Easy & Delicious Homemade Stovetop Applesauce: Your Guide to Perfect Apples Every Time

Discover how to make the most incredibly easy and delicious homemade stovetop applesauce with just 5 simple ingredients. Ready in less than an hour, this versatile fruit preparation is not only a delightful dessert or breakfast topping but also a fantastic, healthy ingredient to elevate your baking. Say goodbye to store-bought versions and hello to fresh, flavorful applesauce made right in your kitchen!

Why Homemade Applesauce is a Kitchen Staple

Making homemade applesauce is genuinely one of the simplest and most rewarding culinary tasks you can undertake. It requires minimal effort, a handful of common ingredients, and basic kitchen equipment. The beauty of this recipe lies in its simplicity – you essentially peel and chop some apples, toss them into a pot with a few other items, and let the gentle heat transform them into a luscious, sweet, and tangy sauce. It’s a truly hands-off process after the initial preparation, making it perfect for busy weeknights or a relaxing weekend project.

There’s an undeniable charm and superior flavor in homemade applesauce that simply can’t be matched by store-bought varieties. You control the sweetness, the spice level, and even the texture, allowing you to customize it to your exact preference. Beyond being a delightful standalone snack or a topping for breakfast items, applesauce is an incredibly versatile ingredient in baking. It adds natural sweetness, moisture, and a subtle fruit flavor to various baked goods, often acting as a healthy substitute for fats like oil or butter.

I frequently incorporate applesauce into my baking creations. It’s wonderful as a sweet, fruity filling for treats like my French Apple Tart or delicate Apple Tartlets. Alternatively, it can be folded directly into cake batters to keep them moist and tender, as seen in my popular French Apple Cake, comforting Apple Loaf Cake, hearty Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal, rich Applesauce Crumb Cake, and even my Gluten-Free Apple Cake. Its natural pectin helps bind ingredients, making it an excellent secret weapon for healthier baking.

Essential Ingredients for Perfect Applesauce

Making this incredible homemade stovetop applesauce requires only a handful of readily available ingredients:

• Apples: The star of the show! You’ll need about 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of your favorite cooking apples. The type of apple you choose will influence the final sweetness and tartness, so pick wisely (more on this below!).
• Water: Essential for cooking the apples down into a soft pulp. It creates the steam needed to tenderize the fruit without burning it.
• Brown Sugar: Adds a lovely caramel-like sweetness and depth of flavor. You can adjust the quantity or omit it entirely depending on the sweetness of your apples and your personal preference for a healthier, no-sugar-added applesauce.
• Lemon Juice: A splash of fresh lemon juice is crucial. It brightens the flavor of the apples, preventing them from tasting too flat, and also helps to prevent browning, keeping your applesauce looking vibrant.
• Cinnamon Sticks: Infuse a warm, inviting spice throughout the applesauce. Using whole sticks allows for a subtle, elegant flavor that can be easily removed. If you don’t have sticks, about 1/2 tablespoon of ground cinnamon can be used, but add it closer to the end of cooking to preserve its potency. For extra depth, consider adding a pinch of nutmeg or a star anise pod.

Crafting Homemade Applesauce: A Step-by-Step Guide

Creating this delicious applesauce from scratch is straightforward. Here’s how you do it:

• Prepare the Apples: Start by thoroughly washing your apples. Then, peel them using a vegetable peeler, core them to remove the seeds and tough center, and cut them into small, uniform cubes, about 1-inch in size. Smaller pieces will cook down faster and more evenly, resulting in a smoother consistency more quickly.

• Simmer the Base: In a deep, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the water, brown sugar, fresh lemon juice, and cinnamon sticks. Place the pot over low heat and gently stir until the brown sugar completely dissolves into the water, creating a fragrant syrup. This step ensures the sugar is evenly distributed and fully melted before the apples are added.

• Cook the Apples (Covered): Once the sugar has dissolved, add the prepared apple cubes to the pot. Stir gently to ensure all the apple pieces are coated with the liquid. Cover the pot with a lid and let the apples cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. During this phase, the apples will soften considerably as they release their own juices and absorb the flavors of the syrup and cinnamon.

• Cook the Apples (Uncovered): After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the pot. Increase the heat to medium and continue cooking for another 15 minutes. This uncovered cooking period is crucial as it allows excess water to evaporate, concentrating the apple flavor and thickening the sauce to a desirable consistency. The apples should be incredibly soft and easily mashed with a spoon at this point. Remove the pot from the heat.

• Achieve Your Desired Consistency: Now comes the fun part – transforming the cooked apples into applesauce! For a silky-smooth sauce, use an Immersion Blender directly in the pot, blending for a couple of minutes until no lumps remain. If you prefer a traditional blender or food processor, transfer the cooked apples in batches and process until smooth. For a chunkier texture, blend only for a few seconds, or simply use a potato masher or a fork to mash the apples to your preferred level of chunkiness. The choice is entirely yours!

Smooth vs. Chunky: Choosing Your Perfect Applesauce Consistency

One of the many joys of making homemade applesauce is the complete control you have over its final texture. Once your apples have cooked down to a tender, soft pulp, the decision is yours: do you prefer a velvety, smooth applesauce, or a hearty, chunky applesauce with delightful bits of apple still intact?

I often lean towards blending the apples very finely to achieve a super smooth applesauce. This consistency is incredibly versatile, making it ideal for baking or for serving to babies and young children. However, there are times when a rustic, chunky applesauce is exactly what’s needed. To get this texture, simply blend the apples for a shorter period, or use a potato masher or even just a fork to break down the softer pieces, leaving some delightful apple chunks.

The best way to decide which consistency you need is to consider how you plan to use your delicious creation. Here are some ideas to guide your choice:

Ideas for Smooth Applesauce:

A silky-smooth applesauce is perfect for:

• Baking: It integrates seamlessly into recipes as an ingredient, adding moisture and natural sweetness without altering the texture of your baked goods. Think muffins (like my Apple Streusel Muffins), cakes, and breads.
• Breakfast Topping: Drizzle it over fluffy pancakes, golden French toast, or crispy waffles for a naturally sweet and fruity addition.
• Fillings: Use it as a luscious filling for pastries, tarts (such as my French Apple Tart), or galettes (Apple Galette), where a uniform texture is desired.
• With Yogurt or Granola: Stir it into your morning yogurt or layer it with granola for a healthy and satisfying snack.
• Healthy Dessert/Sweet Treat: Enjoy it on its own, warm or chilled, as a guilt-free sweet treat.
• Baby and Kid Friendly: It’s ideal for pureeing for babies and a great healthy snack for toddlers and young children. For the littlest ones, you can simply remove all added sugar for an even healthier option.

How to use Chunky Applesauce:

For a more rustic and substantial experience, chunky applesauce shines in these applications:

• Savory Pairings: A classic accompaniment to rich meats like roasted pork or chicken. In Belgium, serving chicken with applesauce is a cherished tradition! The tartness cuts through the richness beautifully.
• Compote Style Dessert: Enjoy it much like a fruit compote, served warm with a dollop of cream, vanilla ice cream, or simply on its own as a delightful and healthy treat.
• Hearty Breakfast Topping: Adds a more substantial and satisfying texture to your breakfast toppings.
• Pie Filling Base: An excellent base for fruit pies, offering both texture and rich apple flavor.

Homemade Applesauce: Your Questions Answered

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Recipe

Homemade
Stovetop Applesauce

4.69 from 16
votes

This homemade stovetop
applesauce recipe is extremely easy to make and item to have in your fridge. It is a deliciously healthy
recipe that can be used in many ways!

Servings:
10 Servings (about
1 large jar)

Author:
Sylvie

Prep
Time10 minutes mins

Cook
Time45 minutes mins

Total
Time55 minutes mins

Print Recipe

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 kg (2.2 pounds) Apples
• 500 ml (2 cups) Water
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks (about 1/2 tbsp)

Instructions

• Peel, core and
  cut the apples into small cubes.

  30 min covered with
  lid then 15 mintutes without lid to evaporate water

• Pour the Water
  in a deep pot with the Lemon Juice, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Stick. Turn on
  medium heat and bring to a simmer to dissolve the Brown Sugar.
• When the sugar
  has dissolved, add the Apple Cubes, quickly mix so that the apples are covered
  with the syrup then cover with the pot lid. Leave to cook on low heat for 30
  minutes.
• Remove the lid,
  increase the heat to medium and leave to cook for another 15 minutes to allow
  for the water to evaporate. The apples should be really soft. Remove the pot from
  the heat.
• Using a stick
  blender/immersion blender the apples into your prefered consistency (only a few
  seconds for a chunky applesauce, or a couple of minutes for a smooth
  applesauce).
• Enjoy warm, or
  leave to cool down completely before transferring into a sealed jar.

  Keep in the fridge for
  a few weeks.

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Notes

Note that serving size is an approximate
only.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories:
64kcal | Carbohydrates:
17g | Protein:
1g | Fat:
1g | Saturated
Fat: 1g | Sodium:
4mg | Potassium:
107mg | Fiber:
3g | Sugar:
13g | Vitamin
A: 54IU | Vitamin
C: 6mg | Calcium:
17mg | Iron:
1mg