I have fond memories of making my homemade applesauce recipe with the kids every year. We no longer live in an area with apple trees (too hot down here!) but I still love making my own. Unlike some canning adventures, I feel like homemade applesauce is well worth the effort. Plus it makes the house smell great!
A word of caution though … your family will never want to eat store-bought applesauce again. Mine won’t!
Easy Recipe For the Best Applesauce
There’s truly no comparison between homemade and watery, store-bought applesauce. The apple flavor from homemade is so much better. And I’m skipping over the vices of store-bought applesauce with added sweeteners entirely…
While it’s easy to whip up a small batch as needed, we usually make a larger amount for canning. If you want the short and sweet version, I’ve included directions for how to make applesauce in the Instant Pot. It tastes amazing with a little bit of apple pie spice seasoning and fresh lemon juice. My kids can’t get enough of it!
How to Can Homemade Applesauce
Here’s what we do…
Step 1: Make a Plan to Can
Making and canning applesauce probably works best on the weekend if you have littles underfoot. We usually pick a good fall weekend and make it a family event. (Extra hands make light work and all!)
Head out to the farmer’s market or apple orchard together and make a day of it. The kids get to take in the sights and sounds (and tastes!), and you can score decently priced organic local produce.
Step 2: Estimate Quantity
How much to make will vary by family, but it’s an important step to consider. Nothing kills the joy of cooking from scratch and canning like taking on too much at one time. (Ask me how I know…)
In my experience, one bushel of apples yields roughly 15-16 quart jars of applesauce. I usually go for 2 bushels to last our family of 7 for about 6 months.
Some equivalents that are helpful to remember:
- 21 lbs of apples = about 7 quarts of processed applesauce (one water bath canner full)
- 1 bushel = 40 lbs of apples
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to buy extra for snacking, baking, or dehydrating. We love to make seasonal dishes with them like apple cinnamon muffins, apple pork chops, apple cider, apple butter, and side dishes like shaved apple kale salad.
Step 3: Buy Apples (Preferably Local and Organic)
Making homemade applesauce may not save time, but it does save money. The first year I tried making applesauce I was able to get a bushel of organic apples from our CSA for only $20. (A crazy good deal!)
Step 4: Wash and Prep
Although I make sure to get pesticide-free and wax-free apples, I still recommend soaking them in vinegar. I fill up the sink with vinegar and water and let them soak. This removes any dirt or debris from harvesting. After soaking, rinse well with clean water.
You can use a peeler to remove the apple skins, but I prefer to leave them on. Cut the apples into quarters and remove the cores before cooking. (If you have a KitchenAid, these attachments easily slice and core for you).
Step 5: Cook Until Soft and Blend
You can use a slow cooker, an Instant Pot, or just a large pot on the stovetop to cook applesauce. Simmer the apples covered and on medium heat with a little water (less than a cup of water) in the bottom of the pot. I usually add a few tablespoons of cinnamon to each pot full of apples.
Since I leave the apple skins on, once they’re soft I use an immersion blender to blend them smooth right in the pot. A large blender, food mill, or food processor works too. The point is to get the skins blended in so they’re not even noticeable. You can blend the sauce to your desired consistency and make smooth or chunky applesauce.
Step 6: Freeze, Can, or Just Eat It!
At this point, the applesauce is ready to eat! This is a great time to dish out some warm applesauce to any kitchen helpers before canning. If you’re new to canning, this helpful FAQ is a good place to start.
Here’s to a new fall tradition. I hope you love it as much as we do!
The Best Types of Apples for Applesauce
The key is to ask an organic farmer for “seconds” (the not-so-pretty apples with small defects in appearance). This is no problem for applesauce since the apples are cooked down and blended anyway. It makes the process much more affordable. We get different kinds of apples each year depending on what’s available from local farmers. That also depends on which apple trees grow well in your local climate.
In the past, we’ve regularly used McIntosh, Jonathan, Gala, Fuji, and Ida Red. The key is to use 3 or more varieties and mix them together. When you combine tart apples like Granny Smith apples with sweet apples, like Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, or Golden Delicious you get a better flavor.
