Homemade Applesauce is Super Simple

You only need four ingredients to make my flavorful, homemade Applesauce Recipe. This super simple applesauce recipe uses just one pot and finishes in less than an hour.

Recipe: https://sugarspunrun.com/applesauce-recipe/

Ingredients
3 lbs apples, peeled, cored, and diced (I recommend using a crisp, sweet apple like Fuji, Honeycrisp, Gala, Pink Lady, or Cortland.) Weigh before peeling/coring apples. (1.4kg)
1 cup water (236ml)
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar¹ (38g)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks² (optional, see note to use ground cinnamon)

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Instructions
00:00 Introduction
00:18 Combine apples, water, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon sticks in a large pot on the stovetop. Stir to combine.
02:28 Turn stovetop heat to medium and bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium/low, cover with lid, and continue to cook for 20-30 minutes, checking/stirring once or twice to make sure the heat is not too high and apples are not burning to the bottom of the pot.
03:34 Cook until apples are completely soft and tender when pierced with a fork (they should give easily to the fork and offer no resistance).
04:10 Remove from heat and carefully remove cinnamon sticks. Mash with a potato masher (for chunkier applesauce) or blend with an immersion blender until smooth (for a smoother applesauce). You may also transfer the apples to a blender and puree until smooth if you don’t have an immersion blender.
If applesauce is too watery for your liking you can return to the stovetop and cook over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally, until the water is reduced and mixture is the desired consistency.
05:30 Allow to cool and then serve!

Notes
¹Sugar
I recommend using the amount listed, but you may reduce or even omit the sugar (if you have very sweet, flavorful apples) or increase it up to 4 Tablespoons or even more if you are using particularly tart apples. Brown sugar (light or dark), honey, or maple syrup may be substituted for the sugar but each will impart their own flavor into the applesauce.

²Cinnamon
I like to use cinnamon sticks for a subtle cinnamon-flavored applesauce. You may omit if you do not like the flavor. If you do not have cinnamon sticks but want the flavor, stir in ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon after pureeing/mashing the applesauce.

Scaling the recipe
This recipe may be reduced in half or doubled or even tripled (if you have a pot that’s large enough). I usually only add an additional ½ cup (113ml) of water for every additional 3 lbs (1.4kg) of apples that I use.

Storing
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Applesauce may also be stored in the freezer for 6 months or longer, just use an airtight container, preferably a plastic bag that you can remove the air from. To defrost I thaw in the fridge overnight. While this recipe may be canned, I have not personally canned it and don’t feel comfortable advising on the specifics of how to do so.

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