By Charlene 18 Comments
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One of my favorite things about fall is making homemade applesauce. If you have never tried this before, it is really the simplest thing ever and it tastes delicious!
There are a few methods to making applesauce- you can cook over the stovetop, bake in the oven or pop into your crock pot.
I have made applesauce over the stovetop many times but with two small children underfoot, I tend to prefer recipes that don’t require standing over a stove.
We love applesauce around here so I did two versions. The best part is you can really customize this to your specific tastes. I usually don’t add sugar to my applesauce because the apples are pretty sweet to begin with but you can add orange peel, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon juice, brown sugar… really whatever flavors you love.
This is what I used for easy Crock Pot applesauce- this seriously takes 5 minutes to get into the Crock and then a few hours to cook and then puree and you are done! Probably 10 minutes total of prep time and you have a healthy after school snack for the kiddos or put these in little tupperware containers for lunchbox snacks.
::CROCK POT APPLESAUCE
- Roughly chop about 4 large apples or 6-7 medium size apples. (You can use any variety here but most people prefer sweeter apples like Red Delicious, Fuji, McIntosh etc…) Mixing and matching varieties is ideal.
- Add apples to your crock pot- make sure the crock pot is at least 1/2 way full with apples.
- Mix 1/3 cup apple juice or cider with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl.*
- Pour mixture over apples and cook on low heat for 3-4 hours.
- The apples should be nice and soft.
- Either mash with a potato masher (for chunky) or add to blender/food processor or use immersion blender until smooth.
It really is that simple. I would say this is probably 15 minutes in total prep time between the chopping and blending.
My kids really like this recipe. I usually sprinkle a tiny bit of brown sugar on top when serving but they have no problem eating it plain or heat it up and serve over ice cream!
Most of the good stuff is located in the peel of the apple so I prefer not to peel mine. You can certainly peel the apples if you prefer.
*Here is where you can change things up to your taste. I used apple cider but you can use water instead. You can also add lemon peels or orange peels for a brighter flavor (remove them and toss after cooking), add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or add about 1/3 cup brown sugar for a nice sweet applesauce.
::DUTCH OVEN APPLESAUCE
This is just as easy as the crock pot method and makes a richer applesauce that is closer to a dessert. Your house is going to smell heavenly if you try this recipe.
- Peel and roughly quarter about 4 large apples or 6-7 medium size apples.
- Add apples to a dutch oven.
- Mix 1/3 cup apple juice or cider or water with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a small bowl.
- Pour mixture over apples.
- Add 1/3 cup of brown sugar and sprinkle over the top of the mixture.
- Top with 2-3 tablespoons of unsalted butter.
- Cover and bake at 350° for about 60 minutes.
- The apples should be nice and soft.
- Either mash with a potato masher (for chunky) or add to blender/food processor or use immersion blender until smooth.
This is a more decadent version- you can easily omit the butter and brown sugar. This tastes like apple pie in a jar to me and it is really delicious over ice cream.
I used cider so my applesauce is a little darker in color. If you use white sugar and water instead in your applesauce, you will get a more vibrant yellow color.
This is a really great item to just pop into a mason jar and tie a ribbon around for a little gift.
You can keep fresh applesauce in the fridge for about a week or pop them into freezer containers and they will last about 4 months.
Here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:
Crock Pot Apple Butter
Copycat Starbucks Hot Chocolate
