Tastiest (and easiest!) applesauce recipe for kids

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I’ve been making applesauce for years, but it took me a while to figure out the easiest way to process the apples (less work for me!) and get the right taste.

Does everyone agree that store bought applesauce tastes so gross?? It has no flavour!! And if it does have flavour and colour, it’s because all that stuff has been added after the processing. I still buy them for convenience sometimes, but I try to make my own whenever I get a chance.

I either purchase discount apples (all those bruised ones work well) or a big bag of No Name Naturally Imperfect.

Ingredients

  • 10 lbs (or more, or less) of apples

Optional: Cinnamon, brown sugar, other fresh or frozen fruit (strawberries, raspberries, peaches, pears, whatever you want!)

Instructions

  • Wash the apples

  • Cut and quarter apples, removing the seeds and stem. DO NOT PEEL!! The peel is what’s going to help your applesauce thicken

  • Throw everything into a giant pot with a couple tbsps of water (so it doesn’t scald on the bottom)

  • Add your other fresh or frozen fruit to the pot (if using)

  • Cover and cook on low heat

  • Let the apples soften until you can stir and start smashing them down (more liquid will be released here, so it’s important not to add too much liquid at the beginning)

  • Once you have enough liquid in the pot, remove the lid and let simmer until all the apples are completely disintegrated and most of the liquid is gone, about 30 minutes

  • Transfer the contents (I do batches of this) to a blender and let ‘er rip until all the peel has been blended

  • Transfer back to your pot and add anything you’d like: a bit of brown sugar if the apples were a more sour variety, or maybe some cinnamon!

  • Store in large mason jars in the fridge. My applesauce never lasts long enough for me to figure out how much time it has before going bad, but I’m guessing around two weeks. Discard if you ever see mold growing on the top! You can also freeze your sauce for another day!

Real applesauce will be a rich brown colour, or sometimes pink/red depending on what fruits you add to it. It will be so flavourful, and I dare you to go back to store bought!