The Happiest of Accidents
This was the best recipe that ever mistakenly fell in my lap. I had bought a huge box of pre-sliced apples (lazy I know I know shhhh) and by the end of the week had only gone through maybe half of them. I could tell they were about to go bad and I didn’t want to let that happen, so I decided to throw them in my crock pot! I have made crock pot apple cider before, so I figured crock pot applesauce should work too!
And boy did it work. Y’all this was SO GOOD. I had never had warm applesauce before, but I ate most of this right out of the crock pot because I loved it so much I couldn’t wait. This will make a great NO ADDED SUGAR snack recipe to feed your family, and I bet it would actually make a great healthy alternative to an apple pie filling!
“The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts” – Aristotle
If you have seen some of my videos, or read certain posts, you know by now that I am a big advocate of purchasing whole fruits. Even if it is bigger than my head, heavier than I am, and seemingly impossible to cut, I try to do this as much as possible. The accountant in me comes out and I know that there is a HUGE mark up on pre-sliced fruits. So why pay a premium for something I can do on my own? Think of it as getting paid for a quick arm workout 😛
But as admitted already, my laziness is what brought me this recipe.
Trying to grocery shop late one Sunday after a hectic weekend, knowing that I still had to go home and prepare my lunch for the next day before I could go to sleep, I opted for the pre-sliced and pre-packaged apples.
The easiest of the fruits to slice myself! It’s not like it was even a watermelon or pineapple that would have taken a ton of effort. Terrible of me, I know. But silver lining is, I came away with this recipe from it. So all’s well that ends well.
Out Comes The Crock Pot
When I was first trying to think of what I could make with my apples, I kept running into the problem that I didn’t have very many other ingredients on hand to use with them. Then I remembered the crock pot apple cider that I made last year and it came to me. I’d use my crock pot to make apple sauce! Not only does this make it super easy to do, but it will make your house smell amazing. Seriously. The aroma of apples and cinnamon throughout your kitchen will really get you in the Fall spirit. It is almost worth making this recipe just for that! (But trust me, you will want to eat it too).
Easy As (Apple) Pie
So this is super simple to do. First, get yourself some apples. If you buy whole apples you will need to slice and peel them yourself. Or you can be lazy like me and buy pre-sliced ones that you just have to cut off the skins. OR if you are going to get the pre-sliced apples, you might as well go all out and get the ones that are also pre-peeled! Saves one more step.
No Sugar Added!
The best part of this apple sauce is that is has no extra sugar – OR added artificial sweeteners. Apples are so naturally sweet that it is really unnecessary to add more sugar. A lot of store bought brands will add sugar, but there are unsweetened options out there. So if buying at the store when you don’t have the time to make it yourself, just be sure to look at the labels and ingredients of what you are buying and you will be fine!
Crock Pot Apple Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb apple slices**- 1/3 cup of water
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4 dashes of salt
Instructions:
- Peel apples (don’t want the skin) and chop into small pieces.
- Combine all ingredients in the crock pot.
- Cook on high for about two hours, stirring occasionally.
- Using your tool of preference (depending what you have and how chunky you want your apple cause), I used an electric hand mixer from Kitchen-aid (see below), mash your apples into sauce!
Note: My sauce is darker than store-bought apple sauce because I put the cinnamon in before cooking. I say it tastes better this way because the cinnamon cooks in with the apples. But if for any reason you want a lighter sauce, feel free to omit the cinnamon from the recipe and add afterwards. However – if the color doesn’t bother you, I wouldn’t change a single thing about this recipe. Because it tasted phenomenal.
**My 1 lb measurement of my apple slices is approximate. When I made these I had a 2 lb package of apples slices I had bought that I had used roughly half of. This made a small batch (see image of apples in crock pot above) so if you want more than a couple servings I would suggest multiplying this recipe.
This is the best warm snack right after its done cooking. I ate most of my batch right away. But you can also let it cool and keep it in the fridge for anytime snacking!
Following this exact recipe makes a really small amount. Like a personal snack size. Because like I said, I only used the apples I had on hand. I would definitely recommend doubling it, tripling it, or even more, so that you have enough to serve the family. Or yourself for more than one sitting! Because believe me you will want a big bowl of this stuff.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, I also think it would make an incredible healthy alternative to a traditional apple pie filling. Just leave it a little chunkier than if you were making the sauce for that “pie filling texture.” I intend to give this a try as soon as I get the opportunity, but if you get to it before me please let me know how it goes!
