Applesauce
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One taste, and you’ll never go back to store-bought! This homemade applesauce is rich, tart and sweet, with an irresistible apple pie flavor that’s sure to become a favorite.
I cannot make homemade applesauce without thinking of my grandmother. No matter what was on her plate, she’d always have it with a side of applesauce—even daring to request it in fancy restaurants, probably to the horror of the kitchen staff! I know she would have absolutely adored this homemade version. It’s richly flavored, tart and sweet—and it blows store-bought applesauce out of the water.
With just four ingredients, this homemade applesauce recipe is a breeze—the hardest part is peeling the apples. While it’s traditionally made on the stovetop, I prefer the baking method. On the stovetop, you need to add water or juice to prevent sticking, but in the oven, no extra liquid is required, so you get a more concentrated apple flavor. And while I may not reach for it with every meal the way my grandmother did, I can see why she loved it so much—it’s perfect as a side dish with pork tenderloin, roast chicken, pierogi or latkes, on its own as a snack, or even spooned over pancakes or vanilla ice cream.
“I had a bunch of apples slightly past their prime and this was a great way to use them. I added a cinnamon sticks and it made the house smell lovely.”
What you’ll need to make homemade applesauce
- Apples – I like to use a blend of McIntosh, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith apples for a more nuanced flavor. Feel free to use other varieties, such as Jonathan, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Braeburn, Stayman Winesap, Gala, etc.—just keep in mind that super-tart apples will yield a tangy applesauce, and may require more sugar to balance the flavors.
- Butter – Adds richness and helps enhance the natural sweetness of the apples as they bake.
- Brown sugar – Adds sweetness and a touch of molasses flavor. You can choose light or dark depending on how deep you want the flavor to be.
- Ground cinnamon – For sprinkling at the end; adds warmth and spice to complement the apples.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, peel, core and chop the apples into 1-inch chunks.
Place them in a 9×13-inch baking dish and top with brown sugar and pads of butter.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 t0 50 minutes, until the apples are tender.
Using a potato masher or fork, mash the apples to your desired consistency (I like a chunky texture).
Taste and add more brown sugar if necessary. Note that no two batches will taste the same — it all depends on the apples you use. Transfer to a serving dish and add a dash of cinnamon, if desired. The applesauce can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
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Applesauce
One taste, and you’ll never go back to store-bought! This homemade applesauce is rich, tart and sweet, with an irresistible apple pie flavor that’s sure to become a favorite.
Ingredients
- 4 pounds apples (about 10), peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks (I like a combination of McIntosh, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch chunks
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar, packed
- Ground cinnamon, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the apples in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Scatter the brown sugar and chunks of butter evenly over top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, tossing once halfway through, until the apples are very tender.
- Mash the apples with a potato masher or fork. Taste; if the applesauce is too tart, add more brown sugar little by little until the flavors are balanced. (Note that no two batches will ever be the same; the flavor will depend on the tartness of the apples you use.)
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The applesauce can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Serving size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 196
- Fat: 5g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Sugar: 34g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 6mg
- Cholesterol: 11mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Honeycrisp and Fuji were my chosen apples today. I used a potato masher and it was still too chunky, so I blended a portion and mixed it with the remainder. I added an extra pat of butter and appx.2 T more of brown sugar.l after tasting. It was so delicious with a creamy side of vanilla yogurt…my new go to breakfast- Heaven!
I will have to try this. I usually cook a variety of apples in a pot and add maple sugar and some cloves. Also a peel or 2 from red apple to give it a rosy color.
Hi Jenn,
I’d like to make this without the sugar for my toddler. Would I be able to omit the sugar and follow the method as written, or will it alter the cooking and texture? Thanks!
Hi Catherine, I think it’s fine to omit the sugar. Enjoy!
It turned out wonderfully! I used all macintosh so it was already applesauce when I took it out of the oven. Super easy method. My daughter loved it, thanks!
I can’t imagine buying applesauce again! This recipe turned out great (though I used an immersion blender at the end to speed things along) – so much so that family members are asking when I’m making my next batch.
Thanks for sharing the baking method for applesauce. Nice to have a more hands off cooking option, but also very good in stovetop.
I grew up eating this on homemade drop buttermilk biscuits, so good!!! I am currently making a big batch of this to freeze for a quick breakfast or breakfast for dinner with biscuits.
I have made chucky no added liquid applesauce on the stove top, crockpot, and microwave. Thank you for the oven.
For another layer of flavor try adding grounded ginger or rum. Recommend using white sugar with the ginger and brown sugar with rum flavoring or rum alcohol.
My husband adores chunky applesauce. It became ridiculously expensive and difficult to buy so I decided to try making some. Per my husband he doesn’t care if store bought chunky applesauce becomes easily available and cheap because your recipe is so much better. I make a double batch and place in 12-16 ounce mason jars and freeze all but one. They freeze and thaw in the fridge wonderfully. The only thing I changed was I dropped the sugar a bit as he doesn’t like a very sweet applesauce.. Thanks for a wonderful and easy recipe.
I used to have two apple trees and made lots of apple sauce every fall. I left the skin on, added cinnamon sticks and a little water and cooked it on the stove top, no sugar added. When the apples were soft, I put them through my food mill – there was no trace of the skin left. I will try and bake the apples with the skin and when soft, put them through the food mill. Should work just fine.
Hi! I’m hoping to do the prep work in advance and hold it in fridge until ready to cook (day before or the day of). Would this work?
Hi Jamie, I wouldn’t recommend doing the prep work in advance as I’m concerned that the apples will brown. You can, however, make the applesauce up to 3 days ahead. 🙂
O.M.G. I’ve never made applesauce before, but my husband had been lamenting the fact that I never serve pork chops with applesauce (in best Peter-Brady-meets-Humphry-Bogart voice) anymore. I remembered some sad apples, as well as some happy ones, in the basement and started looking for a recipe. We devoured it. So, so good. I’m grateful I forgot the crap from the store! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I can’t ever have porkchops and applesauce without thinking about that Brady Bunch episode, ha ha.
Sooooooo good. I basically think this is apple pie without the crust…so I’m not sure I would call it applesauce per se…but what ever you call it, it is amazing. We served it on the side of pork carnitas tacos.