Make your very own homemade applesauce using fresh in season pomegranates. The pomegranate seeds add flavor to this applesauce that will beat anything you could buy in a grocery store.
How to add pomegranate to applesauce. Fresh pomegranate arils can be added to apples while they are cooking. You then strain the applesauce using a food mill or a sieve so you have the flavor without the seeds.
I love making homemade applesauce. It is so easy to do and when you make it yourself you can customize it. The last time I made some sauce, I decided to use a pomegranate as they are in season right now.
I was very happy I did and you will be as well if you give this recipe a try.
🛒 Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Pomegranate arils
- 4 pounds mix of sweet and tart apples
When selecting my apples I choose a lot of sweet apples so that I would not need to add any additional sugar, this is always my goal when making sauce. A pound of your apples can be tart as well to balance out the flavor.
Depending on the size of your pomegranate you should be able to get 1 ½ cups out of a single one. May not be bad to have two on hand just in case.
RELATED - 26 Apples to Use for No Sugar Added Applesauce
The color of your final applesauce will depend on how dark in color your pomegranate arils are. When I made it with arils that were way darker I ended up with a darker looking sauce. Choose a pomegranate from the store with a darker skin but you want the fresh to be not wrinkly and feel heavy for it's size when you place it in the palm of your hand.
RELATED - How to Tell When a Pomegranate is Ripe
📋 Instructions
I originally made this recipe in a slow cooker
. But have since switched to doing in the Instant Pot since it's a lot faster and the results have been great.
But first we need to prep the pomegranate.
How to Remove Pomegranate Seeds
There are many ways to do it. One way is to cut the pomegranate in half. Then place it in a large mixing bowl of water. Gently remove the arils. The white membrane floats to the top and the arils will sink. And if you pop any you won't make a mess. I have seen other people open up the fruit and then bang it with a mallet but that sounds too violent 🙂
Add the apples and arils to your Instant Pot.
Since I own a food mill
, I leave the skins on the apples and just run it through the mill to remove them after the sauce cooks. You also could use a sieve. This is also good with the pomegranate as the mill removes the seeds, otherwise I would have to juice the pomegranate first.
Cooking in the Instant Pot
Once you got your food prepared, put it in the Instant Pot with ¼ to ⅓ of cup of water. You don't need much water to get started. I haven't gotten a burn notice with applesauce but if that is something you have gotten before and are concerned then go with ⅓ of a cup of water.
The type of apples you use will have an impact on how much liquid is in your sauce. So I can't say for sure how much water you will need or if you need to reduce some of the liquid at the end.
If you put in too much water you are going to have to spend time cooking off the water when it's done. And you want to get to eating applesauce as fast as you can, right?
⏲️ Set the Instant Pot to sealing and high pressure for 5 minutes. Allow for natural release.
When the pot has de-pressured, remove the lid. Allow to cool enough so that it won't burn you and run the sauce through a food mill, or put a sieve over a bowl and push the sauce through.
If you find that the texture of the sauce is too runny still, you can return it to the Instant Pot and hit the sauté button. This will bring the sauce to a simmer. Reduce it until the texture you want.
🍎 More Applesauce Recipes
Like this recipe? Want some more ideas for homemade applesauce, check out these ones:
Homemade Pomegranate Applesauce
Ingredients
- 4 lbs mix of sweet and tart apples
- 1 ½ cups pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Remove the core from your apples. Leave the skins. They will be removed later by the food mill or sieve.
- Remove the arils from the pomegranate by cutting in half and place the halves in a mixing bowl of water. Arils will sink and white membrane will float.
- Add fruit to the pot. Add ⅓ cup to ¼ cup of water to just cover the very bottom of the pot, so that the fruit don't stick to the bottom
- Set your Instant Pot to high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Allow to naturally release.
- Open the lid and allow the sauce to cool for 5 minutes.
- Use a food mill or sieve over a large bowl to remove the skins and seeds so that you have a smooth sauce.
- If applesauce is too thin, place back in Instant Pot. Hit the sauté button and cook to desired texture.
- Allow to cool before eating. Refrigerate for later or eat warm. Use or freeze within 4-6 days.
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