I have done the strenuous work of preparing applesauce for several years by laboring over chopping, cooking, pureeing through a food strainer (a great tool, but still extra work), and finally cooking again and seasoning. It takes a lot of time and effort and required a huge family crew. When this year came around, I knew I must simplify the process. My children love applesauce and it makes a lovely quick, easy, and healthy snack.
With my new technique, applesauce preparation was a breeze! No peeling and no straining! No need for any extra special equipment, just a blender or food processor. I used my favorite tool – the Blendtec – but you certainly can use what you have on hand. You may have to prepare smaller batches, but it will still readily save you a lot of time and effort. Plus, keep the peels on will give you more nutrition, since the majority of the vitamins are directly under the skin! You also are cooking the apples far less (just heating to warm before processing) and thus preserving more nutrition there. I made two dozen jars in just over an hour!
We also used the Tattler reusable and BPA free canning lids this time and were very pleased with the results. They do take a little extra effort, in that you have to tighten and then unscrew 1/4 inch before processing, and then tighten immediately after removing from the water bath (which can be very hot and difficult to accomplish without a thick towel), but I believe the re-usability factor out ways any disadvantages. I had one lid pop off while tightening and one pop off in the processor, so I assume it just takes a bit of time to get used to the process. I love how they are BPA free as well, so we don’t have to be exposed to this unnecessary toxin which is present in the standard Kerr/Ball canning lids. (Thanks to Stephanie at Keeper of the Home for her review of this product!). For my local friends, the Tattler lids are available at Mirador Community Store in Portland.
Here’s my video tutorial:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSss7GRePs0
Directions:
1. Prepare your water bath by filling with water 3/4 way up the side of the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. In the meantime, sterilize your glass canning jars in the dishwasher by running them through a cycle. Place a small pot on the stove with the canning lids to sterilize as well. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer while you can the applesauce.
2. Cut your apples into large chunks, removing the core and seeds. No peeling is necessary!
3. Place the apples in small quantities in a food processor or blender and add approximately 1/2 cup before pulsing/blending the mixture until smooth. Add more water as necessary.
4. Transfer pureed apples to a large stock pot and season as desired with sugar and cinnamon (we use about 1 Tbsp cinnamon and 1 Tbsp or more sucanat for a large stock pot full of applesauce). Heat sauce until just warm.
5. Once the applesauce is heated and sweetened, pour carefully into your sterile glass quart size canning jars (a funnel is ideal for this process). Place hot lids on jars (whether your standard Kerr/Ball canning lids or Tattler lids).
6. Place jars in a boiling water bath. Once water bath is full of jars, cover, and return water to boiling point. Once it is boiling, process for 20 minutes. Transfer to the counter to cool completely.
Hi,
This looks so wonderfully easy, and healthy too! I was on the look out for a way to do my apples without having to peel them, using what I have, and this is it! I thank you for your wonderful video and instructions!
I am late to the party, but I found this post through Google today. My browser doesn’t load videos too well, so forgive me if you answered this there. Did I read correctly that you blended the apples BEFORE cooking?
Yes. I don’t cook at all.
i hear that these lids have formaldehyde in them,is the true? is there a way to lessen it’s presents? thanks
I haven’t heard that. They were created to be BPA free and a reusable alternative so I doubt there is any concern.
I make frozen applesauce by cutting the apples into chunks, skin on, and throwing it in the crock pot. When it is done I use a stick blender to puree it right in the crockpot and then scooping it out into containers to freeze. This year I am going to make the sauce the same way but can it instead so it will last longer and i can make more.
Just wanted to mention the stick blender in the crockpot. It makes it even easier, faster, with less mess.
So I’ve never made applesauce before and I want it to be easy so I want to try this. How long and what setting do you put it on in the crockpot? And once it’s cooked you can just put it into containers and freeze it? How long does it last that way? I have some ball plastic canning containers without BPA that I could use for this I think and then I can avoid the hot water bath and glass jars.
Love it! It worked great. WAY easier than straining!!! One tip I have: once jars are filled with applesauce use a rubber spatula to push air bubbles out of the applesauce. Thanks for the great recipe Lindsay!
So planning on doing this soon!! But how long does the applesauce keep? I’m just wondering would it be something that would keep until the next apple harvest? (like a year) and be able to make applesauce once a year at apple harvest and not have it go bad in the pantry?
Yes, it will certainly keep till the next season, just like any canning.
Do you actually submerge the jars in boiling water? It looked like they were only covered up to half way up the jar. Just curious, because I always thought it had to be completely under with at least 1″ water covering. Thanks!
Yes, they are fully submerged as you said. IT may be difficult to tell in the video.
ohhhhhhh my goodness
I cannot wait to try this! My little one is mostly vegan, super healthy 21 month old who loves applesauce with all his little heart.
I like this recipe because you don’t have to use a strainer and it is SO simple! Keep up the amazing work on this website. I share it with lots of people.
i did this today. it was my first time attempting to can anything.
thank you so much! it turned out great!
Just curious….but how many apples does it seem you end up using for a dozen or more cans. I’m just trying to get an estimatate. I was just going to order a case of organic apples and have at it but I’m not sure if I even need that many or not?
One case of apples (20 lbs) makes about 10-12 quart jars.
i used a blender for my applesauce and my pear sauce. next year i will try the leave the skins on method would save tons of time.
the sauce is sooo smooth everyone loves it. i also used the same sauce to make the BESt apple butter ever
Thank you SO MUCH for this post! I’ve made 12 quarts so far (6 quarts in 45 minutes one night…minus processing time…and then a repeat 6 quarts in 45 minutes the following night…all by myself both nights). How wonderful to have a recipe where it doesn’t take the whole family a whole day of stress to make some yummy applesauce. Thanks again!
That looks so good! I’m going to have to try the blender method. By the way, what variety of apples did you use and where did you get them in large quantity? I’m here in SW Washington but not sure where to get large quantities of organic apples for a good price?
I use a variety of apples – in fact, I don’t know all their names. I bought them at Thompson’s Farm out in Gresham, OR. They are a no-spray farm and have fabulous prices on any produce I need to buy in bulk quantity.
Goodness! I now live in Sacramento but I was raised in the Portland/Milwaukie area. I’m now in my mid-50′s (ee-gads!) and when I was growing up, I made my summer-money picking berries at the Thompson Farms (if it’s the same one). We would catch the EARLY morning “berry bus” in our neighborhood and, with packed lunch, make the trip to Gresham for a day of real work. Now I guess it’s considered some violation of child-labor laws but we were grateful for the opportunity, our parents knew where we were, we weren’t watching t.v., we were out in the sunshine (usually) and we were learning the value of money. I’m so thankful that I stumbled onto your site to recall “Thompson Farms” as well as the terrific applesauce recipe. I have an urban farm on 1/3-acre in Sacramento and I raise organic food which produces approximately 85% of the food that I eat.
I recently found a recipe for canning apple juice (in the Ball canning Blue Book). It looks like you just boil apples in water and use the leftover water/juice to can as juice. Has anyone ever used the juice leftover from making applesauce to can as a juice?
I have boiled apples, but never found the juice to be anything close to apple juice.
Niki, i have used the leftover water from my apples and canned it as apple juice. To get it to be concentrated you have to do many batches of apples in the same water. We just happened to taste the “water” after we were finally done with the applesauce (we did 7 bushel!) and found it to be very wonderful and hated to throw it away. So, we canned it! It is nice to have the real stuff on hand. The apples we get are called Golden Supreme, much like the golden delicious but sweeter.
Loved the post! I think the video is a great idea, especially for all the folks that are new to canning.
For what it’s worth, sometimes you can make applesauce without any sweetener if you get the sweeter varieties of apples, eg Honeycrisp, Fuji, etc. Gravensteins also make very good sauce!
Can you taste the peels in the applesauce? I have two apple trees in my yard, and I can’t seem to use them fast enough. This would be a great way to catch up!
It is slightly more textured rather than perfectly smooth, but we don’t mind it at all. It is hardly noticeable.
I love the chunkier applesauces because I use them for cooking. I make chicken breasts with applesauce (bake chicken breasts, then top them with applesauce and cook for another 20 minutes, top with cheddar cheese and heat until melted). I add bar-b-q sauce and use it as a glaze on the pork products. The skin-on chunkier sauces work MUCH better to bake/cook with since they don’t slide of and turn to liquid.
I have NEVER “cooked” with applesauce…. but after reading this comment, I’m thinking there are a lot of meats that are going to become acquainted with mashed apples in the near future! Thanks for the idea, CJ!
This is exactly how I do my tomatoes as well!!! So easy, and you get the additional nutrition of those wonderful peels. I never thought to do apples this way, though. Thanks for the ideas!
Yah! I did this for my tomatoes as well and it works so well and simple! Glad I’m not the only one!
I’m with you both on the tomatoes. Roasting them whole first made them even better. Thanks for the applesauce recipe–I have a box of honeycrisp seconds specifically for applesauce.
Thanks so much! I was not planning on making apple sauce or apple butter this year because I don’t have a food mill and I can’t see how it’s worth it to peel, peel, peel. And I love the skins, so hate to waste them. I already turned down free apples because of this. BUT, if I don’t have to peel, I will never turn down free apples again!
I just remembered that I turned down free apples twice this year. Boohoo, but never again!
I’m excited by this!!
I love this idea of leaving the peels on for added nutrition, but I wonder if this is safe to can? Has the recipe been tested for safety? Adding the peels might change the acidity level considerably – but I don’t know much about that. Still, it would be a great recipe for freezing!
I did quite a bit of research and found nothing unsafe about including the peels in for applesauce. Many recipes mention including the peels for a more chunky applesauce without any reference to there being a risk. It’s all part of the apple. You can certainly freeze it as well. I have done that on numerous occasions.
Thank you for mentioning you could freeze it instead of canning it. The canning was the only drawback for me. My 4-year-old daughter has been wanting to help me make applesauce the past couple of days; I think this will be a perfect way to do it!
I would like to make this for a 7 month old. Are the peels going to be a choke hazard for him? Or would they be small enough?
I have an even simpler method of doing applesauce! wash & cut the apple in four pieces( no coring or peeling) fill a pot with apples & just enough water on the bottom to keep them from burning. when they are softened, after 15-30 min., pour the hot apples thru a victorio food strainer. It seperates the peels & seeds from the sauce & you have the perfect applesauce! just fill up your jars & process for 15min. we also use this strainer to make our tomato juice. so easy. I would never attempt to try it without.
That’s funny…that’s the same method we have done for previous years that I always considered to be a ton of work even with the strainer. Yes, the food strainer is nice but not necessary with my method.
I’m going to agree with Karen on this one. While it does require the special equipment of a Victorio strainer, that is the simplest method. There really is no need to cook it once it’s sauce- just put it straight in the bottles and process. So no peeling, no coring, cook once, and puree. It’s easy to do a lot at once and my kids love cranking the Victorio. Perfect for large amounts of sauce. (My Aunt literally does apples by the ton this way)
I agree with Karen too. To me, most of the work is in peeling and coring. I just cut the apple in 4 pieces, cook until soft, run through the strainer and process in the canner. Seems the easiest way to me!
Funny! Whatever floats your boat. I just know that this method saved me oodles of time. Did you guys actually watch the video? Just curious if you watched it and still found the strainer method easier.
I was wondering about those new lids. I like the idea that they are BPA free, but I can’t manage to replace all of my lids with those and haven’t read many reviews of them yet. I have well over 500 canned items on my shelves, 150 of applesauce alone! At least the food doesn’t touch the top of the lid once it’s canned and sitting on the shelf. I feel the exposure is minimal compared to canned items from the store. It will take me forever to replace all of my lids. I use
a food strainer to make my sauce., it is so worth the money and you can use it for so many other things also.
http://www.amazon.com/Palmer-Wholesale-VKP250-Victorio-Vegetable/dp/B001I7FP54/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1286911191&sr=8-3
Yes, it might be something you slowly build your stock over time. I do about 50-75 jars a year, so nothing compared to your stock.
Good for you! I only used them this year for applesauce, but hope to add to my stock next year when I do pickles and such again. Yes, I have used the food strainer (I just called it a food mill above). Nice tool but I found my new method above made it soo much easier.
It’s also the re usability factor that is a huge plus! You wouldn’t have to keep buying those canning lids and throwing them away after your opened them.
I found your website via a friend’s sharing on facebook! AWESOME!! I’m definitely going to be following along. I am just in the very beginning phase of turning my family’s eating habits around. I’m so nervous, but I know that God will provide the grace for each new day. Thanks for all you share.
blessings,
Erin
Lynn, Actually apples are very high in acidity, so you can use the hot water bath and not use a pressure canner.
Not to be a downer, but I was told you must use a pressure canner unless your food is acidic. I’ve been putting my applesauce into my canning jars, then freezing it. I peel, cook, then mash with a spoon to have chunky applesauce, or use my immersion blender for smooth. Gets rid of pesticides on the peels, although it is more time-intensive.
Ooh! We did a video on this as well on Courageous Homekeeping! They used a kitchen aid attachment (actually two- the meat grinder + the fruit strainer) but it was super easy and quick!
http://www.courageoushomekeeping.com/featured/canning-applesauce-101/
I love to make applesauce and I have a Villaware Food Strainer (http://www.agrisupply.com/product.asp?pn=58700) that is amazing! Small investment 15 years ago and I am still using it. All I do is chop the apple into quarters, steam the apples in a stock pot (with 1 inch water), let cool and then put it through the strainer. Out one end comes the sauce and the other end the skin and seeds!
As with all products used with hot foods, the product can leach BPA or other stuff. So, let your food cool down (I put it into the fridge overnight and then strain it) and then process it. Even a blender has plastic bits to it.
Do you leave the peals on and just blend it all?
Yes! No peeling or straining is necessary. It has a slight texture to it, but you get more nutrition this way and less hassle.
I also have an easy method for making applesauce, which you could then can. I wash and chop my apples (leave skins on!) and put them in the crockpot. The smaller you chop, the more you’ll fit! No water or sweetener is needed, though sometimes I add chai spices (yum!!). Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for less. Then I blend in my vitamix to get a uniform consistency (and hide the fact that I did not remove the peels from my picky dad, haha!). (Note: never fill a blender with hot liquid/sauce more than halfway…hot liquid expands in a blender!).
At that point, I pour the warm applesauce back into the crockpot, which I turn to warm. We love the warm applesauce fresh and it’s always eaten within 24 hours (at that point, the consistency is about halfway between applesauce and apple butter). It’s fabulous with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, too. However, you could pour the mixture from the blender to your canning jars and can. It’s a very smooth consistency, and not watery, and no sweetener is needed at all, especially if you use a variety of apples. I adore local apples this time of year!
I also like the raw applesauce recipe made with apples, lemon juice, and cinnamon or apple pie spice from Elana’s Pantry (I leave the skins on there too, though). I make that in my food processor, but you could make it in a Vitamix too. It’s incredibly refreshing in the warmer months! And quick!
I like the crockpot idea, but the crockpot is so limited in size. You definitely wouldn’t be able to make alot at once. I can see the benefit for a quick applesauce for special occasions.
How long does the apple sauce keep?
Unopened canned applesauce will keep for several years. Once you open it, it keeps for at least a month in the fridge. I have never had it go bad on me.
This sounds like a great time saver over the traditonal method of making applesauce. We’ve made applesauce in the crockpot for a couple of years now and LOVE it! I’m planning on canning some this fall and will be using Tattler reusable lids for the first time, so thank you for the video.
Here’s a link to our Easy Crockpot Applesauce.
http://a-heart4home.blogspot.com/2008/10/slow-cooking-thursday-chunky-applesauce.html
I just started canning this fall & will be saving this link for next year! thanks for sharing!!
How did you know this is exactly what I was looking for yesterday?? We just picked a full bushel of apples from our backyard and I was wondering what I was going to do with them!
Thanks!
I’m so impressed! You do so much. One day I hope to get to this level. Thanks for inspiring me.