Making homemade applesauce is one of the easiest things you can do. Not only is the process incredibly simple, but you can easily customize your apple sauce in so many ways. It'll be your favorite way to use up apples in your home!
We went apple picking earlier in the week and picked pounds and pounds of apples. I've been coming up with as many ways as possible to use up the apples we have, and honestly, it's been one of my favorite challenges in a while.
So far, we've made homemade apple cider, and oh my gosh, it's so delicious, and almost as easy as making homemade applesauce. Honestly though, there really aren't many recipes that are as easy as making applesauce at home.
Basics of making apple sauce
First, you must start with picking your apples. There's a lot of variety in the world, and I always recommend picking a blend of apples for your apple sauce. Each type has a different level of sweetness and end texture, so for the best profile, a mix is just amazing.
Next, you need to core you apples. You don't have to peel them, if you don't want. You can't tell if there is any peel once you are finished making your apple sauce. Plus, there is more nutritional value in the peel and it's easier to leave it on. Once they are cored, dice them. Don't worry if the dices aren't completely even.
Add the apples into a pot and add just a touch of water. If you want to add sweetener, add just a little to start, you can always add more at the end, but you can't take sweetness away. Add in any spices, if you want them.
Cook your apples until they are completely softened. Mash your apples using a potato masher as much or as little as you want. If you want a smoother apple sauce you can use an immersion blender, blender, or food processor.
Tips on apple types
The mark of good applesauce is that it gets most or all of its sweetness from the apples themselves. And unlike apple pie you don't really need apples that hold their shape after cooking. Therefore, you really want to use sweeter apples that can mash well. The best apples include: Cortland, Fuji, Crispin, Golden Delicious, Gala, and even Red Delicious.
You can also add more depth to your applesauce by adding apples with some tart, tangy, and/or sharp apples. These include: Granny Smith, McIntosh, Braeburn, and Ida Red. But please use other apples not listed. There are hundreds of apple varieties, so mix and match to find your perfect balance!
A note on sugar
Whether you use sugar all depends on how sweet your apples are. If you use a lot of naturally sweet apples, you probably won't need any sugar at all. If you use more tart apples, a little bit of sugar will be good. You can use either granulated sugar or brown sugar.
Pure maple syrup or honey also make great sweeteners, but they also change the overall taste of the applesauce, so keep that in mind if you use it.
Storage notes
I recommend canning your homemade applesauce. I've even made you labels for you to use for your jars. Jarred homemade applesauce can last for months unopened, if you've jarred it correctly.
Applesauce lasts 1 -2 weeks once opened if it's kept in the refrigerator. You can freeze your applesauce to make it last up to a year - depending on how cold your freezer is and the durability of your container. When freezing your homemade applesauce, you should store it in an airtight container with enough room in the container for the applesauce to expand as it freezes.
How to thicken
Sometimes we accidentally add too much water to our recipe, or the apples produce more juice than anticipated which leaves us with watery applesauce. Luckily, it is so easy to thicken homemade applesauce. We just need to cook it longer to help the water evaporate.
If you want to speed up the process, you can transfer the applesauce to a large skillet which leaves you with a bigger surface area so the water evaporates faster. You can also let the applesauce sit in a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth for a few minutes and let the excess liquid drip into a pot. Don't discard the liquid - it makes a great apple cider. Who doesn't want a glass of apple cider on the side after making their homemade applesauce?
Stove Top Instructions
- Wash, core, peel (if desired), and dice your apples.
- Add your apples to your pot. Add in water, sweetener (if desired), a pinch of salt, and cinnamon.
- Cook until the apples are very soft, about 60 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and mash or blend your apple mixture.
- Stir in a splash of vanilla, and enjoy hot or cold!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Wash, core, peel (if desired), and dice your apples.
- Add your apples to your slow cooker. Add in water, sweetener (if desired), a pinch of salt, and cinnamon.
- Cook until the apples are very soft, about 2 - 3 hours on high. Pro tip: I cut my apples smaller and use hot water to make the process a little faster if I want the applesauce the same day.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and mash or blend your apple mixture.
- Stir in a splash of vanilla, and enjoy hot or cold!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Wash, core, peel (if desired), and dice your apples.
- Add your apples to your instant pot. Add in water, sweetener (if desired), a pinch of salt, and cinnamon.
- Close the lid and cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and Natural Release. Open the lid carefully once all the steam is gone.
- Remove the cinnamon stick and mash or blend your apple mixture.
- Stir in a splash of vanilla, and enjoy hot or cold!
How to Customize
You can do so much to customize the flavor of your applesauce! You can add in other fruits like pears, peaches, and berries. Other spices like ginger, cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg, and cloves also make a great addition!
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Lemon is necessary to help preserve both the color and the acidity balance within the applesauce. It also helps to brighten the flavors.
You can use this recipe as a simple guide and divide or increase the number of servings you need. This makes a great recipe to make in large batches for canning, or you can make a single serving.
If you want more ways to use up your apples, check out how to make apple crumble, caramel apple cupcakes, apple cinnamon rolls, and apple spice cake which uses applesauce!
Homemade Applesauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 - 8 apples cored and diced*
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar** optional
- ½ an orange optional
- ½ a lemon
- 1 - 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add your apples, water, salt, sugar (if using), orange and lemon juice (if using), and cinnamon sticks.
- Heat, stirring frequently until the apples are completely soft.
- Remove the cinnamon. and mash the apples with a potato masher. You can also use an immersion blender.
- Stir in your vanilla extract.
- If you are jarring the applesauce, boil your jars for 10 minutes and do not remove them from the hot water until you are ready to carefully ladle in the applesauce. Add in the sauce leaving ½ inch of space. Screw the lids on tightly, then boil the jars for another 10 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 12 hours.
- Print out your jar labels on sticker paper and adhere to your jars.
Micki says
Yum! I adore homemade applesauce, and this recipe is perfect! Thanks!
Tanya Schroeder says
I've never tried homemade applesauce before, this turned out so well!