Homemade Apple Sauce beats store bought every time! Are you ready to make the switch?
This Apple Sauce recipe is a quick and easy option for canning apples in bulk, When apple season is at its peak. A great grab and go snack for the babies and the kids lunches.
A cheap and healthy pantry staple, this no sugar apple sauce recipe is a must for your family!
We love apple season! There’s so much yummy goodness that can be made, canned and preserved to make the apple season last throughout the winter.
With twenty one apple trees on our homestead we make a lot of apple sauce and a lot of canning recipes that involve apples.
RELATED: HOW TO GROW FRUIT TREES
This is a must recipe that I make in big batches over my apple processing weekend.
Jump to RecipeCANNING APPLE SAUCE
There are many reasons why you should make homemade applesauce over buying it at the store. When you’re on a mission to become more self sufficient, making more of your own pantry staples is a great place to start!
One of the main reasons is apples are in abundance in the fall. It’s easy to find free organic apples in your backyard neighbourhood.
During the summer and fall apples are also at their lowest produce of the year in the grocery store.
Applesauce is a a healthy and delicious snack, rich in fibre and vitamin C. The healthiest apple sauce is homemade from organic apples, without sugar and with the skins on.
Store bought apple sauce is more expensive, doesn’t have the same natural amount of fibre and vitamin C and lastly isn’t in sustainable packaging.
The only thing that you do need to think about is that any home canning must follow healthy safe canning procedures to avoid botulism.
Read more about healthy safe canning in this post, BEGINNERS GUIDE TO PRESERVING FOOD.
Now that you’ve decided that canning your own homemade applesauce is far better than purchasing it, lets start making it!
THE BEST APPLES FOR APPLE SAUCE
The best apples for apple sauce are apples that soften easily and are sweet in flavour. I often use transparent apples as they aren’t good for much other than canning.
Other apples that are great for applesauce are McIntosh and Golden Delicious commonly found at the grocery store.
Source local apple trees for fun varieties that also make for great applesauce, check out these top apple trees to grow in the Pacific Northwest.
Once you’ve sourced apples its time to start processing them.
HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE FROM SCRATCH
Set up an apple processing station in your kitchen like what I’ve done here.
You’ll need the following tools ready on hand for this easy canning recipe using the hot water bath method.
CANNING APPLE SAUCE MATERIALS
Hot Water Bath Canning Starter Kit
How to Make Homemade Apple Sauce
STEP ONE: PREPARE APPLES
Start processing the apples by peeling and coring them. Peels and cores go in one side of the sink, apples on the opposite side in warm water with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent browning.
STEP TWO: COOK THE APPLES
Fill pot with 2 inches of water to prevent apples from scorching.
Add enough apples to almost fill the pot. I like to make big batches at a time to get through my apple processing quickly and easily.
Heat over medium low heat and mix.
STEP THREE: PUREE
Continue to stir until desired consistency is reached or blend with an immersion blender.
Homemade applesauce is good for a week to ten days when stored in the refrigerator. It can also be canned or frozen for longer term storage.
If you choose to freeze your homemade applesauce, then do so in 2 cup measures and label with date and amount. This helps when using the applesauce for baking.
STEP 4: HOT WATER BATH PROCESSING
If you’re new to hot water bath canning I highly recommend you read this guide, Quickstart Guide to Water Bath Canning, before you prepare your jars and use your hot water bath.
Water Bath canning is simple and friendly but their a science to this art that needs to be understood for the health and safety of your family.
Prepare jars and lids.
Fill jars using a silicon ladle
Wipe rims and add hot seals and lids
Place in hot water bath for 10 minutes for half pint jars.
Set jars to cool, label and store for eating over the winter months.
No Sugar Apple Sauce
Equipment
- Hot Water Bath Kit
- Stock Pot
- Ladle
- 500 ml Jars and Snap Lids
Ingredients
- Apples
Instructions
- Wash, peel and core apples.
- In a large, heavy bottomed, stockpot add 2 inches of water to prevent scorching.
- Add apples to fill the pot.
- Cook over medium low until apples are soft.
- Once apples are soft, puree using a food processor, immersion blender or food mill.
- Optional, add sugar, cinnamon or nutmeg to taste.
- Bring to a boil and stir.
- Fill hot, sterile jars leaving 1/2" headspace.
- Process Pints for 15min, quarts for 20 min.
Apple Sauce Health Benefits
Apples have a high concentration of pectin, aiding in good digestion and helps remove waste from the body. It promotes the growth of probiotics
What to eat with Apple Sauce?
Apple sauce is great to be eaten stand alone as a healthy nutritional snack in the fall and winter as it’s high in vitamin C and fibre.
It’s a great breakfast topper for hot cereals and oatmeal instead of sugar.
In Germany it’s used to top potato pancakes.
Apple Sauce can also be a great accompaniment to Ham, Sausages, Roast Chicken or Duck. Even better is Apple Butter for a sweet tasty treat.
Apple Sauce is also a great frugal substitution for butter or oil in baking, it’s delicious in cakes, breads and muffins.
Leave a Reply