Apple Purée (Apple Sauce)

Square picture of two bowl with smooth and chunky puree.

5 from 1 vote

Apple purée or apple sauce can be smooth, chunky, sweet or slightly tart. It's quick and easy to make and has more uses than you think. And it's definitely not just for babies!

Course Condiment, Sauce, Snack

Cuisine British, International

Keyword apple puree, apple sauce

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings 60ml servings

Calories 83kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

Ingredients

1 kg mix of cooking and eating apples peeled, cored and chopped into chunks; see notes
2 tablespoon water to help apples release their juices, see notes
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon see notes
1 tablespoon maple syrup see notes
1 tablespoon lemon juice see notes

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Peel, core and chop the apples into chunks.
Put them in a pan with water and spices (if using).
Give the apples a good stir, especially when using spices, to get them nicely covered and cook on a medium heat (uncovered) until they start to sizzle.
Lower the heat to medium low, cover the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring frequently or until you reach desired consistency.
1 kg mix of cooking and eating apples, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoon water
Now is the time to taste and add sweetness and/or acidity to your preference with your sweetener of choice and some lemon juice.
***Quick Tip*** Liquid sweeteners are great here as they only need stirring in. If adding some sugar you will have to simmer your puree for couple more minutes, stirring, for sugar to dissolve.
1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Once you are happy with the flavour of your apple puree you can leave it as or mash it a bit more with potato masher.
Alternatively, if you prefer smoother consistency, feel free to puree it with a stick blender or in a food processor.
Enjoy!

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (based on 7x60ml servings) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
Feel free to adjust the amount of water based on how juicy your apples are and the consistency of puree you're after.
You can use other ground or whole spices (see Ingredients above).
Feel free to use your sweetener of choice and adjust the amount to suit your taste, same goes for lemon juice.
Apple puree will store in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Putting hot apple puree into sterilised jars will extend their shelf life in the fridge.

TIPS:

To use less or no sweetener at all, use sweeter eating apples rather than cooking ones. No added sugar version is perfect for babies.

Adjust the amount of water depending on consistency of apple puree you'd like and juiciness of your apples.

For added flavour that is more subtle use whole spices which you can easily remove (cinnamon stick, piece of fresh ginger, star anise, allspice berries). Added bonus is that they won't affect the colour of the puree.

For a bit of a twist try adding a touch of vanilla extract or vanilla pod when you're cooking the apples.

Why not try apple and pear puree instead? Same principle two different fruits.

It's all about your flavour preferences so tweak the recipe until it suits YOU.

Nutrition