Cinnamon Apples in the Instant Pot

If you love fried apples you are going to love these yummy cinnamon apples in the instant pot. They are so quick and easy to make and are sweet and tender.

These spiced apples are tender and flavorful. They will remind you a lot of Cracker Barrel’s apples but they are quick and easy to make at home with the help of your pressure cooker.

The apples cook in brown sugar, cinnamon and butter until fork tender. Thicken up the sauce a bit with a touch of corn syrup.

The resulting apples are perfect on their own as a side dish. They also make a great topping for pancakes, waffles or vanilla ice cream.

If you like this idea, but don’t have an instant pot, try my slow cooker spiced apple recipe. They are very similar, just take a bit longer to cook.

To Peel or not Peel, That is the Question

Should you peel the apples before you cook them? It’s definitely up to you.

You are welcome to remove the peel if that’s you preference, but I never do. We don’t mind the peels at all. 

Plus those peels contain so many of the apple’s nutrients.  Besides just coring and slicing the apples is so much faster!

Just use the list below to help you pick great apples to use.  Obviously the more tender the skin, the more enjoyable they will be to eat.

Best Apple for Cooking

Some apples work better for cooking then others.  There are varieties that are more likely to hold their shape through being cooked and others that are more likely to turn to mush.

Luckily the mush will likely be delicious, but not ideal for pretty presentation!  If you do end up with mushy apples, you can always puree them with an immersion blender or put them in a food processor.

Here are a few varieties that hold up and present well when used to make Instant Pot cinnamon apples:

Jonagold apples are great raw or cooked.  They are one of my favorite apples to get at our local orchard.  

They work perfect for recipes like this because they are fabulous on their own and and hold up well.  They don’t store as well though, so enjoy them during the peak of the season.

Jonagolds are a mix between Jonathan and golden delicious.  Jonathan’s themselves are a great baking apple and tend to be just a tad bit more tart than the Jonagold. Both are crisp, delicious and great for cooking with. 

Braeburn apples are another flavorful apple in their own right, so they are perfect for a recipe like this where the apples are the star of the show. 

Pink Ladies are a fabulous option.  They have that mix of sweet and tart and hold their shape wonderfully. 

Honeycrisp apples are basically the be all end all of apples.  They are wonderful in almost any situation. 

Granny Smith apples are sort of the classic baking apple.  They are naturally tart, so the finished product doesn’t end up too sweet. 

The skins on granny Smith apples do tend to be a little tougher than the rest, but it certainly isn’t a deal breaker.  You may want to peel your apples if you choose to use them in this recipe.

More apple varieties to try in baking: Fuji, crispin, golden delicious, and winesnap.

More Fun Cinnamon Apple Recipes:

Creamy apple butter pie is silky and delicious.  It has the texture of pumpkin pie, but with the flavor of apples and goodness of sweetened condensed milk instead!

My great-grandma was famous for her apple pie and now you can be too. Her recipe has the perfect balance of sweet fruit and cinnamon spice.

Apple pie stuffed cupcakes are both stuffed with and topped with apple pie filling. The cinnamon vanilla buttercream brings it all together in a perfect fall dessert.

Caramel apple cobbler has tender apple slices, ooey gooey caramel sauce and a soft melt-in-your-mouth cakey topping.

If you were looking for the bright red spiced apples, try making vintage red hot apples instead. Or check out all of my apple recipes and pick out your favorites!

Did you make this great recipe? Please leave a review in the recipe card below!