Homemade applesauce is a favorite recipe for making use of fresh fall apples.
A simple blend of apples, sugar, and cinnamon is all you need for this applesauce recipe. Perfect and fresh!
You’ll Love Homemade Applesauce Because…
- It needs only 3 ingredients plus a splash of water.
- You can use any variety of apples.
- It’s healthy and delicious, make it to your liking and add a little or a lot of sugar and spice.
- This recipe freezes well and makes a great snack, or even a dessert served warm with a scoop of ice cream.
The Best Apples for Applesauce
Any kind of apple is great for homemade applesauce. Try a combination of any of the following: Granny Smith, Gala, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, or Fujis.
A sweeter apple will make a sweeter sauce, while a tart apple (like Granny Smith) will result in a more tart sauce. You can add extra sweetener if needed. Try an assortment or mixture of your favorites.
How to Make Applesauce
- Peel, core, and chop the apples (recipe below).
- Cook the apples with cinnamon, water, and sugar. Stir occasionally.
- Mash apples with a masher or blend until smooth.
Serve as a dessert with yogurt or over vanilla ice cream, or as a side with pork chops!
Variations
- Swap the water for your favorite juice or apple cider.
- Add extra spices like pumpkin pie spice or a pinch of nutmeg.
- Sugar can be substituted for a sweetener of your choice. Adjust according to the sweetness of the apple.
- You can also cook this in a crock pot. Set it on low for about 3 hours.
How to Store Applesauce
Homemade applesauce will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator. Place the applesauce into small containers or freezer bags. I like to freeze it in one-cup portions for up to four months.
Did you enjoy this Homemade Applesauce? Leave a comment or rating below!
Homemade Applesauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples peeled, cored, and chopped (about 6 medium)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2-4 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover.
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Cook 15-20 minutes or until apples are very tender. Remove lid and simmer an additional 5 minutes to thicken.
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Mash apples with a masher for a chunky consistency or blend/puree with an immersion blender for a smooth consistency.
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Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American
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Used apple cider for the liquid. For the sugar I used equal portions of white granulated and light brown sugar. Mashed it with a potato masher.
Best apple sauce every! So much better than store bought. Family can’t get enough of it.
Thanks for the recipe!
What a beautiful recipe! Tastes like Indian summer to me. I particularly like this sauce with savory pancakes.
Thank you for the idea to cook it in the slow cooker!! It was better cooked there than on the stove for me. I’ve used this recipe multiple times on the stove and loved it. I needed my stove top and used the slow cooker for 3 hrs as you said. It just really seemed to cook the apples better and my masher was able to make much smaller chunks. Anyhow, thank you again for the recipe.
I made this last night because the store did not have the apple sauce that my mum likes. It was beyond good! Because we watch our sugar intake I decided to not add any additional sugar and was still delicious. I was a little worried about it not being enough cinnamon so I heaped the 1/2 tsp and then added a little fresh grated nutmeg. Everyone love it, taste soooo good, the only downfall now is this is the only apple sauce mum wants lol!
How long does it stay good in the fridge?
Homemade applesauce will keep for about a week in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.
I doubled the recipe and used 6 Honey crisp and 6 Cosmic Crisps. I doubled the cinnamon and added a little nutmeg. After softening the apples as per the recipe, I used a food processor on puree to make it smooth.
Holy cow was this great! Best applesauce I’ve ever had. Super easy recipe.
I might try half white and half brown sugar next time to see how that turns out.
So happy you loved it, Michael!
Thank you for this delicious and easy recipe. This applesauce totally enhances our potato latkes and made our festive holiday ever brighter and sweeter.
You’re welcome, Susan! So happy you love this recipe :)
It says 4 servings. How big is a serving?
This recipe makes 4 cups total.
How many servings does this recipe usually yield? I’m hoping to take some to a large party and want to know if I need to double or even triple it.
This recipe makes 4 cups total.
This is a simple and great recipe. I made this and it was almost gone instantly!
Thanks for leaving a comment, Sean! So glad you enjoyed it :)
This is such a great recipe for using up extra or leftover apples! Every year, we buy a box of “seconds” from a local orchard to use for butter and sauce. I had a LOT this year, so I figured I’d can some big jars of sauce. This recipe is simple and easy to follow, allows for a lot of creativity with the ingredients, or sticking to the original, because either way you’re going to end up with a delicious homemade result! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent apple sauce!! I put it in a jar in the fridge and will enjoy it as a side quite a few times! Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you so much for the recipe, easy and cheap❤️
I always add a hint of nutmeg to my applesauce and we use a food mill or potato ricer to finish the sauce so that we don’t need to peel, core, or seed the apples.
Also, you can make it in the instant pot as well by pressure-cooking for 3 minutes and then using the saute feature to get it to the desired consistency. I prefer the stove though because the instant pot can splatter.
Thank you for sharing your tips Michelle!
Excellent tip about using the food mill! Made the process easy as pie, well, applesauce.
I made this last weekend to go with pork chops (come on!) I had to. My family loved it. It was so easy to make, once all the apples were peeled by hand (not the best). But I have made it again this weekend and know it will be a steady in my house!!! Highly recommend.