Canning Applesauce from Tart Apples

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Have some extra apples this year and want to preserve the abundance? Canning Applesauce is quick and easy and the final product tastes so delicious! Here’s how we make applesauce from the tart yard apples.

Have some extra apples this year and want to preserve the abundance? Canning Applesauce is quick and easy and the final product tastes so delicious! Here's how we make applesauce from the tart yard apples.

Canning Applesauce

My mom had a bunch of apples left on her tree this year after she was done with them, so she said I could have them to make some canned applesauce. I’ve never tried canning applesauce on my own, so I asked for her recipe. My original goal was to make applesauce to use instead of sugar in some recipes, but after trying it yesterday, I know I’ll be making more and not for cooking…”

Here is my mom’s recipe. As with many recipes I post, the amounts are up to you, depending on the flavor you want.

bowl full of apples

How to Make Fresh Applesauce

Wash the apples well and then boil them in a large stockpot for around 30 – 45 minutes or until apples become soft and squishy.

Drain the water and then run the apples through a Chinois Strainer or something similar to remove all the outsides, seeds, etc. I have this Sauce Maker and I LOVE it.

Add brown sugar and vanilla extract to taste. How much you add is up to you. I think I had around 5-6 cups of pureed apples and added about 1 cup of brown sugar and several tablespoons of vanilla. We liked the vanilla flavor in it.

If we’re using store-bought apples, we do not add sugar to them. But it does help to add a bit to the tart apples that are more likely to grow at home. Taste your apples for sweetness before adding any sweetener.

Canning

Canning Homemade Applesauce

Put applesauce into any size sterilized jars you wish, leaving 1″ of headspace. My mom suggested I put them in jelly jars because they are 1 cup and the perfect size for recipe use.

If you are making applesauce for eating, you will want to put it in pint or quart-sized jars.

applesauce on a table

Process for the time and pressure indicated on the chart above according to your altitude. For jelly size jars, process the jars in a hot water bather for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool and seal. Click over to the USDA website for guidelines on a weighted pressure canner. Be sure to check your pressure canner’s instruction manual to follow proper procedures.

–For more information on how to see if your jars have properly sealed and what to do if they haven’t, check out this post on Testing Jar Seals And Reprocessing Jars (Safe Home Canning)

Please check with your local extension office for any changes on times/temps/high altitude.

Recipe Binder Post Promo

Need to print this to add it to your Recipe Binder? Get the Applesauce Recipe for Canning below:

Homemade Canned Applesauce

Ingredients

  • apples
  • brown sugar to taste
  • vanilla flavoring to taste

Instructions

  1. Wash the apples well and then boil them in a large stockpot for around 30 - 45 minutes or until apples become soft and squishy.
  2. Drain the water and then run the apples through a Chinois Strainer or something similar to remove all the outsides, seeds, etc.
  3. Add brown sugar and vanilla extract to taste. How much you add is up to you. I think I had around 5-6 cups of pureed apples and I added about 1 cup of brown sugar and several tablespoons of vanilla. We really liked the vanilla flavor in it. If we're using storebought apples, we do not add any sugar to them. But it does help to add a bit to the tart apples that are more likely to grow at home. Taste your apples for sweetness before adding any sweetener.
  4. Put applesauce into any size sterilized jars you wish, leaving 1″ of headspace.
  5. Process for the time and pressure indicated on the chart above according to your altitude. For jelly size jars, process the jars in a hot water bather for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool and seal.  Click over to the USDA website for guidelines on a weighted pressure canner. Be sure to check your pressure canner’s instruction manual to follow proper procedures.

What’s next? Let’s try Canning Peaches!

This applesauce is YUM and an easy way to use those tiny apples you can get from your own trees or maybe your friend’s and neighbor’s trees. Enjoy!

(Thanks Mom!)

Apple Cream Cheese Danish

More Apple Recipes

Make sure you check out all the free Canning and Preserving Recipes we have on Little House Living! I recommend a Presto Pressure Canner and the book Putting Food By for all your canning projects!

Coring Apples

One thing about making foods with apples…I hate to waste the peels! If you don’t have any chickens to give your scraps to, you might want to consider these Uses for Apple Peels or try making this Pancake Syrup with apple peels!

Homestead Management

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Have you ever tried canning applesauce?


Me and KadyMerissa has been blogging about and living the simple life since 2009 and has internationally published 2 books on the topic. You can read about Merissa’s journey from penniless to freedom on the About Page. You can send her a message any time from the Contact Page.


 

This blog post on Canning Applesauce was originally posted on Little House Living in August 2010. It has been updated as of September 2023.

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25 Comments

  1. In what recipes to you use this instead of sugar? I would love to replace the sugar in some of my recipes with this! Thanks for sharing.

  2. I’ve always frozen applesauce, how is the canned? I do love to eat frozen homemade applesauce though, almost as good as ice cream 🙂

  3. Jennifer, it’s similar to the store bought applesauce texture but with a fresher taste!

  4. We’ve already made dozens of gallon jars full this year. Our neighbor asked us to keep her yard picked up from her apple tree and hers fruits very early. We’ll be making up lots more soon from some other friends with more apples than they want. I love applesauce season!

  5. I canned applesauce last year (not time yet here) but I didn’t add any sugar or anything. They taste good just like they are!

  6. cant wait for apple season here! where on earth do you get all your jars? I havent been able to find any on craigslist or yard sales and am going to go broke buying them?!

  7. I’m canning Apple Butter using apples from our trees! Next it’ll be applesauce and I want to try your recipe!

  8. I core the apples by hand, which yes, does take a bit longer, but then leave the peals on and puree everything and can’t even tell the difference. Sooooo much of the nutrients of food is in the peal that we usually throw away.

    Would also be curious as to which recipes you substitute applesauce for the sugar as well.

  9. Our apple trees didn’t produce anything this year – I think they got confused with the weather this spring! IF you hear of any good apple deals, do let me know!

  10. Analisa, I’ve collected them over the last couple years. Every single time I find a jar for $0.33 each or less I buy it.

  11. I just made applesauce for 2 days in a row. It is very easy to make. Most people use different apples then what I use. I use Red Delicious apples. They are already sweet so you don’t have to use much sugar at all. I take 12 large apples, peel and core them. Cook them with about 1/4 cup of water. Just enough water to keep it from sticking. Cook them over medium high heat until they are soft. About 20 minutes. Put in food processor till they look like applesauce. Return to pot. Stir in 1cup of sugar or less if already sweet enough. Some times I don’t add any sugar. Put in pint jars and water bath process for 20 minutes.

  12. I have read before that you cannot can pumpkin. Is this true? I wanted to make a pumpkin applesauce, but didn’t know if that was safe or not?

    1. Pumpkin is very thick and they say that it cannot be properly pressurized because of it’s thickness. I’m not sure about mixing it with applesauce, you could always ask your local extension office.

  13. This is the best applesauce ever and we never need to add sugar to it. A number of people have asked me how to make it so I take that as an agreement.

    We live in Michigan and have just canned applesauce (Oct 8). Start by purchasing equal amounts of 3 apples – Jona Gold, Courtland and Ida Red. Wash and cut in half. Put equal amounts of each kind of apple (I use 5 apples of each kind) in cooker with water and cook until soft. When soft run all 15 through a Victoria Strainer (or another brand strainer) and stir to mix together. Put applesauce in hot sterilized cans, wipe top of jar clean, top with hot lids, (now also add rings and tighten down), then put in your water bath canner. Can for 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts in rolling boiling water. Remove from canner and put on your counter top until cool. Date the lids and you can store. We have never added sugar as it wasn’t needed.

  14. I love homemade applesauce! I make it a bit different. My mom has an amazing red apple tree (I am not sure of the variety) that has really good flavor and firm apples. I use the softer sweeter golden delicious apples for sweetness instead of sugar. I also process the cooked apples through a Victorio Strainer and sometimes add some diced cooked apple to make it a little chunkier. Occasionally adding some cinnamon to a few jars for variety. Great stuff!!!.

  15. Is this a tested recipe? I have been looking everywhere for an applesauce recipe to can that uses brown sugar. We love brown sugar in our applesauce- but I have only been able to find tested canned recipes with whit sugar. Thank you!