How To Make Homemade Applesauce The Easy Way

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Learn how to make homemade applesauce with one ingredient.. apples! This easy guide will show you how to make applesauce at home without peeling your apples and how to make it low in sugar.

My kids LOVE applesauce. They eat it all the time, even as toddlers. We use it a lot for a side dish, especially for things like pork chops or pork tenderloin. 

I had never made my own applesauce until we went apple picking from a family friend’s apple trees. We had so many apples that needed processing.

Applesauce was the easiest thing to do with all of our apples and nothing beats the taste of homemade applesauce!

There are many ways you can make applesauce. You can make crockpot applesauce, instant pot applesauce, chunky applesauce, or stovetop applesauce.

My favorite way to make it is on my stovetop because it doesn’t require me to pull out any gadgets and it is quick to cook them on the stovetop!

Health Benefits of Applesauce:

Did you know apples are high in antioxidants? If you make applesauce with the peelings on, like I do, you are increasing the amount of antioxidants you are getting!

Applesauce is also high in fiber, which helps promote good digestion and detoxification from the body. There are also some small amounts of vitamin C which helps fight disease and prevent sickness!

Why should I learn how to make homemade applesauce?

Homemade applesauce tastes much better than store-bought applesauce. You can control the amount of sugar and the added ingredients that are put into applesauce. 

When you make homemade applesauce you are using fresh apples which have a much better flavor profile and are higher in nutrients.

What apples are good for applesauce?

You can use a variety of apples or one type of apple when you make applesauce. It is entirely up to you.

It is best to avoid tart apples, like granny Smith apples, unless you plan on adding sugar to your applesauce to make it sweeter. These apples are more suited for things like apple pie filling.

I typically use sweet apples to make my homemade applesauce because I don’t have to add extra sugar and they have the best flavor.

The Best apples for applesauce are:

• gala apples
• pink lady apples
• golden delicious apples
• Honeycrisp apples
• Zestar apples
• Fuji apples

Zestar apples are our favorite kind of apple to use, they are very common where we live because they were developed here!

Ingredients for this easy homemade applesauce recipe:

• Apples
• Water

Additions for your homemade applesauce:

If you want to add things to your applesauce some fun things to add would be a pinch of cinnamon, maple syrup, honey, or some added sugar such as brown sugar.

We prefer ours plain, but sometimes I will cook it with a cinnamon stick in the fall to have that cozy fall feel.

Materials Needed to Make Your Homemade Applesauce:

• Immersion blender, food processor, or potato masher
• Food Mill if you prefer to not have the peelings
• Apple corer to make that job a little easier
• Heavy-bottomed large pot
• Freezer-safe container or a mason jar to store

Step-by-step guide on how to make homemade applesauce:

• First, start by washing your apples and coring them. 

• Next, place your apples in a large pot on the stove. You could also place them in a slow cooker or instant pot depending on how you want to make them. Each method will have its own instructions below.

How to Make homemade applesauce on the Stovetop:

Place cored apples in a large pot with just enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. I find 1/4-1/2 cup of water to five pounds of apples works well.

Cook the apples on medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent apples from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until they are soft. 

Once the apples are soft:

​If you have a lot of juice, pour it off and save it for apple juice. I like to keep it for added flavor, but sometimes it can water down the applesauce and make it thin. 

Mash them with a potato masher to have chunky applesauce. My kids like it pureed, and quite frankly, so do I. 

Use an immersion blender to have a rustic texture to them. You can run your immersion blender through your apples on the stovetop until your applesauce is your desired consistency. 

If you want a smoother texture you can run them through a food processor or blender once your apples have reached room temperature. 

If you don’t want peelings on them, you can run your applesauce through a food mill to remove the peelings easily! 

How to make homemade applesauce in the Instant Pot:

To make delicious homemade applesauce in the instant pot, you will follow the same ratio of 1/2 cup water to five pounds of apples. 

Place apples in the instant pot and set it to manual. Cook on low pressure for ten minutes. You can either do a quick release of the steam or a natural release.

Follow the same instructions as above to puree your apples. 

How to make homemade applesauce in the Slow Cooker:

Follow the same process as above for preparing your apples. Place in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for approximately 6 hours.  Follow the same instructions as above for pureeing your apples. 

To Store your homemade applesauce:

• You can store your applesauce in an airtight container or mason jar for at least one week. 
• You can also store it in the freezer for approximately six months before it starts to taste funny.
• You can also water bath your applesauce and can them. It is super simple to do and we just did that this past fall. 

If you can your applesauce, you will need to add lemon juice to it. You can follow this tutorial here for canning applesauce.

Learning how to make your own homemade applesauce is a great skill to learn. It is a great way to use up extra apples or to preserve apples for when they are not in season. 

We love going to an apple orchard with the kids and picking loads of apples to preserve at home! It is also a great way to control what kind of ingredients are in your food!

Leave a comment below if you tried this! Your kids will love your homemade applesauce!

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I GET A COMMISSION IF YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE THROUGH MY LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO