Baked Applesauce
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10:23PM 
Well, folks, this is just about the easiest (and BEST) applesauce you will ever make. No peeling, no dicing, no slicing, no kidding. I just can’t decide what I like most about it, the fact that it’s so easy to make, or the awesome apple-pie flavor.
So how easy is this? Ready? Just cut your apples in half, scoop out the core, place on a baking sheet, bake. That’s it. (Please see follow-up post after the recipe).
The only thing that consistently annoyed me was peeling all the dang stickers off the apples. I finally decided to just leave them on and it made not a bit of difference. Of course, they just came off with the skins.
When they cool, the skins slide right off and, I love this part, I just mix the apples with a little cinnamon, brown sugar and a pinch of salt right there on the baking pan. No bowls or pots to clean, just a couple of baking pans.
And then there’s the flavor….baking the apples instead of cooking them on the stove imparts all the lovely nuances of apple pie/baked apples/apple cobbler, well, you get the idea. Heavenly.
I like to use a combination of golden delicious and macintosh for this, but any baking apples you have handy will work great. The sweetness/tartness of your apples, and your own preferences will determine how much sugar you will want to add… for 7 apples I used less than ¼ cup of brown sugar.
Oh, and I forgot to mention the bonus of how your kitchen smells while these apples are baking. Quite lovely.
Have I convinced you yet? Well, let’s see, applesauce on oatmeal, applesauce on ice cream, applesauce on pancakes, applesauce with cottage cheese, applesauce on corn fritters (a childhood staple of mine), or how ‘bout a bowl of applesauce?
Baked Applesauce
For a printable recipe, click here
Makes about 3 cups
3 lbs (8-9) baking apples (golden delicious, macintosh, granny smith, etc.)Brown sugar to taste (about 1/4 cup)
Pinch of salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon (or to taste)
2 to 3 tablespoons water, if needed
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Spray 2 shallow baking pans with cooking spray.
Cut apples in half vertically and core them. (I use a melon-baller). Place the halves, cut side down on the baking sheets, cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake apples until tender, about 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, slip fruits from their skins back into pan, scraping any pulp from peels. Discard skins.
While the apples are still warm, mash them with a fork (or leave chunky), stirring in some brown sugar, a pinch of salt, ground cinnamon and a bit of water (if needed) to help scrape up any brown bits in the pan and to lighten the texture of the applesauce. (note: I've made this dozens of times and have never needed to add water).
Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.
Patrice Berry
It seems that there have been varying degrees of success with the baking time in this recipe. After a little research, I am finding that it could take as long as 45 minutes for some apples to fully cook. I would check them at 30, and if they're not totally soft and falling apart, put them back in for another 10-15 minutes. If the apples seem to bake up a little dry (this varies between apple varieties and times of the year), add several tablespoons of water to the baking pan so they can steam and create a moist sauce.
Let me know if anyone has any questions. For the most part, the 30 minutes works great with golden delicious and macintosh apples.
Reader Comments (31)
I did these apples this morning and this is a Keeper......We eat lots and lots of applesauce and this is the way to do it!
Isn't it easy? I love the flavor too! I agree...this is the only way I'll make it now.
We go through applesauce like crazy around here and I'm on a mission to make more things homemade for my family, so I'm definitely trying this ASAP! Thanks for a great, easy recipe:)
It really is easy and tastes awesome! Enjoy!
You are so smart!! I hate the peeling part, but love anything apple, especially pie. Thanks so much.
I just tried this for the first time this morning and I'm smitten! It's so easy to make as well as delicious, this will definitely become a staple around here. Thanks!
Wow, that's so simple, I've got to try this! Thanks!
I made this last winter after you first posted it on foodgawker and loved it. I don't love applesauce and I don't love oatmeal but I kindof like them both...then I put them together after making a batch of this and I was amazed! Now the apples are starting to pile up again and I kept wishing I'd written down the recipe. I remembered it was really REALLY easy but something was different about it. After searching and searching I finally found your blog again and this beloved recipe. It's Baked! Now I remember. Seriously, I love this. I froze it and used it for healthy oatmeal all winter. I'm so happy I found it again.
I'm glad you found it too, KatieSue! I've never found a better applesauce recipe anywhere and like you, we LOVE it on oatmeal. Thanks for stopping in and hope you'll come back often.
Patrice, not sure how I happened onto your blog this morning, but I'm glad I did! Love the story of your move to the midwest and the photos of your kitchen. Looking forward to trying this method of making applesauce next week. I've added you to the Blogs I Visit page of my blog and will be visiting again soon!
Thanks so much, Jean! Really glad you happened by and I hope you love the applesauce as much as we do. Would love to hear back from you on that.
I made the applesauce on Thursday for Saturday night's "big deal" dinner. It seems easier to retain some chunkiness with the baked rather than stovetop-cooked apples, and I do want my homemade applesauce to be chunky. It was the perfect accompaniment to my pork dinner.
So glad you liked it, Jean! I agree, you can keep it chunky by doing it in the oven. We like that too!
how would you say its best to make and store larger batches? would it freeze well?
You know, I've never frozen it, but I'm thinking it would freeze just fine. We've frozen apple pie filling before, so this should be OK.
I like to freeze it in pint jars if anticipating dinners for two or in various sized Corning or Pyrex casseroles for dinner parties.
Thanks, Jean!
Can I leave out the sugar? Can I blend or food process the skins in for more nutrients?
By all means, Stacey, leave out the sugar. If you used golden delicious apples, they're very sweet on their own. I've never processed the skins to add in, but if you try it, let us know how it comes out. Good to hear from you!
I'm sorry, Kim, that I wasn't able to print your comment due to the rather objectionable language. I'm so sorry that the applesauce didn't turn out for you. If you would email me, we could maybe brainstorm what went wrong and fix things so it will turn out next time. This recipe is pretty reliable as suggested by the comments of other readers. I'd hate for you to miss out on how delicious this stuff is. Would love to hear from you....
I was wondering about the freezing in pint jars. I froze some chicken broth in some glass Ball canning jars and they cracked so how is it you can freeze it in pint jars? Did I do something wrong? Would love to make a big batch of this! Thank you.
I tend to freeze mostly in tupperware containers, but if you want to freeze in glass jars, make sure you leave plenty of room in the top of your jar for expansion. The applesauce will expand as it freezes. Also be sure that your applesauce is room temp or even cold before placing it in the freezer. Hope that helps, Gina. Enjoy the applesauce! It's so good!
I have been making apple sauce on the stove and using my kitchenaid but I just recently decided to try baking the apples instead of steaming them. My husband said it wouldn't make any difference but after finding your site I am convinced that it will!
Thanks!
Happy baking, Catherine! It really does make a difference!
Can you can this recipe? Love the idea of apple pie flavor
You can definitely can this, Crystalia. Just make sure the applesauce is still hot and everything's good and sterilized. Enjoy!
Great recipe! I was looking for a recipe that didn't add water or processed sugar, and this fit the bill. Great taste! I added a pinch of allspice and nutmeg for a bit of complexity, and used a small amount of blue agave syrup instead of the brown sugar.
Sounds great, Ed! Nice additions to the recipe. Good to hear from you!
doubled the recipe. canned 3 pints with a little left over for sampling. i really like the texture of this applesauce. not grainy or mealy at all. i used 4 different types of apples, so the apple flavor is really complex. it does smack of apple pie, especially when warm. yum!
i need to make some pork chops, stat!
So glad that came out, Crystalia. I love that you used so many kinds of apples... that makes the best applesauce. Thanks for letting us know!
Wow, this looks extremely delicious. After reading this recipe and looking at these beautiful pictures I can't understand why sme people don't try to do simple things like this but bette buy unhealthy things in the supermarket...