The Best Homemade Applesauce
Two ingredients and a variety of apples are all you need to make the best homemade applesauce recipe! This simple recipe can be made in large or small batches, chunky or smooth, and I include additional instructions for making it cinnamon applesauce!
Servings: 12 cups
Ingredients
- 8 pounds apples will be about 4 lbs 9 oz peeled & cored
- 1 ½ cups water
Cinnamon Variation:
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon more to taste
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Peel, quarter and core apples. I typically leave my apples at this stage, but you can cut them smaller if you need them to fit into a smaller pot.
- Place apples in a saucepot or Dutch oven that has a capacity of at least 7 ¼ quarts and has a tight fitting lid.
- Pour 1 ½ cups water into the pot along with the apples and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Cover with the lid and continue cooking for 2- 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally to make sure they aren’t burning.
- Once they start to soften, I reduce the heat to low. This is usually after about 30 – 45 minutes.
- The applesauce is technically done at this point but I prefer a super smooth, silky texture, so I blend mine with an immersion blender while hot in the cooking pot. Do be careful not to splash yourself.
- Cool and store in clean, sanitized, airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 month or frozen for up to a year.
Notes
Yield – 3 Quarts
Flavor Tips – Use at least 5 different varieties of apples whether you pick your own or you buy them from the grocery store!
Technique – Weigh the apples at the store, farmers market or in your kitchen with a kitchen scale, then peel, core & quarter them and put them in the pot.
Cinnamon Variation – Add an additional ½ cup water and 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon towards the end of cooking.
Storage – Store for up to a month in the refrigerator or frozen for a year.
Nutrition
Calories: 161kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 329mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 167IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 0.5mg