No-Peel Applesauce
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With just three ingredients and no need to peel your apples, this is likely the easiest and fastest homemade applesauce recipe you’ll ever make. It’s ready in just 25 minutes.
Recipe at a Glance: No-Peel Applesauce
- Details
- What it is: A simple homemade applesauce requiring only 3 ingredients.
- Storage: In a closed jar in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Storage life: Up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or freeze for up to 1 year.
- uses for APPLESAUCE
- Use it in place of oil in baking cakes and muffins.
- Spoon it over baked ham.
- Stir it into warm oatmeal.
- Enjoy it as a simple snack.
We have a few apple trees in our yard that produce plenty of small, tart, thin-skinned apples. They ripen early, which is good, since our growing season in Canada is short, but they are quite small, they tend to spoil quickly, and are a little too tart to enjoy on their own.
My first instinct is always to turn them into applesauce, however, it’s extremely time-consuming to peel so many small apples. You can imagine how excited I was to discover that these types of apples don’t actually require any peeling for applesauce! Their thin skin mostly dissolves right into the sauce and a quick blitz with the hand blender at the end takes care of any remaining bits. You can make this with any early thin-skinned or transparent apple.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Apples–You need to use transparent apples or another early thin-skinned variety for this no-peel recipe. The skins on later apples are too thick to dissolve into the sauce and should be peeled first.
- Brown sugar–You can adjust the sweetness depending on the tartness of your apples and your preference. I recommend starting with 3 tablespoons, and then adding after the sauce is blended, if needed.
How to Make 3-Ingredient Applesauce
1. Combine the apples, water, cinnamon, and sugar in a large pot.
2. Bring to a boil, cover, and let the apples cook until they are very soft.
3. Remove the lid and cook until slightly thickened.
4. Blend the applesauce until smooth.
FAQs
Transparent apples are an early-ripening variety of apple that have bright white flesh and a thin, almost translucent skin, giving it its name. These apples ripen in late July or early August, have a tart, crisp flavor, and are best used for cooking. They soften quickly, so they are not good for storing.
It depends on the type of apple. Any good storing apple that has a thicker skin won’t work well as the skin won’t break down, and will give the applesauce a grainy texture, even after blending. For best results, use thin-skinned apples for this recipe.
Ways to Use Homemade Applesauce
Applesauce makes a great snack all on its own, but here are a few other great ideas:
- Use it in place of some of the oil in baking muffins and cakes.
- Spread it onto scones, pancakes, or waffles.
- Spoon it over your favorite baked ham.
- Stir it into warm oatmeal.
Storage
Store your applesauce in a lidded jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 1 year.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- The sweetness of apples will vary by type. Feel free to adjust the sweetness of your applesauce to suit your personal preference.
- This recipe is suitable for gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan diets.
No-Peel Applesauce
Equipment
- Immersion blender (or use regular blender)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (908 g) transparent (or other thin-skinned) apples cored and chopped
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar plus more if needed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine the apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook until the apples are very soft, about 12 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking until the applesauce thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. At this point many of the skins should have dissolved into the sauce, but it's fine if there's still a few pieces.
- Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender (or transfer to a regular blender) and blitz until very smooth.
- Taste and adjust the sweetness, if needed.
- Transfer to a clean 1-pint jar with lid and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 1 year.
