Homemade Applesauce – The Stay At Home Chef

Nothing compares to fresh, homemade applesauce. Can it, freeze it, leave it unsweetened, or add in some extras to sweeten things up. Enjoy it warm, right off the stove, or save it for later. Our recipe and tips give you everything you need to make this classic, homemade treat that everyone will love.

For more apple goodness, try our delicious Apple Crumble and Homemade Apple Butter.

This nostalgic recipe is the perfect sweet treat that your kids will love for an after school snack. While sweet and cinnamony applesauce makes us feel like a kid again, it’s also super versatile and can be used in many other recipes. This fresh, homemade applesauce pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal or yogurt. You can even add it to cake batter or in homemade bread in lieu of oil or butter, making for a super moist and flavorful baked treat.

Ingredient Notes

• Apples: For a balanced blend, use a variety. Also, this recipe is a great way to use up any bruised apples.
• Lemon Juice: Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the best flavor. Bottled lemon juice can be used, but it doesn’t have as bright of a flavor.
• Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar works, though dark brown sugar will give a deeper flavor.
• Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor, but imitation also works.
• Ground Cinnamon: Use a high-quality cinnamon for best results.
• Cinnamon Stick: Don’t skip this step! This infuses the apples with flavor while cooking.

Best Apples to Use

While you can always just use whatever apples you have on hand, The best applesauce comes from a mixture of multiple types of apples, rather than just relying on variety. The best apples to use for applesauce-making are McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, and Jonathan apples.

Sweet Apples: Fuji, Golden Delicious, Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh

Tart Apples: Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, Pink Lady

Balanced Mix: We recommend using a mix of both sweet and tart apples.

If you prefer a naturally sweeter applesauce, lean toward Fuji or Gala. If you like a little tang, balance it with Granny Smith or Braeburn. McIntosh apples cook down very soft, making them perfect for a smooth applesauce, while Honeycrisp and Pink Lady hold a bit more texture for chunkier styles.

Perfect Your Flavor

When you make applesauce homemade, you get to make it exactly how you like it. Stick with our neutral base to keep it naturally sweet, or play around with some of our other options. We give you two within the recipe, but there’s more applesauce goodness to be had.

Sweetened Applesauce: You have the option to add some brown sugar or you can use alternative sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar. You can always start with 1-2 tablespoons and then increase based on your own personal sweet tooth.

Rich and Desserty: We give you the option to add brown sugar, butter, more cinnamon, and a little vanilla extract for a dessert-like applesauce that is absolutely heavenly.

Pear or Strawberry Blends: Can’t resist those fruity flavors at the grocery store? Make your own by adding some fruit. You can swap out up to half of the apples with ripe pears for apple-pear. For a strawberry blend, add 1 cup chopped strawberries during the last 10 minutes of cooking. The same concept works for other berries.

Spiced Applesauce: Cinnamon is your classic spice addition to applesauce. We have you make the base with a whole stick of cinnamon for a subtle infusion of flavor. If you want to add more spice, you can add ground cinnamon. But wait, there’s more! You can go stronger spice with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves. Or make it a total celebration of fall with up to 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix.

Smooth or Chunky

Control your texture to make it as smooth or chunky as you like. It’s the beauty of homemade! For those who like things on the chunky side, use a potato masher to break up the apples and you’ll get super soft chunks throughout, or use a hand mixer to give it a slight blend. For a smooth applesauce, you’ll want to use an immersion blender to blend everything directly in the pot or transfer the cooked apples to a blender or food processor to blend until smooth.

Slow Cooker and Instant Pot

Instead of placing the apples into a saucepan on the stove, simply place the apples (along with the water, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick) into either a slow cooker or an Instant Pot. Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure.

For the slow cooker, add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Then, puree as directed.

Canning

This applesauce can absolutely be canned following safe canning procedures. It’s all about the science. Apples are naturally acidic, but their exact pH varies by variety so to be safe, you’ve got to add an acid. Add an additional 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid per quart of applesauce.

Once your applesauce is hot and ready, ladle it into sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims clean, secure the lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes for pint jars and 20 minutes for quart jars. After processing, let the jars cool at room temperature before storing them in a cool, dark place. Properly canned applesauce will last up to one year.