This Applesauce Recipe has amazing fresh apple flavor, is so simple to make, and can be made either smooth or chunky. Surprisingly, my kids won’t touch storebought applesauce, but they can’t resist refills when it’s homemade.
Read on to see how to make applesauce and I’ll include canning tips for longer storage.
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We love fresh apples but we love baking with them even more. We think they taste better baked into Apple Crisp, or as Apple Turnovers with flaky puff pastry, and we can’t resist a warm bowl of this homemade applesauce recipe since it tastes just like the filling from our favorite Apple Pie.
The Best Applesauce Recipe
My parents have several apple trees and they always produce way too many apples to eat, so we make tons of applesauce. It’s easy to make a large batch (this recipe makes 8 pints or 16 cups), and if you use very ripe apples, you don’t even need to sweeten them.
Pro Tip:
This applesauce recipe is a great way to use up overripe apples. If you use very ripe apples, you may not even need to add extra sugar. This is why we wait until the end of the season when the apples are starting to get soft.
The Best Apples for Homemade Applesauce Recipe
Since applesauce cooks down to almost a puree, the type of apple you use is not critical, but experimenting with different apples is a fun way to change up the flavor which is something you can’t really get in store-bought applesauce.
These Golden Delicious apples came from my parent’s tree, but you can use any apple really. The best apples for this applesauce recipe are ripe apples and if you have overripe apples – that’s even better! The riper they are, the less sugar you need to add.
The Fastest Way to Peel Apples
If you have access to a bunch of apples and love to bake with apples, you need this apple peeler in your life. I loved mine so much that I bought a second one for my Mom who taught me how to make this applesauce recipe. An apple peeler not only quickly peels the apples (without any waste), but it also cores and slices all in one swoop.
How to Make Applesauce
This process couldn’t be easier, especially if you have an apple peeler. Once you have the apples on the stove, you’ll just let them simmer and putter away for a while before blending.
- Prep Apples – Peel, core, and slice apples.
- Simple Syrup – In a large stockpot, add 1 1/2 cups water and 2 Tbsp sugar (optional) and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar.
- Add sliced apples, return to a simmer then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. The apples will shrink down. Mash or puree apples to the desired consistency.
- Serve sprinkled with cinnamon.
Chunky Applesauce or Smooth?
The right consistency for applesauce is completely personal preference and so the beauty of this homemade applesauce recipe is you can choose.
- For smooth consistency: use an immersion blender or an electric hand mixer at the end, or transfer to a food processor to reach your desired texture.
- For chunky applesauce: you can mash it up with a potato masher or just stir with a whisk to keep some of the chunky texture.
Make-Ahead
Our homemade Applesauce recipe keeps well when refrigerated, frozen or canned (see instructions for canning below).
- To Refrigerate: cool completely and then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
- Freezing: Cool completely and package in freezer-safe zip bags leaving a little room for expansion. for up to 3 months
- To Reheat: Thaw in the fridge or by running the bagged applesauce under cold water. Once thawed, use within a week.
How to Can Applesauce
Easily store this applesauce recipe for up to a year. If canned properly, our applesauce recipe will have a shelf life of about 1 year. If you are new to water bath canning, you’ll love this canning kit, and be sure to read up on the canning process in detail here.
- First, wash and sterilize 8 pint-sized jars and lids
- Use a funnel to transfer piping hot applesauce into each sterilized jar, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Wipe the rims clean with a paper towel. Cover with lid and tighten the lid to secure (don’t overtighten).
- Carefully transfer jars using a jar lifter to a canning pot and process in boiling water for 20 minutes with the water going 1 to 2 inches above the jars.
- Carefully remove jars and let them cool to room temperature until lids suction in and seal. If the jars did not seal correctly, refrigerate and enjoy within 2 weeks.
Delicious Ways to Serve Applesauce
Of course, you can enjoy this applesauce with a spoon as an irresistible snack, but you can take it a step further and enjoy it with these great recipes:
- Side Dish – easy way to add a fruit side to banana pancakes, waffles, or any breakfast. Also, try a dollop as a side dish with Pork Chops or as a traditional side for Potato Latkes.
- Steel Cut Oats – swirl it into a hot bowl of oats
- Overnight Oats – serve applesauce as a topping or on the side
- Substitute for Eggs – Try 1/4 cup applesauce in place of an egg in a baking recipe. Try it in our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
- Swap for Butter or Oil – substitute applesauce for half the butter in baked goods as we did with our Healthier Carrot Cake, or substitute 1:1 with oil. (Tip: Replace either the eggs or the oil, not both in one recipe)
Pro Tip:
When replacing oil, butter, or eggs with applesauce in a recipe, be sure to substitute only one or half of the ingredients with applesauce to maintain the same texture of the food.
More Apple Recipes to Love
If you love apples as much as we do, check out some of our most popular apple recipes below. You’re sure to find a new favorite here:
- Apple Pie
- Apple Fritters
- Rice Pudding with Apples
- Apple Cake
- Baked Apples
- Sauteed Apples
- Caramel Apples
- Apple Banana Muffins
- Carrot, Apple and Walnut Salad
- Apple Crisp
Easy Homemade Applesauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 lbs apples, very ripe (any variety)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, (optional), or add to taste
- cinnamon, (optional), to serve
Instructions
How to Make Applesauce:
- Peel, core and slice all of the apples.
- Into a large stockpot, add 1 1/2 cups water and 2 Tbsp sugar. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Add all of the sliced apples, reduce heat to low then cover with lid and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Mash apples to desired consistency, using either a potato masher, an immersion blender, or an electric hand mixer.
- Once applesauce is at room temperature, serve with cinnamon if desired. Refrigerate, freeze, or can for longer storage.
To Can Applesauce:
- Wash and sterilize 8 pint-sized jars and lids. Use a ladle and funnel to pour hot applesauce into sterilized jars. Wipe the jar rims clean with a paper towel.
- Fill a large canning pot 1/3 full with water and bring to a boil. Place applesauce jars into the hot water, making sure they are covered by 1-2 inches of water. Return to a boil and process for 20 minutes.
- Carefully remove from the water using a jar lifter and place them right side up until they reach room temperature and lid suctions in and seals. The lids should not pop when sealed correctly. If any jars do not form the seal, refrigerate and enjoy within 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
When my family makes applesauce, while still warm, we add imperial cinnamon hearts an the store to dissolve. This makes a unique taste that my family loves.
That sounds great!
Your recipe does not state weather to drain apples after cooking, can you clarify that for me please?
Hi Lori! No need to drain the water. I hope you love the recipe!
Such a simple recipe, thank you! How long do these keep canned properly?
Hi Fabiola! See my notes above, if canned properly, applesauce will have a shelf life of about 1 year.
I always add 1 or 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. It gives it a creamy taste.
Thanks for sharing, Grace!
My grandson ate all the applesauce before I cooked the chops and I had just gone to the store. I decided he should learn how to make it for the rest of us and we used your recipe because we are short on provisions. I love 3 ingredient recipes. This is the easiest and best ever recipe and the whole neighborhood smells like apple/cinnamon. All gone and he is so proud of himself. Thank you.
I’m so happy you all enjoyed it, Chi Chi! That’s so great!
Do you put the jars into the water upside down? On the pictures it seems like they are right side up but in the printable directions it says to place them right side up when you take them out of the water? Thanks!
Hi Lidiya, they are right side up the whole way through as shown in the photos. Some people store their cans upside down so I wanted to clarify that they should be right-side-up.
I’ve put the little red cinnamon hearts you can buy around Valentine’s Day (as a sugar substitute) in homemade applesauce before and it’s delicious. Turns regular applesauce into cinnamon applesauce.
That sounds like a good idea. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Great directions! I’m able to completely follow these easy directions on the 2 pecks of apples we picked at the orchard last week. Applesauce now for the next few months! I’ll definitely be freezing some. So delicious!
Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Betsy! I’m so happy you’re enjoying my recipes!
This was so easy to make. Absolutely delicious and smooth…reminds me of the jarred applesauce but WAY better.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, April!
Love homemade applesauce. I add one teaspoon of cinnamon. After it’s done cooking I add a tablespoon of butter. Yummy
Yum! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
The way I make my apple sauce which takes only 5 minutes is like this. Peel, core and dice 5 apples, place in a blender, add 1/3 of a cup of water or more for right consistency (or you can add apple juice instead) then add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. Blend everything until well combined. The cinnamon acts like a preservative….will keep well in the fridge for 5 days.
You can add other fruits with the apples to make different flavour.
Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing that with us, Danielle.
Awesome… many thanks Nash, I’m always learning something from you
Can I only use 6 apples in it not 10 lbs
Hi Bonnie, you can scale down the recipe. Click on the number of servings and it will adjust your ingredient list which may help.
I have a question I made applesauce and ended up with to much liquid what thickeners can I add to it besides cornstarch or arrowroot
Can you help me please
Hi Courtney, you could let the applesauce settle and skim off the liquid on top, or strain it through a fine-mesh strainer.
Hi! I’m attempting canning applesauce for the first time. Yikes! Is it ok to use a smaller jar (8oz) instead of the pint jars? And if so, would the processing time be the same? Thanks in advance!
Hi Lisa, yes that would work great in smaller jars and the processing time would be the same.
Thank you!
Ree, I m proud of you for saying no to butter this time. Applesauce is divine without it. I ve found that it freezes well, too. Gotta love that, right?
We sure love it around here! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your comment with us.
i have used about a tablespoon of maple syrup in mine and it was delicious
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Could I use the sugar fee maple syrup? I am a part time caretaker for my special needs grandson, and he loves the chunky applesauce and I have always bought it, but it is hard to find, and the big jar has gone up in price from $2.48 to 4.59 so I will be buying apples and making my own. Can’t wait to go to the store and get me some apples. I live in Edmond, OK and sure which I could find a person here that has an apple tree.
Hi Natasha.
I make my own applesauce as well. I use a food mill and the only prep I do is wash the apples, pull the stem off, cut the apples into quarters and put them into a pot with about 1 inch of water. Once they are soft I put them in a food mill and grind it into applesauce. This way I get as much nourishment from the skins as I can. All that’s left once I finish with grinding the cooked apples is about a half cup of the skins and seeds. I love your recipes! I’m making a binder of the ones I want to try and have made. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying our recipes, Ruth! Thank you for that great review.
That how we do it also, no peeling of the apples. End up with pink applesauce. Yum
This applesauce tasted so fresh and good! I’ll be keeping this recipe to make again! Thanks!
Hi Pam, I’m so happy you loved the applesauce.
My kids seriously love applesauce!! They will love helping me make it! This would be great to make big batches of & keep in the pantry!
Honestly, homemade applesauce is the only apple sauce both of my kiddos will eat. They’ve never been fans of the store-bought one. I hope you all enjoy this!
Yummy, easy and delicious. And it’s so much better than you can get at a store.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that! Homemade is always best in our book!