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This homemade applesauce recipe is baked in the oven for a wonderfully concentrated apple flavor. With a hint of cinnamon and brown sugar, it’s delicious served warm or chilled.
I can’t make applesauce without thinking of my grandmother. No matter what was on her plate, she always wanted applesauce on the side—even requesting it at fancy restaurants, probably to the horror of the kitchen staff! I know she would have loved this homemade version.
Most applesauce recipes are made on the stovetop, but I prefer baking the apples in the oven. There’s no need to add water or juice to keep them from sticking, so the apple flavor stays concentrated. A little butter and brown sugar give the applesauce an almost apple pie-like flavor, and you can mash it until smooth or leave it a bit chunky, depending on how you like it.
“I had a bunch of apples slightly past their prime and this was a great way to use them. I added a cinnamon sticks and it made the house smell lovely.”
What You’ll Need To Make Homemade Applesauce
- Apples – I like using a mix of McIntosh, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith apples. McIntosh break down easily, Golden Delicious add sweetness, and Granny Smith provide a little tartness. Using a combination gives the applesauce a more balanced flavor.
- Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a subtle caramel flavor. You can choose light or dark depending on what you have on hand.
- Butter: Gives the applesauce a silky texture and a slightly buttery, baked-apple flavor.
- Cinnamon: Adds a warm hint of spice without overpowering the apples.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Oven-Baked Applesauce
Prepare the apples: Peel, core, and cut the apples into chunks, then spread them in a baking dish. Scatter the brown sugar and butter over the top. Don’t worry about mixing everything together—the butter and sugar will melt into the apples as they bake.
Bake until tender: Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake, tossing the apples once halfway through. They’re ready when they’re very soft and break apart easily when pressed with a fork. You’ll also notice some delicious apple juices collecting in the bottom of the dish.
Mash: Mash the warm apples with a potato masher or fork until they’re the consistency you like. I prefer mine a little chunky, but you can keep mashing for a smoother applesauce. Give it a taste; if the applesauce is too tart, add a little more brown sugar until the flavors are balanced.
Serve: Spoon the applesauce into a bowl and sprinkle with cinnamon, if you like. Serve warm or chilled. The applesauce also keeps and freezes beautifully—see the recipe card below for storage and freezing instructions.
Make-Ahead, Storage & Freezing Instructions
The applesauce can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Oven-Baked Applesauce
Ingredients
- 4 pounds apples (about 10), peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks (see note)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) chunks
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (packed) light or dark brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Place the apples in a 9×13-inch (22×33-cm) baking dish. Scatter the brown sugar and chunks of butter evenly over top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, tossing once halfway through, until the apples are very tender.
- Mash the apples with a potato masher or fork. Taste; if the applesauce is too tart, add more brown sugar little by little until the flavors are balanced. (Note that no two batches will ever be the same; the flavor will depend on the tartness of the apples you use.)
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you’re following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
What To Serve With Applesauce
Homemade applesauce is wonderful alongside roast chicken or pork, and of course, it’s a classic accompaniment to potato latkes. I also love it spooned over pancakes or vanilla ice cream.
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love
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Honeycrisp and Fuji were my chosen apples today. I used a potato masher and it was still too chunky, so I blended a portion and mixed it with the remainder. I added an extra pat of butter and appx.2 T more of brown sugar.l after tasting. It was so delicious with a creamy side of vanilla yogurt…my new go to breakfast- Heaven!
I will have to try this. I usually cook a variety of apples in a pot and add maple sugar and some cloves. Also a peel or 2 from red apple to give it a rosy color.
Hi Jenn,
I’d like to make this without the sugar for my toddler. Would I be able to omit the sugar and follow the method as written, or will it alter the cooking and texture? Thanks!
Hi Catherine, I think it’s fine to omit the sugar. Enjoy!
It turned out wonderfully! I used all macintosh so it was already applesauce when I took it out of the oven. Super easy method. My daughter loved it, thanks!
I can’t imagine buying applesauce again! This recipe turned out great (though I used an immersion blender at the end to speed things along) – so much so that family members are asking when I’m making my next batch.
Thanks for sharing the baking method for applesauce. Nice to have a more hands off cooking option, but also very good in stovetop.
I grew up eating this on homemade drop buttermilk biscuits, so good!!! I am currently making a big batch of this to freeze for a quick breakfast or breakfast for dinner with biscuits.
I have made chucky no added liquid applesauce on the stove top, crockpot, and microwave. Thank you for the oven.
For another layer of flavor try adding grounded ginger or rum. Recommend using white sugar with the ginger and brown sugar with rum flavoring or rum alcohol.
My husband adores chunky applesauce. It became ridiculously expensive and difficult to buy so I decided to try making some. Per my husband he doesn’t care if store bought chunky applesauce becomes easily available and cheap because your recipe is so much better. I make a double batch and place in 12-16 ounce mason jars and freeze all but one. They freeze and thaw in the fridge wonderfully. The only thing I changed was I dropped the sugar a bit as he doesn’t like a very sweet applesauce.. Thanks for a wonderful and easy recipe.
I used to have two apple trees and made lots of apple sauce every fall. I left the skin on, added cinnamon sticks and a little water and cooked it on the stove top, no sugar added. When the apples were soft, I put them through my food mill – there was no trace of the skin left. I will try and bake the apples with the skin and when soft, put them through the food mill. Should work just fine.
Hi! I’m hoping to do the prep work in advance and hold it in fridge until ready to cook (day before or the day of). Would this work?
Hi Jamie, I wouldn’t recommend doing the prep work in advance as I’m concerned that the apples will brown. You can, however, make the applesauce up to 3 days ahead. 🙂
O.M.G. I’ve never made applesauce before, but my husband had been lamenting the fact that I never serve pork chops with applesauce (in best Peter-Brady-meets-Humphry-Bogart voice) anymore. I remembered some sad apples, as well as some happy ones, in the basement and started looking for a recipe. We devoured it. So, so good. I’m grateful I forgot the crap from the store! Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
I can’t ever have porkchops and applesauce without thinking about that Brady Bunch episode, ha ha.
Sooooooo good. I basically think this is apple pie without the crust…so I’m not sure I would call it applesauce per se…but what ever you call it, it is amazing. We served it on the side of pork carnitas tacos.