Name: Canning Homemade Applesauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 28 medium apples; 2 cups of water

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Canning homemade applesauce is easy! Making and canning applesauce is a great way to preserve apples. Applesauce is a great ingredient and a great snack to have on hand!

Lady Lee’s Note…

It’s the season of apples. I love apples! Green, red, sour, or sweet, I love them all. I have two apple trees. I didn’t plant any of them, they were here when we moved in. They are very old and, unfortunately, very sick.

They produce little apples full of black spots and never reach picking size, they usually fall to the ground while still small. The inside of the tree is soft and rotten, probably home to chubby worms.

I might try to prune the trees or fertilize, or even graft them, but for now, neighbors, local apple orchards, the farmer’s market, and the grocery store are where I get my apples.

I am a fan of the famous apple pie just like anyone else, but there is an apple cake I make all the time that is so easy to put together and is so delicious that I love even more and make on a regular basis.

We also love apples as a snack (these apple chips in the oven are so good!), just raw by themselves or with peanut butter or dipped in honey.

And then there is applesauce… The perfect baby food, the perfect snack, the base for homemade apple butter, and the perfect ingredient to have on hand for baking. And… the perfect way to preserve apples!

Best Apples For Applesauce…

Feel free to use any apple variety that you come by but generally speaking, it’s better to choose a sweet variety (So… Not Granny Smith).

It doesn’t matter what variety of apples you choose, they can be red, green, yellow, or even crabapples. Just make sure that the apples you choose for applesauce are ripe, juicy, and sweet.

If you find a variety with a softer, “sandier” texture like Golden Delicious, for example, that’s even better but not mandatory. We are going to cook and puree the apples with an immersion blender anyway.

How Many Apples Do You Need…

You’ll need an average of three pounds of apples per quart (two pints) of applesauce. I used 28 medium-sized apples and ended up with 4 quarts (or 8 pints), just to give you an idea.

Ingredients…

Apples
Water

Kitchen Tools…

Cutting board
Knife
Large mixing bowl
Large pot
Two cup measuring cup
Wooden spoon
Immersion blender
Jars – I used quart here but I actually prefer using pints. If you want to can your applesauce as a snack, you might want to use half a pint jars so you can just hand it to the kiddos whenever.
Lids and bands
Small pot
Canning utensils
Ladle
Paper towel
Water bath canner

Step-by-step Instructions…

Step one – prep the apples. Start by peeling the apples. Then quarter each apple. Place your knife in a diagonal just above the core and cut the core out. Then, dice.

Prep options…

If you have a food mill, you can skip this step and cook the apples with the skin and the core. Then, when they are soft, run them through the food mill and it will get rid of the skin and core. I don’t have a food mill so I do this by hand (plus, I love having the fresh peels and core pieces for homemade apple scrap vinegar).
Get this awesome apple peeler, slicer, and corer! I didn’t have it when I wrote this post but I do now. It’s a kitchen gadget that changed my life!

Tip – if you prep the apples with a knife, it might take some time to get them all ready for cooking. Set a bowl with cold water next to your cutting board and add the diced apples to the bowl as you work to prevent them from turning brown.

Step two – cook the apples. Add the apples to a large stockpot, add two cups of water and turn the heat to medium-high. Stir frequently and bring the apples to a boil. Let boil gently for 30 minutes.

Step three – blend the apples. When the apples are soft, remove the pot from the heat and let it stand for a few minutes before using the immersion blender to puree the apples into a sauce.

Two important notes here… First, applesauce is a mean mean kinda sauce! If you try to stir it or turn your apples into sauce while the pot is on the stovetop it will bubble and explode in your face! Don’t ask me how I know this… So make sure to remove the pot from the heat, give it a minute and then uncover it and go in there with the blender.

Second, it’s up to you if you want to puree it all the way. If you’d like chunky applesauce, go for it. As far as canning, it doesn’t matter. If the consistency is right for you, then your applesauce is ready.

If you’d like it a little thicker, cover the pot but place the lid in a way that it’s slanted on one side to allow steam to escape and cook it a little longer until it’s thick enough. If you feel that it’s too thick, you can add some more water and mix.

How to Can Applesauce…

Step four – prep for canning. Wash the jars, lids, and bands with hot water and dish soap. Use the funnel and a laddel to fill the jar with the applesauce leaving half an inch of headspace.

Use the bubble remover to remove air bubbles. Then use a damp paper towel to clean the rim of the jar. Center the lid on the jar and close the jar with the band fingertight. Repeat with all the jars.

Step five – process. Place the packed jars on the elevated rack of the water bath canner so they don’t touch each other. Slowly lower the rack into the hot water. Cover the canner and bring the water back to a boil. Keep the water at a rolling boil and process quart jars for 20 minutes and pint and half pint jars for 15 minutes.

Water bath canner altitude adjustment table.

If you live in altitude higher than 1000 feet, make sure to adjust the processing time according to the table above. When processing time is up, turn the heat off and uncover the canner. Let the jars stay in the hot water for 5 more minutes before you remove them with the jar lifters. Set the jars on a kitchen towel on the counter and let them cool completely overnight.

How to Store Applesauce…

Once the jars are completely cool, check to make sure that they are sealed properly before storing them. Press the center of the lid. If there is no movement there it means that the jar is sealed and ready for storage.

I usually remove the band and wipe the jar before storing it on a shelf or in the pantry. I like storing the jars without the bands because this way I have a better view into the jar and I can make sure that nothing funny is growing in there. I can also reuse the bands for canning something else.

If you have a jar that didn’t seal, you can keep it in the fridge or try to process it again (replace the lid and clean the rim). Canned applesauce will last a long time on the shelf or in the pantry… Between 12-18 months but we usually use it sooner.

Serving Homemade Applesauce…

As a snack – we simply open a jar and scoop some apple sauce into a bowl. You can heat it before serving or serve at room temperature. You can add cinnamon, brown sugar, maple, or seeds like chia before serving.
In baked goods – applesauce is a great substitute for oils in baked goods. If a recipe calls for half a cup of oil or butter, replace it with half a cup of applesauce.

Kitchen Notes…

Refrigerate the apple sauce – you don’t have to can your applesauce! You can make it in smaller quantities and store it in the fridge to use right away. It should last at least a week.
Freeze the applesauce – if you are processing a large amount of apples and you don’t want to can the sauce, feel free to freeze it. It freezes very well. Place in jars with a freezer lid and place in the fridge. It should last 18 months or more!
Season – you can make your applesauce a bit different each time. Season it with nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, clove, or a combination of these.
Sweeten – sometimes we harvest apples that aren’t the sweetest. Feel free to sweeten your sauce with brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey.
Add other fruit – add strawberries, plums, peaches, pears… Just make sure to core the fruit and remove the skin. Adding other fruit should not make a difference in the canning process.

This is such a simple way to preserve apples! Applesauce is delicious and a great ingredient to have in the pantry. I hope that you’ll give this a try!