Easy homemade applesauce that you can make on the stovetop, in an Instant Pot, or in a slow cooker with just 2 ingredients. It makes a delicious, healthy snack or topping for pancakes, oatmeal, etc., and is great for baking with too. It's wonderful in my Vegan Applesauce Cake!
💌 SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox.
Watch out for more tasty treats coming your way! Unsubscribe at any time.
Today I'm sharing my go-to method for making homemade applesauce. Perfect for using up lots of apples and way better than anything you can buy at the store. It is really easy to make and makes your house smell amazing as it simmers away!
It makes a great healthy snack for adults, toddlers or babies, and is wonderful for topping things like pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, yogurt, or French toast. You can also use it for baking. It's fantastic in my vegan applesauce cake!
Prefer a sweeter, more heavily spiced, concentrated version? You will LOVE my apple butter recipes:
Mel x
🤍 WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS APPLESAUCE RECIPE
- Only 2 ingredients - Apples, cinnamon and a bit of water. That's all you need!
- A cooking method to suit you - I've included instructions for how to make this applesauce on the stovetop, in an Instant Pot, and in a slow cooker.
- No peeling - You can peel the apples if you want to, but it's way easier to leave the peel on, and you get more fibre and colour as a result. Once cooked and blended, you don't even know the peel is there.
- Delicious flavour - Homemade applesauce is so much tastier than store-bought applesauce.
- Choose your own texture - You can make it smooth, chunky or somewhere in between.
- Healthy - No added sugar. Just apples and cinnamon.
- Family-friendly & versatile - This is a recipe the whole family will enjoy using in all sorts of ways.
- Freezer-friendly - Homemade applesauce can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes & substitution ideas:
- Apples - You can use any variety of apple that you enjoy, but obviously, the better and more flavourful the apples, the better your applesauce will be. A mix of apple varieties will make the best-tasting, most balanced applesauce, but if I had to suggest one apple that I like best for making applesauce, it would be Honeycrisp for a superior applesauce flavour profile
- Cinnamon - You can use cinnamon sticks or ground cinnamon.
- Water - A little bit of liquid is necessary to get things going. If you have some apple juice, you could use that instead.
Optional extras - You can add sugar if the apples you are using are particularly tart, but this isn't usually necessary. A touch of vanilla extract is also really nice if you are using the applesauce for snacking, desserts, or toppings, and as always, a tiny pinch of good-quality salt (not table salt) makes everything better!
Let's Make Applesauce!
Can't wait to make it? The full printable recipe is below, but first, let me walk you through the steps to set you up for success in your kitchen. I recommend watching my recipe video if you're more of a visual learner:
1 - Peel, core, and chop the apples, then add them to a pan with some cinnamon and water.
2 - Simmer until the apples are soft.
3 - Remove the cinnamon sticks, add any optional extras like vanilla or sugar, then puree the apples before transferring to containers for storage.
Recipe FAQs
You can sometimes get away with replacing oil in moist vegan baked goods at a 1:1 ratio, but it does really depend on the recipe. It's much safer to start by swapping a smaller percentage to see how things go than risk a bad result. I recommend replacing just 25% of the oil with applesauce the first time you try, and see how things turn out. If the texture is good and not dense, try 50% next time, then 75% and finally 100% if all goes well.
If once you've blended or mashed the cooked apples, the applesauce seems a bit watery, transfer it back to the pan and let it simmer over a medium-low heat to evaporate the extra moisture. Stir frequently and remove from the heat once it has thickened to your liking.
If I had to suggest just one apple for making applesauce, it would be Honeycrisp for a superior applesauce flavour profile. However, if at all possible, a mix of 3 or 4 apple varieties makes the best-tasting, most balanced applesauce. Good ones to choose from include Granny Smith, Gala, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, McIntosh, or Fujis. Keep in mind that sweeter apples will make a sweeter sauce, while tart apples like Granny Smith will result in a tart sauce, so balance the ratio of apples you use to suit your tastes.
Recipe
Easy Homemade Applesauce
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 5lb (2.3 kg) apples , about 15 medium-sized apples
- ½ cup (120 ml) water , or apple juice if you have it
- 1 to 2 sticks cinnamon , or half to 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
OPTIONAL (do not add sugar or salt if feeding to babies)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract , add after cooking
- sugar , to taste
- a small pinch fine sea salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare the apples. You can peel them or leave the peel on for more fibre and colour. If using a high speed blender to puree it you can't detect the peel at all. If this recipe is intended to be used as baby food then you need to peel them.
- Core and roughly slice or chop the apples then add to a large saucepan. Pour in the water and add the cinnamon. Adjust the cinnamon depending on how present you want the flavour to be.
- Cook the apples. Cover with a lid, bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until very soft.
- Turn off the heat and let cool slightly so it's not scalding hot, then add the optional vanilla, and taste to see if you need to add a little sugar. This isn't usually necessary unless the apples are particularly tart, and don't add sugar if this is intended to be used as baby food.
- Puree the apples. Use a potato masher, food processor, immersion blender, or highspeed blender to puree the apple to the consistency you like/need. Choose your tool depending on the consistency you like. For instance a potato masher will make chunky applesauce whereas a highspeed blender will make very smooth apple sauce, and an immersion blender or food processor will be somewhere in between.
Instant Pot Instructions (6 quart or larger)
- Add apples, water, and cinnamon to your Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally then use an immersion blender or potato masher in the pot to mash/blend the apples to the consistency you like. Add any optional vanilla or sugar to taste.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add apples, water, and cinnamon to your slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Use an immersion blender or potato masher in the pot to mash/blend the apples to the consistency you like. Add any optional vanilla or sugar to taste.
NOTES
💌 SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox.
Watch out for more tasty treats coming your way! Unsubscribe at any time.
Leola says
I like that you list optional things and considerations based on who is eating it, helpful! I peel a lot of the apple but not all because I think it leaves additional nutrition in (if it seems tough or you don't like the look of it, puree the applesauce). If it doesn't come out sweet enough, we add a little local maple syrup. Never tried adding vanilla, sugar or salt. Recipe is adaptable - adjust based on how many apples you have. Delicious and healthy without added sugar, thanks for the recipe.
Marion Boulstridge says
This is a simple, easy recipe and creates great applesauce. I did add vanilla to mine and loved it! How did I not know this before? I use this recipe every time I accumulate a bunch of older apples that I don't want to eat anymore.
Linda S Kersey says
Hello Mel,
Do you have an Apple pie cookie recipe?
Melanie McDonald says
I do not. Great idea though. I've added them to my list to work on for fall.