Our homemade applesauce recipe is a delicious way to use fresh apples and a really fun way to get kids in the kitchen. The perfect recipe for a chilly day and a much yummier way to enjoy the side dish.

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Making homemade applesauce creates core memories with your kids.

See what I did there?

Core. Apple core. Badum tiss.

I’ll be here all week, folks.

Ok, I’ll see myself out now and back to the core topic: homemade applesauce.

If you’ve got kids, especially older toddlers through elementary aged kids, they’ll love helping you stir and mash the apples.

At least, mine did.

And each one, including my very picky eater, loved the results.

Because it is pretty much the best tasting applesauce I’ve ever had and our homemade applesauce recipe combines only five ingredients and is very customizable to suite your needs and tastes.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Ingredients for Homemade Applesauce Recipe: Apples, Sugar, Water, Lemon Juice, and Apple Pie Spice or Cinnamon — Ingredients for this Homemade Applesauce Recipe: Apples, Sugar, Water, Lemon Juice, and Apple Pie Spice or Cinnamon

For our homemade applesauce recipe needs only 5 ingredients, including:

Apples – We use about 5 pounds, which makes about 3 to 4 mason jars full of applesauce. You can literally use any apple for applesauce, but we recommend partially sweet and tart. Varities like Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, and Granny Smith all work great for applesauce. Avoid apples like Red Delicious.
Lemon Juice – This helps to brighten the flavors and keep the apples from browning.
Sugar – This is optional. You could skip the sugar, use a substitute, or increase or decrease the amount you use. For the most natural flavor, skip the sugar.
Spice – You can use our homemade apple pie spice or cinnamon to flavor the applesauce. Again, you can skip this for a more naturally flavored applesauce.
Water – You do not need much, but you do need enough to help prevent the sauce from burning as you cook the apples.

You do not need them, but we find the following tools helpful:

Peeler
Apple Corer

How to Make Our Homemade Applesauce Recipe

1. Prep the apples.

Wash and dry your apples.

Peeled apples on a cutting board — Peel the apples

For a smooth applesauce, peel your apples to remove the skin.

You can skip this for a chunkier applesauce.

Slicing and coring an apple with an apple corer — Slice and core the apples

Put the sliced apples into a large pot — Slice and core the apples

Once you have the apples peeled, you can use a corer or a knife to cut the apples into wedges.

You do not need to slice into chunks, but it will save just a bit of time cooking.

Make sure to check for any bruised spots and remove them with a knife.

2. Cook the applesauce.

Add the apples to medium sized pot and pour the lemon juice in, tossing the apples gently to coat them.

Pour the water in.

Set the burner to medium heat and bring the water to a simmer.

The cook time does vary greatly – between 20 to 40 minutes.

Cooking apples for a homemade applesauce recipe until the apples start to fall apart — Cook the apples until the apples are soft and falling apart

You need to simmer them until the apples start to fall apart.

The longer you cook the apples, the smoother it will be.

Stirring the cooked apples — Stir the apples

About 20 minutes is about the minimum to get a smooth applesauce.

You’ll know it is done when the apples start to break apart when you are stirring them as you can see in the picture.

3. Remove from heat, season, and mash.

Remove the pot from heat and stir in the sugar and seasoning.

Mash the apples with a potato masher to make homemade applesauce — Mash the apples with a potato masher to make this homemade applesauce recipe

Using a potato masher or spoon, mash the applesauce.

This should be easy to do if you cooked it long enough (think of falling off the bone, only with apples).

You could also use a blender, immersion blender, or handmixer for an even smoother applesauce.

You can serve the applesauce warm or allow it to cool before serving.

Serving

Applesauce goes well with just about any main dish.

We find our kids love it as a snack, making it an easy way to sneak in something healthy for them.

My hubs has used applesauce to make homemade barbeque sauce.

However if you are looking to make cinnamon applesauce ornaments, use the jarred stuff.

Storing

Homemade applesauce stores very well but because it does not have preservatives, it does not have as long a shelf life as store-bought.

You can store it in the fridge for about 1-2 weeks in a sealed container.

To serve, you can either serve cold or hot.

To heat, microwave the sauce for a few seconds or heat on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through.

If you want longer storage, freeze it by transferring the cooled applesauce to freezer safe bags and putting them in your freezer for up to 6 months.

To eat, allow it to thaw and either serve chilled or heat up.

Tips and Tricks

2 bowls and a mason jar of homemade applesauce in glass bowls with apples — Homemade Applesauce Recipe

For the smoothest sauce: peel your apples, cook until they are falling apart, and use a handmixer or blender. This will give you the smoothest possible homemade applesauce. But there is not “right” consistency. It is really a personal choice.
Customize the applesauce flavor and sweetness by adjusting how much sugar you use as well as cinnamon or other spices. You can also play with adding other fruits to the sauce for added flavor, texture, and nutrients.
Like when you make apple cider, you don’t need to use the best, freshest apples. In fact, if you buy produce from a farm stand or farmer’s market, you can ask for a basket of seconds. They would be perfect.
This is also a fabulous way to use up all the apples you picked when you went apple picking that are still sitting in your house. I see them. I know they are there. Use them up!
When storing, make sure to use an air tight container. This will keep it fresher for longer.

Other Apple Recipes

Have a lot of apples to use up? Here are some of my other favorite apple recipes:

Did you make this? Let me know!

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