Homemade Applesauce
This easy homemade applesauce recipe is made with simple ingredients and includes both stovetop and Instant Pot methods. This is a family recipe that we have made for over 20 years!
Equipment
- Quart jars only needed if you are canning your applesauce
Ingredients
- 16 cups sliced cortland apples
- 1- 3 ½ cups water 1 cup for Instant Pot method, 3 ½ cups for stovetop method
- Sugar to preferred sweetness
Instructions
- Wash your apples and cut them into approximately ½- to 1-inch slices, removing the cores and seeds. You don't need to peel them because the strainer will separate the peels from the apples later.
- Add 8 cups of prepared apples to a large stock pot or Instant Pot and add 3½ cups of water if cooking the apples on stovetop and 1 cup water if using Instant Pot
- Cover the pot and cook over medium heat, allowing the apples to simmer until they are very soft and mushy. It's okay if the apples look a little juicy as they cook. If they start looking dry, add ¼ cup of water and continue cooking. *see instructions for cooking apples in Instant Pot in post
- Stir the apples occasionally as they cook, stirring more frequently as they get close to being done. This helps prevent the apples from sticking and scorching on the bottom of the pot.
- Once the apples are mushy and soft transfer them to a chinois and use a wooden pestle to press the apples through the strainer. Work the pestle around the chinois, pressing the apples against the sides and bottom until the applesauce has passed through and only the peels and other solids remain.
- Once all of your apples have been processed, add sugar to taste. You can leave the sugar out completely or add as much as you'd like depending on how sweet you want your applesauce.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Don't panic if your pot gets a little scorched! It happens to us sometimes when we're making a big batch. Fill the pot with water, bring it to a boil, then let it cool before scraping off the stuck-on apples. If the pot didn't scorch, there's no need to clean it between batches.
- If you're doing multiple batches scrape the leftover peels and apple pieces out of the chinois before starting the next batch.
- We prefer Cortland apples but we have also used Paula Reds which are very good as well
- Add sugar to taste, if you would prefer to not have added sugar in your applesauce it is okay to keep it out completely.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupCalories: 130kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 1gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 9mgPotassium: 268mgFiber: 6gSugar: 26gVitamin A: 135IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
