Homemade Applesauce

This easy Homemade Applesauce recipe is just simply delicious!

Growing up, my mother and grandmother would make homemade applesauce every apple season. The aroma of cooking apples and cinnamon would fill the kitchen. You can’t beat the taste of homemade applesauce.

Making the best applesauce was always a labor of love in our house. As a family we would head out to the apple orchards for fresh apples and apple cider. It was a fun way to spent the afternoon.

This is my grandmother’s treasured recipe, which has been lovingly handed down through our family. It is a easy recipe to make and delicious to serve. We are excited to share it with you.

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Simple ingredients for our Homemade Applesauce

• Gravensteins, Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady or Golden Delicious apples (6 lbs)
• Apple cider or juice – the best choice here is cider.
• Sugar
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Clove

How to make Grandmother’s Homemade Applesauce

First Step

• Thoroughly rinse the apples and pat dry
• Peel and core each apple. Because you need to peel numerous apples we use an automatic peeling machine, along with a manual apple corer . (More on that below)

The Dazey Stripper brand automatic peeler was retired years ago. However, mom’s is still going strong! There are many on the market today and we like the Starfrit Rotato Express 2.0. This device is worth it because it is a time saver and it works great for pears and potatoes.

• After the apple are peeled and cored (we love the Deiss PRO Apple Slicer and corer) place the cut pieces in a water bath and add Fruit Fresh Produce Protector to the water. This is the best way to will help protect the color of the apples and keep them from browning, it also will protect the flavor while you continue prepping the rest of the apples.

We chose Ball’s Produce Protector because it contains antioxidants but no artificial flavors or colors.

Second Step

• Drain the water off of the apples and place them in a 6-quart cooking pot.
• Pour in apple cider or juice.
• Cook over low heat until the cooked apples are soft and easy to mash. This generally takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
• To make chunky applesauce, which we prefer, we use a potato masher and mash to get the consistency that you want. Again, we prefer our applesauce with some larger chunks of apples remaining in the sauce.
• If you prefer a smoother texture to your puréed applesauce. Use a food processor or regular blender on a medium speed, or even an immersion blender, to blend the sauce to a smooth consistency.
• Once blended return to the 6 quart large pot and continue cooking.

Third Step

• Once the sauce has reached the desired consistency mix in sugar, cinnamon and dash of cloves.
• Over medium high heat bring the homemade apple sauce mixture to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low and let applesauce simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Taste test the flavor after 15 minutes. At this point you can add any additional spices, if desired.
• Applesauce is now ready for canning, serving, or freezing.
• Canning should be done while applesauce is still hot.
• If you decide to refrigerate or freeze then let applesauce cool at room temperature before storing. Once you make your own applesauce you will not go back to store-bought applesauce again.
• We like to drizzle the warm applesauce over vanilla ice cream! It tastes just like apple pie filling. Who can resist?!

What variety of apples are best for Homemade Applesauce

We love to use Gravenstein apples for our applesauce. The fruit has a tart flavor and is excellent for cooking. It is only available during it’s growing season and does not keep well. For this reason we also use another kind of apple when they are not available.

Here are a few apple varietals we recommend because they work well for cooking and baking, and they are available almost everywhere.

These apples are perfect baking and cooking apples, because they are crisp and tart with a hint of honey. They cook down easily which makes them ideal for baking, cooking into applesauce, or pressing into cider.

• Honeycrisp – These apples are crisp, juicy with a sweet tart flavor. They are ideal for baking and applesauce.
• Gala – Among some of the best apples to use for applesauce and cider. These apples have a milder flavor, and are crisp, but sweet.
• Golden Delicious – This varietal is the best overall cooking and baking apple. With a mild rich flavor it still adds the sweetness you want in a cooking apple.

How can you store Homemade Applesauce?

There are several simple ways to safely store Homemade Applesauce:

• Refrigerate: Applesauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container or mason jar for a week to 10 days. Stir well before serving.
• Freeze: You can freeze applesauce in airtight containers or bags. Make sure you leave room for expansion at the top of any container. Applesauce will keep well frozen for 8-10 months. Once frozen you will need to thaw the applesauce. Simply remove container from the freezer and place in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
• Water Bath Canning – We use glass mason jars for canning. Once canned you can safely store applesauce up to 18 months. Never tried Water Bath Canning? It’s a super fun project and easier than you think. Hop on over and read our Printable step-by-step guide to canning.

Check out our step-by-step method for Water Bath Canning

Looking for more Fall favorites?

• Cinnamon Baked Pears are a cinch and the perfect Fall snack
• Easy Apple Crisp Recipe is a great way to use up those extra apples!
• Pear and Walnut Cake Recipe bring warm fall flavors together
• Cherry Almond Muffins are perfect for breakfast or a quick snack
• Don’t forget to jump start your day with our Pumpkin Spice Latte