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Learn how to make Homemade Applesauce using a combination of just 5 simple ingredients – apples, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice – plus water. Ready in about 40 minutes, it can be blended silky smooth or left a little chunky.
You can make this applesauce recipe using any type of apple you have on hand! It has just the right amount of sweetness, warm hints of cinnamon, and tastes absolutely delicious on its own or paired with savory main dishes like pork chops.
This recipe has over 300 5-star ratings! Here’s what one reader had to say after making it:
This applesauce is absolutely delicious. And so easy. Friends always ask me to make enough to share. It’s the only recipe I use!! Thank you so much for this recipe and so many of your others! Love em all!!
– Dee Lynne
An Apple A Day…
Homemade applesauce is still one of my favorite snacks. It’s light, sweet, and loved by all ages. Every time I prepare a big batch of this applesauce it’s like digging into a big slice of apple pie! The best part? It can be enjoyed all year long, from apple season and beyond.
Reasons why readers continue to make this recipe over and over again:
- It’s made with just 5 simple ingredients! (4 if you omit the sugar)
- It can be made with whatever apples you have on hand
- Big-batch friendly and canning-friendly for long term storage
- It’s super easy to make (no fancy tools or steps required)
I hope you love it!
Table of contents
Key Ingredients
This homemade applesauce recipe is made with simple ingredients. Here’s what you need to make it:
- Apples
- Water
- Sugar (optional)
- Ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- Lemon juice
In other words, you’re eating apples. But that’s the point, right?
The sugar is optional, but I love a little sweetness, so I added 1/4 cup. If you a prefer your applesauce to taste a little sweeter, try adding additional sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until it reaches your desired sweetness. Any type of sugar will work in this recipe, including brown sugar or white granulated sugar.
Why add lemon juice?
Lemon juice is added for a few different reasons, and no, it’s not to make your applesauce taste like lemons! First, lemon juice adds brightness and helps prevent the apples from browning as they cook. It’s a natural preservative, so just like lemon juice prevents fruit salad from browning, it also helps keep applesauce fresh. Second, the acidity of lemon juice enhances the flavor, balancing the natural sweetness of the apples. Finally, if you’re canning your applesauce, lemon juice can help ensure a safe pH level for long-term storage.
What are the Best Apples For Applesauce?
If you start researching which apples are the best to use in applesauce, you will encounter a million different answers. Each apple variety has a different taste, texture, response to heat, color, etc. However, your own personal preference will likely determine which apple variety you prefer to use. Pink Lady Apples are my personal favorite. I use them for just about everything.
Some other popular apple varieties to use for applesauce include:
- McIntosh
- Fuji
- Golden Delicious
- Gravenstein
- Gala
- Transparent
- Cortland
- Jonathan
- Honeycrisp
- Gala apples
- Granny Smith apples
In general, the apple variety that is best for baking is the worst for applesauce. For fastest cooking, pick softer apples, and for the best flavor, mix and match a few different types.
How to Make Applesauce
Below you’ll find detailed instructions for making this recipe. Feel free to skip ahead to the recipe card for the full printable recipe.
- Gather a bunch of apples – whichever apples you want (see above). In nearly all apple recipes, I use Pink Lady Apples because they’re tart, crispy, and so pink.
- Peel and core the apples. If you’re handy enough with an apple peeler, that will definitely help speed the process along. Unfortunately, I have never been clever enough to figure out how to use mine (true story), so I stick to my favorite paring knife. Peel, core, and then slice the peeled apples.
- Transfer the apples to a large pot. Add the water, lemon juice, sweetener, cinnamon, and salt, and mix to combine. You don’t need a lot of liquid, but you will need about 1/2 cup to help steam the apples and move things along. Some people use apple juice or apple cider (do not use apple cider vinegar) instead, but I just see that as more sugar, so I’ll let you decide.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover. Now the hard part is over (since, you know, that was super hard). Allow the apples to cook for approximately 25-30 minutes. Your apples should be broken up, but partially intact, and very soft. Remove those sweet apples from the heat.
- Mash into applesauce. Now it’s time to decide – will you enjoy chunky or smooth applesauce? Fortunately, there is no wrong answer here. All applesauce is good applesauce. The desired consistency is entirely your own. To make a chunkier sauce, I recommend using a potato masher. For a smoother one, you’ll want to process in a food processor, blender, or use an immersion blender.
Serving Ideas and Uses
Applesauce is perfect on its own. But what are some other ways you can dish up a giant batch of homemade applesauce?
- Serve with Kartoffelpuffer (German Potato Pancakes). When I was an au pair in Germany, this was one of the kids’ favorite snacks.
- Serve with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
- Use a cup to make these absolutely irresistible baked apple donuts.
- Blend into your favorite smoothie recipe.
- Enjoy for breakfast with yogurt and granola, or whip up a batch of these apple cinnamon overnight oats.
In other words, enjoy this perfectly spiced applesauce on, with, or in just about everything.
Storage Tip
Always keep leftover applesauce stored in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Leftovers will keep for up to one week (sometimes a little longer) when stored properly. Surprise your kiddos and send them to school with homemade applesauce in one of these adorable and reusable storage pouches.
Frequently Asked Questions
I get this question a lot, and the answer is yes, you can definitely can this applesauce recipe using a water canning bath. As with all canning, be sure to follow proper canning protocol to prevent accidental cross-contamination.
Yes! To freeze, allow it to come to room temperature before transferring it to freezer-friendly storage containers (freezer bags, jars, containers with lids, etc). Transfer to the freezer for up to two months. Once thawed, do not re-freeze.
Absolutely! Applesauce is one of my favorite egg and oil replacers for baked goods like muffins, cakes, and brownies. In general, you’ll want to add about 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg.
Aside from cinnamon, try adding a pinch of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice. You can also try adding other fruits like strawberries, pears (my personal favorite), mango, peaches, and nectarines.
More Apple Recipes
I hope you love this homemade apple sauce recipe! If you make it, I would love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment and a star rating below. Your feedback helps other readers discover and enjoy this recipe too. Thank you so much! 🌟
Applesauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lb apples, approx. 6 medium apples, peeled, cored, quartered and chopped into smaller chunks.
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup white sugar, (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the peeled, cored, quartered and chopped apples in a large pot. Stir in the 1/2 cup of water, lemon juice, sugar (if using), 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once simmering, reduce heat to low and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Maintain a low simmer for 30 minutes or until the apples are completely soft and cooked through.
- Once fully cooked, remove from heat. For chunky applesauce, mash the apples directly in the pot using a potato masher. For smooth applesauce, add the apples to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth (if using a blender, work in batches and allow time to cool), or use a hand-held immersion blender and blend directly in the pot.
- This applesauce is delicious served warm or cold.
Video
Notes
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I was wondering how many servings will yield one cup of apple sauce? I am trying to make your Cinnamon Sugar Baked Apple Donuts !
Hi Adriana,
Good question. Please keep in mind my response is approximate 🙂 . With Medium-sized apples, one serving of this recipe(1 serving calls for 1.5 medium apples), will produce approximately .75 cups of apple sauce.
Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious, reminded me of Apple pie. My youngest daughter wanted to eat the whole pot!
I am a big fan of an immersion blender for the type of recipe that requires breaking down. Spooning or pouring hot food into a regular stand blender can be a bit dicey. Otherwise I found your recipe to be simple, with few ingredients and very tasty. Thank you!
If I omit the cinnamon, should I still add the salt and lemon?
Thanks,
Amy
Hi Amy,
Yes, still use the lemon and salt if you omit the cinnamon 🙂
Tried it today as my apple cinnamon muffins called for applesauce! I had none! So I made this recipe and since I was short an apple I added a green pear. This came out amazing! I did use fresh ground cinnamon! It was incredible, I almost didn’t want to add it to the batter. I’ll start making my own apple sauce for now on! Thank you.
This came out great with honey crips!
I adjusted the quantities for the 10 lbs of apples I got from a friend’s tree. Instead of peeling and coring the apples I quartered them (they were small), removing only the stem and blossom, then ran them through a food mill to remove peels and cores once they were soft. Sauce turned out thick and delicious. I froze the surplus.
I made this applesauce a week ago with the apples off our tree. I didnt add the sugar,because i dont like it really sweet either,and i added a bit more salt. Omg it was amazing! Im not really a big applesauce fan but i will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe🙂
dear Jessica: I just made the very best applesauce I have ever made. I have tart apples to begin with and just pcked them off the tree before the frost gets to them. I also plan to leave some of the not so pretty ones for the deer that come to our small orchard every morning and evening. I had a frozen lemon so thawed it out and I think that was one of the main ingredients. Thank you so much. My neice, who loves applesauce, will be thrilled. Joan
This was a really good and fast recipe!!! We went to the orchards in oak glen California and picked a bunch of apples so i was worried we weren’t going to get to eat them all before they went bad. I followed your recipe to the tea and it came out delicious!! I may use a little less sugar next time but my husband and son love it just the way it is!! Thanks again for sharing this i will definitely use the recipe again!!
Hi. I wanted to try this recipe but you don’t indicate the quantities of any of the ingredients (lemon juice, cinnamon, water, salt, etc.)
Hi Brenda,
The recipe and directions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post here: https://theforkedspoon.com/homemade-cinnamon-apple-sauce/#wprm-recipe-container-36982
I thought so too but at the very bottom of this article is does show the amounts