This easy Zero Point Apple Sauce can be made in an Instant Pot or on the stove top, which ever way you prefer!
Each serving of this sweet Apple Sauce is zero Smart Points on Weight Watchers Blue, Green, Purple or old Freestyle plan.
Unlike many other Apple Sauce recipes, this one doesn’t include sugar or honey or butter so it really is a Weight Watcher friendly dish!
This Zero Smart Point Apple Sauce is so versatile and can be used in baking or can be served as an accompaniment to pork dishes.
My favourite use for it though is swirled into fat free yogurt as an easy healthy zero point breakfast or dessert!
It can be easily made in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker but it is also simple to make on a stove.
Whatever you prefer!
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS APPLE SAUCE
- Use sweet apple varieties such as Pink Lady, Crispin, McIntosh etc. This way you don’t use as much sweetener, if any at all. I used a selection of sweet eating apples for this recipe (pic 2) and didn’t need to add sweetener.
- Peel the apples and remove any bruises, blemishes etc (see pic 3). It isn’t really necessary to peel the apples if you don’t want to, but I tend to.
- I used an apple corer to easily remove the cores from my apples (pic 4)
- I sliced my apples quite thinly. As I don’t mash or blend my sauce at the end of cooking, I found that by slicing the apples rather than chopping into chunks, the sauce still has a little texture but no big lumps! (See pic 5)
- Once the apple sauce is cooked, you can leave it as is or if you prefer a smoother, less textured apple sauce you can use an immersion hand blender or a potato masher to turn it silky smooth.
STORING YOUR APPLE SAUCE
- Apple sauce will last in the fridge for a week to ten days.
- It freezes well, so I tend to portion it up into freezer bags on the day that I make it and freeze it for when I fancy some for breakfast.
INGREDIENTS
- 3 lbs apples peeled or unpeeled and cored
- 4 tbsp water
- ½ – 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- sweetener optional
INSTRUCTIONS
Instant Pot method
- The apples can be peeled or, if you prefer, they can be left unpeeled. Remove the cores and slice or chop into chunks.
- Place the apples, water and cinnamon into the Instant Pot. Close the lid and cook on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. Use a natural release.
- Carefully open the lid, add a pinch of salt and sweetener if required and stir to combine. The use of sweetener will depend enormously on the type of apples that you use.
- If you like very smooth apple sauce, use an immersion hand blender to blend. Cool and serve.
Stove top method
- Peel the apples (or leave the skins on if you prefer) and remove the cores. Slice or chop the apples. Place into a saucepan with the water and cinnamon. Cover and cook over a low heat for 10 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and mushy.
- Remove from the heat and add a pinch of salt and sweetener if required. Use a fork or potato masher to smoosh the sauce to the required consistency. If you want really smooth apple sauce then you can use an immersion hand blender to blend.
