I often make applesauce with several different apples all in the pot together, but this Granny Smith applesauce is pure Granny Smith–applesauce that celebrates the tart green apple!
If you’re looking for more ways to use Granny Smith apples, might I suggest this apple and green tomato chutney? It’s delicious and full of tart GS apples.
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Granny Smith Applesauce, At a Glance
✅Skill Level: Beginner
✅Skills: Washing and slicing apples, using a food mill
✅Type: Condiment/Side dish/Fruit sauce
✅Number of Ingredients: 4 with 2 optional spices
✅Prep Time: 10 minutes
✅Cook Time: 45 minutes
✅Yield: 10-12 servings
Jump Straight to the Recipe
Applesauce Time
Apples do not sing of Spring. They sing of crisp Autumn Days; of long cold evenings; of trees that blaze red, yellow and orange.
I’m not really sure why my mind went to applesauce on a lovely spring day. Bright blue sky. Warm sun. Cool breeze. Windows thrown open. For me, a perfect day.
It could be that, taken by itself, yesterday could also have been a glorious Autumn day. Bright blue sky. Warm sun. Cool breeze. Windows thrown open.
In North Carolina, we are fortunate to have four distinct seasons, although I’m pretty sure the summers are a bit longer and hotter than they used to be while the winters are a bit shorter and milder.
Spring and Fall are my favorites though. Change is in the air. In the Autumn, nature gets itself ready for bed. In the Spring, it goes about its morning routine.
And even though gloriously perfect Autumn days inevitably lead to colder days and longer nights while gloriously perfect Spring days lead to the longer, hotter, humid days, I savor them both. Rather than anticipate the days that follow with just a bit of dread, I choose to live in the moments of those perfect Spring and Fall days.
And that, my friends, is why I ended up making Granny Smith applesauce.
Ingredients
A magic applesauce with a short ingredient list and big flavor.
A winning combination!
Here’s what you’ll need:
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- Granny Smith apples: If using a food mill (see below), you won’t need to peel or core them. Try to get organic to minimize pesticide exposure
- Apple juice or cider: I like to give fruit a little liquid to help it start cooking and softening, so why not intensify the apple flavor by using apple juice or cider? NOTE: not hard cider, just sweet apple cider
- Salt: Adds dimension to the flavor. Please don’t leave it out.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness and some keeping qualities. You can use white or brown sugar
- Spices (optional): A little baking spice is nice in applesauce, but it is optional. Choose your favorite. Apple pie spice is particularly nice.
Make Applesauce with a Food Mill
Easy, Step-by-Step How to Make Granny Smith Applesauce
Hands down, my favorite way to make applesauce, Granny Smith or otherwise, is this:
- Cook down the apples, skins, seeds, and all, until the apples are very soft.
- Run the cooked pulp through your food mill.
- If the sauce isn’t as thick as you’d like, you can then cook down a bit farther to reduce the liquid. Otherwise, you’re done!
The OXO food mill is well-made, easy to use, easy to clean, and dishwasher safe (I wash all the parts in the dishwasher except the grinding discs). Speaking of, it comes with 3 discs for fine, medium and coarse. There is no better tool for getting a consistent texture and also removing skins and seeds without having to peel or core anything before hand.
Other Applesauce and Apple Butter Recipes
Ever wondered what the difference between applesauce and apple butter is? I can help with that.
Once you get the differences down (spoiler: it’s a matter of degree), here are some other recipes you may enjoy:
Questions?
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
Please Take a Moment to Rate and Review
It will help me and other readers so much if you take a moment to rate and leave a review for this recipe.
You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
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Thank you so much for taking the time!
Granny Smith Apple Sauce Recipe
Video
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds Granny Smith apples about 4, washed and cut into chunks (peeling and coring not necessary if you're using a food mill)
- 6 oz apple cider 3/4 cup
- ¼ teaspoon Fine sea salt to taste
- 4-5 oz granulated sugar 113-142 grams or about 1/2 cup, to taste
- 1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg several gratings, optional
Instructions
- Place the apples, apple cider, salt, the lesser amount of sugar, and optional spices into a heavy-bottomed pan large enough to hold all the apples.
- Cover the pan and cook the apples on medium-low heat for about 45 minutes.
- When all the fruit is cooked and very soft, remove from heat and run through a food mill fit with the medium die. This will keep all the peels and seeds out of your finished sauce.
- Taste the applesauce and add additional sugar to your taste if it is needed.
- Taste again and adjust seasonings.
- Let cool then refrigerate.
- Use within a week.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Nutrition
Enjoy the Granny Smith Applesauce, friends.
Thank you for spending some time with me.
Take care, y’all.
Join in Today!
Do I leave the stems on when simmering whole apples?
Hi, J. I usually wash the apples well, then pull the stems off and cut the apples into chunks not bothering to core them. If you look up higher in the post, there’s a collage and one of the photos shows my apples all cut and in the pan. Running them through a food mill will separate out all the seeds, hard bits of core, and the skins. Enjoy!
This turned out delicious! One question – my applesauce had a very soft, almost pudding-like texture. Did I cook the apples too long? I’m not mad about it – it’s delicious on top of pancakes. 😀 Thanks for a great recipe!
Hey, Jenny! (I love coffee too 🙂 ) It’s possible you could have cooked them so long the juices and apple itself began to caramelize, turning your applesauce into more of an apple butter. There’s no real definite line between the two, so you can call what you ended up with apple butter if that feels like a better name/description of it. I’m really glad you’re enjoying it!
Can this be canned for long term?
Hey, Chelsea! I am not sure, because I personally am not a canner. I know sugar content and pH are both important for food safety, so I would start with a recipe optimized for canning, maybe from the Ball Blue Book.Im not saying it can’t be, but I wouldn’t want to give you misinformation.
How much is a serving size? I am planning on canning about 24 or so quarts and trying to figure out the amount of apples I will need.
Great question. I figure a serving is about 1/2 cup, give or take, so if you’re wanting to put up 24 quarts, you’ll need 1x the recipe per 2 quarts. Scale it all up accordingly: 12x the recipe for 24 quarts. It will cook down a lot, but you’ll need some big old pots! Please let me know how it turns out–would love to hear your review!
My Granny Smith trees went crazy this year. Great to make this and share with friends.
Wonderful! Be sure to make it to taste as far as adding sugar and seasonings. Enjoy! 🙂
Where’s the damn recipe? If it’s not on page one, forget about it. How stupid.
In the time it took you to curse at me, you could have clicked for and printed the recipe. Take care.