From Scratch to Scrumptious

Making homemade applesauce may seem daunting, but it’s actually easy! Using only apples, sugar, water and cinnamon, you can make a delicious side dish that your whole family will love! Watch for next week’s post on how to can your applesauce.

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Homemade applesauce is a tradition that my whole family loves. When I was young, Grandma always brought it for Thanksgiving. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, she brought a special sugar-free one just for me. (It’s clear to me now that Grandma showed her love through food.)

Her homemade applesauce was delicious! It put store-bought applesauce to shame! Chunks of apples burst with flavor! Cinnamon added a fall flavor that begged to be set between yams and pumpkin pie.

As an adult, I make applesauce with my kids to make memories as well as delicious food. They love getting a chance to work the apple peeler-corer-slicer, cranking the handle and watching the peel fall away.

When I first started making applesauce, I only used store-bought standard-sized apples with the recipe included below. How I make applesauce has evolved over the years to be less recipe-driven.

My sister-in-law has an apple tree that is very productive. She very generously sends over bags and bags of apples throughout the late summer and early fall.

It would be impossible to eat all of the apples that she sends, so I make applesauce and can it. My kids get very excited whenever we open a jar of homemade applesauce to send in their school lunches.

Because homegrown apples vary in size, it’s difficult to use a recipe that calls for “4 apples”. Now, I use guidelines to direct the cooking of my applesauce.

You’ll find a chart below that will guide the amounts of each ingredient, but the final product is up to you! Want a sweeter sauce? Be liberal with your sugar! Want a more “natural” applesauce? Add less sugar and let the apple flavor shine!

Either way, make an applesauce that’s right for you and your family.

Homemade Applesauce Ingredients

Apples: See the next section for a discussion of which apples work well for applesauce. Either way, you’ll be peeling, coring and slicing all of your apples.

How you cut your apples will affect the cooking time. Thicker apples need to cook longer before they’re soft enough to break down.

If I have a huge bunch of apples, I’ll save myself time on chopping apples by cutting large slices and spend an extra 5-10 minutes cooking. I spend less time in active work.

If I have a lot of fairly standard-sized apples (not too tiny), I’ll use my Apple Peeler Corer Slicer (Amazon link). It peels and chops with the turn of a handle. My kids also get a kick out of it.

Water

Sugar: granulated sugar. Adjust the sugar level to suit the apples used and to suit your tastes. If you’d like, you could leave out the sugar entirely, but be sure to use a flavorful, sweeter apple!

Cinnamon: Optional flavoring, but this really boosts the flavor of a homemade applesauce.

Which Apples are Best for Applesauce?

This ultimately comes down to personal preference. Some people use a variety of apples to get a more well-rounded, complex flavor.

Apples for applesauce can be soft. They don’t have to be qualified as “baking apples”.

Some applesauce favorites include Fuji, Gala, and Golden Delicious.

In my book, the best apple for applesauce would probably be the “free” variety, which is why I’m very grateful to my sister-in-law for her massive supply of home-grown apples.

If I do have to buy apples to make applesauce, I prefer Gala. They’re sweet, and the texture is perfect for applesauce.

Which Apples are Worst for Applesauce?

While I like Cosmic Crisp apples for almost everything, I do not like them for applesauce. They are too crisp, even after cooking, and don’t break down well enough to become a “sauce”.

Also avoid any apples that are mealy, like Red Delicious.

How to Make Homemade Applesauce

Start by peeling, coring and slicing your apples. The size of the slices is less important than the consistency of the size. I slice mine somewhere between 1/2 to 1 inch thick.

I didn’t use my Peeler-Corer-Slicer for this batch of applesauce because some of these homegrown apples are the size of a golf ball. I hate to waste them, but they’re just too small for that fancy machine.

Add water to the pot a couple of cups at a time until about half of the apples are submerged. Keep track of how much water is added. You’ll need this measurement to get a starting point for how much sugar and cinnamon to add.

You may need to add more water after the apples are cooked and mashed.

Check the chart below. Start with the lower amount of the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it on top. Stir up the apples a bit.

Place over medium heat. Bring to a low boil and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When apples start to fall apart, turn off the heat and cool enough to mash apples. If you want a chunky applesauce, use a potato masher. For a smooth sauce, use an immersion blender.

First, check consistency. If your applesauce is too thick, add water. If it is too runny, simmer until it has thickened up.

Once the consistency is right, check the taste. The amount of water in the sauce will affect how sweet it is, so you want to adjust the sugar once your water balance is right.

Depending on what type of apples you used, you may need to add up to the higher end of the sugar range. Want a stronger cinnamon flavor? Go for it!

Chart for Applesauce Ingredients

Water Used	Sugar to Add	Cinnamon to Add
3/4 cup	2 T – 1/4 cup	1/4 tsp – 1/2 tsp
1 cup	3 T – 1/3 cup	1/4 tsp – 1/2 tsp
1 1/2 cup	1/4 cup – 1/2 cup	1/2 tsp – 1 tsp
2 cups	1/3 cup – 2/3 cup	1/2 tsp – 1 1/4 tsp
2 1/2 cups	1/3 cup – 3/4 cup	3/4 tsp – 1 1/2 tsp
3 cups	1/2 cup – 1 cup	1 tsp – 2 tsp
3 1/2 cups	1/2 cup – 1 cup	1 tsp – 2 1/4 tsp
4 cups	2/3 cup – 1 1/4 cups	1 1/4 tsp – 2 1/2tsp
4 1/2 cups	3/4 cup – 1 1/2 cups	1 1/2 tsp – 3 tsp
5 cups	3/4 cup – 1 2/3 cups	1 1/2 tsp – 3 1/4 tsp
6 cups	1 cup – 2 cups	2 tsp – 4 tsp

Storing Homemade Applesauce

Store tightly covered in the fridge up to a week. For longer storage, freeze the applesauce up to 6 months or can it to keep it fresh up to a year.

Special Equipment (Optional)

If you plan on making a big batch of homemade applesauce, I recommend an Apple Peeler-Corer-Slicer (Amazon link) to make your work easier. Peels and slices in no time!

I like this one because it suctions onto your counter top instead of having a vise for the edge of the counter. I’ve had problems where the counter was too thick to fit a vise. Plus, sometimes I don’t want to work right on the edge of the counter!

Check out How to Can Homemade Applesauce!

Did you make more applesauce than you can eat? Easily save it for later and make it shelf-stable with this tutorial on Canning Homemade Applesauce.

Now you’re ready to make applesauce either from a recipe (as below) or like Grandma used to with the “adjust to taste” method.

Happy Cooking!