The thought of making applesauce used to turn me off completely. All that peeling, slicing, and coring of apples made me a regular purchaser of “store-bought- applesauce” as we called it. Then one day, no doubt after buying a jar of very expensive organic applesauce for snacks, I thought to myself:
“What if I don’t do all that peeling, slicing, and coring? What if I just skip all those tedious steps and chop the apples in half and toss them in a big pot? What would happen if I made the easiest applesauce ever, put it in containers, and froze it?”
Well, I did just that and it worked out fine. It was better than fine – it’s great according to my family and neighbors who I’ve forced to eat it. I’m done making applesauce for this year. I just finished my third batch and I’m out of containers! My plan is to now focus on apple pies.
There is a lot of stirring that goes along with making applesauce. I haven’t figured out how to eliminate that part but just keep the stove on low and plan to hang out in the kitchen for several hours.
These apples are rough chopped – otherwise known as chopped in half and tossed into the pot – stems, cores, seeds, and all.
- Apples – any variety – use what you like
- 4-cups water
- 1 lemon, juice of
- 1-2 cups organic sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- nutmeg
- cloves
- Rough chop the apples so they’re at least in half. If you can get someone else to do the chopping, I highly recommend it.
- In a large pot, add apples and 4-cups of water. This pot isn’t the best for making applesauce in but it’s my biggest one. Applesauce burned to the bottom of it and I used baking soda and vinegar to get the stubborn burned parts off.
- Add sugar. I like to begin with 1-cup of sugar only and see if it needs more. Go by taste depending on your apple variety. Stir.
- Add cinnamon sticks and spices to pot and let the apples cook for several hours on low with the top on the pot. Keep stirring.
- Once the apples cooked down, you can add more to the pot and let them cook down. Add nutmeg and cloves, begin by adding 1-2 teaspoons and taste then adjust if you’d like more. More stirring.
- Once the applesauce is completely cooked and apples are cooked down, let the applesauce cool.
- Get your colander ready by placing it inside a large bowl.
- Carefully pour applesauce into colander. It splashes so wear an apron.
- Use the back of a ladle to push the applesauce through the holes.
- Once the applesauce has been strained, put it in clean containers with plenty of head space if you’re going to freeze it
- Freeze or have it for dessert. It’s so good!
Rough chop the apples so they’re at least in half. If you can get someone else to do the chopping, I highly recommend it.
Cut out the rotten sections that worms have clearly enjoyed. Those wormy apples go to the backyard chickens.
The large pot of apples. Applesauce burned to the bottom of it and I used baking soda and vinegar to get the stubborn burned parts off.
When adding sugar, start with less and add more.
Applesauce cooling…
Colander placed inside large bowl.
Use a colander with large holes.
Be sure and wear an apron. Applesauce can splash.
Use the back of a ladle to push the applesauce through the holes in the colander.
Place applesauce in clean containers with plenty of head space if you’re going to freeze it.
Applesauce is so good! Enjoy it for dessert or whenever.
Even more notes on this….
- I like Wholesome Sweeteners organic sugar. It’s a great price at Costco, it’s organic and it’s not refined.
- I freeze the applesauce once it’s cooled but make sure to leave a little head space in the container. When foods freeze, they expand and we don’t want a big mess to clean up in our freezers.
- After running the applesauce through the colander, I put what remains in my compost bin. My backyard chickens don’t get it because it has sugar in it.
- You can use an immersion blender to smooth out your applesauce if you’d like to but this is one of those extra steps and not really necessary.
- You don’t have to rush your applesauce into containers. I didn’t get my applesauce into containers right away and let it cool overnight. It was fine.
- I think this version of applesauce must be healthier to eat than removing the peel, etc. We all need more fiber in our diets!
What’s your favorite thing to do make with apples?
A very special thank you to all of my neighborhood friends who shared with me their abundance of apples.
Go Gingham 
Make pie!
This is how I make applesauce, too! I picked up an inexpensive food mill and I run it through that after it has cooled down. Yum! So good.
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Oh, yes, pie! Yum! Your pies always look delicious, too. Happy long weekend. Loved your post today, friend.
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Are your apples ready already? Ours have a way to go yet. This is how I make it too, just chop them up and run it through my mother-in-law’s ancient food mill afterwards to get out the seeds and stems. Sometimes I throw in some blackberries or raspberries too, if I have some around. I makes great sauce for freezing and using in muffins, etc. later on in the winter.
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Heidi, that sounds great with berries! We usually go with plumbs (technically, Italian prunes) in the applesauce. Our apples are ready now – at least the ones on my block. Everyone has apples to share! And pears – someone just dropped off a bag full of pears, too. Thanks, Heidi.
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I love the idea of not peeling. I need to try this someday and yes, that is a big pot!!
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Cathy, it’s my biggest pot and I nearly didn’t buy it at an estate sale but now I’m glad to have it. It holds LOTS of apples. Yes, get lazy in the kitchen with me 🙂 Happy long weekend! Thanks again for the tasty wine. It was so good and is so gone!
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We love homemade applesauce. I’ve never made it on the stove though – only the crockpot and that’s worked great for us!
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Kirsten, I would imagine the crockpot is a an excellent option because it probably never gets too hot to burn. Do you have to stir it? I have a big crockpot but I’m pretty sure 5 gallons of apples would blow the top off! Thanks, Kirsten. Have a great long weekend!
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Looks delicious! I made homemade apple sauce about 10 years ago when before I had my tonsils taken out. I borrowed a co-worker’s cone sieve with pestle and that was a lot of work. 🙂 Too bad I didn’t feel like eating at all while I was recovering. The applesauce kept though, it would probably be my favorite thing to make with a lot of apples. Good job you guys! and good job making others taste test 🙂
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Thanks, Michelle! Yes, forcing others to eat applesauce is hard work but someone has to do it 😉 We did freeze some sliced apples for pie this winter. Warm apple pie is good anytime of year, isn’t it? Have a great weekend! Looking forward to our berry picking date – who knows what we’ll be picking but something good.
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Thanks for this, Sara! Apple season is almost here, so I may give this a shot. Looks good! Question: how fresh do the apples have to be? I often find myself with apples that the kids say are too mushy to eat and I wonder if I could use them for applesauce. Will the be a difference in the taste?
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Thanks, Annie! Mushy apples are fine in this, too. The apples that were really not ripe were tough to cook down but mostly everything was soft and broke down quickly. My chickens get mushy apples leftover from lunches or I sneak them into smoothies. No one needs to know they’re eating rejected apples – chickens or children 😉
I usually have several different varieties of apples all at different stages of ripeness. Try it – you’ll be surprised at how easy it is and how good it tastes!
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Great illustrations! Really understand the process! Thx! Also — had to laugh at the note about your daughter. Our kids still run from the room when the camera comes out. Have to be really sneaky to get a good photo of grown kids!
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Smiling! Yes, cameras can do that to kids regardless of ages. So glad the pictures and steps are helpful. Have a great weekend!
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