Applesauce has been a staple in my kitchen for years. It’s naturally sweet, full of flavor, and incredibly easy to prepare. Let me show you how to make it fresh, flavorful, and just the way you like it.
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Applesauce Recipe
Applesauce is a smooth or chunky purée made primarily from cooked apples. It is soft and easy to eat, often naturally sweet and sometimes spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, or other flavors.
This versatile ingredient can be used in many creative ways. It works great as a topping for vanilla ice cream or potato pancakes. It pairs well with cheeses and crackers on a charcuterie board and enhances savory dishes like pork chops.
In baking, applesauce can replace oil or eggs in muffins, cookies, breads, and cakes. It can also be used in salads as a dressing or layered into breakfast parfaits with yogurt, granola, and berries.
You can stir it into oatmeal or other hot cereals, try it as a spread on peanut butter toast, or spread it with peanut butter on toast. It can also be enjoyed plain as a snack, frozen into a sorbet, mixed into dips, or paired with crackers or tortilla chips.
Here’s how to make applesauce:
Homemade Applesauce
Nutrition
Ingredients
- 6 medium apples any sweet variety like Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 1-2 tbsp sugar optional, adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1 tbsp lemon juice prevents browning and adds brightness
Instructions
- Peel, core, and roughly chop the apples.
- In a medium saucepan, combine apples, water, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are very soft.
- For chunky sauce, mash with a fork or potato masher. For smooth sauce, blend using an immersion blender or in a food processor.
- Taste and stir in sugar if need
Notes
- You can mix apple types for more flavor depth.
- Stores up to 1 week in the fridge or 2–3 months in the freezer.
- Serve warm or chilled.
- For a no-added-sugar version, skip the sugar altogether. Sweet apples are enough!
SIMILAR RECIPES:
Variations
There are many applesauce versions with varied flavors and textures. Here are some ideas to try:
- Flavor Additions incorporate spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ginger, or savory spices like cumin, coriander, caraway seeds, black pepper, and even chili peppers (jalapeño, chipotle). This adds warmth, heat, or complexity to the applesauce.
- Sweetener Versions use different types of sweeteners like granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
- Sugar-free Version omits sweeteners entirely for a more natural apple flavor.
- Fruit Blend Versions combine apples with other fruits such as peaches, blueberries, or cranberries to create fruit and spice blends.
- Peel-on variation adds fiber, color, and slight texture variation.
- Savory Variations add roasted garlic or spice blends to create a savory variant.