Homemade Applesauce – Slow Cooker or Stovetop

This delicious homemade applesauce takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and can be totally customized to your specific taste!  Both stovetop and slow cooker versions available.

Homemade Applesauce

Homemade applesauce is one of the first signs of fall around our house.  If you haven’t tried it before, you’re totally missing out!  Homemade applesauce tastes so much more flavourful than the store bought versions and you can totally customize it to your own specific taste.  It’s so quick and easy, you’ll be stocking up on apples to make more.

Apple season opened this past weekend so I just picked up a bunch to make my first batch.  In addition to getting a tasty, healthy snack, this homemade applesauce will also make your house smell like those delicious scents of fall! Play around with different apple varieties and fall spices to create your own special blend.  It’s one fall treat you can enjoy all year long!

Homemade Applesauce Recipe {Slow Cooker or Stove Top}

Here’s the basic homemade apple sauce recipe, but read over my notes below for tips on how to customize everything to your own personal preferences.  It’s lots of fun experimenting and it’s pretty hard to mess it up!

Do I need to peel the apples?

It’s totally up to you! If you like a really smooth applesauce, you’ll probably want to peel the apples. Personally, I don’t mind the apple peels and they actually contain a lot of nutrients.  So consider saving yourself some time and boosting the nutrition by leaving the peel on.  You can even do half on and half off just to add a little extra texture.

Do I need to add sugar?

I always make it without sugar and I think it tastes delicious and definitely sweet enough for my taste! If you’re used to a really sweet apple sauce or are using apples that are less sweet, however, you may want to add up to 1/2 cup of sugar. I recommend starting with less and gradually adding more sugar if needed to taste. Using brown sugar will give it a beautiful, rich color and a slightly different flavor, so feel free to switch it up.  If I’m craving a bit of a sweeter treat, warm apple sauce swirled with a bit of vanilla salted caramel ice cream is AMAZING!

What are the best types of apples to use for applesauce?

You can really use whatever apples you like for making applesauce or, better yet, mix and match 2-3 different varieties.  It’s kind of fun playing around with the various apples to find your personal preferences.  Try mixing the more tart apples with sweet ones. Even if you like some versions better than others, you can’t really go wrong. Here are some of the most common apple varieties for making applesauce…

• Braeburn – tart, sweet, and aromatic
• Cortland – tart and crisp
• McIntosh – juicy and sweet
• Fuji – sweet and juicy
• Granny Smith – moderately sweet and crisp
• Jonagold – tangy and sweet
• Jonathan – tart flesh, crisp and juicy
• Winesap – very juicy, sweet-sour flavor

What spices can I add to the applesauce?

When I’m making our apple sauce, I generally don’t add much spice as my kids prefer it plain {meaning they won’t eat it if there is spice added to it!}.  If you like spices though, you can definitely play around with adding different spices – usually a 1/2 tsp. to 1/2 tbsp.  Instead of cinnamon, you could try nutmeg, all spice, cardamom, or ground cloves.  Or just make up a plain batch, and sprinkle a little on top of the individual servings to try it out.

How do you store homemade applesauce?

I LOVE eating the applesauce warm immediately after cooking, but, unless you have a really big family {or just really like applesauce!}, you’ll likely have some left overs. You can store your applesauce in a few mason jars or other airtight container in the fridge for 7-10 days {I love my Weck jars and often just use the plastic lids instead of the glass ones.}

If you don’t think that you’ll eat the applesauce within the 7-10 days or like to make it in big batches, you can always freeze it. I like to use it within 2-3 months for best taste, but I’ve read that it will actually remain safe to eat indefinitely if continuously frozen.  When freezing, be sure to allow the applesauce to completely cool, and then place it in an airtight container or freezer bag.  Remember that applesauce will expand when frozen, so leave at least and inch of head space for expansion.

How do you thaw frozen applesauce?

Place the frozen applesauce in the fridge to thaw.  Once defrosted, it will last for an additional 3-5 days if kept in the fridge.  If you don’t have time to wait for it to thaw out in the fridge, it can be defrosted in the microwave.  It should, however, then be eaten immediately.

What are the best ways to eat applesauce?

There are lots of ways that you can enjoy your homemade applesauce, but here are my favorite ways to eat mine…

• served warm and sprinkled with a little bit of cardamom or cinnamon {my favorite spices to add}
• served warm and swirled with vanilla salted caramel ice cream
• mixed with vanilla yogurt
• mixed with a little bit of granola {you can combine this with some vanilla ice cream for an apple crisp flavor}
• served over French toast or pancakes
• spread on apple muffins
• use in some baking in place of oil
• enjoy it chilled on its own

There’s everything I know about homemade applesauce!  I hope you give it a try this fall and I’m sure you’ll be hooked! If you have any of your own favorite versions, I’d love to hear what your secrets are. Happy apple season!