Easy Homemade Applesauce: 3 Ingredients

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This Homemade Applesauce is super easy to make, utterly delicious with fresh apples, and cooks in 15 minutes. Slightly sweet with hints of cinnamon. Absolutely yummy with only 3 ingredients!

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This applesauce is inspired by an Amish recipe given to me years ago. Although paired down, as I’m not canning quarts and quarts of it for a cellar.

Delicious homemade applesauce with fresh-picked (or even market-picked) apples is so easy, I promise — you’ll find yourself making this often!

Homemade Applesauce Inspiration

A few days ago I happened to drive past a home in our neighborhood fortunate enough to have a large apple tree in their side yard.

The apples are stunningly gorgeous. Giant balls of brilliant red hanging from the now-turning leaves.

What caught my attention was the 3 or 4 young girls climbing in that tree, picking apples in their own yard.

Oh that we all had an apple tree like that one!

But with a crisper drawer full of apples in my own refrigerator, it didn’t take me long to get home and make a quick batch of homemade applesauce.

Applesauce Ingredients

This recipe is so simple, it only requires 3 ingredients. Measurements are in the recipe card below, but here’s what you’ll need:

Apples
Granulated sugar
Cinnamon stick (plus a pinch of salt, optional)

Vertical side view of Homemade Applesauce in a wood bowl

Best Apples for Homemade Applesauce

One of the tricks to delicious, unique, homemade applesauce is a variety of apples.

Which then puts a stamp of individuality on your own unique applesauce recipe. You can share it or key it as a secret recipe if you prefer!

When choosing apples, you want to consider if you prefer sweet or tart apples. Baking apples are best, but each variety provides a different flavor. Try to combine at least 2 varieties in your applesauce.

Sweet to Mildly Sweet Apples

Golden Delicious (my favorite)
Fiji
Cortland

Tart Apples

Gravenstein
McIntosh
Granny Smitih

Sharp, Crisp Apples

Braeburn
Ida Red
Rome

How to Make Applesauce

Peel and core the apples, and cut them into large chunks.

This can be done with an apple peeler, or by hand. While I dearly love my hand crank apple peeler, with only a few apples needed, I find it easiest to use a sharp paring knife.

Step 1: Combine Applesauce Ingredients

Combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon in a heavy, deep bottom pot.

Uncooked applesauce ingredients in a red dutch oven

Step 2: Cook the Applesauce

Cook over medium heat, stirring as necessary to redistribute the heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the apples are soft.

Cooked, unmashed homemade applesauce in a red Dutch oven — Cooked, unmashed Homemade Applesauce

Step 3: Mash the Applesauce

Taste warm applesauce and add additional sugar if desired or additional water to think if desired.

Let cool slightly and mash apples with a fork or a potato masher for a smooth consistency. Otherwise, you can leave the apples chunkier.

Mashed Homemade Applesauce in a red Dutch Oven

What to Serve with Homemade Applesauce

If you asked my Amish friend, she would say applesauce may be served with dessert, but seldom alone. Her family loves it with fried potatoes, rich meats, and even alongside scrapples and eggs for breakfast.

Just in case you’re wondering what scapples is, it’s a Pennsylvania Dutch traditional food with roots in Germany. You can read more about scrapples here.

Here are more ideas of what to serve applesauce with:

pork chops
savory dishes
cottage cheese
plain yogurt
granola
In baked goods like Greek Yogurt Banana Bread

FAQs: Homemade Applesauce

How long does homemade applesauce last?

This applesauce can last in the freezer for up to a year in an airtight container. It can also be refrigerated for 7 to 10 days. Or canned for longer storage.

How many servings are in this applesauce recipe?

The recipe makes 1 quart of applesauce and eight 1/2 cup servings. It’s easily doubled or tripled.

Can you preserve applesauce?

Absolutely! To find out more about safely canning applesauce, including equipment needed, visit the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They have everything you’ll need there.

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