How to make the most delicious homemade apple juice without a juicer and without any added sugar. Simple and easy Instant Pot recipe.
For the longest time, I really thought I needed an apple juicer or an apple press for juicing apples. I'm not sure why I thought that because after learning how to make my own apple juice, I realize how easy it really is.
You can make apple juice, apple jelly, and pressure cooker applesauce all at the same time. For now, let's focus on homemade juice.
Why You'll Love Making Apple Juice
- While I use my Instant Pot, you can totally make this homemade apple juice on your stove. The cook time just may be a little longer.
- There is no added sugar in this apple juice either. The only ingredients you need are apples and water. Of course, you want a sweeter tasting apple, but we'll talk about the types of apples you can use.
- It's easy to make; your Instant Pot does most of the work for you.
- Have I mentioned it's the most delicious apple juice recipe?
What Are the Benefits of Making Your Own Apple Juice?
Remember the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away?” Apples have a ton of nutritional value and are a great addition to our diet.
While you'd probably get a LOT more benefit out of the whole apple, apple juice is a good source of vitamin C and potassium. It's also a great source of antioxidants.
And since you are able to cook most of the apple, including the core and peeling, when making apple juice, you may have added fiber and other nutrients that a whole apple provides.
Not to mention, homemade apple juice tastes so much better than store bought. It's so fresh and crisp and light.
Ingredients Notes:
You only need 2 ingredients to make apple juice without a juicer…
- Apples – You'll need about 5 pounds of apples. I prefer to use a sweeter apple, so I don't have to add any sugar. Something like Gala or Honeycrisp works well. We'll talk more about apples a little further below.
- Water
What Kind of Apples Should I Use to Make Apple Juice?
There are certain types of apples that are sweeter and certain types of apples that have a more tangy, sour taste. As I mentioned above, when making homemade apple juice, you probably want to use a sweeter apple, so you don't have to add any sugar.
I used Gala apples for this recipe because they were available as seconds at our local orchard. Gala have a very sweet taste.
The best apples for juicing include:
- Gala
- Honeycrisp
- Fuji
- Yellow Delicious or Golden Delicious
- Rome
- and Pink Lady
Where Can I Find the Best Apples for Juicing?
Fall is a great time to find the best apples for juicing, but you can use any apples you find, whether you're shopping at an orchard, a farmer's market, or the store.
However, in the fall, you can usually buy seconds at just about any orchard (and sometimes at the farmer's market). Meaning you can buy a HUGE box of apples for a lot less than normal cost, which is going to save you a ton of money.
Now I will say… It takes a LOT of apples to get very little juice, jelly, apple butter, or applesauce. But in my opinion, it's totally worth it.
How to Make Apple Juice without a Juicer
For this recipe, you'll need about 5 pounds of apples, a little bit of water, and an Instant Pot (a pot on the stove will work too, just with a longer cooking time).
Be sure to wash the apples before you get started. I like to soak any fruit we eat in a vinegar/water bath for at least 10 minutes or more.
How to Make Fresh Apple Juice without an Apple Juicer, Step By Step…
- Using a paring knife, remove any bad spots. Core the apples, either peeling them or leaving the peeling intact; you'll throw the peeling in the pot too, even if you peel the apples.
- Cut the apples into chunks.
- Remove the stem and the blossom ends of the apple cores, and throw the cores into your Instant Pot, along with the apple chunks and peelings.
- Add enough water to cover about half of the apples. In our case, we used about 5 pounds of apples and 5 cups of water.
- Close your Instant Pot, and set it to Pressure Cook on Normal for 6 minutes. Let the valve naturally release after cooking.
- After cooking, you'll just need to strain the juice from your apples. You can do this with a mesh strainer and/or a flour sack towel or cheesecloth.
- Try not to squeeze the ingredients too much, so you don't get a lot of pulp in your juice. Instead let the juice drip into a container for an hour or so.
If you want, you can strain the leftovers in a food mill to make homemade applesauce and cinnamon applesauce. And you can either drink the juice or make homemade apple jelly with a little bit of it.
Expert Tips and Recipe FAQ's
There are a few differences between apple juice vs apple cider. Apple juice is going to be a thinner, more transparent liquid without any pulp left behind. Apple cider is a thicker, more opaque juice, and it may have pulp and chunks of apple left behind; you can actually make a warm mulled cider with spices and citrus. Also, in terms of commercial apple cider vs apple juice, apple juice is pasteurized and has a longer shelf life than apple cider.
Studies have shown that you'd have to eat a whole lotta seeds to have any risk of poisoning. And in this case, we're not eating the seeds, we're simply cooking them in the mixture to get the added benefits of the natural pectin in the apple core. I'm just going to leave you with this article from Pick Your Own: Cyanide, Arsenic, and Other Toxins in Fruit: Facts, Myths, and Old Wive's Tales. Blender Mom also has a really informative post about how Apple Seeds Are Safe. If you're still not sure, Here's How Many Apple Cores It Would Take to Poison You. Again, for this recipe, we're simply cooking the seeds and cores, then straining them out.
Yes, you can. In fact, you can freeze or can apple juice, whichever you prefer. We usually don't keep it around long enough to do either/or; but if you make enough, yes, you can freeze it. If you choose to can it, Ball has wonderful Canning Guides to guide you through the process.
You'll need to store it in an airtight container, jar, or pitcher in the fridge; it should keep for about 1 week.
If You Love This Instant Pot Apple Juice Recipe, Try Some of Our Other Apple Favorites:
If you love this homemade apple juice as much as I do, you'll love our other apple favorites too…
And learn how to use your Instant Pot with our Instant Pot Quick Start Guide, filled with practical tips, Instant Pot recipes, accessory ideas, and more!
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How to Make Homemade Apple Juice without a Juicer
Equipment
- Cheesecloth optional
- Food Mill optional, if you want to make applesauce
Ingredients
- 5 pounds apples
- 5 cups water
Instructions
- Wash the apples.*
- Remove any bad spots from the apples.
- Core the apples and cut them up into chunks, either peeling them or leaving the peeling intact. Throw the chunks and peelings into your Instant Pot.
- Remove the stem and the blossom ends of the apple cores, and throw the cores into the pot.
- Add enough water to cover about half of the apples. In this case, we used about 5 pounds of apples and 5 cups of water.
- Close your Instant Pot, and set it to Pressure Cook on Normal for 6 minutes.
- Allow the valve to naturally release after cooking.
- Once cooking is done, strain the juice from your apples.* You can do this using either a mesh strainer, flour sack towels, or cheesecloth.
- Let the juice drip into a container for an hour or so.*
- Once you have all the juice you can possibly get, pour the juice into a pitcher or cups for drinking.
- For what to do with leftovers, see the Recipe Notes.*
Quick and easy way to make apple juice! Tastes delicious too!
Thank you for the recipe. Dude, your website is about unusable with how many adds fill my screen. Please, for the love of anything, fix this.
I have a steamer and have made apple juice – but I find the juice is a little thick, is this normal?
I was hoping to find a way to avoid the thickening….. any ideas?
Denise, I’ve never used an actual steamer, so I’m not sure. That said, I wonder if it has to do with what type of apple you used? Different apples can give different consistencies for sure. Hope this helps!
How long does the apple juice last in the fridge?
Dorothy, it should last around 7 days in the refrigerator. I hope this helps!
Hi Mel, can you tell me what this instant pot method also work for homegrown Concorde grapes, and also chokecherries. Loved your video, you made everything so clear. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Unfortunately, I do not currently have a recipe for either of these, nor have I cooked much with them. That said, homemade concord grape juice could be a new recipe sometime in the near future….I have been experimenting.
Easy and delicious
Thank you, Carolyn!
Try using a steam juicer so easy to make juice! You’ll never go back to your old method.
Annie, I’m really wanting to get a steam juicer! They look so convenient.
Thanks for this! We moved to our homestead this past April and there are a LOT of apples to use up. Started with apple sauce and found your recipe. Love this.
Curious… I am guessing I can use the same method to make apple cider? Thanks bunches.
Natasha, while as I suppose you could make apple cider with this recipe following some minor adjustments, apple cider is usually a thicker, more opaque, and pulpier liquid. Apple juice has its differences.
Perfect method
That’s awesome, Krishan! Thanks for the feedback.