Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
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Fall is the perfect season for Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce. My simple recipe combines apples, some fresh lemon juice, a bit of sugar, and cinnamon. We love this applesauce served warm, but it’s great cold out of the refrigerator too!
The BEST Homemade Applesauce
One of the things I miss most about living up north is the apple orchards. As kids, we’d go pick our own apples quite often. I have vivid memories of roaming the apple orchard, picking, and eating at the same time.
Mom and Dad had an apple tree that finally started producing after we’d grown up and left the house. But they had several years of good harvests and Mom loved to cook with them – apple crisp, apple cobbler, apple pie, applesauce, and the list goes on.
Cooking with apples is definitely a thing when you grew up in the land of apple orchards. Next, try my Apple Cinnamon Cobbler, fan-favorite Apple Pie Banana Bundt Cake, or my latest Apple Crumb Bars!
Why We Love This Homemade Applesauce Recipe:
- CHUNKY – No need for a food processor, immersion blender, or blender with a chunky applesauce recipe. We love the texture of this easy recipe but adjust to YOUR desired consistency.
- FULL OF FLAVOR – Apples are naturally sweet which allows for a minimal amount of added sugar. Feel free to add some pure maple syrup to this applesauce recipe, if desired. The best applesauce!
- HEALTHY – Apples are rich in fiber, which aids digestion and helps control appetite, and they also provide essential vitamins and antioxidants that support overall well-being. Skip store-bought applesauce and make your own healthy version.
- MEMORIES – I have so many childhood memories of going to the orchards and running around the apple trees. We always purchased a bunch of apples and headed home to make all of the delicious things. Making my own applesauce always brings me back to the “old days”!
Ingredients Used:
This homemade cinnamon applesauce recipe requires simple ingredients easily found in your grocery store (or apple orchard).
- Crisp Apples – Use any good baking apple. I normally use Honey Crisp, but often use a combo of sweet apples I find at the grocery store.
- Water – This is used to help the apples cook down.
- Lemon – For some freshness.
- Granulated Sugar – This recipe calls for a minimal amount of white sugar. If you like yours sweeter, add more sugar. Brown sugar (or real maple syrup) could also be substituted for granulated sugar.
- Ground Cinnamon – Start with a couple of teaspoons and add more as desired. Cinnamon always adds the best flavor to anything apple.
I recommend using any of these apples for homemade sauce: Braeburn, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honey-crisp, Jonathan, or Pink Lady. Keep in mind that the type of apple will change the taste of homemade applesauce. We prefer using sweeter apples for our sauce but I encourage you to explore all the different varieties of apples during apple season.
How to make Chunky Applesauce:
Step 1
Prep apples. Use a sharp knife to cut the apples in fourths. Then use a paring knife to peel the skins and remove the core. If you have an apple peeler/corer, use that!
Step 2
Cook apples. Place the apples in a stock pot and add the lemon juice and water. Cook on medium heat until the apples are tender and partially broken down, using a wooden spoon to stir frequently. Cooking time will vary. Remove cooked apples from heat.
Step 3
Add sugar and cinnamon. Then add the sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine well.
Step 4
Serve. Pour hot applesauce into a serving dish. Serve warm, if possible, or store in the refrigerator for later.
Store leftover applesauce in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to five days. Reheat in the microwave if desired.
What to serve with Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce:
- Pork Chops – Gotta love the Brady Brunch and Peter’s “pork chops and applesauce” comment! Am I aging myself? LOL.
- Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
- Smoked Spatchcock Turkey
- Baked Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Goat Cheese Burgers
Tips for making chunky applesauce:
- If you have one of those fancy apple peeler/corers, use that. I prefer to use my very dull pari knife to peel them.
- Use ten LARGE apples for this Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce. Apples cook down a lot, so while it looks like way too much, don’t worry. You will end up with only about eight cups of applesauce.
- Feel free to use any good baking apple. There are so many to choose from, especially if you live in the land of apple orchards.
- Use more sugar (or maple syrup) if you like your applesauce extra sweet.
- Resist adding more water to the apples. Once they begin to cook down, there will be much more liquid in the pan.
- This applesauce is great served warm or cold.
Surprise a friend or neighbor with a mason jar of chunky applesauce! Just tie some twine around the top, and you’ve got a sweet homemade gift to give. 😀
Yay Fall!
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
XOXO ~Sue
Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
Ingredients
- 10 large apples – peeled and sliced
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 large lemon – freshly squeezed
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel, core, and slice apples in 1/4 inch slices.
- Place apple slices, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and water in large stock pan. Heat to boiling, and then reduce heat to medium. Simmer until apples are soft, stirring often, for approximately 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and add sugars and cinnamon. Stir well, and pour into large bowl or storage container.
- Serve warm or cold.
Video
Notes
- Use any good cooking apple for your applesauce.
- Avoid adding too much water when cooking the apples. They will naturally break down, providing more liquid.
- If you like a sweeter applesauce, add more sugar.
- This applesauce stores well in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- Give it as a gift, in a mason jar tied with twine!
Nutrition
BROWN sugar is a myth.
If you read the ingredients you’ll see what I mean.
Save money (lots of it) by adding molasses to regular everyday white sugar. Add enough to make the white sugar look like the brown sugar you would normally buy. I like to make it like the dark brown sugar.
Totally WRONG on the types of apples to be used! #1 type for applesauce is McIntosh. PERIOD!
I don’t think I’ve seen Mcintosh apples in our Texas stores but I do remember them being tasty when I lived up north. That being said, the apples I’ve used in the past have produced delicious applesauce every time.
It depends on the individual taste
recipe worked just fine! had to adjust the portions cause i was an apple or two shy, but id also suggest trying out packed brown sugar instead of white sugar- it doesnt have time to cook down much so brown adds a nice little extra layer of depth to the overall sweetness
Thanks for giving it a try, Caitlin!
Can the recipe be successfully frozen?
Hi Dianne. I’ve never frozen this applesauce, but my sister has and she said it worked beautifully! 🙂
So excited to make this today!! One question and maybe it doesn’t matter but in the recipe you put the sugar and cinnamon in after it has cooked and the video you added it before you cooked them. Is there a better way??
Yes, I know it’s different. I don’t think it matters, but I recommend adding the sugar and cinnamon after it’s cooked. Good luck! 🙂
Yum!! This takes me home too. So easy and delish!!
Great job with this recipe! It was awesome and it also takes me back to my days in Iowa. I remember helping my Grandparents pick apples. My Grandpa would put me in the bucket of a tractor and raise me to the top of the tree. It was crazy how many apples I picked! As everyone knows, I am afraid of heights so I am not sure why or how I did that. Oh, to be a kid again!
I didn’t know you were afraid of heights Mike, so not everyone knows. How are you for hiking with us, and posing on a rocky ledge?
I just made this recipe for tailgate. It was delicious and didn’t need any more sugar. We didn’t have dessert, so this was our dessert. YUM!
Haha! I love that we’re talking about heights! And yes, he’s VERY afraid. 🙂 I’m also glad you enjoyed the applesauce, Jackie! 🙂
Oh, and I meant to say that I don’t add ANY sugar. Just the apples are enough if they’re sweet.