From scratch · Pantry mixes

Applesauce

Apples simmered soft and mashed, sweetened only if you like.

✋ 30 min hands-on ⏱ 1 hr 18 min start to finish 🍽 About 1 quart (4 cups) from 3 lb of apples.

Ingredients

  • 3 lb apples, about 7 medium, a mix of sweet and tart
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice (bottled) (optional)
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar (optional)

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

StepHands-onWaiting
Peel and slice the apples20 min–
Simmer5 min18 min
Mash and cool5 min30 min
In all30 min48 min

How long it keeps

  • Refrigerator: about 5 to 7 days (NDSU’s figure for opened canned fruit, the closest entry it has).
  • Freezer: leave ½ inch of space in a wide-mouth pint container (1 inch in a quart) and freeze up to 8 to 12 months for best quality (NCHFP).

Nutrition

The peels and cores are left behind, so the numbers are USDA’s for unsweetened applesauce (sugar, if you add it, isn’t counted).

Steps

You’ll need: large pot with a lid, potato masher, food mill or blender.

  1. Peel, core and slice the apples (or leave the peels on if you’ll press the sauce through a food mill).
  2. Put them in the pot with the water and lemon juice, cover, and simmer, stirring now and then, until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. Mash for chunky sauce, or purée or press through a food mill for smooth. Stir in cinnamon and sugar to taste, if using.
  4. Cool in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours.
⚖️ ScalingPlan on about 3 lb of apples per quart (NCHFP’s average). Tart apples make a tangier sauce; 1 to 2 lb of tart apples per 3 lb of sweet ones balances it.
🛡 SafetyTo can applesauce, follow NCHFP’s tested recipe; this one is for the refrigerator and freezer.

🌱 Grow it

You can grow some of what goes into this: apple.

🌱 Plan a garden with it →

Sources

  1. Fall into the Season with Home-Canned Applesauce, National Center for Home Food Preservation. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  2. Food Storage Guide (FN579), NDSU Extension, reviewed January 2023. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  3. Headspace to Allow (freezing), National Center for Home Food Preservation. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  4. How Long Can I Store Frozen Foods, National Center for Home Food Preservation. Accessed 2026-10-25.
  5. National Center for Home Food Preservation (tested canning recipes), University of Georgia. Accessed 2026-10-25.

In the meal planner, tap Make it next to applesauce, unsweetened on the shopping list: the list swaps it for these ingredients, scaled to your meals, and the Prep day tab fits the work into your week. More from-scratch recipes.

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