Bean is an apple junkie. She is constantly going to the fridge to grab another apple. When our favorite farmer’s stand was getting ready to close for the winter we decided to buy a box with 35lbs of gorgeous BC Spartan Apples. Oh my they were delicious. We kept them in a cool spot in our garage and we made it through 2/3 of the box but right before Christmas they started to get a bit soft. You know what that means? Crockpot Apple Sauce! This recipe is the best because there is no need to peel the apples. The peels are where all the fiber is making this applesauce extra healthy.

What you need:

-Apples: (Whatever you have laying around will do. If the grocery store has a special on some apples that are starting to go soft grab them. They are perfect for this.) I used approximately 20-25 apples. My crockpot was so full that I couldn’t get the lid to close.

-Liquid: 1/4 part lemon juice, 3/4 parts water or apple juice. For 20 apples you want 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups apple juice or water. Reduce liquid if using less apples.

-A crockpot

-A knife, cutting board and potato masher. Blender is optional.

-Optional: flavor such as vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon, orange rind, etc.

Step 1: Wash your apples

Step 2: Quarter and core your apples

My applesauce making buddies. Bean and Turtle. Bean is saying “Applesauce!”

Step 3: Add liquid. 1/2 a cup of lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups of apple cider, apple juice or water. At this point you can also add cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, orange or lemon rind or whatever other flavors you would like to add. Put crockpot on low and set for 4 hours.

Step 4: After the apples have been cooking for 4 hours get out your masher and squish up all those lovely apples. When you first look in your crockpot you will think it didn’t work, the apples will look solid. But stick your masher in there and they with turn into squishy appley goodness. If your sauce is too liquidy leave to cook longer, if you like the consistency you can either use an immersion blender, food processor or blender to blend up the sauce to grind up the peels. If you prefer you could also remove the peels (though that is where so much of the fiber is) or leave the peels in for extra texture.

Step 5: Once applesauce has cooled put it in plastic containers or mason jars to store. Mason jars being stored in the fridge can be filled to the top. Mason jars being frozen should only be filled 2/3 of the way to the top.

Serve either warm or cold. Warmed and topped with brown sugar and cinnamon is my personal favorite.

~Enjoy!