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I am not saying the store-bought stuff is nearly as good as the homemade version…just more convenient of course. Let’s just say that my husband and I do not regularly consume the little store-bought containers of applesauce, but all four of us fight over the last few drops if it is homemade! Plus making it yourself can be a fun activity (especially with kids), and luckily you can freeze the leftovers.
It is especially quick and easy to make this dish at home if you have a handy dandy apple slicer that will cut out the core and cut the rest into pieces. You can find these inexpensive tools at most grocery stores (or Target), and they will easily cut your prep time in half. Not to mention they come in handy for just slicing apples for a snack (or even pears too!).
Easy Peasy Applesauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Combine the apples, apple juice/cider, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick (if using) into a large pot. Cover and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes or until tender (but not mushy).
- Remove the cinnamon stick (if using) and transfer warm apple mixture to a food processor (or you can mash by hand with a potato masher) and add honey (if using) and nutmeg. Puree to desired chunkiness. Serve, refrigerate, or freeze the leftovers!
I am buying a food processor for this recipe since I don’t yet have one. How big of a food processor do you need? Is a 4 cup food processor big enough? Or do you need a larger one – such as a 7 cup?
Hi Mara. That depends on your needs. Lisa uses an 11 cup processor. I believe mine is nine. Four might be a little small for whole recipes. ~Amy
Hi Kelsey. The lemon balances the flavor and slows down oxidation. You could add a different form of citrus but lemon works best. ~Amy
Bought all the ingredients and realized I was out if lemons when I get home. Are there any reasonable substitutes? Or should I just wait until I can get back to the store? Thanks!
Hi, I understand that it’s not necessary to peel the skin but can you “feel” the skin when it’s done? My girls really have some texture issues when it comes to food.
Hi Danise. If you are worried about the texture, you can peel the apples. My boys never notice the skin, however. ~Amy
Very delicious recipe. very simple and nice
The nutmeg was too much for my girls but other than that we loved it. The consistency was like that of baby applesauce, I really liked that.
Do you keep the skins on?
Hello Tay. You do not need to peel the apples. ~Amy
Remind me why I ever bought applesauce? Easy peasy is right. I omitted the honey (b/c I didn’t have any) and used a stick blender (I drained a bit of the juice 1/2 thru blending b/c mine was a little too runny). The house smelled heavenly. I used 3 lbs chopped apples (not counting the cores) and ended up with just over 4 cups of applesauce. Deeelish.
You were right, it was simple and great tasting! Thanks!
What kind of apple juice do you use? Store bought?
Hi Renee. Look for an organic 100% apple juice. ~Amy
I just made this, and it was delicious! We live in Upstate New York, and it is apple season! I used fresh picked Cortland apples (because that is what was ripe), and I didn’t need any honey at all. The applesauce was perfect with the cider and cinnamon (I didn’t have a stick so I used 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon). I looked up a few recipes before finding this one, and they all called for a ton of white sugar. If I had added it, I can’t even imagine how sweet it would have been, because it is perfect without it! Thank you for all of the great recipes!
Just wondering if you put the cinnamon stick in the food processor as well?
Trisha, you will need to take the cinnamon stick out. 😊
I make this without the apple juice or cider as I rarely have this on hand. Instead, I just use a little water. It is so easy and so tasty.
Wondering how many cups the 3 lbs ends up to be. I’m excited to try this.
Hi Kerry. According to another website:1 pound apples = 2-3/4 cups cored, sliced or chopped apples. Hope that helps. ~Amy
How much does this make?
Hi Liz. My rough guess is 4-4 1/2 cups. ~Amy
What do you mean when you say cooking apples? Are there some apples that you want to avoid using?
Hi Stefani. This might help: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_cooking_101_basics_and_techniques/types_of_apples_the_best_apples_for_baking_cooking_and_eating. ~Amy
I always thought I didn’t like apples mostly because of their texture. What I have realized is that i just don’t like red delicious. Honey crisp is worth the extra price. I now live in upstate NY with lots of apple orchards and am enjoying trying all the new varieties!
Tracy, I too didn’t care for Red Delicious apples either. My husband, a northern California native, introduced me to Braeburn apples – they’re so crispy and flavorful, and I’ve not touched a Red Delicious in over 15 years. You can find U.S. grown, but off-season they’re typically imported from New Zealand.
Tracy, have you tried Cortland apples? I’ve only seen them in upstate NY and they’re delicious. Picking them this week too!
Can I do this recipe in the crockpot?
Hello Laura. I see no reason why that wouldn’t work. Let us know how it turns out. ~Amy
Laura, Skinnytaste has a recipe that is pretty much the same as this (minus apple juice/cider) that you cook on low in a crock pot for 6 hours. I make some about every 2-3 weeks and my 2 year old LOVES it!
I just made this and it’s so so good. I can’t believe how easy it is and without all the sugar. Thanks.
Thanks so much for posting a great recipe that does not include all that sugar!! So easy and yummy!!!
I will never buy applesauce again. This tastes wonderful and I was able to cook it while also cooking your Tomato Bisque. Super easy and amazing! Thanks for the great recipes.
Thanks for all your fabulous recipes! If I use the optional cinnamon stick, do I put it in whole? And does it go into the food processor at the last step too?
Hi Kristy. Yes to both. Hope you enjoy. Jill
Could I use an apple/peeler/core/slicer? It makes the apples pretty thin, but is super fast. Would that change the cooking time?
Hi Stephanie. I don’t see why you couldn’t use that, although, you don’t need to peel them for this recipe. The recipe says to cook until they’re tender, so, I would just keep a close eye on them – you may have to reduce the time a little bit. Jill
I read through a few of the posts and was excited to see so many making their own applesauce. I have made it the last few years and my kids love it. We peel our apples and I just bought an old-fashioned applepeeler, which makes it go very fast. Good investment for $20.
You can “can” the applesauce using hot mason jars, a hot lid, and boiling water bath to process it. We do this and it is really great. No need for a pressure cooker. I just heat the jars with hot tap water, boil the lids to sterilize and then put hot applesauce into the jars. Seal with a ring and process all jars in a large stock pot for 20 minutes. You want to put a upturned pie pan or trivet in the bottom of the pot, so the jars don’t have direct contact with the bottom. Cover and process. If they seal properly, you will hear a “pop” about 2-6 hours later. The middle indent will also be down (in case you’re not around to hear).
Last thing. If you want variety in your applesauce, I add fresh or frozen strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, mango or whatever I have on hand to make flavored applesauce like they sell at the store. You might need a bit more sweetener, but the kids love this! It doesn’t need to be a lot, about a cup or so for a 5 pint batch.
This is my absolute favorite late night treat! Whenever I have a sweet tooth – I warm up the applesauce, drizzle a little honey, top with some pecans and YUM! Sweet Tooth fixed!
As school days are quickly approaching, I am currently in lunch planning mode for my kids. My silicone ice pop molds arrived today. I’d only planned to use them for smoothies, but now will be sending this applesauce in them as well! Have you had any issues with leaking when using non frozen foods?
Hi Billy. They do sometimes leak, even as the frozen thaws. Just be sure to have the lids on very tight and that the kids take off the lids once they’ve stood them up straight. I think the leaking is more due to “user error” in our house :-))). Good luck. Jill
I just discovered your site a few months ago and I love it! I’ve made this applesauce recipe three times now, and loved it every time!! I experimented with it a little bit by mixing different types of fruit. Thought I’d share in case anyone else was interested–first I tried mixing apples with pears and it turned out great. I kept everything the same, just did 3 lbs of apples and pears combined (I left the skins on the pears). This last time I tried apples with peaches (with skins)–again it turned out great! Thanks so much for the great recipes!!
We use ginger instead of nutmeg. Gives it a taste reminiscent of a gingerbread cookie!
This sounds way better than my applesauce recipe. I am going to try it tonight.
I was wondering if you could can this applesauce? My mom always said that when making homemade applesauce to can, you should omit the sugar and then just add it in after you open the can. Since this uses syrup, I was wondering if I would do something similar or if I could make this recipe and then can it as is?
I wish I could answer that, but I’ve never “canned” anything before…I am actually taking a class on it at a local farm this week!
I have a family of 7. I was wondering roughly how much does this recipe make?
It should be plenty for 7 people!
How long will this stay good for in the refrigerator and freezer??
It would last in the freezer for months. In the fridge no more than week….
I use my slow cooker for apple sauce, sure it takes a little longer, but it cooks the apples without any attention and to a nice consistency without dirtying any additional dishes :) YUM
Made this today exactly as it was listed. OH.MY.WORD. Everyone loves it!!! Going to the apple orchard tomorrow to get a bushel to make more apple favs!
I know that I am a bit late on this post. I just discovered your site last night and have been reading since then. I noticed where you have stated that oil is your weakness. You can substitute unsweetened/plain apple sauce for any oil in your baking (with the exception of oiling your pan). It works like a charm and I honestly can not taste the difference.
Mmmm… warm applesauce with raisins and walnuts on top of a whole-wheat waffle… mmmm!
I make homemade applesauce all the time too! I’m so thrilled that it’s apple season again. I have to admit I eat an apple everyday, whether it’s in season or not.
I leave the skins on when I make applesauce, and just use my stick blender in the pot. I don’t notice the skins as much when the applesauce is warm, but when it cools down the texture seems to change and they are more noticeable. What did you think? Also, I don’t add any sweeteners. Apples are sweet enough for me! :)
I have a stick blender and never think to use it…thanks for the reminder! And I agree you do find yourself “chewing” a little when the skins are left on. I just hate doing extra work that I don’t think is completely necessary. And per your suggestion I will add an “optional” next to the honey ingredient!
So excited to see a new post.. I am hoping there will be other recipes you will be able to share from past posts that you haven’t gotten around to yet.(I am patient) and we loved the ravioli, although my pasta was too thick, I guess and big(gotta work on that)! Thanks again for sharing… how about a healthy pumpkin bread recipe??
So now I am curious…was there anything in particular you were waiting on that I talked about on the 100 days site and haven’t posted a recipe for yet? Just checking! And figuring out a pumpkin bread recipe is a great idea. Thanks!
I steam my apples and don’t peel them when I make applesauce! Yummy!!
We make it at home in apple season too. We don’t process through a food mill, but I usually peel the apples because I have a picky eater who doesn’t like the skins. Hmm, maybe I’ll try using the hand blender and see what he thinks. Thanks for the idea!
Our recipe is chopped apples, little bit of water to cover bottom of pan, shake of cinnamon. I have a friend who adds walnuts. mmmmm
Mmmm…walnuts sound like a great addition. Thanks for the tip!
I am thinking about making applesauce this fall with my kids. All the recipes I’ve seen call for processing the cooked apples through a food mill to remove the skin. How is the texture of this recipe when the food processor is used? Can it be smooth at all?
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
It is still smooth (even with the peels on) although you do find yourself chewing a little bit when you eat it. You could definitely take the peels off if that is how you prefer to have it…I am just all about cutting out steps if I can!