Easy Unsweetened Apple Sauce Recipe – For Grown-Ups Too!
All Grown Up…
Apple sauce seems like a kid food. But this unsweetened apple sauce recipe with cinnamon, ginger and raisins elevates a childhood favorite to an almost sophisticated level.
Why would we want applesauce to be a grown-up food? Because it’s actually insanely delicious with meats like lamb, beef and pork, and a healthy and easy snack that can make something like pretzels and cheese exciting.
And, healthy.
The way the apples are boiled for this apple sauce, the pectin in their skin is released. Pectin is the skin’s fiber, and it’s getting a lot of attention these days for its gut-healing properties. Studies are beginning to show that pectin can even prevent allergies with its microbiome-boosting qualities.
Good for kids and adults.
So why not make the most of the childhood fave?
Unsweetened Apple Sauce Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients for this apple sauce are pretty much, well, apples. You don’t *actually* need anything else, but you can add some dried fruit to sweeten it further, and spices to jazz it up.
Raisins, prunes, and dates are all great choices, plus cinnamon and/or ginger.
If you’re wondering if the apples need to be red or green, the answer is: it doesn’t matter!
I usually use Gala or Fuji apples, or a mix. If I have a couple extras of something else–like the Granny Smiths below–I throw them in, too. Your sauce might just look lighter or darker depending on what type of apples you use and whether you peel them.
Peeled=lighter in color.
It will also look lighter or darker depending on how many and which additional ingredients you toss in.
How To Make Apple Sauce
Simply quarter and boil your apples in a few inches of water. After 10-15 minutes the skins will start looking shiny. Remove the apples and blend, or keep them in the pot and use an immersion blender to make them into sauce. Ta da!
Now, of course, there are some teeny details.
I don’t fill the pot with more than an inch or two of water, because instead of draining the water I use an immersion blender and I don’t like my applesauce too watery/runny. Theoretically, I could drain the water and still use the immersion blender, but after a boil the water has absorbed nutrients, so why waste it?
If you opt for a traditional blender that works perfectly, too. Maybe just give the apples some time to cool before tossing them in, according to whatever your blender’s instructions are.
You can leave it as just apples, but why not jazz it up? Toss a 1/2 cup of raisins on top, plus about a teaspoon of cinnamon (if you want to be exact) and some ginger. It is a little too easy to over-spice with ginger and end up with very strong sauce, so you might want to measure here, anywhere from 1/8 of a teaspoon to 1/2 a teaspoon.
As you might guess from my tone, I don’t usually do exact measurements. But if you’re shaker-happy, then measuring can’t hurt.
Bring the water to a boil, then steam everything together, covered and on low. Check in 10-15 minutes and the apple skins will look somehow shinier. It can be tricky to spot, so if you can’t tell the difference, just know there will be a difference by that time.
Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to turn the mixture into sauce. Or, as mentioned above, let it cool then blend in a blender.
Store your applesauce in the fridge for up to two weeks (maximum). Some say 7-10 days, but I tend to push it if I can. Don’t tell.
Feeling Saucy? If you’re looking for more sauce ideas, try these:
- 3 Ingredient Mushroom Alfredo Sauce
- Healthy, Homemade Marinara Pasta Sauce
- Creamy, Dreamy Tzadziki
- Homemade Hummus
- Orange Cranberry Sauce (Any Time of Year)
- Pickled Red Onion (For Literally Anything)
Believe it or not…
This unsweetened apple sauce recipe goes deliciously well with meat dishes like roasted lamb and potatoes. The rosemary and garlic of the lamb meet a sweet complementary match in the ginger and cinnamon of apple sauce.
Unsweetened Apple Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 medium size Gala or Fugi apples if the apples are small, use a couple extra
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger ground or fresh and sliced
Instructions
- Wash the apples then cut them into quarters.
- Add apples, raisins, cinnamon and ginger to a medium-sized pot and fill with about 1-2 inches of water.
- Cover pot and bring water to a boil. Then turn down heat, keep covered and simmer for 10-15 minutes, when apple skins look shiny. (No harm in peeking, you just don’t want the small amount of water to evaporate.)
- Remove pot from heat. Use immersion blender to make into sauce, or let the mix cool before adding to a traditional blender and blending.
- Store in a glass container in the fridge for 10-14 days.
