How to Can Applesauce (Easy Water Bath Method)

Learn how to water-bath can applesauce at home! Applesauce is one of our favorite pantry staples. In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to can applesauce so you can stock your shelves with a sweet, ready-to-eat staple all year long.

Story Behind This Canned Applesauce

About 15-ish years ago, when my kids were little, a friend and I were ambitious and ordered too many boxes of apples. We both love my canned apple pie filling and wanted our shelves stocked, so we canned pie filling until we were sick of looking at apples; we were so over it. We still had a ton of apples left, so we figured the easiest thing to do was to turn the rest into applesauce. It was our first time canning it, and that was the day we were ruined on store-bought applesauce forever. My kids aren’t little anymore (my youngest just turned 18, I don’t want to talk about it 😉 ), but we still can’t resist home-canned applesauce. I love making mine in the crock pot; it makes it one of the easiest things you’ll ever water-bath can.

Why You’ll Love Having Home-Canned Applesauce on Your Pantry Shelf:

• Cost-Effective: Apple season means cheaper fruit. Canning your own locks in those savings all year long.
• Quality Control: You get to source your apples and control how much sugar goes in, or none at all. We think it tastes so much better than store-bought.
• Versatile: Eat it straight from the jar, stir it into oatmeal, or use it in things like muffins! We love using it in these Cinnamon Applesauce Crumb Muffins.

Applesauce Maker vs. Immersion Blender

If you’ve spent any time in canning circles, you’ve probably seen people use and love their Johnny Apple Sauce Maker. It’s a hand-cranked or motorized attachment that peels, cores, and purées all in one step. You quarter your apples, cook them, and run them through the Applesauce maker, and the skins and seeds come out one side while smooth sauce comes out the other.

So why don’t I use one? No reason other than I’ve never wanted to buy the Johnny Apple Sauce Maker. I use my apple peeler and corer to prep my apples, and cook them in a crock pot. Then I use an immersion blender to blend them up to my desired consistency. As you can see in the picture above, it works beautifully. That is the method I’ll be sharing here.

If you can apples in bulk every year, an apple sauce maker might be worth it. I can apples in bulk almost every year, and peeling and coring the apples beforehand hasn’t been an issue for me, especially when using the apple peeler/corer; it makes it go quickly. Neither way is wrong; it just comes down to preference, or not wanting to buy another canning item to store. 😉

Ingredients Needed to Can Applesauce

• Apples – Sweet apples like Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp make for a nice sweetness, and I find that I don’t even need sweetener. Sometimes I’ll add in a few tart apples like Granny Smith. Most of the time I just have one big box of one sweet variety, but if I’m doing a smaller batch, I will play around with my sweet and tart apple ratios. Steer clear of more mealy apples like Red Delicious; they aren’t the best for texture or flavor.
• Water – If you are softening your apples on the stove, add water to keep the apples from burning on the bottom of the pot. If you’re using the crockpot, you can omit the water.
• Lemon Juice – Store-bought or fresh is fine.
• Sugar or Honey -Totally your call if you want to add a sweetener. I wait until I’ve blended them up and taste to see if I think it needs it, but I rarely add any sweetener.
• Ground Cinnamon – This is another optional add! If a recipe tastes good with cinnamon, I’m more than likely adding it! I love cinnamon, but you don’t need it.

You Will Need the Following Equipment:

Water bath or steam canner: You don’t need a pressure canner for canning apples because it’s a high-acid recipe. I have a water bath and a steam canner. A steam canner requires less water, whereas the water bath canner requires you to submerge the jars in water.

Canning rack: If you’re using a water bath canner, you need a canning rack at the bottom to keep the jars off the pot. It should have come with one when you purchased it.

Canning jars: pint or quart.

Canning lids and rings: Use new lids when you are canning a new batch of food. Rings can be reused over and over if they are in good condition.

Food processer or immersion blender – For blending the apples. I’ve always done my applesauce in the crockpot with an immersion blender. If you’d rather use a food mill, you can skip peeling and coring your apples ahead of time. Find NCHFP’s instructions for that method here.

Apple peeler corer slicer: (yes, that’s what it’s called ;)) If you don’t plan on using an Apple Sauce Maker, this is the tool I use to prep my apples before I put them in the crockpot/stockpot to cook.

Canning funnel: These are so handy when ladeling hot food into the jar, and it help keep food off the rim of your jar.

Large pot or Crockpot: When I’m cooking enough apples for an 8-pint batch, one crockpot isn’t enough. My 6-quart and 3-quart crockpots fit all the apples nicely.

Before you Begin

Prep your jars and rings: You don’t need to sterilize your jars and rings. According to the NCHFP, if you’re processing for longer than 10 minutes, sterilization isn’t necessary. Wash them in hot soapy water, or I usually run them through the dishwasher the night before. Check for nicks and cracks in the jar and replace it with a new one if needed.

Prepare your space: Make sure your working space is clean. I use an all-purpose cleaner to wipe down the counters and table before I get started.

Prepare your equipment: I’ll usually work on this while my apples are cooking. Get out your water bath or steam canner filled with water and warming on the stove. Then gather your immersion blender, funnel, lids, jar lifter, headspace tool/debubbler, and a clean cloth or paper towel for wiping down the jar rims.

How to Can Applesauce

Prep and Cook the Apples:

Wash, peel, core, and cut up apples into chunks. I love using my apple peeler pictured below. It cores, peels, and slices the apples all at once. Add to the crockpot with lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar if you’re using them. I don’t add water to the crockpot. If you are cooking them down in a stockpot, add water to prevent burning on the bottom.

Cook the apples until fork-tender, 4-6 hours on high.

Blend the Apples

Blend the apples with an immersion blender, or use a potato masher if you prefer a chunkier sauce. Be CAREFUL not to lift the immersion blender too high when blending, or you will get hot applesauce splatter all over you. Continue to blend until you’ve reached desired consistency.

Fill Jars and Prepare Them for the Canner

Ladle applesauce into the jar to a 1/2-inch headspace and debubble to remove air bubbles.

Wipe down the rim of your jar, and add your lid.

Add ring, tightening fingertip-tight.

Process Jars

Process pints for 15 minutes, and quarts for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

Altitude adjustments:

0 – 1000 ft: 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts
1,001 – 3,000 ft: 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts
3,001 – 6,000 ft: 20 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts
Above 6,000 ft: 25 minutes for pints, 35 minutes for quarts

FAQs

How long does canned applesauce last?

It’s recommended to eat within 12 months for best quality. However, if the seal is good and there are no signs of spoilage, they can last years. The nutritional value will go down the longer they sit on your shelf.

How many pounds of apples do I need to can applesauce?

As a general rule:

• NCHFP estimate: about 1 1/2 pounds of apples per pint, or 3 pounds per quart (13 1/2 pounds for 9 pints, 21 pounds for 7 quarts).
• My experience: This is pretty close to what I have found in my own kitchen. 12 pounds consistently gives me 8 pints, plus about 3/4 of a pint left over, just enough for snacking while you wait for your jars to process ;). I always buy close to 13 pounds just to be safe.

Should I can my applesauce in pints or quarts?

It really depends on how much you think you’ll go through at once. I’ve got one grown kid still living at home, and we don’t go through applesauce as fast as we used to, so I can mine in pints. If you’ve got a bigger family or you’re all serious applesauce lovers, quarts are the better call.

Do I have to use lemon juice when canning applesauce?

No, you don’t need to use lemon juice because apples are acidic enough on their own. The NCHFP doesn’t include it in their instructions. That said, I’ve always used the recipe from Ball’s Complete Book of Home Preserving, which calls for it, and I’ve always loved how it turns out. Since the lemon juice isn’t used for acidity, you don’t have to stick to bottled, fresh works just as well, or you can skip it altogether.

Why did my applesauce siphon out of the jars?

Siphoning happens for a few different reasons.

• Incorrect headspace: Food expands during the canning process. It’s important to follow the recommended headspace to avoid food getting pushed out of the jar.
• Trapped air bubbles: Make sure to thoroughly debubble your jar to release any trapped air bubbles.
• Extra air in the sauce: According to Penn State Extension, a blender and immersion blender can incorporate excess air that will increase discoloration and siphoning. I’ve been canning applesauce with the crockpot and immersion blender for over a decade, and I’ve never had either of those issues, but I wanted to mention it here in case you were having trouble.
• Rapid temperature change: Boiling jars too hard the whole time can result in siphoning. After you add your jars to the water-bath canner, bring it up to a vigorous boil; you might also hear it called a “rolling boil” (212ºF). Start your timer, and for the rest of the processing time, the water can be at a gentle boil. After your timer goes off, turn the heat off, remove the lid, and let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the water. This allows them to settle down for a bit before removing. One time I forgot this step, and I had a sticky apple pie filling mess to clean up.

Looking for more water bath canning recipes? Try these:

Canning Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Homemade Blueberry Pie Filling

Homemade Spiced Christmas Jam

Recipe Card for Canning Applesauce