Homemade Applesauce Recipe

I had never had homemade applesauce before meeting my husband Jason and in my opinion there is no going back to store bought! 🙂 A few years ago Jason’s mom gave us her old applesauce maker and the kids and I have been making applesauce every fall since. It is a great family tradition and everyone in our family just loves the taste of warm applesauce. I always have a lot of helpers in the beginning and then they start to dwindle after their tummies have been filled:).

Jason’s parents picked up our apples this year at an Amish farm in Ohio. Three bushels worth of Honey crisp apple seconds for less than $13 a bushel!!!

3 bushels of apples for our family of six is enough to make homemade applesauce to last a year while still leaving some for dried apples and apple crisp! The only way to get apples any cheaper would be to pick from your own tree.

We are hoping to have our own apples in a few years. I planted 2 Winesap apple trees soon after we moved in and have 2 more coming this spring along with 4 other types of fruit trees (insert heart eyes emoji :). My dream of having a small family orchard is finally coming true!!!

We always buy seconds of apples because they are cheaper and the apples don’t need to look perfect if you are just making applesauce or using it in other recipes. In the past we have used Ginger-Gold, Golden Delicious, Summer Rambo, Mcintosh, Cortland, Jonagold and Honeycrisp for applesauce. It’s amazing how each apple has a different taste. Some are good for applesauce and some aren’t. I always ask the farm what they suggest and usually buy that kind. It takes me about two full days (with normal activities going) to make all the applesauce. Cutting and coring apples is a great workout for your arms.

Homemade Applesauce Recipe

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1) Wash, cut and core apples (enough apples to 3/4 fill a stock pot)

Thankfully my applesauce maker doesn’t require me to peel the apples or this process would take a lot longer! You can also make tomato sauce or baby food with it. Here is the link to an updated version of our applesauce maker which Jason’s mom bought in 1989 so it has definitely stood the test of time and lots of applesauce! VICTORIO VKP250 Food Strainer and Sauce Maker

2) Throw them in stock pot with about an inch of water. Some apples are more juicy than others…it is just important to make sure there is enough water so the apples don’t burn. If that happens forget about your house smelling nice…it will stink for a good full day:).

3) I add just a teeny bit of cinnamon to the top of the apples about a 1/2 teaspoons worth because we like cinnamon but the cinnamon is not required to make good applesauce.

4) Cook the apples for about 30-40 minutes on medium high. Stir apples often to bring soft apples on the bottom up to the top.

5) Run them through your apple strainer:).

This is a good time to illicit help from the kiddos or your significant other:) Also if you have a spill mat I would recommend putting one down to protect your floors especially with kiddos helping ;).

*this year thanks to my father in laws advice we ran the apple skins back through 2nd time and were able to get even more homemade applesauce to eat.

6) Put the applesauce in jars or tupperware containers. Leave about an inch of space if you are canning or freezing them. I usually freeze most of the applesauce because its the easiest.