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Tart and sweet, Crockpot Express Cranberry Applesauce is easy to make and a great alternative to traditional cranberry sauce.
Applesauce is one of the easiest things to make in a pressure cooker. It takes longer to peel and slice the apples than it does to actually cook it! If you have an abundance of apples at the end of the season, this recipe for Crockpot Express Cranberry Applesauce is a great way to use them up!
I wanted to try something with a bit more flavor than plain applesauce, and I’ve been posting all sorts of cranberry recipes lately, so that’s how this recipe was born. Fresh cranberries are only available for a short time, so grab and bag and pull out your pressure cooker. 🙂
This is a five ingredient recipe-one of my favorite kinds. It’s also something that you can easily adjust to your personal tastes. You’ll need apples, cranberries, orange juice, cinnamon and perhaps some sugar (depending on how sweet or tart you prefer your applesauce.)
What kind of apples are best to use?
I made my cranberry applesauce first and then tasted it. Because I used Granny Smith apples (that’s what I had at home) it was really tart. I stirred in a little over 1/2 cup of sugar to make it less mouth-puckering. However, if you use a sweet apple like Fuji or Gala, I don’t think you’ll need to add sugar at all. It’s up to you!
Here’s a list of a few common apple types from sweetest at the top to tartest at the bottom:
- Fuji (sweetest)
- Sonya
- Gala
- Jonagold
- Cameo
- Golden Delicious
- Red Delicious
- Honeycrisp
- Rome
- Braeburn
- Pink Lady
- Granny Smith (tartest)
There’s no need to run anything through a blender or food processor when it’s done cooking. It’s soft enough that just a bit of stirring will mash up any leftover chunks and it’s ready to eat straight from the pot!
This recipe yields about 2 1/2 pints of applesauce. You can store it in the refrigerator for 7-10 days or freeze it for later. I think it would also be great in this Applesauce Cake!
Try it out and let me know what you think! You can get the reusable plastic lids for canning jars like this in my shop on Amazon. I love them for recipes like yogurt, broth, dulce de leche…pretty much anything you make in the Crockpot Express and store in a jar! 🙂
Crockpot Express Cranberry Applesauce
Ingredients
- 5-6 apples peeled, cored and cut into large chunks
- 1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sugar or honey optional
Instructions
- Add apple chunks, cranberries, orange juice and cinnamon directly to the pot. (no need to stir)
- Close and lock the lid, turning the steam release valve to closed. Press Steam and adjust the time down to 5 minutes (high pressure.) Press Start/Stop.
- When the cook cycle has ended, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes and then open the the steam release valve to remove any remaining pressure in the pot.
- Open and stir the mixture, breaking apart any leftover chunks. Taste for desired sweetness. If necessary, stir in honey or sugar while it's still warm in the pot. Add in small increments until desired sweetness is reached.
- Serve warm or scoop into jars and refrigerate.
Notes
Nutrition
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