Homemade Applesauce Recipe

Homemade applesauce is far easier to make than you might think. This wildly popular, consistently top-rated recipe is sure to quickly become a go-to staple in your household—trust us.

Applesauce Ingredients Overview

You only need four simple, staple ingredients to pull off this crowd-pleasing recipe:

• Apples: Four medium apples yield roughly four generous servings of finished applesauce.

• Water: You’ll need about ¾ cup of water to cook the apples down to a tender, mashable texture.

• Sugar: White granulated sugar adds balanced sweetness, but you can use as much or as little as fits your taste preferences.

• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds a cozy, warm depth that complements fresh apple flavor perfectly.

Best Apples for Applesauce

The best part of homemade applesauce is that you can use any apples you already have on hand that need to be used up—no special variety required. If you do have the option to pick, however, we recommend blending a mix of sweet and tangy varieties for the most balanced, complex flavor. Popular sweet options include Honeycrisp and Fuji, while bright tangy picks like Granny Smith and Braeburn work wonderfully to cut through excess sweetness.

What to Serve With Applesauce

For a classic, crowd-pleasing savory dinner, pair your fresh applesauce with our Easy Baked Pork Chops. It also works perfectly on its own as a delicious, healthy breakfast or quick snack.

How to Store Applesauce

Let your finished applesauce cool completely to room temperature, then transfer it to an airtight food storage container. It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to three days.

How to Can Applesauce

To preserve your homemade applesauce for up to a year of long-term storage, consider home canning your batch. Check out our complete Canning How-To Guide for full, step-by-step instructions.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

This recipe has been tested and loved by thousands of home cooks, here’s what they have to say:

“Wow, this turned out so good,” raves Lindsay. “I followed the recipe exactly, using Granny Smith apples which worked perfectly. I served it slightly warm and it was absolutely amazing! I’d never made homemade applesauce before, but I’ll definitely be making it again.”

“This recipe was so easy to follow,” shares one Allrecipes community member. “I scaled it up to use six large apples, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a half cup of sugar, and it was delicious! I’ve made it twice now, and I use a stick blender to get exactly the consistency I love.”

“Simple is often best,” according to Phaedra Conaway. “I used McIntosh apples and didn’t peel them. It gave the applesauce extra texture, better color, and more nutrition, and turned out great.”

---

Full Measured Ingredients

(Serving scale tool is temporarily unavailable, original 1x recipe yields 4 servings)

• 4 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

• ¾ cup water

• ¼ cup white sugar (or adjust to taste)

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Gather and prep all your ingredients.

2. Combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan; cover and cook over medium heat until apples are fully soft, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Let the apple mixture cool slightly, then mash with a fork or potato masher until it reaches your desired consistency.

Cook’s Note

You can experiment with other warm spices to change up the flavor, including nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, cloves, or ginger for a custom twist.