Our homemade chunky applesauce can be made with only 5 simple ingredients in just 30 minutes. Add warm spices to make this applesauce taste even better and serve it with our Vegan Buttermilk Waffles, Old Fashioned Fluffy Vegan Pancakes, or add them to your morning Caramel Apple Overnight Oats.
This healthy homemade chunky applesauce recipe is made with sweet honeycrisp apples, water, brown sugar, and warm spices.
You only need two cooking skills to make the best homemade applesauce you've ever tasted; how to peel and core an apple and how to simmer apples on the stove.
Let's get cooking!
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Ingredients
Here's a visual cue of the ingredients for this old fashioned chunky applesauce recipe as well as information about the ingredients.
Quantities are in the recipe card below.
The Best Apples for Applesauce
- Honeycrisp - apples are firm and sweet and add the perfect amount of natural sugar to the applesauce.
- Granny Smith - apples are tart and tangy. When combined with Honeycrisp or Fuji, they balance the sweetness and make the flavor more complex.
- Fuji - like Honeycrisp apples, Fuji apples are firm and sweet. They have a different flavor than honeycrisp, so it's really about preference.
- Spices - We love the depth of flavor that the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves give the sauce.
- Brown Sugar - you can add granulated sugar, or if you prefer unsweetened chunky applesauce, leave it out.
How to Make It
Here is a step by step tutorial with visual cues.
HINT: If you want to make smooth applesauce or applesauce for a baby, put it in a blender or use an immersion blender to break down the apples.
Recipe FAQ and Tips
Once you peel an apple it begins to oxidize. If you're not able to cook the apples immediately after peeling, you can soak them in water or squeeze lemon juice over them to prevent them from turning brown.
Too much water was added to the sauce and/or the apples had a lot of water in them.
Apples will thicken as they cook. If your sauce it too thin, continue to cook them until the excess water evaporates.
If you want a thinner applesauce, add a little water or apple juice and stir until you get the consistency you're after.
The acid in lemon juice helps prevent browning and adds a bit of tanginess to the sweetness of the apples.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Yes. Freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
More Vegan Apple Recipes
Homemade Chunky Applesauce
Equipment
- 1 stove
- 1 knife
- 1 pot
Ingredients
- 6 large apples peeled, cored, and sliced SEE NOTE
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Combine the apples, ½ cup water, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ cup brown sugar in a medium size pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for approximately 30 minutes. Stir often. The apples should be soft, not mushy.
Shylo Halvorson says
Can you make this in a slow cooker? If so what temp and for how long?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Shylo, I'm sure that you can, unfortunately I haven't tried it in a slow cooker so I can't give cooking suggestions.
Romaine says
This looks very delicious
Linda Meyer says
Thank you so much.