Homemade Applesauce with Variations: Canning Recipe & Guide
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Homemade applesauce is one of the easiest preserves that you can make. With fresh apples and a bit of time, you can have a delicious batch of applesauce that is ready to store and enjoy all winter long. This applesauce canning guide will show you how to make homemade applesauce with different variations. You can easily sweeten and flavor your applesauce exactly how you like it with this easy canning recipe!
why I love this applesauce recipe:
In this step-by-step applesauce canning guide, I will showcase how easy it is to make applesauce at home. Whether you plan to can it, freeze it, or simply enjoy it for fresh eating you will love this recipe.
Versatile. This applesauce recipe is incredibly versatile. In fact, I don’t really measure my ingredients anymore when making my homemade applesauce! You can hot water bath can applesauce with or without sugar, so the amount of sugar that you add is entirely up to you. You can also flavor the applesauce with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves.
Easy to Store. If you are new to making homemade applesauce, then you will be excited to learn that there are several ways to store it! You can keep it in the refrigerator for several days, freeze it, or hot water bath can it to store all year long.
Quick to Make. This recipe is fairly quick to whip up as far as a canning recipe goes. I can easily pick, cook, and preserve this applesauce all in the same day here on the farm.
canning tools and supplies:
Before you can get started canning your homemade applesauce, you will need some canning supplies. Applesauce is a high-acid food, so it can be canned in a hot water bath canner. You really do not need a lot of fancy equipment to preserve your sauce this way, but there are some tools that can be helpful if you can purchase them.
Hot Water Bath Canner or Boiling-Water Canner. This the same canner that I use, and it is the Ball® Home Canning brand. This one comes with the basic utensils as well. You can honestly use any large pot with a lid that can cover the jars by at least 1-inch (2.5-cm) of water while processing. You will also need a canning rack if you are using a regular pot for the hot water to circulate underneath the jars properly.
Canning Jars, Lids, and Bands. This one is a must! I use Ball® jars, lids, and bands. You will want pint jars or quart jars for this recipe.
Nonmetallic Spatula.
Magnetic Lid Lifter Wand. This tool is absolutely not necessary, but it can be really helpful if you accidentally drop your lid into a pot of boiling water!
Food Mill. I highly recommend getting a food mill if you can. In the past, I had always made applesauce peeling, coring, and mashing the apples by hand which added at least an hour if not more time onto the entire process. Now, I just boil the apples with the skins, seeds, and stems still on and put them through the mill, which removes all of that on its own. The sauce is also incredibly consistent in texture.
gathering ingredients:
To make your own homemade applesauce, you will need to gather a few key ingredients. There is really not much to making applesauce from scratch!
Apples. You can make applesauce out of any apples that you prefer!
Water or Apple Cider. You can cook down the apples in water, or for a fuller flavor, try using apple juice or apple cider.
Bottled Lemon Juice. To ensure the acidity level is high enough, use bottled lemon juice over fresh. This helps keep the applesauce fresh for longer and preserves the color.
Sugar. If you would like to sweeten your applesauce, you can use any sugar that you prefer. Granulated sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc all work for this recipe.
Spices. I love cinnamon applesauce! You can use any ground spices to flavor your applesauce like cloves, allspice, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.
Gathering apples:
You can make applesauce out of any apples. I usually combine apples to make my sauce because it gives the sauce a better flavor overall, rather than being overly sour or sweet.
I like to use Yellow Transparent apples in the summer months (usually around July here in Iowa) because they are a terrible fresh-eating apple and make a great sauce. If you use red-skinned apples and cook them with the skins on, you will get pink applesauce!
When gathering your apples, make sure to use apples that are fresh and free of blemishes, spots, bruises, and holes. Wash your apples before canning!
how to make applesauce:
Step One: Wash apples, remove stems, and cut them into rough chunks. Toss in a large stockpot and cover with the water or apple cider and lemon juice. Alternately, if you are not using a food mill, you will want to peel, core, and remove the stems from the apples before cooking.
Step Two: Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally as the apples break down and become soft, about 10 minutes.
Step Three: Once the apples are softened, transfer batches of apples to a food mill. Run the apples through the food mill, removing the skins and seeds. If you are not using a food mill, mash the apples with a potato masher until they are at the consistency that you prefer, whether smooth or chunky.
Step Four: If you are using them, you will now stir in the sugar and cinnamon to the applesauce, as much as you prefer. Heat the applesauce to boiling and lower the heat slightly. Let the sauce boil until thickened slightly, about 2 to 4 minutes. Be careful because the sauce will begin to pop and splatter, so make sure you are watching it and constantly stirring the evenly distribute the heat.
how to can applesauce:
While your applesauce is cooking, prepare your hot water bath canner, jars, lids, and rings. Wash and sterilize jars and simmer gently until they are ready to be filled.
With the applesauce still simmering, fill a hot jar with hot applesauce leaving 1/2 inch headspace in the jar. Press out any air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary. Apply the lid and ring to fingertip tight. Place the jar back in the canning pot. Repeat with the remaining jars.
Once all of the jars are filled, process pint jars for 15 minutes or quart jars for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 more minutes. Place on the countertop to cool and seal. After 12 hours, check the seals and store the jars in a dark, dry place without the rings.
Canned applesauce should last for about 12-18 months.
how to freeze applesauce:
Once the applesauce has been cooked to your liking, it can be frozen immediately. Choose freezer safe container such as a straight sided Ball® jar, like the the wide mouth pints or wide mouth quarts, or the Ball® plastic Freezer Containers.
Fill the applesauce to the freezer safe line and seal with an airtight lid. Store in the freezer for 12 months or longer.
To thaw, simply place it in the refrigerator and allow it to defrost. Stir up any separation in the sauce and serve chilled.
applesauce labels:
After your have finished storing your applesauce, it is always a good idea to label and date your jars! This way you can remember exactly what was used and when it was made. Canned applesauce will last for 18 months or more on the shelf.
These adorable vintage grocery store labels were illustrated and designed by my mom, Jill! You can download and print them for yourself on sticker paper by joining our subscription community, Cozy Kitchen Companions. You can join for $5/month and get access to our entire digital library of printables.
final thoughts:
I hope you enjoyed learning how to can applesauce with my easy step-by-step guide, preserving the natural goodness of apples for year-round enjoyment. It’s so wonderful to knwo the art of canning so that you can savor the taste of homemade applesauce all year long. It’s the perfect recipe for snacks, baking, or adding to your favorite recipes!
xoxo Kayla
Sweetened or Unsweetened Applesauce
Ingredients
- 12 pounds of apples, about 60 medium apples
- Water or apple cider, enough to cover the apples
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) bottled lemon juice
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar, optional
- 4 tsp ground cinnamon, optional
Instructions
- Wash apples, remove stems, and cut them into rough chunks. Toss in a large stockpot and cover with the water or apple cider and lemon juice.
- Place the pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally as the apples break down and become soft, about 10 minutes. Once the apples are softened, transfer batches of apples to a food mill. Run the apples through the food mill, removing the skins and seeds.
- Stir in the sugar and cinnamon to the applesauce, as much as you prefer. Heat to boiling and let boil until thickened slightly, about 2-4 minutes.
- Serve warm or chilled. Read below for methods to preserve your applesauce.
- Instead of using granulated sugar, applesauce can be made with different types of sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup. Simply replace the granulated sugar 1:1. Applesauce can also be made with less sugar or without any sugar at all! Adjust the amount of sugar to your liking.
- If you would like to spice things up, replace the cinnamon with allspice, nutmeg, or ginger. The amount of spice for this recipe should be around 4 teaspoons of any combination of spices.
- While your applesauce is cooking, prepare your hot water bath canner, jars, lids, and rings. Wash and sterilize jars and simmer gently until they are ready to be filled.
- With the applesauce still simmering, fill a hot jar with hot applesauce leaving 1/2-inch headspace in the jar. Press out any air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary. Apply the lid and ring to fingertip tight. Place the jar back in the canning pot. Repeat with the remaining jars.
- Once all of the jars are filled, process pint jars for 15 minutes or quart jars for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars sit in the hot water for 5 more minutes. Place on the countertop to cool and seal. After 12 hours, check the seals and store the jars in a dark, dry place without the rings.
- Canned applesauce should last for about 12-18 months.
- Once the applesauce has been cooked to your likeness, it can be frozen immediately. Choose freezer safe container such as a straight sided Ball® jar, like the the wide mouth pints or wide mouth quarts, or the Ball® plastic Freezer Containers.
- Fill the applesauce to the freezer safe line and seal with an airtight lid. Store in the freezer for 12 months or longer.
- To thaw, simply place it in the refrigerator and allow it to defrost. Stir up any separation in the sauce and serve chilled.
