Craft your own fresh homemade Unsweetened Applesauce with just apples, water, and cinnamon. It’s simple, nutritious, and way tastier than anything from the store.
This Unsweetened Applesauce recipe is a simple, wholesome staple made from cooked apples with no added sugar, allowing the fruit’s natural sweetness to shine. Whether served warm or chilled, unsweetened applesauce adds fresh apple flavor while keeping recipes lighter and naturally sweet.
We love making homemade applesauce because it’s simple and the kids love it! It makes for a great after-school snack, like our homemade snack mix and favorite whole wheat bran muffins.
Table of Contents
3 Ingredients + 5 Minutes
If you have little kids, chances are you go through a lot of applesauce each month. With apple season on its 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!
We love to eat applesauce with oatmeal, toast, or to use it in some of our baked goods! Be sure to check out our pumpkin applesauce and cinnamon apples too.
Why We Love Homemade Applesauce
- Kids love the sweet, natural flavor of homemade Unsweetened Applesauce.
- Enjoy a pure, preservative-free snack.
- Unsweetened Applesauce is a nutritious snack with no added sugar.
Recipe Ingredients
- Apples: A mix of varieties add a balanced sweetness, tartness, and smooth consistency.
- Ground Cinnamon: This warm spice adds depth to the applesauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Apple Varieties: A mix of apple varieties, including Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Macouns, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Braeburn, are all great choices for your applesauce.
- Spice Variation: For a flavorful twist, consider adding spices like nutmeg, cloves, or allspice to complement the cinnamon and enhance the taste of your applesauce.
How to Make Unsweetened Applesauce
Step 1: Prepare the apples by slicing and coring them—no need to peel unless you want to.
Step 2: Place the sliced apples, water, and cinnamon in a large pot or saucepan set over medium heat.
Step 3: Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
Step 4: Use a potato masher, immersion blender, blender, or food processor to “puree” the apples, keeping them slightly chunky. Let the applesauce cool to room temperature.
Expert Tips
- Uniform Slicing: Slice apples evenly to ensure they cook at the same rate, resulting in a smooth applesauce consistency.
- Achieving Chunky Applesauce: For chunky applesauce, avoid over-blending. Instead, pulse the blender or food processor. You can also use a sturdy spatula, or wooden spoon to reach your desired consistency.
FAQs
It complements pork chops in savory dishes, pairs well with cottage cheese, and is a delightful accompaniment to vanilla ice cream or yogurt. Use it as a topping for pancakes, waffles, or French toast.
Peeling the apples is optional. Leaving the peels on adds extra nutrients and a slightly darker color, while peeling them gives a smoother texture.
Storage Info
STORE your homemade unsweetened applesauce in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to one week. You can also FREEZE it for up to 2 months in freezer-safe containers.
To REHEAT, simply transfer the applesauce to a saucepan and warm over low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. Alternatively, you can reheat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each interval until warm.
More Applesauce Recipes to Try
Unsweetened Applesauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lb apples - I prefer using a mix of Golden Delicious, Fuji, Macintosh, or Gala
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 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 a potato masher, immersion blender, blender, or food processor to "puree" the apples, keeping them slightly chunky. Let the applesauce cool to room temperature.
Homemade Applesauce is the BEST. I also love that you can control whatever is being put into it. Great recipe!
I make this… put it in ice trays and add a couple applesauce cubes to my morning smoothie every day!
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)…
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!
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.