Unsweetened Applesauce Recipe (No Added Sugar)

This Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce Recipe is made with just a few simple ingredients, without any extra sugar. Made with naturally sweet, in-season apples, this healthy snack is an autumn staple.

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We're huge fans of this no-peel, sugar free applesauce recipe. Leave the apple skins on, they add flavor, color, and nutrients! Apples are deliciously sweet and full of natural sugars during the peak season.

If you've ever been intimidated to try making your own applesauce, we're here to say, don't be! It's an incredibly simple process, and will make your home smell amazing!

Looking for more tasty ways to use up excess apples? Try our sugar free apple cider, and this instant pot apple butter!

❤️What we love about this

• A great way to use up apples. We love going apple picking during apple season! It's such a fun, wholesome activity, but often, you're left with more apples than you know what to do with. This recipe is an incredibly easy way to use up extras.
• Easy recipes made with only 5 simple ingredients. You probably have everything you need in your pantry, but anything you don't have can be found at nearly the grocery store.
• Bursting with delicious apple flavor and natural sweetness. Nothing smells better than a batch of homemade applesauce simmering away on the stovetop. It tastes just as comforting and delicious as it smells!
• A delicious snack or healthy side dish. Making your own applesauce is a healthy alternative to store-bought versions that can be full of sugar. You control what goes into this, so you can feel great about it!

🍎Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need for the applesauce. This is a very basic recipe that is quite versatile.

• Apples. Use your favorite apples. If you prefer sweet applesauce, go with something sweet like honey crisp, gala, or pink lady apples. If you like more of a tart applesauce, you can use granny smith apples. You can use any type of apple you prefer or even a variety of apples for one big batch. Softer apple varieties will cook down faster like Golden Delicious, McIntosh, or Braeburn.
• Fresh lemon juice. Optional. We use it to preserve freshness, as well as add a little brightness and cut the sweetness of the applesauce a bit.
• Kosher salt. Balances out the sweetness and rounds out the flavor. Salt just enhances the flavor of everything around it, and we use a very small amount.
• Cinnamon. Optional. You can use ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick or two to infuse warm spiced flavor into the applesauce. If you plan to use applesauce for a specific purpose and you don't want spices in it, feel free to just leave it out.

You can find full quantities and nutritional information in the recipe card.

✏️Substitutions & Variations

The ingredients are pretty straightforward, but here are a few simple swaps you can make.

• Spiced. Love heavily spiced applesauce? Add more cinnamon, and other warming spices like cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom, and ginger if you like.
• Sweetened. Although this recipe comes out naturally sweet, you can always add your favorite sweetener like maple syrup, brown sugar, or our favorite, a brown sugar replacement.
• Add other fruits. If you're on the tail end of summer, add in your favorite berries like blueberries. Pears would also be a great addition for a more warming autumn flavor.
• Chunky. If you prefer a chunkier applesauce, you don't have to mash the mixture very much, and rather leave more chunks in the sauce. We would recommend peeling the apples if you plan to enjoy the sauce very chunky, as peels can sometimes be a bit unpleasant if eaten in large chunks.
• Peeled. You can certainly peel your apples if you prefer, or if going for a chunkier applesauce.

📋Prep work

• Wash and halve the lemon.
• Wash, and cut apples into large chunks. Discard the apple cores.

📖Instructions

Add apple pieces to the large pot or Dutch oven with water. (Image 1)

Sprinkle in the salt and cinnamon, and stir. (Image 2)

Over medium heat, bring water to a rolling boil, then immediately reduce to low heat and cover. Leave the lid slightly ajar so some of the steam can escape.

Simmer for 30 minutes, until you have nice soft apples that can be mashed with a wooden spoon. Squeeze in the lemon juice. (Image 3)

Mash to your desired consistency. If you prefer chunkier applesauce, you can use a wooden spoon or potato masher.

If you like a smoother texture, use an immersion blender or high-speed blender until the desired consistency is reached. (Image 4)

Now, simply serve and enjoy! You can serve hot, or cold. We like ours both ways and to sprinkle it with a little bit more cinnamon when serving. (Image 5)

✨Tips & tricks

• Use different varieties of apples. The types of apples you use will impact the flavor a lot, and using a couple of different apples helps create more dimension in the applesauce.
• Add spices to taste. We love adding lots of warming cinnamon to this applesauce. You can add more spices like cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cardamom if you enjoy a very nicely spiced flavor. If you're less enthusiastic about spices, you can skip it altogether.
• Add lemon juice to preserve freshness longer. The lemon juice adds just a tiny bit of bright acidity that complements the sweet applesauce but also helps the applesauce stay fresher longer in the fridge.