How to make unsweetened apple sauce? This quick and easy recipe is so much better than store-bought. All you need is two ingredients apples and lemon juice.
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How to make unsweetened apple sauce? This sugar-free recipe is healthy and easy to make. All you need is just two simple ingredients.
👛 Cost To Make
Estimated cost AUD$ = $3.00 or about $0.40 a serve
🌟 About This Recipe
- This simple unsweetened applesauce recipe is healthy and very easy to make.
- It can be enjoyed as part of a healthy breakfast, as a simple mid-day snack, or served as a side for a roast pork dinner.
- Use apple sauce in baking as a replacement for oil or eggs (see our FAQ for how).
- Homemade unsweetened apple sauce is great as baby food and much healthier than store-bought.
- It can be made with the peel on for a textured apple sauce or peeled for a smooth apple sauce.
- You can adjust the consistency of the sauce by how much liquid you add or don't add.
- Turn it into a smooth puree with a blender, or make it chunky by mashing it with a fork.
What is Apple Sauce?
Applesauce is made by cooking apples until they become soft. The cooked apples can then be pureed to a smooth paste or mashed for a chunky texture.
Benefits
The benefits of all-natural apple sauce that is it is healthy and does not have any added sugar, preservatives, and is additive-free.
🥘 Ingredients
Please note that below is a guide for some of the ingredients we used in the recipe. The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.
The best apples for applesauce without sugar will depend on how you use it and your preferences in taste.
You may want to choose sweet apples like Jonagold, Gala, or Golden Delicious for eating as is or serving at breakfast or as a dessert because of their natural sweetness.
On the other hand, a tart apple like Granny Smith might be your go-to option for serving as a savory side.
Or use tart or semi-sweet apple sauce (a combination of sweet and sour apples) for cake baking because it will keep the sweetness down.
Lemon juice (or lime juice) - stops the apples from turning brown which stops the sauce from turning brown. If you don't have lemon juice or think that the apple sauce will become too sour, you can use fresh orange juice instead.
🍳 Instructions
Step 1 - Peel and quarter the apples, then remove the core and chop the apples into even-sized pieces. Place the apples into a saucepan with a lid add the lemon juice and water.
Step 2 - Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and bring to a boil, turn the heat to low, put the lid on, and simmer until the apples become fork-tender - this will take about 20 - 25 minutes. As it cooks check the apples from time to time and stir, and if it looks a little dry add some water, this will stop them from burning.
Step 3 - Use a fork, potato masher, immersion blender, or food processor to process the apple to your desired texture, smooth or chunky.
Step 4 - Cool completely, transfer to a clean and dry container, seal, and refrigerate.
✏️ Recipe Notes
- If you find that after mashing or processing the sauce, you would like a thinner sauce, adjust the consistency by mixing in a little extra water.
📖 Variations
- Add other flavors - If you like, you can add extra flavor to the apples by adding a small cinnamon stick and one or two cloves or some pumpkin spice blend to the apples as they cook. Then after cooking, remove and discard the cinnamon stick and cloves, then mash or puree in a food processor.
- To sour - If you have used a tart apple and find the apple sauce a little too sour, you could mix in 1 - 2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar to balance the taste, or if you prefer not to use sugar, cook up some sweet apples to mix in with the tart ones.
👪 Serving Size
This recipe make 8, ½ cup servings.
🍬 Calories Per Serve
Each half cup serving is about 78 calories.
🥗 Serving Suggestions
- Unsweetened apple sauce made with peel apples can be used as baby food. As a first food, make the apple sauce a fine smooth puree.
- Apple sauce can be eaten as a healthy snack by itself or with yogurt and will make a great afternoon school snack for your kids.
- Serve it with Greek yogurt, custard, or warm with ice cream as a quick and easy dessert.
- It can be used as a substitute for butter or eggs or oil in some baked goods.
- Use apple sauce for a quick and easy filling for flans, tarts, or puff pastry turnovers.
- Use it in smoothies for healthy and filling breakfast drinks.
- Make popsicles with homemade apple sauce.
- Use it as a topping on breakfast cereals.
- It goes very well with pan-fried pork chops.
- Use it in baked goods as an oil replacement in cakes, a filling for apple turnovers, or a quick pie filling.
🌡️ Storage
How long does apple sauce last in the fridge?
You can keep homemade applesauce in the fridge for about two weeks which is ideal if you are making small batches for eating during the week.
Can you freeze applesauce?
Yes, you can freeze apple sauce, and it freezes very well.
To freeze apple sauce, allow it to cool completely and transfer it to freezer-safe sealable serving-size containers.
Don't overfill the containers because the apple sauce does expand when frozen. Label and date the containers and freeze them for up to 12 months.
📝 FAQ
Apple sauce is a good substitute for oil because it reduces the fat and calories in cakes. You can replace half or all of the oil with apple sauce.
It's best to use unsweetened apple sauce for baking rather than one sweetened with sugar because it can make the cake overly sweet.
Yes, you can use apple sauce to replace eggs in baking. Use ¼ cup of apple sauce for each egg in the recipe.
However, you will find that your baked goods will be dense and heavy when using just apple sauce, so you will need to add ½ a teaspoon of baking powder to the recipe to help make it lighter.
Yes, you can replace half the amount of butter with apple sauce.
Now you know how to make unsweetened apple sauce, please try it. If you do, please come back and leave a comment below because I would love to hear how you went.
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📋 Recipe Card
How To Make Unsweetened Apple Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg apples any variety
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
- ¼ cup water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel, core and chop the apples and rinse under cold water.
- Place the chopped apples, sugar (if using), lemon juice and water into a large saucepan with a lid. Cook covered over an almost low heat for about 25 or until the apples are soft and tender. Check and stir the sauce several times during cooking. Note: During cooking if the sauce looks like it’s drying out (this could be because, the heat is too high, or lid is not on properly) add a little more water.
- After cooking, allow the apples to cool slightly, then mash with a fork or potato masher if you want coarse apple sauce. If you would like a puree, use a stick blender, or pass it through a sieve.
- Cool completely, place into a clean container, seal and refrigerate.
Notes
- If you find that after mashing or processing the sauce, you would like a thinner sauce, adjust the consistency by mixing in a little extra water or lemon juice.
- Add other flavors - If you like, you can add extra flavor to the apples by adding a small cinnamon stick and one or two cloves or some pumpkin spice blend to the apples as they cook. Then after cooking, remove and discard the cinnamon stick and cloves, then mash or puree in a food processor.
- To sour - If you have used a tart apple and find the apple sauce a little too sour, you could mix in 1 - 2 tablespoons of white granulated sugar to balance the taste, or if you prefer not to use sugar, cook up some sweet apples to mix in with the tart ones.
Nancy says
Lovely, simple and an easy recipe! Unsweetened apple sauce is great for baking and enjoying as simple dessert.