Medically reviewed and cowritten by Jamie Johnson, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), and Lauren Braaten, Pediatric Occupational Therapist (OT).

This Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce is the perfect healthy snack for kids. Made with a drizzle of vanilla extract, a pinch of cinnamon, and no added sugar! Easy to make on the stovetop and freezes well!

Graphic for post - unsweetened applesauce, homemade, 3 ingredients, kid favorite. Image is of Blue kids bowl on a blue plate and blue napkin filled with homemade applesauce with spoon resting on top.

Homemade Sugar-Free Applesauce

When apples are in peak season in the fall, you’ll be glad you saved this easy homemade unsweetened applesauce recipe!

Made in less than 30 minutes, with only 3 simple ingredients – apples, vanilla extract and cinnamon – this easy to make applesauce delivers big on flavor. And because we simmer the naturally sweet apples down, there’s no need for added sugar!

If you are looking for more easy and healthy applesauce recipes for your family, then be sure to check out our reader fav Strawberry Applesauce, Carrot Applesauce, Beet Applesauce, or these delicious 8 5-Minute Applesauce Combos for Kids. You can also find more recipes and information in my best-selling cookbook Little Foodies: Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste.

Reasons to Love Unsweetened Applesauce

  • healthy, simple ingredients
  • makes for an easy side to have with meals or as a snack
  • budget-friendly alternative to storebought applesauce
  • easy to make a double batch and freeze extra as needed
  • freezer friendly
  • a fun recipe to make with kids
  • endless flavor combinations – you can add in strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.
Spread of ingredients for no sugar added applesauce with text next to each one.

Ingredients

Make sure to read the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions!

  • Apples: the base of the recipe is fresh apples. Make sure to use apples that are ripe and sweet, such as Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Pink Lady or Golden Delicious.
  • Cinnamon
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Water

Step-by-Step Instructions

wooden cutting board with apples on top.
Gather some fresh sweet apples.
Wooden cutting board with peeled apples on top with a peeler.
Peeling is optional, but we are going to peel them for this recipe.
A wooden cutting board on a white countertop with chunks of apples on it.
Roughly chop apples.
Silver saucepan with chunks of apples, cinnamon and vanilla.
Add apples, cinnamon, vanilla and water to a saucepan.
Silver saucepan filled with cooked chunks of apples.
Simmer over medium-low heat until tender.
Clear blender with cooked apples.
Add ingredients to a blender.
Clear blender with pureed apples.
Pulse for a chunky texture, or blend for a smooth applesauce.
Blue kids bowl on a blue plate and blue napkin filled with homemade applesauce.
Serve and enjoy!
  1. Peel apples. This step is optional. Peeling apples will give the applesauce a crisper taste, while not peeling them will give the applesauce an earthier taste and texture. Both are great.
  2. Core, and roughly chop the apples.
  3. Place the apples, cinnamon, vanilla and water into a medium or large saucepan. Cover.
  4. Heat over medium heat-low heat for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
  5. Transfer all ingredients into a blender.
  6. Pulse for a chunky applesauce or blend for 15-30 seconds for a smoother applesauce. You can also use an immersion blender for this step.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

Health Benefits of Homemade Applesauce: This applesauce is bursting with flavor and nutrients with all of its fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants. For even more fiber, leave the skin on the apples. What you won’t find in this homemade applesauce is additives, preservatives and added sugar.

What Type of Apples to Use

Applesauce can be made out of any apples. But if you can choose, pick a sweeter variety of apples, as they will make this applesauce have more natural sweetness (without adding in sugar). If you really want to bump up the flavor, go for a mix of apple varieties. Here are a few examples:

  • Sweet and Mildly Sweet: Fuji, Kiku, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Gala, Jazz Ambrosia
  • Tart (with a little sweetness): Pink Lady, Jonagold, McIntosh, Jonathan, Empire, Granny Smith
  • Crispy, Tangy and Sharp: Braeburn, Liberty, Ida Red, Rome, Pacific Rose, Opal
Blue kids bowl on a blue plate and blue napkin filled with homemade applesauce with spoon resting on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the applesauce.

How to Store Homemade Applesauce

Unsweetened Applesauce will keep for 1 week in the fridge (if it lasts that long!) or for 3 months in the freezer.

Add-Ins

The great thing about homemade applesauce is that it offers a solid base to get creative with many other kinds of fruit. You can even include a combination of a couple of fruits in your fridge or freezer that need to be used up, like these:

  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Raspberries
  • Blackberries
  • Cherries
  • Peaches
  • Mangos
Blue kids plate and bowl with homemade applesauce and a scattering of apples, cinnamon and vanilla next to it.

How to Serve this Unsweetened Applesauce

Besides eating this straight out of the container after your kids go to bed, there are so many fun ways to enjoy this applesauce.

  • Easy Dessert: warmed with a dollop of coconut whipped cream.
  • Yogurt Parfait: Spooned over yogurt and sprinkled with granola.
  • School Lunch: add this delicious applesauce to your kids air-tight lunch box (or container) and send it for school lunch.
  • Oatmeal: spoon into a bowl of warm oats and top with some chopped pecans, sprinkle of hemp seeds and a little brown sugar.
  • Reusuable Pouch: spoon into a reusable food pouch for an easy on-the-go toddler or kid snack.

Cooking with Kids

Kids love helping in the kitchen and this applesauce recipe is a great way to get them involved.

Toddlers

  • They can help pick out and measure the ingredients.
  • Toddlers can help chop the apples into small chunks, with a child-safe knife.
  • With assistance, they can add cinnamon and vanilla to the cooking apples.

Kids

  • They can gather and measure all of the ingredients.
  • Kids can help peel and chop the apples with a child-safe knife.
  • They can help spoon the cooled sauce into a container.
Blue kids bowl on a blue plate and blue napkin filled with homemade applesauce with spoon resting on top.

Recipe Tips

  • You can use any apples you have on hand or prefer, though the sweeter apples will give you naturally sweeter applesauce.
  • If adding another fruit, you can use fresh or frozen in this recipe.
  • This recipe will thicken up once it cools down in the fridge for a few hours.
  • To make this applesauce into a baby puree – simply blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
  • You can add this applesauce to reusable pouches for an on-the-go toddler snack.
Blue kids bowl on a blue plate and blue napkin filled with homemade applesauce with spoon resting on top and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the applesauce.

Get the recipe: 20-Minute Spiced Unsweetened Applesauce

5 stars (1 rating)
This Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce is the perfect healthy snack for kids. Made with a drizzle of vanilla extract, a pinch of cinnamon, and no added sugar! Easy to make on the stovetop and freezes well!
Yield: 3 cups
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Michele Olivier
Course: Side Dish
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Peel apples. This step is optional. Peeling apples will give the applesauce a crisper taste, while not peeling them will give the applesauce an earthier taste and texture. Both are great.
    Wooden cutting board with peeled apples on top with a peeler.
  • Core, and roughly chop the apples.
    A wooden cutting board on a white countertop with chunks of apples on it.
  • Place the apples, cinnamon, vanilla, and water into a medium or large saucepan. Cover.
    Silver saucepan with chunks of apples, cinnamon and vanilla.
  • Heat over medium heat-low heat for 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
    Silver saucepan filled with cooked chunks of apples.
  • Transfer all ingredients into a blender.
    Clear blender with cooked apples.
  • Pulse for a chunky applesauce or blend for 15-30 seconds for a smoother applesauce. You can also use an immersion blender for this step.
    Clear blender with pureed apples.
  • Serve and enjoy!
    Blue kids bowl on a blue plate and blue napkin filled with homemade applesauce.

Notes

Age: 6+ months
Storage: Unsweetened Applesauce will keep for 1 week in the fridge (if it lasts that long!) or for 3 months in the freezer. 
Apples: Make sure to use apples that are ripe and sweet, such as Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Pink Lady or Golden Delicious.

Equipment

Saucepan
Blender
Reusable Pouches
Bumkins Baby Bowl

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