Apple recipes are all over the internet, from apple pie and apple muffins to apple butter and apple tarts. When apple season rolls around, we can be found making everything from apple cider to baked apple.
Applesauce is a beloved treat in many households, and if you buy a brand that’s organic and contains only apples and water, it’s a super healthy snack and recipe ingredient. Whether you make your own homemade applesauce or buy a store-bought brand, this versatile ingredient can work hard in your kitchen.
But what about applesauce recipes?
Applesauce is a versatile ingredient that can elevate a variety of dishes. Its natural sweetness and moistness make it an excellent addition to many recipes. Not only does it impart delightful flavors, but it can also be used as a healthier alternative to fats in baking, making the recipes guilt-free and delicious.
Incorporating applesauce into dishes is an innovative way to add a touch of natural sweetness and a unique texture. From baked goods to savory sauces, applesauce can be utilized in numerous ways. The recipes that follow showcase the versatility of this delightful fruit puree, allowing home cooks to explore new culinary possibilities and savor its distinctive taste.
From tempting dessert options to wholesome and satisfying main dishes, the recipes featuring applesauce are proof that the possibilities with this ingredient are endless. So, regardless of one’s culinary preferences or dietary needs, there is an apple-infused masterpiece waiting to be cooked, tasted, and cherished.
If you bought a huge jar of applesauce with the best of intentions to start eating healthier, there’s a good chance you still have half of that jar of applesauce in the fridge. We’ve all been there!
The fact is, there are so many delicious apple recipes that you can make with a jar of applesauce.
We cover applesauce bars, applesauce cake, and applesauce muffins. We’ve even got a dinner entree on this list (pork chops and applesauce).
It’s amazing what you can do with a jar of applesauce.
We’ve even got a recipe for homemade applesauce on this applesauce recipe list, and as a bonus, there’s a how-to video for making homemade applesauce at the bottom of this article.
Are you ready to learn what to do with applesauce? Let’s go!
Who knew you could make a vegan buttercream cake frosting that tastes nearly just like the original using applesauce?
The recipe author also says that this cake frosting pipes wonderfully, so you can actually do some creative cake decorating with this applesauce frosting.
To create this masterpiece, you need applesauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, vanilla sugar, non-dairy milk such as almond milk, kosher salt, and a lot of margarine.
This frosting is perfect for your favorite cake or cupcakes.
In addition to applesauce cake, another beloved applesauce baking recipe is applesauce bars.
To make applesauce bars, you need packed brown sugar, unsalted butter, and pumpkin pie spice.
If you have some pumpkin pie spice in your pantry already, you can use it. However, it’s easy to make your own, too.
To make pumpkin pie spice, you need nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves.
Frost these gorgeous applesauce bars with cream cheese frosting. To make cream cheese frosting, use cream cheese (lower fat is OK, too), unsalted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
What are some of the best applesauce uses? Our 17 delicious unsweetened applesauce recipes are definitely a great way to use applesauce.
But what if you want to make homemade applesauce? Is that even practical when applesauce is so inexpensive?
There are some great reasons to make homemade applesauce. For one thing, you can use different apple varieties. Some of our favorites are Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Fuji apples, and Pink Lady apples.
In fact, when you’re making homemade applesauce, you’ll get the best applesauce if you use more than one type of apple.
We love this applesauce recipe because it has such an amazing apple flavor. You can use any type of apple to make this homemade applesauce.
You also need cinnamon for flavor (or fresh cinnamon stick), as well as sugar and water. Lemon juice can be used as a preservative.
You can make your homemade applesauce on the stovetop, in the Instant Pot, or in the slow cooker. Crockpot applesauce is wonderful! It’s helpful if you have a food mill, immersion blender, potato masher, or food processor.
Save your extra homemade applesauce in jars in the fridge.
Applesauce cake is one of the most famous applesauce desserts and also one of the most beloved applesauce baking recipes.
When you want a dessert that has plenty of apple flavor, applesauce cake with cream cheese frosting is the best way to get there.
This applesauce cake recipe is warmly spiced with apple pie spice. You can buy apple pie spice already made or you can make your own. All you need to make your own apple pie spice is cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg.
This particular applesauce cake recipe is made with almond milk, almond flour, apple cider vinegar, whole wheat flour, and all-purpose flour.
For oil, this recipe calls for avocado oil.
Cream cheese frosting is the perfect frosting for this applesauce cake.
We’ve covered applesauce cake, applesauce bread, and applesauce muffins, so you know we had to pull out the applesauce cookies.
Since they’re made with old-fashioned rolled oats, these applesauce cookies bring in a lot of fiber and nutrients, so they’re a winner for us.
These delicious little applesauce cookies are also loaded with spices, including ground cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cinnamon. Vanilla extract also adds a lot of wonderful flavor.
For sugar, these applesauce cookies have both granulated white sugar and light brown sugar.
Frost these little beauties with powdered sugar icing.
How about a chocolate cake that is actually good for you?
OK, this chocolate cake does have sugar, but it’s also packed with tons of vitamins and nutrients.
In addition to applesauce, this chocolate cake recipe calls for two medium bananas.
For chocolate flavor, you use unsweetened cocoa powder and chocolate chips. There’s nothing to stop you from using dark chocolate chips for even more antioxidants.
This recipe does call for white flour, but it also has 1/4 cup of wheat flour.
The best part about this chocolate banana applesauce cake is that you don’t need any butter or oil.
Applesauce muffins are one of our favorite recipes using applesauce.
These tasty applesauce muffins are easy to make, and this particular recipe made with rolled oats and whole wheat flour is super healthy.
For a sweet baked treat, these muffins don’t have a lot of sugar. Extra sweetener comes from the other fruit you add, such as raisins or dried cranberries.
You can also add dark chocolate chips to these applesauce muffins for a nice antioxidant boost.
Do yourself a favor when you make these applesauce muffins. Make a double batch and pop some in the freezer to enjoy another day. They freeze beautifully!
Sometimes we see healthy brownie recipes that call for vegetables like beans, but these delicious and healthy applesauce brownies don’t need those unusual ingredients.
What we love about these applesauce brownies is that they don’t use butter or oil, but you will never miss the fat.
Honey adds tons of sweetness, and the fat that’s needed to make brownies gooey comes from peanut butter.
The “flour” in these brownies is oat flour, which is oats that have been put through a blender.
Unsweetened cocoa powder adds the chocolate flavor, along with some luscious dark chocolate chips. You can also use milk chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips if you prefer.
Did you know that you can add a huge scoop of your homemade applesauce or apple juice to your oatmeal to give it tons of flavor and extra fiber and nutrition?
This is one of the best applesauce ideas we’ve seen.
As it turns out, you can get super creative with applesauce oatmeal by pulling a few fun and tasty tricks.
Try boosting your applesauce oatmeal with vanilla extract, cinnamon, lemon zest, or orange zest.
You can also add spices like nutmeg or even apple pie spice.
One of our favorite ideas for applesauce oatmeal is to add caramel sauce and nuts. Yum!
Are you ready to make homemade applesauce? If you’re wondering what to do with applesauce, watch the video below for a step-by-step demonstration for making homemade applesauce. Here’s a hint: using different apple varieties makes better applesauce.
17+ Recipes With Applesauce (+Homemade Applesauce Recipe)
These recipes are sure to please. So, gather your family and friends and enjoy. Let us know your thoughts!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
