Instant Pot Cranberry Applesauce

This homemade Instant Pot cranberry applesauce is a great Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish or snack throughout the year. Add this holiday fruit into your Instant Pot applesauce and bring it to a whole new level.

We’ve been all about easy cranberry recipes this week because the holidays are coming! This Instant Pot cranberry applesauce came about after apple picking and boy was it a surprisingly delicious treat we will now make year round for sure. It’s now on our list of 101 + easy Instant Pot recipes here on The Typical Mom blog. (affiliate links present)

Ninja Foodi Cranberry Applesauce

Looks so bright and fun right??!! You can make this in any brand of pressure cooker you might have at home. Make as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe or use your Crockpot express, they all basically work the same. If you love chunky or smooth we will explain how to get each. Make extra sweet or sugar free!

Especially during the holidays it is fun to add this seasonal fruit into all the things. It is not just great in Instant Pot cranberry sauce, though that is a must on our table too during those months. Try it in something new this year.

We went apple picking the other day here in Idaho and brought home 65 lbs. of apples from a local farm. They had several types but Fuji are my favorite so most of them are that variety. May look crazy but we do have a cold room so they’ll be good for a few months stored there….

If you’re unsure whether you too might have a place like this near you just google your city and apple picking. I bet there is a local farm nearby and let me tell you, there is nothing like fresh fruit picked right off of the tree. SO much better than bought at the store and way cheaper too when you buy in bulk.

Cinnamon Cranberry Apple Sauce Recipe

We love baking from scratch because you have so much leeway when it comes to other flavors you can add into the mix. Cinnamon and nutmeg are great ones for this if you love those.

Sugar Free Cranberry Applesauce

Another tweak you could make if you don’t like your kids to have a lot of sugar, or you’re diabetic is to use Stevia sugar free sugar or another brand. They offer a Truvia brown sugar variety too so you can make something that everyone can enjoy together.

We made a lot of easy apple recipes with our bunches (and will continue to do so since we aren’t even halfway through this batch) like:

I had more left so I continued to think outside of the box when it came to my leftover cranberries since I hate wasting food.

Here’s what I tried, it was merely a test and I wasn’t sure if it would turn out well. I have to admit, I think I like it better than the plain Instant Pot applesauce I made in the past! It’s so pretty when you’re making it…..

Just a few minutes with some added sweetness from brown sugar and maple syrup and it was done. When I first judged the time it didn’t come out tender enough so it was more like a cranberry Instant Pot apple crisp of sorts (which you could totally do).

So I added a few more minutes and came up with the perfect timing that I share below in my recipe card for Instant Pot cranberry applesauce.

How long does it take to make homemade applesauce?

• I will say the timing does vary according to:
  • How large your apples are
  • How thick you slice your apple slices
  • What variety of apples you use
    • Granny smith are the firmest
    • Fuji are the 2nd firmest but are sweeter than green apples
    • Any other variety will be on the softer side and take less cook time
• How chunky you want your applesauce to be when it’s done

How to make Homemade Chunky Applesauce

• Use Granny smith or Fuji apples
• Slice your apples thick
• Consider keeping half the skin on (I did this below, you can see a bit, gives it a bit more texture)
• Use the designated 1/3 c. of liquid (apple cider is my preference over water)

Cranberry Applesauce Instant Pot

Ok so Instant Pot cranberry sauce doesn’t look as fabulous when it is cooked vs. the pre photo but oh is it good!

Recipe for smooth applesauce

• Use red delicious or pink lady apples
• Slice your apples on the thinner side
• Remove all of the apple skins
• Use up to 1/2 c. of liquid
  • more liquid will thin our your applesauce, good if you’re making baby food in your Instant Pot (wouldn’t recommend using cranberries if you’re making baby food though)

I leave a little tart left which I recommend. If you want it sweeter then follow my recipe below and at the end taste it and if you want it a tad sweeter then add either another tbsp. of maple syrup or a tbsp. or two of brown sugar, mix and taste again.

I bet you will like our pressure cooker cranberry applesauce just as it is though. It saves well too, so make a large batch like we did! Store it in a large mason jar and it will keep in your fridge for at least a week to enjoy.

Cranberry Apple Sauce for Pork

If you are serving a batch of our air fryer frozen pork chops, you should spoon some of this over the top to add some sweetness and flair. Like our cranberry sauce recipe with orange juice this is a great topping for meat to add just a bit of sweetness.

Ingredients

1. Apples – Granny smith or Fuji is what I recommend
2. Fresh cranberries
3. Apple cider – cold variety
4. Maple syrup
5. Butter
6. Brown sugar

If you have more leftover cranberries try some of our cranberry recipes for Thanksgiving, or add some to our crockpot apple crisp recipe. Here’s the printable recipe