How to Make Homemade Applesauce

When I first started making applesauce I scoured the internet for a recipe for the exact amount of apples I had. Guess what I found… nothing! Everyone measures large quantities of things like apples differently – bushels, pounds, etc. While I grew up in a fruit growing area and am familiar with measurements like pecks and bushels, no one in Alaska measures by that! 

So as a recovering recipe follower I was overwhelmed to make applesauce for the first time. But let me tell you… you really don’t need a recipe! 

There are two main methods to make homemade applesauce. I review them both and you will see that you really don’t need a specific recipe to make applesauce. 

Two Main Methods for Homemade Applesauce

Method 1: No food mill

The first and most simple way to make homemade applesauce is to peel, chop, and cook your apples until they are soft and broken down to your desired texture. Here are the instructions:

1. Peel apples and chop into bite size pieces. This corer/peeler/slicer is a life saver! But of course you can use a knife and handheld peeler if that’s all you’ve got. 
2. Place apples into a large stock pot with ⅓ of a cup of water per every 3 pounds of apples (doesn’t need to be exact).
3. Add your choice of sweetener. Start with 2-4 tablespoons of sugar for every 3 pounds of apples). You can also use honey or maple syrup! 
4. Optional: add your choice of spices! Cinnamon is a common choice! Start with ½ tsp for every 3 pounds of apples. 
5. Optional: you can use a potato masher or an immersion blender to get the applesauce to your desired consistency.

The no food mill way requires the least amount of equipment, however if you are making a large amount of applesauce, it really isn’t ideal. Which brings me to the method I use…

Method 2: Using a food mill to make homemade applesauce

Since I typically process 50-100lbs of apples at a time, I prefer to use a food mill to make my applesauce. So here are the instructions for that!

1. Wash the apples. I like to fill my sink with cool water and add a few glugs of apple cider vinegar.
2. Quarter or chop apples into pieces so they will fit in your mill.
3. Fill a large stockpot halfway with water. Place the burner on medium/high heat. When your water is warm, add the chopped apples and cook until the apples are fork tender. 
4. Use a slotted spoon to remove the apples from the pan. 
5. Spoon the hot apples into your food mill and process based on the food mill’s instructions. 
6. Repeat the process until all your apples have been cooked and milled. 
7. Add all the sauce into a large stockpot and add desired sweetener and spices. If canning, place the burner on low and warm the sauce as you season it. 
8. Choose how you will store your applesauce – either freeze or can it. More details on that below.

Ingredients for homemade applesauce

• Apples: the obvious first ingredient! Choose your apples based on what flavor you want. Baking apples and cheaper varieties are great for sauce because you can sweeten them to your liking. Overripe apples are perfect for applesauce. 
• Sweetener: white sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey – any sweetener will work. Add some and taste test along the way since each batch of apples will vary in sweetness. 
• Spices: all the warming spices are great choices for applesauce. Cinnamon is the most common but nutmeg, clove, and allspice could all be added. 
• Lemon juice: this is optional but will help preserve color. It is recommended that if you can applesauce you put 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in for every quart of applesauce. 

Equipment for homemade applesauce

Here is a list of my favorite equipment for homemade applesauce. If all you have is a knife and a pot, you can definitely make it work, but as someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, I will pass along my favorite tools that make the job a lot easier and faster. 

• Food mill options
  • Kitchenaid food mill
  • Hand Powered food mill
• Stock pot
  • 10 quart (for boiling apples)
  • 20 quart (for collecting all the applesauce) 
• Large stainless steel bowls
  • 8 quart
  • 13 quart 

How to store homemade applesauce 

There are two main ways to store large amounts of applesauce – can it or freeze it! 

Canning applesauce

If you wish to can your applesauce, it is recommended that you add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for every quart of applesauce or ¼ teaspoon of powdered citric acid. Fill your jars to 1” of headspace and water bath can for 20 minutes. 

Freezing applesauce

You can also freeze applesauce! It will freeze well for 12 months. You can freeze in glass jars (just make sure you leave enough room for expansion), plastic containers or freezer bags. 

Once you open a can or thaw applesauce from the freezer, use it within 1 week. 

If you like this recipe, check out my rhubarb sauce recipe too!

Enjoy!