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Homemade Applesauce

You only need four ingredients to make my flavorful, homemade applesauce recipe. This quick and easy recipe uses just one pot and finishes in less than an hour. It's also super customizable!Scroll down to the how-to video for instructions!

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
55 mins
Servings: 5 cups (1 liter)
Calories: 193 kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

  • 3 3 lbs apples peeled, cored, and diced to be about ½" (I recommend using a crisp, sweet apple like Fuji, Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, or Cortland.) Weigh before peeling/coring apples.
  • 1 1 cup water
  • 3 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar¹
  • 2 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 2 cinnamon sticks² optional, see note to omit or use ground cinnamon

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Combine apples, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon sticks in a large pot on the stovetop. Stir to combine.
  2. Turn stovetop heat to medium and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium/low, cover with lid, and continue to cook for 20-30 minutes, checking/stirring just once or twice to make sure the heat is not too high and apples are not burning to the bottom of the pot.
  3. Cook until apples are completely soft and tender when pierced with a fork (they should give easily to the fork and offer no resistance).
  4. Remove from heat and carefully remove cinnamon sticks. Mash with a potato masher (for chunkier applesauce) or blend with an immersion blender until smooth (for a smoother applesauce). You may also transfer the apples to a blender and puree until smooth if you don’t have an immersion blender.
  5. If applesauce is too watery for your liking you can return to the stovetop and cook over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until the water is reduced and mixture is the desired consistency.
  6. Allow to cool and then serve!

Notes

  • I recommend using the amount listed, but you may reduce or even omit the sugar (if you have very sweet, flavorful apples) or increase it up to 4 Tablespoons or even more if you are using particularly tart apples. Brown sugar (light or dark), honey, or maple syrup may be substituted for the sugar but each will impart their own flavor into the applesauce.
  • I like to use cinnamon sticks for a subtle cinnamon-flavored applesauce. You may omit if you do not like the flavor. If you do not have them but want the flavor, stir in ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon after pureeing/mashing the applesauce.
  • This applesauce recipe may be reduced in half or doubled or even tripled (if you have a pot that’s large enough). I usually only add an additional ½ cup (113ml) of water for every additional 3 lbs (1.4kg) of apples that I use.
  • Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Applesauce may also be stored in the freezer for 6 months or longer, just use an airtight container, preferably a plastic bag that you can remove the air from. To defrost I thaw in the fridge overnight. While this applesauce recipe may be canned, I have not personally canned it and don’t feel comfortable advising on the specifics of how to do so. Here is a canning guide that I found that may be helpful, though!

Nutrition Information

Serving 1cup Calories 193kcal (10%) Carbohydrates 51g (17%) Protein 1g (2%) Fat 1g (2%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 1g Sodium 6mg (0%) Potassium 333mg (10%) Fiber 8g (32%) Sugar 39g (78%) Vitamin A 168IU (3%) Vitamin C 15mg (17%) Calcium 36mg (4%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 5cups (1 liter)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 193

% Daily Value*

Serving 1cup
Calories 193kcal 10%
Carbohydrates 51g 17%
Protein 1g 2%
Fat 1g 2%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 1g 5%
Sodium 6mg 0%
Potassium 333mg 7%
Fiber 8g 32%
Sugar 39g 78%
Vitamin A 168IU 3%
Vitamin C 15mg 17%
Calcium 36mg 4%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.