This old-fashioned applesauce recipe is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to enjoy fresh summer and fall produce. With just a few basic ingredients and about 30 minutes on the stovetop, we’ll show you how to make applesauce quickly and easily! Enjoy it right away, store it in the freezer, or process the jars in a hot water bath for shelf-stable storage.
Table of Contents
If you find yourself picking apples at an orchard this season, or if you’ve just got a hankering for Grandma’s old-fashioned applesauce recipe, then grab your Dutch oven and cook a batch of this sweet, warmly-spiced, and oh-so-delicious treat. It’s truly the best applesauce and a perfect fall side dish!
How to Make Applesauce | 1-Minute Video
Before You Get Started
- You can use any apples that you enjoy, and I often use a blend of whatever we pick from the orchard or our yard. That said, soft apples are great because they cook down quickly and don’t hold their shape. Good options for applesauce include Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Cortland, Jonathan, Rome, and Jonagold apples. Most importantly, pick apples with great flavor!
- You’ll need 4 pounds of apples for this recipe. Depending on the size of your apples, the total number will vary. In general, four pounds is equal to about 8-12 apples. I used 11 relatively small Golden Delicious apples here.
- Lemon juice is a common ingredient in apple pie filling and apple crisp recipes, and it works really well in applesauce, too. The lemon juice provides a bright, acidic component that balances the sweetness of the fruit and enhances the apples’ natural flavors. It does not make the dish taste like lemon.
- For shelf-stable jars of applesauce, process the jars in a hot water bath (you don’t need a pressure canner, since apples are high in acid). If you’re planning to can the jars of applesauce, you’ll need to sterilize about 3 pint jars and lids before you make the sauce. You’ll find the canning instructions in the recipe card below.
Directions
We’ve been preparing versions of this simple dish in Virginia since settlers arrived on the continent. Each year you’ll find the next generation simmering a pot as the local fruit ripens in nearby orchards. Homemade applesauce is easy, kid-friendly, and a lovely companion for a variety of meals!
While I love a slow-simmering crockpot applesauce for a hands-off option, you just can’t beat a classic homemade applesauce that comes together on the stovetop in less than one hour. It tastes just like Grandma used to make it!
- Remove the apple peels for a smooth sauce, and chop the apples into big chunks.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed large pot. We love cinnamon applesauce, so I use enough to actually give the dish warm fall flavor. If you prefer, you can omit this seasoning or decrease the amount for a more subtle taste. You might also like to add other warm spices, such as ginger, nutmeg, and clove.
- Cover and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are nice and soft, about 30 minutes.
- For a silky smooth texture, puree your applesauce with a handheld immersion blender (stick blender), regular blender, food mill, or food processor. You may need to add a little bit more water, depending on how “juicy” your apples were. If serving the applesauce to a baby or toddler, thin the puree with even more water so that it’s easy to swallow. For a chunky applesauce, use a potato masher to mash the applesauce to your preferred consistency. Depending on the sweetness of your apples, you might need to add some more brown sugar. Just taste and decide!
Serving Suggestions
This homemade applesauce recipe is a delicious snack on its own, but it’s also a nice side dish when paired with a meal. You can stir it into oatmeal or yogurt at breakfast, pair it with vanilla ice cream for dessert, or serve it alongside dinner. It’s great with pork chops and applesauce, stuffed pork chops, cream of mushroom pork chops, pork chop and rice casserole, this pork roast recipe, rosemary oven roasted chicken, corned beef and cabbage in the oven, this stuffed cabbage recipe, cheesy chicken and rice casserole, Dutch oven pork roast with gravy, ham steaks with brown sugar glaze, and potato pancakes.
Have leftover applesauce in your fridge? Use it to make an oven-roasted pork loin with apple glaze, pumpkin applesauce muffins, bran muffins, apple bread, banana bread, easy applesauce bars with cream cheese frosting, or this one-bowl applesauce cake recipe.
Storage Tips
- How to Store in the Fridge: Homemade applesauce will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 7-10 days. If serving the applesauce to a baby or toddler, try storing it in these reusable squeezable pouches (they’re dishwasher and freezer-safe, too).
- Do not leave homemade applesauce out at room temperature for more than 1-2 hours. It needs to be refrigerated in order to stay fresh. You can tell if applesauce is bad when it has an “off” odor, flavor, or appearance, or if mold appears.
- How to Freeze: Transfer the cooled applesauce to freezer-safe jars with tight-fitting lids, Ziploc freezer bags, or other airtight containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Remember that the applesauce will expand a bit in the freezer, so don’t fill your jars too full!
- Properly canned jars of applesauce that are processed in a hot water bath will keep at room temperature in a cool, dark spot (like a pantry) for up to 1 year.
More Apple Recipes to Try
Apple Bundt Cake (Apple Dapple Cake)
3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Baked Apple Slices
35 minutes mins
Crockpot Apple Butter
12 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
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Watch How to Make It
Old-Fashioned Applesauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
- 1 cup water, plus extra as needed
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples become tender and break down, about 30 minutes.
- Use a handheld immersion blender or a regular blender (for a smooth consistency) or a potato masher (for a chunky consistency) to puree the apples.
- Taste and season with extra sugar, if necessary. Add water to thin, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- For shelf-stable jars of applesauce, fill about 3 hot, sterilized pint jars with the hot applesauce, leaving about 1/2-inch of headspace at the top of each jar. Wipe the rims clean, add the lids and bands, and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 12 hours, test the seals, and store for up to 1 year.
Nutrition
Old-Fashioned Applesauce Recipe Variations
- No Sugar: This recipe will work without any added sugar or other sweetener. Feel free to omit that ingredient for an unsweetened applesauce. If you’re not including sugar, I recommend choosing a naturally sweet apple variety (rather than a tart apple like Granny Smith).
- For a smaller batch of applesauce, cut all of the ingredients in half. Similarly, you can prepare a larger batch of the applesauce by doubling or tripling all of the ingredients.
- Spice it up! If you enjoy warm autumn spices, add some other seasoning to the sauce. In addition to the cinnamon, good options include nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. You can also use an apple pie spice blend.
- Omit the ground cinnamon or decrease the amount called for if you don’t care for this ingredient.
This recipe was originally published in August, 2020. It was updated in August, 2024.
Love your applesauce but we like the beautiful color and taste from cooking with the skins on. That means the folly food mill. Do you know any other short cuts.thank you
Hi, Carol! I honestly don’t have any specific tips, since I always peel the apples (it’s just what my family prefers). That said, I did find this recipe that uses a blender for applesauce with the peels on: https://www.tessadomesticdiva.com/easy-no-peel-creamy-applesauce/
I haven’t tried that version myself, but you might want to check it out. 🙂
made this recipe to use up some apples, delicious! I did not add any cinnamon or spices because my family doesn’t like them, but it was great without. Thanks for a great easy recipe.
Yay! I’m so glad that it was a hit, Faye. Thank you for letting me know!
Love this recipe! Its a perfect amount to make for me at a time! Easy and tasty yum!
Wonderful! Thank you, Candi Jo!
Yummy, water bath 2 jars a one for fridge only made 1/2 batch
So glad you enjoyed it, Ann! Thanks for taking the time to let us know. 🙂