Homemade Applesauce Recipe

Homemade applesauce is a fall favorite! With only 3 ingredients (and a splash of water), it’s so easy to make!

A simple blend of apples, sugar, and cinnamon is all you need for this applesauce recipe. Perfect and fresh!

This recipe can be divided into applesauce pouches or be used to replace some of the oil in baked goods like carrot cake or muffins or even added to banana breakfast cookies!

An Easy Favorite

When my kids were little, I used to serve this applesauce as a dessert. Warmed and topped with a pinch of cinnamon sugar and a tiny scoop of ice cream, they thought it tasted like apple pie!

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

We use firm apples for apple pie but any kind of apple is great in 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

Prep Apples: Peel, core, and chop the apples (per the recipe below).Simmer: Cook the apples over medium heat along with the rest of the ingredients below. Stir occasionally until the apples are soft (you can also use a crock pot set on low for about 3 hours)!Mash: Mash apples with a masher or blend until smooth.

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.

Serve as a side dish, snack, or dessert. It’s great with yogurt or over vanilla ice cream or even as a side with pork chops!

Smooth or Chunky Applesauce

Mash with a potato masher for a chunkier texture or use an immersion blender (or food processor) to create a smoother apple sauce.

So Many Ways to Use Applesauce

Banana Breakfast Cookies – delicious breakfast on the goThe Best Carrot Cake – quick, incredibly moist, and homemade!Homemade Apple Butter – already halfway thereCarrot Cake Cupcakes – yummy handheld bite!Baking Substitutions! – use in place of oil!

Homemade applesauce will keep for about a week in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. For a quick kid-snack, seal in snack-sized freezer bags, or reusable applesauce pouches, and squeeze out from one corner just like the ones you see at the store!

Place the applesauce into small containers or freezer bags. I like to freeze in 1-cup portions. Freeze for up to 4 months.

Yes, it’s not only delicious, homemade applesauce is really nothing more than mashed apples and cinnamon with a pinch of sweetener. If your apples are a sweeter variety, you can skip the sugar if you’d like or substitute maple syrup or agave.