Homemade Applesauce made with just ONE ingredient—apples! You’ll never buy store bought again!
Growing up, one of our family traditions was to go apple (and pumpkin) picking every year. We picked buckets and buckets of apples, and then brought them home for my mom to turn them into every apple treat imaginable. One of our favorites was homemade applesauce. My mom would make huge batches and freeze it so that we could save it through the winter. I loved biting into a spoonful that was still a little crunchy and frozen! Another favorite way to eat homemade applesauce was warm on top of vanilla ice cream—oh yum! This was always my dad’s preferred way of serving it.
^^^ At the apple orchard/pumpkin patch with all of my siblings—circa 1995
Homemade applesauce so easy to make yourself, and it really tastes so much better than the store bought kind. We went to pick apples ourselves last month and turned pounds and pounds of apples into the most amazing applesauce! The boys devoured our first few jars—I have one more hiding in the freezer!
I would hardly call this a recipe, it’s really just instructions. But people always seem surprised when I tell them that I like to make applesauce from scratch, and want to know how I do it. So here it is! I can whip up a 13 pound batch (that’s 32 apples!) in only 20 minutes of hands on time, including clean up! Let it simmer on the stove for an hour and a half to two hours and you will have the most delicious applesauce you’ve ever tried!
Check out my ideas at the bottom to add extra fruits into your applesauce and naturally turn your applesauce fun colors like red, blue, and orange! So much fun for kids!
Look how easy it is to make Homemade Applesauce!
Have you made homemade applesauce before? I really hope you try it—it’s SO much better than store bought! Give it a try, take a picture, post it to social media, and give me a tag! @frieddandelions // #frieddandelions Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Homemade Applesauce
Ingredients
- 5 + Pounds of apples yes, really, that’s it! (see notes)
Instructions
- Peel, core, and slice apples. I use a gadget like this one, which cuts the work time way down! Don’t worry if you have some peel on the apples, it’s just a texture preference (and the peel contains lots of healthy nutrients!). You could leave the peel on completely if you want even, just make sure to get rid of the core and seeds. Put apples into a large pot (I use a 6 ½ quart pot for 13 pounds of apples). Once you have about a third of the apples cut, turn the heat on to medium. Keep adding apples until you have a mountain of them—they cook down significantly so pile them on.
- Once all apples are in the pot, continue to push down with a wooden spoon, helping the apples to break down. As the apples on the bottom cook, they will make room for the apples on top. Continue to check every 20 minutes or so, smooshing down the apples and helping those on top to get towards the heat on the bottom. The juices will release and help this process. After about an hour and a half the apples will be mostly cooked. At this point, continue mashing until it has reached your desired consistency. You can leave it as chunky as you like, or puree it for a smooth texture. We like ours chunky!
- Optional: You can add a half of a teaspoon of cinnamon if you like. We prefer it plain. While I like to add cinnamon to store bought applesauce, there is a richness that comes from cooking the apples and I don’t think it needs anything else.
- Let cool and divide into storage containers. I freeze my applesauce, less for preserving it, and more for rationing. I think Irving and David could eat my entire 13 pound batch in one day! But it’s a good idea to freeze whatever you won’t eat in the next few days, as there are no preservatives. That way you’re guaranteed fresh applesauce when you want it!
Notes
Mix it up!
Try adding different fruits to your applesauce—you know, like those fancy schmancy ones you see at the store! Here are some combos I tried in my latest batch: Blueberry Apple—Mix 1 1/2 c frozen blueberries to 2 1/2 c applesauce and warm over medium heat until blueberries begin to fall apart. Cherry Cranberry Apple—Add 1 c frozen cherries and 1/2 c cranberries to 2 1/2 c applesauce and warm through until fruits fall apart. Carrot Mango Apple—Finely grate 2 carrots. Add carrots and 1/2 c frozen mango to 2 1/2 c applesauce. Warm over medium heat until the carrots and mango soften and blend in a bit. Apple Raisin—Add 1 c raisins to 3 c applesauce and allow raisins to plump up over medium heat.You might also like:
^^^ A mountain of apples—they will all cook down to less than half!
^^^ L to R: Cherry Cranberry, Carrot Mango, Blueberry, and Raisin
^^^ Baby David picking apples in October 2011 (picture from original post)
* Pictures were updated in October 2016.
I’m making applesauce for the first time right now. (Surprisingly). I bought 3 large bags of apples at the St Aul farmers market this morning for $10.00. Thanks for the step by step directions. So much easier than I thought
Hooray! Yes, it is super easy, but no one would ever know until they tried it themselves 🙂
I will be passing this on to the hundreds of readers who message me about apple sauce every month! It’s so easy to buy here in Canada and the U.S but you cannot buy it in Europe at all, unless it’s the teeny tiny condiment jars of apple sauce meant to serve with roast pork, and that isn’t just apples. I’m forever explain how to make it. Now I will just send on this link!
Oh yay! I hope it’s helpful! Homemade applesauce is so good—I grew up on it! Definitely worth the time to make it 🙂
Oh, this looks so good! I love making applesauce but haven’t done it yet this fall. I’m going to try one of your mix it up ideas!!
This looks so delicious and ay to make Sarah! I love the picture of you apple picking!
Why peel the apples?
Tastes better and looks lovely without peeling and much more nutritious.
This is such a great post! I love all the photos. Homemade tastes so much better than store bought!
Yes! It doesn’t even taste like the same food at all!
Oh, I can almost taste the tart sweetness of homemade applesauce right now. My mom always used to make applesauce too, but it’s been a long time since I’ve done that. Now is the season to remedy that!
Definitely! Make a batch and put a few jars in the freezer! I have one I’ve been hiding form the boys—not sure if I should thaw it out or save it a little longer!
Great family picture! I love going to the orchards and picking apples too. You can’t beat homemade applesauce. Very good instructions too.
Thank you! I try to be thorough—you never know! And thank you—love snagging pics of all of my boys!
I love it! You’re so right – applesauce made with just plain ol’ apples is so sweet and satisfying!
Yes, after it simmers down the taste is so flavorful! No one ever believes me that it’s just apples! Even Irving who makes it for us half the time! He always asks “really, no water? No sugar?”
I have about 20 pounds of apples in my fridge from apple picking so I might need to make this!
Perfect! That was our situation too!
Homemade applesauce is so good! My grandma makes it a lot and then gives us lots of jars. We’re spoiled. I never really think to make it myself. I really should though…we just stirred some applesauce into our oatmeal this morning. Would have been soooo much better with homemade!
That’s awesome that your grandma makes it for you! What a special treat! I bet your kiddos would love to help her make it sometime!
Applesauce…made from apples. Who woulda think it? 😉
So tricky, right? 🙂