Homemade Applesauce for Canning

Today we're bringing you the second recipe in our series on apples. If you missed the first apple themed recipe for Spiced Apple Pie Jam, make sure to grab that one too. 

This homemade applesauce recipe will make you wonder why you haven't always made it from scratch. You really just add all of the ingredients into a big pot, cook it down, and blend it up. That's it. You can either store it in the refrigerator if you're going to eat it within a few days, or can it for a longer shelf life.

If you have never used a water bath canning method to can jams or jellies before, you'll want to read the complete instructions online before you start canning your Homemade Applesauce.

Homemade Applesauce for Canning

6 lb apples, peeled, cored, and quartered

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup bottled lemon juice

1 Tbsp cinnamon, more or less to taste (optional)

4 pint (16 oz.) glass preserving jars with lids and bands

1. Combine all ingredients in a 6 quart stainless steel pot. Cook over medium-low heat for 25 minutes or until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Mash apple mixture with a potato masher (for chunky applesauce) or blend with an immersion blender (for smooth applesauce).
3. Ladle hot applesauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch of head space.
4. Follow water bath canning directions to complete the canning process. Process Applesauce 20 minutes. 
5. Recipe yields 4 pint jars.

What Recipes Can I Make with Applesauce?

These Harris Sisters' favorites all include applesauce as an ingredient. Make sure to check them out:

• Grandma Elizabeth's Applesauce Cake
• Banana Nut Muffins
• Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Notes:

For all of our apple recipes, an apple peeler / corer / slicer will make quick work of prepping the apples.

This recipe can be doubled and can also be easily adapted to personal tastes. For example, if you are using sweet apples, you may want to use less sugar. Or, you may want to adjust the amount of cinnamon to taste or add different spices (such as nutmeg or allspice). 

When we made this, we made a big batch. We made 1/2 chunky with less cinnamon and 1/2 smooth with lots of cinnamon.

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