A few days ago I bought a bunch of apples, because I love apples. Unfortunately they turned out to be a little bit mealy. I like apples crisp, don’t you? Fuji and Honeycrisp are probably my favorites. Galas are good too. These were supposed to be Fuji but I think they were past their prime. In any case, I needed a way to use them up.
(Picture stolen from an old post of mine.)
So I made homemade unsweetened applesauce. It turned out to be super-sweet even though it has no added sweetener – just the way I like it!
Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 apples, chopped in fourths
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
- Add chopped apples and water to a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil and let the apples boil for about 10 minutes.
- Some apples may start to lose their skin. You can remove it if you like, and eat it for added fiber.
Mmmm…. Fiber.
- Add the cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix it around.
- Turn the heat down to low, leave the top off the pan, and simmer/low-boil for another 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Let the apples cool. If you don’t want the skin, you can peel it off once the apples are cool enough. I suggest leaving it on because I didn’t notice any odd flavor or texture from it.
- Puree the apple pieces + leftover water (there shouldn’t be that much) + skins (optional) in a food processor. They should blend easily and turn right into the perfect applesauce consistency.
- Eat the homemade unsweetened applesauce!
***
You will have to wait to see how else I used the applesauce from this homemade unsweetened applesauce recipe. It was delicious plain, but I do have one other use for it (it’s a dessert).
Do you like unsweetened applesauce? Have you ever made an unsweetened applesauce recipe from scratch? Also, why do people insist on sweetening fruity things – isn’t the fruit sugar sweet enough?
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Tagged: applesauce, dessert, homemade unsweetened applesauce, recipe, sugar, unsweetened applesauce recipe, vegan, vegetarian
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I’ve never made applesauce. I always buy the unsweetened applesauce, but it tastes pretty bland. Your recipe looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it.
never made it but sometimes i microwave steam chopped apples and sprinkle cinnamon on them
I’ve never made applesauce, but I prefer Galas. I used to love Fujis, but now they taste a bit too watery and tame to me or something. And I think you know how I feel about sweet things, so no question I don’t try and make them sweeter.
The kind of cool thing is that my company also owns a bunch of fruit/veg magazines, so everyone is really into the latest and greatest with new fruits. Sometimes they get sent new apple breeds that aren’t even in stores yet. It’s a little weird, but I just dig that people like fruit
@Abby: That is awesome (re: new apples). I am always happy when I’m around people that get excited for fruits and veggies. You should check out the breed called Jazz apples – very very good. Crispy and exciting.
We’ve actually had Jazz apples around here for awhile–they’re not bad
Oh the color is gorgeous! It looks like butternut squash puree!
My 3 fave apples are the same as yours! And I love homemade apple sauce. It’s so easy to make…
@Krista: Check out Jazz apples too! I just discovered them 2 days ago. SO good. They’re similar to Fuji.
ohhhhhhhhhhhhh I do love crisp juicy apples and not mushy ones BLECH.
I make apple sauce for JJ in my crock pot.
Just cube them (skin or not) and add a can of crushed pineapple, butter and brown sugar if you want, vanilla and tons of cinnamon and let it be.
OMG.
YUM.
it never lasts long.
@Cindy: Oh my gosh I will have to try that. I bet Bobby would go crazy for it!
My favorite apples are Honeycrisp and Ida Reds. I make my own applesauce, too– it’s great mixed into my morning bowl of oatmeal.
@Melleah: Oo I will have to check out Ida Reds. I’ve never heard of them.
I can’t wait to try this! I have been wanting to substitute applesauce for eggs in my baking, and this seems like a good place to start.
I think people sweeten already delicious things like fruit because “foods” like Sweet & Low have warped our tastebuds into thinking something has to but SUPER sweet to taste good. Thanks for posting this!
@Haughty by Nature: I totally agree! People are conditioned now to think that everything has to be ridiculously sweet. Honestly, I prefer things unsweetened most of the time! I grew up not using much sugar though, so I suppose I am used to it
Apple picking in the fall was one thing my daughter and I did all the time – and I made homemade applesauce and canned it – so good using fresh apples!
Thanks for all your recipes on my giveaway – good luck, I’ll be picking a winner tomorrow!
@Biz: I love apple picking. I missed it this past fall but will definitely go this year! It’s something I always used to do with my mom too. Thanks again for the giveaway! It’s funny that we seem to win each other’s
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Approximately how much applesauce did this yield? Great recipe post!
@Anna: It made maybe 3 cups? It was a decent amount.
[...] I don’t know about you, but I find apples plenty sweet on their own. Instead of enjoying the natural sweetness of nature’s bounty, kids get used to artificially sweetened food and start to “need” their food to be ultra-sweetened. Luckily, my friend had also purchased Mott’s Granny Smith Applesauce for the moms and, surprise, it contained NO added sugar or HFCS. There are many brands of applesauce that only contain apples and vitamin C (prevents the applesauce from browning). They taste great and kids will be spared the added sugars and empty calories. You can also make your own applesauce; check out these recipes from Devine Health and The Salad Girl. [...]
Great Post and quality information!
Nice pic. great post. Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to try this recipe. : )
mmmmmm tried this recipe with some fresh apples I picked and had no idea what to do with. Delicious! I will be using part of the applesauce recipe to make low fat buttermilk apple bran muffins
I just made this recipe and it’s more delicious than any store-bought sweetened kind! Thanks for posting
Thanks for the recipe. It was divine! I used the left over juice from boiling to make an incredible small glass of unsweetened apple juice-added a little stevia and it was wonderful!
How long and how can I store it?
[...] Homemade unsweetened applesauce. This recipe is delicious, simple and doesn’t have any added sugar. Make a batch and pile it on top of those latkes. [...]
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve made it three times now. I’ve found that 2 apples makes a cup of applesauce. I just smoosh mine with a potato masher ’cause I like the chunkiness of it. I’ve only used it recipes, one for dressing in a slaw and the other two (this is when I discovered that 2 apples makes one cup not two and had to make a second batch – which was so easy to do!) for buttermilk oat apple muffins, just like Amanda.
My husband did eat the leftovers from the slaw and said it was delicious. I ate the big peels that escaped becoming sauce – HOLY MOLY YUM Batman! Seriously delish. I will never buy applesauce from the store again.
Also, I totally agree with you on the sweet front. Things these days are way too sweet. I made a compote that called for 1/2 of sugar. I put it two tbsps of honey, and even that is too sweet. Next time, I will slowly sweeten to cut the edge off the berries so I don’t go over board.
Thanks again!
@Kelly: Thanks for the great feedback! I should try the potato masher idea because I love it chunky as well. And I have never tried it as a dressing – I’ve used applesauce in baking to make things lower in calories but never dressing before.
[...] found this recipe for unsweetened applesauce at TheSaladGirl.com. This was one of the first unsweetened applesauce recipes to pop up in google and I really liked [...]
Can’t wait to try this!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I tried and it so good. It goes very well with this vegan cake. http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/vegan-chocolate-applesauce-cake-194508. Enjoy it!
[...] don’t sell applesauce. Therefore, I turned to the mighty google for help and found this unsweetened applesauce recipe. Had to go on a late night fruit stand run for apples but it was totally worth it. Of [...]