How to Make Sugar Free Applesauce: 3 Methods (2025)

This sugar-free applesauce recipe uses only four ingredients: apples, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water. It’s smooth and naturally sweet.

In this “how to” guide, you’ll learn what apples to use to make the best applesauce and three methods to make applesauce (stovetop, slow cooker, and instant pot).

When autumn hits, apples are abundant. Our family lives in the Midwest, surrounded by gorgeous apple orchards, and it is always one of my favorite annual traditions to take the kids apple picking.

I recently took the boys to a small apple orchard near our home. I thought it was a U-pick apple orchard, but they sell their apples from a stand. The owner of the orchard could see the disappointment on my kids’ faces when they learned they couldn’t pick the apples from the tree. Without hesitation, she told them she’d take them out to the orchard and show them around. With bags in hand, we all set out to explore the orchard.

We had great fun learning more about how the orchard came to be, the different types of apples they grew, and how to tell when an apple is ready to pick. She even showed the boys the best way to pick an apple: cupping it from the bottom, rolling it up towards the branch, and twisting it.

With a whole bushel of apples, my boys were excited to create delicious recipes.

Applesauce is one of my favorite recipes. With our bounty of apples, it’s a healthy snack, a family favorite, great for baking, and a delicious condiment, too.

Why You’ll Love This Simple Sugar-Free Applesauce Recipe

Simple Ingredients: You only need four ingredients to prepare this applesauce, and three if you prefer your applesauce without cinnamon.

Naturally Sweet: Apples have a natural sweetness. There is no need for added sugar. Some apples are sweeter than others. Below I recommend which apples are best to use.

Healthy Snack: Applesauce makes a healthy snack for kids and adults. It’s low in calories, fat, and cholesterol-free.

Use In Baking: Applesauce is used as an oil substitute in baking recipes to reduce fat and calories. Use this recipe in your favorite baking recipes.

Three Easy Cooking Methods: Applesauce can be prepared on the stovetop, in the slow cooker, or in the instant pot. Each method has its own benefits. Choose the option that is best for you using the tools you already have.

Smells and Tastes Like Autumn: Your house will be filled with the aroma of sweet apples and warm cinnamon spice!

Ingredients For Make Sugar-Free Applesauce

All you need to make sugar-free applesauce are four simple ingredients.

Apples: You can use just about any type of apples you choose. There are such a wide variety of apples, and each has a slightly different flavor profile and texture. When it comes to unsweetened applesauce, it is best to choose apples that have a higher sugar content. In fact, you can use different varieties of apples to create a unique flavor and texture that is both sweet and tart.

Water: Once the apples are peeled and cubed, you need to add a small amount of water. Don’t go overboard on the water, a little goes a long way because as the apples cook down they release their juices.

Cinnamon (optional): While you don’t need cinnamon, it complements the natural sweetness of the apples and enhances their flavor.

Lemon Juice: Adding a touch of lemon juice helps to balance the sweetness of the apples with its acidity, and also helps to keep the apples from browning, and preserves the sauce for longer.

• Stovetop Method: Large Dutch Oven or Stock Pot
• Slow Cooker Method: Crockpot or Slow Cooker
• Instant Pot Method: Instant Pot or Instant Pot/Slow Cooker
• Apple Peeler and Corer: Helps to speed up the process of peeling and slicing your apples. It also comes in handy for making apple pie, apple crisp, bread, and many other apple recipes.
• Immersion Blender: Use if you’d like to make your applesauce smooth rather than chunky.

How to Make Sugar-Free Applesauce: Stovetop Method

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Step 1: Peel and core your apples. The apple peeler and corer will speed up the process, but you can also cut and core your apples using a pairing knife. Cut the apples into smaller chunks.

Step 2: Combine the apples with cinnamon in a stockpot or Dutch oven. Add ½ cup water. The stovetop method requires one more ingredient, the water, this will help the apples steam.

Step 3: Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and cover. Cook for 25-30 minutes on low heat. The apples will be broken down, but they will still be a bit chunky.

Step 4: Remove from heat. For chunky applesauce, mash with a potato masher or fork. For smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender. Serve warm or cold.

How to Make Sugar-Free Applesauce: Slow Cooker Method

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Step 1: Peel and core your apples. Use an apple peeler and corer to speed up the process, or use a pairing knife. Chop into smaller chunks.

Step 2: Add apples to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add ½ cup of water.

Step 3: Set your slow cooker to high, and cook for 4 hours or until apples break down.

Step 4: If your applesauce is chunkier than you like, mash it with a potato masher or use an immersion blender for a smoother texture. Serve warm or cold.

How to Make Sugar-Free Applesauce: Instant Pot Method

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Step 1: Peel and core your apples. To speed up the process, use an apple peeler and corer, or a pairing knife.

Step 2: Add cinnamon, lemon, and water to the instant pot. Stir to combine. Add apples. Stir to combine.

Step 3: Secure the lid on the instant pot. Cook on manual (high heat) for 8 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.

Step 4: Transfer to a mixing bowl to cool. The applesauce will be chunky. Mash with a potato masher or an immersion blender for a smoother texture. Serve warm or cold.

FAQS

Expert Tips

• Use a combination of sweet and tart apples.
• Don’t add too much water. You only need lemon juice when cooking applesauce in the slow cooker or instant pot. But when you cook it on the stovetop, you need a small amount of water to allow the apples to steam and soften.
• Adding cinnamon is optional. It will make your applesauce darker in color.
• Make sure to peel and core the apples. While the apple peels have many good nutrients, it is best to remove the peel to achieve a smooth consistency.

Best Apples for Making Applesauce

Depending on your taste preference different apples will bring a distinct flavor to your applesauce. Granny Smith apples are the way to go if you prefer a tart applesauce. If you choose a sweeter taste a golden delicious or gala apple would be a good choice. Below I’ve listed the various types of apples and their taste so that you can choose one that best suits your preference. Since this applesauce recipe is sugar-free, you might opt for a naturally sweeter-tasting apple.

I like using a half-and-half combination of Gala and Granny Smith apples.

• Jonagold: Sweet and slightly tart.
• Cameo: Juicy, crisp, sweet, slightly tart.
• Empire: Crisp and white center. Firm texture, good for baking.
• McIntosh: Soft, creamy, good for applesauce, but not for baking.
• Golden Delicious: It has a soft texture, a sweet flavor, bruises, and shrivels. It doesn’t store for long, so you need to eat and use it quickly.
• Fuji: Large, crisp, and sweet.
• Cortland: Creamy white center, sweet tart flavor.
• Red Delicious: Creamy white center, juicy and sweet. Best to eat raw.
• Gala: Mildly sweet, crisp texture.
• Granny Smith: Firm consistency, crisp, very tart taste.
• Braeburn: Firm crisp bite that nicely balances the sweet and tart flavors.
• Pink Lady: Crunchy texture, balance of tart and sweet.

Storage

Fridge: Homemade applesauce lasts for 7-10 days in the refrigerator.

Freeze: You can freeze homemade applesauce for up to 2 months. Store it in an airtight container. Allow a little room at the top of your container, as the applesauce will expand when frozen.

Canned: When canned, applesauce can last for up to one year.

Health Benefits of Sugar-Free Applesauce

Apples have numerous health benefits, which means sugar-free applesauce is also a healthy snack. Most of an apple’s fiber is found in the peel. When you peel apples for applesauce, you lose much of the natural fiber in apples, but that doesn’t mean that applesauce isn’t a healthy snack.

Here are a few surprising health benefits of apples. All information was drawn from Healthline: Benefits of Apples.

1. Aids Digestion: Apples have a high concentration of pectin which helps remove waste from the body.
2. Probiotics: Applesauce helps promote the growth of probiotics. Probiotics help to balance the gut flora, and with much of the immune system in our digestive tract, it’s important to keep things balanced. Just one more reason why it’s a good idea to eat applesauce when you have tummy troubles.
3. Low in Fat and Calories: Applesauce is a naturally low-fat and low-calorie food, yet it’s still a filling snack. Most calories in applesauce come from added sugar. You avoid the extra calories with this no-sugar-added applesauce.
4. Fiber: While most of the fiber in apples comes from the peel, applesauce still contains fiber in the form of pectin. Fiber helps you feel fuller for longer.
5. Vitamin C: Applesauce contains up to 80% of your daily recommended vitamin C.

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