because it smells so good. Cook from 6-16 hours, it just gets darker and richer.

I made this last night while I slept.. YUM! It's a little waterier and a little browner than applesauce made on the stove, but it happened while I was asleep. I can't complain about that. I filled the 4 quart crock pot almost to the top with peeled and chopped apples. I added a quarter cup water to all those apples, about a tablespoon of honey and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar... if I'd had lemon I would have used more. It's great! I love it mixed with a little sour cream or yogurt for creamy applesauce. Thanks again for the great blog!

Hi Stephanie -
I'm with Mrs. Bargin Hunters Wife -I use the cinnamon red hots and I don't add anything else, not even water and it's perfect! I fill up my 6 qt. crockpot with apples, add about half of one of those small bags they come in, and it's done in about 3-4 hours, sweet, pink, and cinnamony!
Lemon Chicken Lynn

OMG my house smells so goood!

I have to say i LOVE your site...i made a vow to myself to use the crockpot at least once aweek, and we have tried several of your dishes, and they have all been wonderful so far!! I am feeling super accomplished, as last night i made the babyfood recipe for my 4 month old we did sweet potatoes, and today i'm finishing the sweetpotatoes (wouldn't all fit in my cooker) and making this applesauce for her :) YOU ROCK!!

p.s. I did the applechips as a PP suggested, but they didn't turn out at all- think i'll stick to the crock pot

Made it yesterday and it was great! Love this blog - thanks for the ideas!

I hope this is not a stupid question but I'll ask it anyway: If you're not into canning, can you still make apple butter? It looks so yummy but I don't really want to do all the canning. What would you do with all of it if you don't can it? I saw Katie and "My Kids' Mom" both mentioned apple butter. Thanks!

THANK YOU! My apple trees have just started producing, and we had hurricane-force winds that knocked a whole bunch down as well. I am making my second batch of applesauce in the crockpot today; the first batch I plopped in there and went to the park with the kids, and when we came back it was the perfect chunky applesauce texture.

Now I can freeze homemade applesauce for the winter and use up all these apples. I'd like to can, but don't have a canner (yet!).

I love you Steph!

I was just lamenting on my Crackbook page about the pointlessness that is applesauce. I have a lot of apples to put up for the winter but I just don't get applesauce; every recipe has way too much sugar to make me think it's a good thing to do to an apple.

But! You posted this recipe! And I can do this (only on a larger scale since I will be canning it)! And midwinter when I offer it to the kids to plop over the gruel that I make them eat in the mornings, I will feel virtuous and noble!

Seriously, peel away the sarcastic veneer of my comment and you will find a grateful mom. I can't wait to try this.

MWAH!

Oh. My. God. This is sooo good. I threw this together at 10am when I decided I had enough time to make this and then the Apple Sauce chicken. I'm so glad I did. It's 60 degrees out and feels like a perfect fall day and I just had a little bowl and it warmed me right up! I had to use lime juice instead of lemon because that's what I had. It's a little bitter but it is really good! Thakns for the recipe!!

Oh yeah PS my house smells so good!! Thanks!!

This sounds good. I have never made my own apple sauce before. Thanks!

Thanks so much for posting this!

We've been making this for the past two days from the 1/2 bushel of apples we picked this weekend. We filled the 6 quart with chopped apples, about a cup of sugar and few tbsp of lemon juice and cooked on low for about 6 hours. From 1 batch we had enough sauce to can 4 pints. (Actually, my husband did the canning this time). Canning's not too hard - all you need is the jars, lids (all can still be found at walmart/some hardware stores), and a pot big enough to boil the filled cans in. Blue Ribbon Preserves is a great book for an overview.

mmm. i made this in my small crockpot this morning and it was so delicious.almost gone already. thanks for sharing. this is perfect for fall and all our apples. i'm gonna make the oatmeal apple pancakes tomorrow morning from the whole foods site.

I just made crockpot apple butter the other day and it is fantastic! I finally found a recipe for it that doesn't start with applesauce.

I made this yesterday. I had 4 pounds of apples from the farmers' market. I didn't have lemon juice, so I subbed some apple cider vinegar and added a little extra sugar. I left it on low for 7 hours.

I've now got six cups in my freezer. I'm going to make a version using pears here before to long, as well!

This was delicious. Thanks for the recipe. We went to the orchard and I'm trying to find ways to use up my loot since the hubbie and kid won't eat apples plain. Weird.

ok, I did this tonight without any spices or sugar and oh my!!! Perfection! And so tasty warm! Thanks so much!

Hi-delurking to let you know what a great website this is. I have a crockpot but it has been sitting in the cupboard for years since I haven't been inspired. I made the applesauce this morning and it only took 2 hours on low to get the apples mushy enough to smash with a large fork. Love that I know what's going into the applesauce! Never did like the store bought kind but I think I'll keep this recipe. Thanks again!

Perfection! My neighbour brought over extra apples from a trip to the orchard - I filled 6 quart and 4 quart crocks with quartered apples, and a few hours later, I had very copious amounts of chunky applesauce that even my TEENAGERS eat. Life is good!

When I was younger I couldn't swallow pills and I got a lot of headaches. My dad used to crush an asperin and mix it with applesauce on a teaspoon and give it to me. I can't eat store bought applesauce without that memory coming to mind. YUCK! I made a huge batch of this and it was DELICIOUS!! I subbed applecider for the water. My kids ate it over ice cream (totally defeats the healthiness of it but so what!). It tasted like apple pie icecream. SO GOOD! We just got back from apple picking and we have about 3 rooms full of apples so I'll be making this again. And again. THANKS!!

THANK YOU for this recipe. It is such a revelation and it makes my house smell phenomenal. I think I will finally have to get a second crock pot because I think a batch of this will be in progress most days this fall and winter. Yum, yum!

I just made this today. WOW! The only problem I had is...I didn't make enough. :) I'll have to do another batch soon. And it made the house smell sooo good. I think I'm going to make this before my next party at my house. What a nice air freshner! :)

Thanks!!
~Jaycie

Perfect. But next time I need to use my larger crock pot. My son came home from school (sophomore) and ate 1/2 of the batch of apples hot, before I mashed them. So I only got 1 pint jar for the freezer. I added Tastefully Simple Mulling spice for some flavor and didn't mash up my apples. I wouldn't have needed the water but I think each type of apple differs in moisture. One of my favos. I'm a late comer, so just getting the crock pots heated up for fall/winter.

this is a decent basic recipe. I used the spices listed, but used only about 1 tbsp of lemon juice , and added about 1/2 c sugar , and doubled the cinnamon and brown sugar adding them a large crockpot that was 3/4 full ( about 12 apples). THe recipe as listed calls for only four apples. Personally, i think its way too much for only four apples. I also did NOT add water. The juices from the apples as they cooked down were plenty.

hi, i make crockpot applesauce all winter long. i do it the absolute easiest way. core and quarter apples until the crock pot is almost completely filled. add a little water (prob 1/2 cup) or apple cider. sprinkle cinnamon all over the top so it is visibly brown. turn on low, go to bed, wake up in th emorning. turn off, cool slightly. put through food mill, that's it. done. fabulous. no sugar.

I did this recipe with my preschool class. I had them cut up the apples (basically demolishing them) with plastic knives, then we added the ingredients together. It was fun to smell all the ingredients. It turned out fantastic, and they can't wait to try their snack today! Thanks so much!

This is soooo good! It reminds me of my grandma's house in the fall when she would use the apples off her apple tree to make delicious applesauce. The smell it gave my house was even more amazing! Thanks for all of the great recipes! I can't wait to try more!

Thanks so much for the applesauce recipe. I had never made homemade applesauce before, and it came out beautifully. We ate it all up very quickly. Hubby wants me to make up a pot for our Thanksgiving feast!

Marie

I found your blog, and made this last night. It didn't take as long as I thought, and I used 5 apples instead of 4. It turned out wonderful!! I didn't even have to mash them, by the time I made it to the crockpot with a metal spoon, went to mix the apples, they just mushed! My kids LOVED it, and my Mom wants me to start making it to feed the kids at her school!! Thanks so much!! I can't wait to make some more, and try the other tasty treats you have posted!! I'm vowing to use my CrockPot and/or Little Dipper once a week!!! Thanks again!!

I love applesauce, but I like it pretty chunky. The crock pot gets too smooth for me. On the other hand, I make apple butter in the crock pot every year. I just finished a post about it on http://yumminessnsues.blogspot.com.

I would be lost without my crockpot- I use it every week, and I have 2 that are non-food dedicated that I use to dye wool in!

Willa

I just put this in the crock pot. I look forward to seeing how this turns out! Thanks for the recipe!!

Oh, I want some... now! :)

oooh glorious! I wanted to make applesauce for tomorrow's BBQ Pig :) but I did not think I had time

a 3 quart Crockpot

8 medium Gravenstein apples (my favourites!)
1/2 cup water
1 t brown sugar
a generous shake of cinnamon

peeled apples, sliced into cooker, poured water, sugar and cinnamon over, mixed well with wooden spoon so apples were coated, set on High :)
when I go to bed, I will turn down.

I'll tell you more tomorrow :)

Why the lemon and can that be left out? We can't tolerate lemons or apples so I'm gonna try this with pears.

hi there, I put in a tad of lemon to keep the apples from browning and to keep the sweetness in check. You can certainly omit if you'd like.
Pear sauce sounds lovely!

--steph

I am looking forward to trying this! We just adopted three kids this Spring, bringing our total kiddos to 9! I'm still trying to wrap my brain around cooking for our expanding family. I hope to find a deal on apples soon so that I can make this.

Kelly
www.themorristribe.net

I just came home with 40 pounds of apples and I'm going to try this ! Thanks so much for sharing !

OMG this is sooooo yummy !! I forgot the vanilla though and did add more cinnamon as I'm a cinnamon lover. Just wanted to let people know that they can go for this recipe ! Thanks so much !

The first time I made this, I only had three apples on hand instead of four. And I think my brown sugar might have been a little expired. So one of those two things caused it to be pretty bitter. I tried it again today with more apples and good brown sugar, and it is delicious!!! I too had to use lime juice because we can't get lemons here in Brazil. It turned out fine. Thanks for the recipe!

I've made this twice now and it's fantastic!! I used all Granny Smith apples (very crisp & tart from an apple orchard) and used less lemon juice and a little more brown sugar. Yum!! So easy!

i never knew you could make applesauce at home and in a crock pot no less. I've made this 2 times and i just can't get enough!!!

I love this recipe. I look forward to tyring it.

I have made pink applesauce in the CP with my students. They LOVE it!to make it pink, i just add a pkg of red hots and cook til done. That's it! It's super easy and just adds flavor and sweetness. The students love it...and so do I... :D

Googling for applesauce I was reminded you were here! I had a free 3lb bag of fuji's and this worked out great! I did use cinnamon sticks and a couple of whole cloves, but doggone it, this is the BEST applesauce on the planet.

Don't bother to peel the apples. Instead, at the end of cooking, put them through a food mill. Not only will you get a smooth as silk applesauce that even a finnicky kid should eat, if the apples are red enough it will turn PINK!

So. Good. And so easy! I don't know why making applesauce sounded intimidating for so long, but I'm glad you inspired me to give it a go!

Karinya @ http://unlikelyorigins.blogspot.com/

I made this apple sauce without any sugar! And used a cinnamon stick! I left it in the crock until it was a chuncky consitancy.
I was delighted when my 14yr old daughter told me it was the best apple sauce she had ever tasted!
It is healthy and cost effective.
GREAT recipe and thank you for your site!

I made a version of your applesauce a while back and wrote about it here. NUMMY! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

I know this post was written a while ago but I just made this applesauce today and it was great! I used 6 apples instead of 4 since they were kind of small. I used granny smiths as I like the slightly sour taste. My husband loves the chunkiness. I used to always spend more money for the chunky applesauce but now I have this! Very healthy AND inexpensive.

We're going apple picking this afternoon and I can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning to a big pot of homemade applesauce! My mom always puts a plum or two into hers to get a gorgeous pink/mauve color. I love the cinnamon red-hots idea too.

I recently stumbled across your blog and have tried four or five of your recipes in the last few weeks. Love them. This is my favorite so far. I have five kids, so i tripled the recipe and wish I had made even more. DELICIOUS. I was skeptical of the vanilla, but it works so well. Next time I'll make twice as much. This isn't going to last through the day. Thanks!

We just went apple picking this weekend. One daughter's bag of apples fell off the wagon. The driver was nice enough to stop so Daddy could reclaim her haul, but it meant we had a big bag of beat up apples. Your applesauce recipe to the rescue! Personally, I hate applesauce, but the smells were heavenly all day and the rest of the family absolutely loved it! Thanks so much!!

I made this again for the millionth time, but this time I pureed it in my food processor. Maybe I'll actually get hubby to try it this time, as he doesn't like chunky applesauce.

How much brown sugar do you use? You put 1T but I was confused as to what 1T meant ...otherwise, I know my husband is going to love this recipe!

I will be making more applesauce tonight. I found that cooking it on warm overnight is just right. I fill up my 3 quart with apples, add a bit of brown sugar, and a lot of cinnamon (I don't measure)and a splash of apple juice. Turn on warm, leave it alone all night. In the morning, turn it off, and even though the apple pieces look like they're still whole slices, one quick stir and they're mashed into applesauce. Couldn't be easier.
Also, @Erin Smith--The T is for Tablespoon.

This was so good! I had some apples from an orchard trip that were going to go bad, so I made this recipe. My son won't try it (too chunky) but my husband and I LOVE it. The vanilla somehow makes it taste like apple pie.

I have the apples in the crock now that I just picked up from our local farm and the peels are in the oven! I'm so excited!!!

Stephanie, thank you so much for this idea!
I actually just fill my crock with apple pieces, set on low overnight and then blend in the morning. If I want apple butter, I leave the blended sauce on low (uncovered) for another 30 min to an hr.
I will never buy applesauce again. Home made is so much better!!

That looks so good! Me and Papa are gonna try it today!

Another one of my favorites. I put in a mixture of apples and sweeten with honey, we have a friend who owns his own bees.

We make this every year as part of our Christmas dinner - there's never a drop left and we fill the crockpot! I read a couple posts who do it overnight, I'm going to try that this year- I'd love to make Christmas day as easy as possible!