How to make homemade apple sauce— with only five ingredients

Use a mix of different apples, including a few of the popular “baking” varieties like Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Mutsu and Cortland. You can freeze your applesauce in sealed plastic containers to eat any time of the year. Apples are a great source of dietary fibre; they’re loaded with vitamin C and don’t have a trace of sodium (they’re also only about 80 calories each).

1 1/2 kg apples (about 7 or 8), 1/2 cup unsweetened apple cider or juice, 1 3-in. cinnamon stick, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp fresh lemon juice. Makes about 4 cups of applesauce.

Pot, spoon, masher, measuring spoons, hand juicer, apple peeler

Step 1

Peel, core and cut your apples into pieces.

Step 2

Place apples in a Dutch oven or another large heavy pot. Add apple cider and cinnamon stick, cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 min or until apples are cooked through and falling apart.

Step 3

Remove cinnamon stick and mash apples with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached.

Step 4

Taste and adjust flavour with sugar and lemon juice (you may need slightly more or less depending on the sweetness of your apples.).