This Homemade Crockpot Applesauce recipe is chock full of Fall flavors, has no added sugar, and is good enough to call a dessert. Warm vanilla and spiced chai make this applesauce cozy and comforting. It is perfect topped with toasted nuts or served warm over a bowl of ice cream.
Would you believe that as a kid I didn’t like applesauce?
I’m a person who is big on texture, so I’m not a fan of anything completely pureed or smooth. I just think that food should be chew-able. I find it incredible awkward to eat food that does not require chewing.
Cream-of-anything soups are one of the worst offenders. Jello is wacky because it require chewing but also somehow doesn’t. I guess this is just one of those weird things that drive me nuts. The texture of your standard store-bough applesauce falls into this category for me.
Generally speaking, the flavor of applesauce never impressed me much, either. Applesauce just always seemed like a really bland food that people give to children and grandparents.
I have been playing with a few applesauce recipes this Fall, trying to see if I could make something that I’d actually enjoy. We’re practically swimming in apples around here, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything if I destroyed a few in my experiments.
As you know, I’m lazy and I like to find the easy way to do things. As you also know, lime green is my favorite color (it’s more like an obsession, really), so when I saw this handy Apple Slicer, Corer and Peeler on Amazon I knew I had to get one. <— Seriously, SUCH a time saver. Completely amazing.
Using that handy little guy, you can prep a batch of applesauce in under 5 minutes flat. Set it and forget it in the slow cooker and your work here is done.
Now, none of this is useful without a great recipe for applesauce. Don’t worry, I’ve done the hard work for you on this one.
This homemade applesauce recipe is chock full of Fall flavors, has no added sugar, and is good enough to call a dessert. Warm vanilla and spiced chai make this applesauce cozy and comforting. It is perfect topped with toasted nuts or served warm over a bowl of ice cream.
I like to keep my applesauce chunky (so I have something to chew on, duh), but if you like yours smooth just let it cook a bit longer in your crockpot. There’s only two of us at my house, so I use my little 1.5 quart slow cooker to make small batches of this stuff. It’s also really handy for making Crockpot Cheese Fondue.
If you have a bigger family, or you want to cook it in bulk and store it in freezer mason jars, go ahead and double the recipe and cook it in a 3 quart or larger crockpot.
Ready to get going?
Vanilla Chai Crockpot Applesauce Recipe
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Ingredients
- 4 firm apples - such as honeycrisp, gala, or fuji, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 1/2 cup apple cider - NOT apple juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon chai spice*
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a 1.5 quart slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft with just a few chunks remaining.
NOTES
Nutrition
This is my go to for applesauce now. It is so tasty. Finally there is the adult version of apple sauce! I love this stuff! P.S. I did omit the cloves spice in the chai mix, because I usually dislike anything that is made with clove. But that is the only thing I changed.
Hi Rachel, thanks for sharing your love of this recipe and your change. – Linda
A lot of people are texture driven. Me, I don’t like strings. Like a string bean that hasn’t been properly prepared. Cooked turnips sometimes have strings. Gak! Luckily not to many things qualify. But you are right, I don’t think I know of kid who didn’t like apple sauce. Well I am glad you outgrew that, because this is certain a unique version of apple sauce and I love it.
That is some tasty looking applesauce!!