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Today’s recipe for Slow Cooker Applesauce with Cranberries is about as simple as a recipe can get! And, it’s also a delicious way to enjoy some of the quintessential flavors and foods of Fall – fresh apples and cranberries!
Just add apple chunks, fresh cranberries, apple cider and some sugar to a slow cooker, along with two cinnamon sticks that add a perfect amount of spice without being too over powering. Give everything a quick stir, turn your crock-pot on for about four hours, and – that’s it!
Once the cooking time has passed, remove the cinnamon sticks and mash the apples and cranberries into the consistency that you want – you can leave the sauce chunkier if you’d like or make it completely smooth. You can also add more sweetness to the applesauce – as written, our recipe is lightly sweet with a touch of tartness from the cranberries, but you can increase the sugar if you prefer a sweeter applesauce.
This slow cooker applesauce with cranberries is a delicious alternative to a traditional apple sauce or cranberry sauce – the best of both worlds! We used a mix of Granny Smith, Cortland and Gala apples in our version (because we had a drawer full of apples that we needed to use up) – but pretty much any variety of apples will work in this recipe!
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Slow Cooker Applesauce with Cranberries
Ingredients
- 3 to 3 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (plus more sugar if you prefer more sweetness)
- 2 whole cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a slow cooker (a medium to large sized slow cooker will work best). Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks from the cooked mixture. Mash the apples and cranberries with a potato masher
until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Stir to thoroughly mix. Taste and add more sugar if desired. - Pour the applesauce with cranberries out of the slow cooker and into a food storage container with a lid. Allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate to cool completely before serving.
until you’ve reached the desired consistency. Stir to thoroughly mix. Taste and add more sugar if desired.Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
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I make a cranberry chutney with chunks of apple, but I haven’t done the reverse—-made applesauce with cranberries. Duh! Great combo for texture, color and flavors.
Thanks Carol! Apples and cranberries (no matter which way you combine them!) are great together!
I do love applesauce from the slow cooker but the addition of cranberries makes it so much more festive. I bet it tastes great!
I can practically smell it now! Looks amazing!
Love this time of year because of all the lovely apple recipes
What a fun idea to add cranberries, this sounds delicious! Homemade applesauce is a must-have on my Thanksgiving table.
Wow!!! This is so DREAMY.
I enjoy using my crockpot this time of year! Love that you added cranberries to this!
Thanks Nancy – the cranberries are a great tart contrast of flavors to the sweet of the apples!
I love the texture you achieved on this applesauce. Plus the tart of the cranberries and sweet of the apples sounds wonderful!
Thanks Renee – It really is the perfect texture!
This is the total fall applesauce package! Love the addition of cranberries, yum!
Thanks Brandy!
I love how simple this looks! And awesome that it’s done in a slow cooker. When I make it on the stovetop, I obsess over checking it to make sure it’s not starting to stick to the bottom.
I think you’ll love how easy this recipe is to make Erin! Thanks!