15 Minute Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce
Make your own delicious unsweetened applesauce with just apples, water & cinnamon. It’s easy, wholesome and tastes 10x better than the store-bought kind!
If you have little kids, chances are you go through a lot of applesauce each month. With apple season on it’s way and back to school in full swing, I thought it would be nice to share a recipe for homemade applesauce. This was my first time making applesauce, and I couldn’t believe how EASY it was. Just 3 ingredients and 15 minutes!
First let’s talk about the main ingredient: apples. When it comes to applesauce you want to use sweet apples like Golden Delicious, Fuji, McIntosh, or Gala. Of course, there are several other varieties you can use, but these are the most common & are usually available at well-stocked grocery stores. For this particular batch of applesauce I decided not to peel the apples. While the end result is slightly more tart, the peel is full of nutrients that would otherwise be tossed. I also skipped the sugar and I’m glad I did, because no one missed it. If you want to peel the apples and add a bit of sugar, go for it!
Next is the cooking method. You can either use a crockpot and cook your apples on low for 6 hours or high for 2, or use a non-stick stockpot like I did and boil them for 15-20 minutes. Just toss the sliced apples in the pot with 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (also optional, you can also decrease the amount if you’re not a huge fan or just want a subtle cinnamon flavor), cover and let the stovetop do the rest. When they’re nice and tender, transfer them to a blender, food processor or use a potato masher or immersion blender to create a thick, slightly chunky sauce. Don’t get too carried away or you’ll end up with a puree. The applesauce pictured here is pretty smooth, my second batch was a little chunkier and had more texture, which was perfect.
Allow the applesauce to come to room temperature, then eat it, refrigerate it, or freeze it. It’s a great snack for school lunches, after school or served as a side with dinner. You can customize it by swapping out an apple for your favorite fruit. We love using pears, peaches, mango and strawberries. The flavor combos are endless, although apple & cinnamon is classic! Have fun experimenting and make sure to come back and comment below, I’d love to know what kind you made!
- 3 lbs. apples (I prefer using a mix of Golden Delicious, Fuji, McIntosh, or Gala)
- ½ c. water
- ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
- Prepare the apples by slicing and coring them-- no need to peel, unless you want to.
- Place the sliced apples, water and cinnamon in a large pot or saucepan set over medium heat. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
- Use an potato masher, immersion blender, blender or food processor to "puree" the apples, keeping it slightly chunky. Let the applesauce cool to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
-If you prefer your applesauce on the sweeter side, add 2-4 tablespoons of granulated sugar to the apples as the cook.
Recipe source: Life Made Simple
If I don’t peel them does the peel break down so not lumpy? How many cups of apple to every 1/2 cup of water?
I’d also like to know both answes esoecially how many 1/2 cups if water to apples.
This is fabulous! Thank you for sharing, this is really helpful 🙂 Have you tried using this recipe for baking?? 🙂
I haven’t, but I don’t see why not!
Works great for baking, like in this chocolate cake https://minimalistbaker.com/one-bowl-vegan-chocolate-cake/ or my favorite carrot cake http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/03/21/healthy-carrot-cake-vegan/
Turned out great! Used a bit more cinnamon as I enjoy the flavour. Vitamix worked like a charm. Thanks again for the recipe!
I used apples from my sister in law’s trees. None us know what kind they are but w call them apple cherries. They are slightly bigger and my apple shaped than crab apples and have a more apple taste. Coring these little guys is hard work, so I didn’t do it and the apple sauce came out a bit trashy but oh so good! Thanks for th idea!
Love that you used what you had!
Okay, so we made apple-fijoa-sauce! Another extreme bounty of fall (depending on where you are located) is the fijoa aka guavasteen aka pineapple guava. These tiny fruits have an outer gritty consistency, an inner gel-like center, and a sweet and tart flavor. They worked so perfectly with this applesauce recipe – we did approximately 1/2 apples, half fijoas, 1/2 c water like the recipe stated (no cinnamon), then blended in the food processor. My daughter (6, who still enjoys applesauce on occasion) is the fijoa fanatic, and was overjoyed that I found another use for her favorite fruit! Thanks so much for this easy, healthy, and adaptable recipe!!!!
I’ve been making my applesauce with microwave cooking. 6-10 minutes on high in 2quart covered Pyrex dish after coring. Usually, 3# makes a bit more than a quart. After nukeing them, into the food processor, pulse or continuous until they are the consistency preferred. Voila, applesauce! Enjoy, freeze or heat to boiling for canning. I don’t add any water, leave skins on, add a bit of cinnamon or whatever you enjoy.
So easy. I also use whatever type of apple that is available, usually a mix of varieties.
This recipe is super easy and delish. It needs no added sugar at all! I’ve had fun mixing up the different types of apples. 3 lbs of apples usually ends up being five apples from my grocery store. First batch was 2 jazz, 2 envy, 1 honeycrisp, second batch was 1 jazz, 1 envy, 3 honeycrisp and they both came out great. Everyone I’ve given some too loves it! Definitely keep the peels on. My ratio is 5 apples per 1/2 c water.
So simple, but a fall favorite for sure! Love that you’ve been experimenting with different varieties/combos!
How long would the apple sauce be good for? Is there a certain time when they “go bad”?
I’d say no more than 10 days 🙂
I made this applesauce wth the skins on according to the directions, and it came out delicious. No added sugar necessary!
Wonderful and easy recipe! I prepared it with Galas using the slow cooker method, left the skins on, bumped up the cinnamon and used a potato masher to reduce the cooked apples to a nice chunky consistency.
Would you be able to freeze this? If so how long for?
Thank you
I used apples my neighbor picked from her tree. Not sure what kind they are, but the applesauce is plenty sweet with no sugar added and has a nice texture after being mashed with a large spoon. Great recipe for the perfect applesauce!
Thank you CeCe!
How much does this make? I want to know how many canning jars to prepare.
Just wanted to share my experience with 2 different style apples. Cortland and Pink Lady. The Cortland broke down twice as fast as the Pink Lady. If you are using two different kinds of apples, you may want to add the harder apples first and then the softer ones; although I’m not sure if you can overcook apples. Probably not. Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Definitely try making your own applesauce. It is definitely awesome and easy.
Yes, Cortlands are VERY soft apples to begin with. Choosing apples that are similar in texture or density is always helpful!
I am so exited to try this just wondering if I can Substitute the cinnamon for sugar and call it a day
You can make it with or without cinnamon, and with or without sugar.
We just made this & it’s still a little warm but so delicious!! We used Gala apples, which I peeled per my husband’s request. I added almost 2 tsp of cinnamon because I just love it. I mashed mine then threw it in my Ninja & pulsed. SO easy & I have been looking for something sweet but trying to stay away from sugar & this more than fits the bill! When my husband tried it, he thought I put sugar in! Thanks for a tasty, easy recipe!
This is a good recipe. I personally have been making apple sauce for many years with little or (ideally) no sugar added. I simply quarter the apples, add say a half to one cup of water and then cook them down in a big pot for several hours stirring every 15 minutes so that they all spend time near the bottom of the pot. Then I run them through a food mill which strains out the seeds and other chaff and then cover with foil or not (depending on how thick you like it) and bake the result (350 degrees F) to bring it up close to boiling. At that point I can the sauce in pint or quart jars using the hot pack method. I believe that the length of time cooking is key since the fructose sugars caramelize becoming even sweeter with longer cook times. Spices are optional but would add them at the last minute before canning. YMMV (your mileage may vary)…