This is a simple recipe for making all-natural apple sauce without any added sugar.
For more, also see these healthy food ideas.
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Simple, N0-Added Sugar Apple Sauce
I am an apple fanatic (shout out for Jona Golds!) and I’ve always loved fresh apple sauce. In my childhood home it was always made by boiling whole apples and then running them through a sieve. It never occurred to me to try a different method until a few years ago when I had a craving but I didn’t have a sieve.
What you’ll see here is what I think is the easiest way to make pure, nutritious, sugar-free apple sauce. And it’s fast and easy: I can have a big batch ready in around 30 minutes.
Chose A Variety Of Apples For Great Taste
This is the first year I have apples from my very own dwarf apple tree. I planted it just two years ago and I was amazed by the abundance of apples it produced this year.
When making apple sauce, I really like to use several types of apples. The combination of flavours makes a deeper, lovely taste.
For quantity, consider how many peeled apples will fit in your pot. I use a big soup/canning pot and use about 20 apples per batch.
Prepare The Apples
- Peel, core, and dice the apples into equal size pieces.
I give some apple peels to our pet rabbit (it’s his favourite) and the rest goes in the composter.
Boil The Apples
- Add the apple pieces to a large soup or canning pot. Add just enough water to cover approximately 1/3 of the apples.
- Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.
- Depending on how hard the apples are, it will take between 10 and 20 minutes once the water is boiling.
Taste and Adjust If You Must
That’s it! Now taste it and see if you like it as is. Sometimes I add some dashes of cinnamom when serving it. If you must, you can add sugar to sweeten it, but acquiring a taste for unsweetened apple sauce is a good thing.
Enjoy!
You could properly can the apple sauce in jars to save it for the future. I like to make a fresh batch every two weeks.
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛
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Theresa Bradley says
I leave peels on the apples too because it is faster to core and quarter the apples. I think the peels make a wonderful flavor addition. When putting my sauce thru the blender there is no sign of them anyway. I am going to try your idea of cooking them in a crock pot. That sounds simple and I bet the house will smell great.
Stephanie says
You sauce looks so good. I always leave the skin on…too lazy I guess. It doesn’t look as pretty but it tastes great.
Melissa J. Will says
I wouldn’t mind keeping the peels on, I think it improves the flavour, but our pet rabbit might object. They’re his favourite. 🙂
Kristi says
I grew up in Washington State with two prolific apple trees. One was a Gravenstein, the other I’m not sure, maybe a King? We had an antique cider press and made our own cider (which we froze in gallon milk jugs) and also our own sauce. I liked the kind colored and flavored with cinnamon red hots. We used a Foley food mill. That got out all the pits and peels from cooking down quantities of quartered fruit. We preserved ours for winter, so that may be a reason for a blender or processor.
Maybe you could approximate that cider with a juicer and good apples, but I’ve never had anything close — and would probably swoon if I did.
Melissa J. Will says
I bet there’s a lot of flavour in the peels that contributes to the cider taste.
Erika Martin says
I just made applesauce this afternoon and just ate a bowl before seeing your new blog post. I make mine the same way as you do, except I put in much less water. Sometimes I put in a little unsweetened apple juice or cider instead of the water if I have them on hand. I put maybe a half cup of liquid in and use Macs and have no problem.
Just curious…when you planted your dwarf apple tree, how big was it? I was thinking of planting some in our back yard, but the one that I was looking to order just comes as a dormant twig, sort of.
Melissa J. Will says
It’s really not much water when the apples are chopped up quite small. My apple tree was around 5 feet tall when I planted it. I also planted a 5′ grafted one (4 types of apples) at the same time but it hasn’t produced fruit yet – just flowers. I think a “dormant twig” might take a long time to mature!
Nancy Blue Moon says
That is exactly how I make applesauce too Melissa..peel..cut up..add some water..let them cook down..Yummy and natural..good sprinkled with a little cinnamon too! I never tried using different apples..will give it a try!
Melissa J. Will says
Delish! 🙂
Alice says
I make pear sauce in the microwave — peel and dice; add some grated lemon peel and a cinnamon stick — nuke until soft. I’m sure it would work for apples, too.
Melissa J. Will says
That would definitely work for smaller servings. I’d use the stove or crockpot for larger batches. Pear sauce is lovely – and a good use of them since they dont’ stay firm long.
rebecca says
My method is to put apples in crock pot! Fill it to the top, if you wish. No water – cook low until soft. Then pour into the blender and blend till desired consistency! I add cinnamon to the crock pot and sometimes (depending on apple) a little bit of brown sugar or red hots, etc. We LOVE it this way.
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Rebecca, I’m wondering why you need the blender step? I find they’re smooshed after cooking…