Homemade Applesauce Recipe (with Canning Instructions)

 

 

Autumn is officially here. We’ve gotten our freak first blizzard out of the way, and now the temps are going from blazing hot to ice cold, sometimes within 48 hours.

I’m preserving things like a crazy lady to prepare for the colder months ahead. I’ve recently been canning: dill relish, honey currant jam, tomato sauce, and so much more.

Now I’m staring at baskets of apples, so it’s time to get to work on preserving apples. There is plenty to do with seasonal apples, including eating them fresh with lunch, making apple puff pancakes for breakfast, and canning apple slices for future apple pies and crisps.

But nothing beats the classic home-canned applesauce. Canning applesauce is one of the easiest and most popular canning recipes for home-canners. It’s such a delicious side dish for almost any dinner, and I’ve never met a kid who doesn’t like applesauce (or adult for that matter).

I love that homemade applesauce uses a water bath canner, which is great for beginners. It’s also a safe canning recipe, since apples are naturally high enough in acid to preserve them in a water bath canner without needing to add additional acids (learn more about canning safety here).

If you are a beginner with canning, make sure you check my post on canning with zero special equipment to learn how to start canning TODAY.

The Resource I Wish I Had When I Started

If you are a canning newbie, I just revamped my Canning Made Easy course and it’s ready for YOU! I’ll walk you through each step of the process (safety is my #1 priority!), so you can finally learn to can confidently, without the stress. CLICK HERE to have a look at the course and ALL the bonuses that come with it.

This is the information I wish I had when I first started canning– all of the recipes and safety information are double and triple-checked against tested and proved canning recipes and recommendations.

It’s the next best thing to you coming over to my house and canning right along with me.

Homemade Applesauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• Apples — The quantity is up to you. I like to use sweeter apples so I don’t have to add additional sugar-  but if your apples are on the sour side, then you can always play around with added sweeteners such as honey or sucanat.  
• Cinnamon to taste (optional)

Instructions:

Prep your fruit. You can peel your apples if you like, but it’s not necessary. I’ve made several batches, peels and all, and we don’t mind it a bit. It saves a bunch of work as well. You will want to core them and slice them thinly so they don’t take forever to cook down.

Or, if you have a food mill, you can run the fruit through that to save you some work.

(Psst. Don’t forget to save the peelings and scraps for homemade apple scrap vinegar. Or feed the peelings and scraps to your chickens/pigs or put them in your compost pile.)  

Throw all of your prepped fruit into a large pot. Add just enough water to keep them from sticking to the pan. (Not too much, or your sauce will be on the runny side…)

Cook the apples until they are soft. It doesn’t take long. If you like, you can add cinnamon or other spices at this point, although I  usually prefer to wait to spice it until I serve it.

The next step depends on your preference. If you like thick, chunky homemade applesauce, use a fork or potato masher to mash the cooked fruit in the pot until it reaches the desired consistency.  If you prefer your sauce smooth, then use a immersion blender (one of my favorite kitchen tools!), to puree everything right in the pot. (If you don’t have a hand blender, use a food processor instead.)

Bring the mashed/pureed applesauce to a boil.

Carefully ladle the applesauce into the hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

1/2? headspace means that the sauce will fill the jar only to the bottom of the “lip.” It’s very important to pay attention to headspace when you’re canning. It allows for expansion/contraction, and sometimes the jars will not seal if the headspace is incorrect.

Wipe the rims with a damp cloth to remove any spilled sauce that might prevent the lid from sealing.

Use your handy dandy lid lifter to place the heated lids in the center of the jar.

Then, screw on the rings- finger tight only!

Lower the applesauce jars into the canner, making sure that the lids are covered with 1-2 inches of water. (You can add more water to the pot if you come up short.)  Process homemade applesauce pints and quarts for 20 minutes at a vigorous boil.

Keep in mind that you may have to adjust your processing time according to your altitude. We are over 6,000 feet, so I added an additional 10 minutes, which made my total processing time 30 minutes.   Remember: Don’t start timing until the water has returned to a boil.  

After their time in the water bath is complete, pull them out and allow to cool. You should start hearing that happy “pop!” of a sealed lid. I love that sound…

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Homemade applesauce makes an awesome side dish, a nutritious snack, is perfect for adding to baked goods, and is also an ideal baby food.

Other Canning Tips & Recipes:

• Canning Made Easy: My step-by-step canning process walkthrough– perfect for beginners or nervous canners!
• Canning Apple Slices
• Honey Canned Cinnamon Peaches 
• Honey Canned Cherries
• Canning Pears in Maple Syrup