Homemade Applesauce Recipe
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This is the absolute easiest homemade applesauce recipe to make! It only has one ingredient: apples! This recipe has no sugar added, no juice added, no spices, and you don’t even have to peel the apples. Use any apple you love for this delicious naturally sweetened snack.
This easy homemade applesauce is made with just one ingredient: fresh apples. There’s no peeling, no added sugar, and very little prep, just a simple, natural way to use up a big haul of apples.
Apple picking is one of my favorite fall traditions, and every year I bring home far more apples than our family of three could possibly eat. After years of putting those apples to good use, this no-peel, easy homemade applesauce has become one of my favorite recipes to make with them.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 6 large apples– use whatever kind you love to eat the most, or whatever’s ripe at the local orchard.
- 2 tablespoons of water– just to get some steam going in the pot
- A food mill – A food mill removes the apple skins while creating a smooth applesauce. It’s a specialty tool, but it’s also useful for making fresh tomato sauce and cranberry sauce. I have one because I process a lot of garden veggies, but if you don’t have one, no worries! See below for other ways to process your applesauce.
- Optional flavors: Add a cinnamon stick, some whole cloves, a star anise, or whole nutmeg to the pot while the apples simmer. The house will smell amazing!
No Food Mill?
If you don’t have a food mill, here’s how you can make this recipe without one!
- Core and cut the apples in half, then grate the flesh using a box grater; the peel will naturally stay behind as you grate. Add to the pan and cook as directed. Use a potato masher if necessary to smooth out any chunks.
- Leave the skins on and purée the cooked apples in a blender. This will give you a thicker and smoother applesauce.
- Leave the skins on and pick them off after simmering on the stovetop, they’ll slip right off. Then mash the apples with a potato masher.
How To Make Homemade Applesauce
Slice your apples into wedges. You can use an apple corer/slicer if you have one, or I just slice mine about 1/2″ thick with a kitchen knife.
In a medium sauce pan, add your water and the sliced unpeeled apples.
Cover the pot and cook over medium heat until you hear the water come up to a simmer.
Reduce heat to medium low, leave covered and continue cooking for about 45 minutes, or until the apples have gotten very tender.
You can test for doneness by piercing the apples with a knife. There should be no resistance.
Remove the pot from the heat.
Set a food mill fitted with the medium grinding disc, over a bowl.
Transfer the hot apples to your food mill and grind the apples by turning the handle clockwise. Every once and a while turn the handle counterclockwise to clean the grinding blade and disc.
Keep grinding until all the apples have been processed through the disc into the bowl below, and just the peels remain in the mill.
Give a scrape to the bottom of the food mill with a rubber spatula to get any applesauce stuck on the bottom of the mill.
Give the sauce a quick stir and it’s ready to eat!
Which Apples Should I Use?
Use your absolute favorite eating apples! If it’s a variety you love to eat, then it’ll be perfect in applesauce.
When I was testing this recipe, I used a combo of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp. I love Honey Crisps because they’re not mealy like some apples and they are just so sweet and delicious! Granny Smiths are fabulous because they lend a great tart flavor to the sauce.
But I’ve definitely used all McIntosh before. I’ve done a McIntosh-Cortland combo. Gala Apples and Granny Smiths are really great together too.
It really just boils down to what you have on hand, what varieties you love to eat, and what’s in season right now.
Storing Homemade Applesauce
Once the applesauce has gone through the food mill, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should keep for a week.
You can freeze applesauce! Just let it thaw in the fridge and give it a quick stir before using.
Is Applesauce Healthy?
This homemade applesauce is made entirely from fresh apples, with no added sugar, fat, or preservatives. It’s a simple snack, breakfast side, or easy way to add more fruit to your day.
Apples naturally contain sugar, along with fiber, including pectin, a type of soluble fiber. Fiber supports digestion and may help you feel full longer. You can learn more about the benefits of dietary fiber from the Mayo Clinic.
What Do You Eat Applesauce With?
Here are some great ways to enjoy your applesauce:
- Enjoy a bowlful cold or warmed, with a dash of cinnamon or some homemade granola, dried fruit, and nuts. It makes a fabulous healthy breakfast!
- It makes great baby food
- Spoon over yogurt or blend into smoothies
- Add your applesauce to baked goods! You can replace the vegetable oil or milk in baked goods with applesauce. Examples include cocoa brownies, applesauce pancakes, eggless chocolate chip cookies, applesauce donut muffins, carrot apple muffins, and quick breads.
- Add to butternut squash soup or other root vegetable based soups for a little extra sweetness
- Serve alongside pork chops or baked ham.
Other Recipes You May Like:
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Natural and Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce
Equipment
- 1 Food Mill *see notes
Ingredients
- 6 medium to large sized apples-use whatever kind you love to eat the most or whatever’s ripe at the local orchard.
- 2 tablespoons of water
Instructions
- Slice your apples into wedges. You can use an apple corer/slicer if you have one, or I just slice mine about 1/2″ thick with a kitchen knife.
- In a medium sauce pan, add your water and the sliced unpeeled apples.
- Cover the pot and cook over medium heat until you hear the water come up to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium low, leave covered and continue cooking for about 45 minutes, or until the apples have gotten very tender.
- You can test for doneness by piercing the apples with a knife. There should be no resistance.
- Remove the pot from the heat.
- Set a food mill fitted with the medium grinding disc over a bowl.
- Transfer the hot apples to your food mill and grind the apples by turning the handle clockwise. Every once and a while turn the handle counterclockwise to clean the grinding blade and disc.
- Keep grinding until all the apples have been processed through the disc into the bowl, and just the peels remain in the mill.
- Give a scrape to the bottom of the food mill with a rubber spatula to get any applesauce stuck on the bottom of the mill.
- Give the sauce a quick stir and it’s ready to eat!
Notes
- Core and cut the apples in half, then grate the flesh using a box grater; the peel will naturally stay behind as you grate.
- Leave the skins on and purée the cooked apples in a blender.
- Leave the skins on and pick them off after simmering on the stovetop, they’ll slip right off. Then mash the apples with a potato masher.
This is fabulous! I have a surplus of apples in my kitchen so I think I will give this a try! Beautiful photos too!!
This looks so good! I love that it has no sugar!
What a simple recipe! There is an apple orchard down the road from me, now I’ll know what to do with all those apples we pick.
Homemade applesauce is so yummy! I love it when it’s still warm with a bit of cinnamon. ?
Thanks for sharing this post with us on the Embracing Home and Family Link-up party. We hope you join us again this Friday!
-Cherelle