Canning Applesauce – How to Can Applesauce {Step by Step}

An easy step-by-step tutorial on Canning Applesauce. This recipe for how to preserve apples is perfect for beginners and experienced canners alike. Instructions include low-sugar and no-sugar options. 

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If you’ve never canned applesauce before, it can seem overwhelming and a lot to take in. Don’t be intimidated; I’m here to help. We’re in this together!

While canning can be hard work, when I open up a fresh jar from canning peaches, canning tomato soup, canning whole tomatoes, canning pears, or applesauce in the middle of winter, it is always worth the effort.

If you have leftover apples when you’re done with this easy applesauce recipe, you’ll love canning apple butter, freezing apples, making cinnamon apples, or Healthy Apple Nachos.

Even better, you can use some of your homemade applesauce for whipping up a batch of Cinnamon Apple Donuts!

How to Can Applesauce

*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.

Canning applesauce is broken down into three main steps:

• Canning prep
• Making applesauce
• Canning the applesauce

Canning Prep

Prepare your water bath canner by filling it with water. You just need to have enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch once the water is boiling.

Set the canner on the stove. Turn the burner to high. Once it reaches a boil, reduce it to a simmer. You want to keep the water hot so that everything is ready when the applesauce is.

Wash and clean your jars. You’ll want to keep the jars warm enough to avoid having them crack when placed in the canner. You can fill them with hot water, or place them on a tray in the oven at 170˚F.

Wash your lids and set them aside in a clean place. You no longer need to simmer lids in water to keep them sterile. Woot!

Making Applesauce

Set a medium/large pot of water to medium-high on your stove.

Wash your apples and cut into eighths, or more if you have particularly large apples. Add apples to the hot water and cook until they have softened (~1-5 minutes depending on your type of apple).

Remove using a slotted spoon and place in a strainer set into a large bowl.

Run the apples through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins. Pro tip: For safety purposes, you need to keep the sauce warm until you have enough to can. I use my slow cooker set to warm for this because it frees up space on my stove for the other steps in the canning process.

Return the burner to high and bring the water in the canner back to a rapid boil.

Using a canning funnel, ladle the warm applesauce into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any bubbles from the jar (I use a plastic chopstick).

Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure it is free of any food.

Place a clean lid on the jar. Add a ring, and tighten to fingertip tight.

Using canning tongs, carefully place your jars in the canner. Put the lid on. Processing times will vary based on altitude. See the chart below. Pro tip: the water must return to a boil in the canner before you can start the timer.

Once the jars have been processed for the appropriate amount of time, remove the canner from the burner, wearing oven mitts carefully take off the lid of the canner, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Pro tip: I tend to just slide the canner into the middle of my stove, as it weighs a ton.

Carefully remove the jars with canning tongs, and place them on a thick towel in a place where they can be undisturbed for 12 hours.

The lids will likely start to pop within 20-30 minutes of being removed from the water. That popping sound is music to your ears, as it tells you that everything has been sealed. It’s a reward for all your work!

After the jars have rested for about 12 hours, press down in the middle of each lid. If it “gives” at all, the jar didn’t seal. Either enjoy it that day, put it in the fridge, or reprocess it with a new lid.

Pressure Canning Applesauce

If you prefer to pressure can your applesauce, follow the prep and packing process above and the canning process below.

Add 3 quarts of water to your pressure canner and put it on a burner set to high. Make sure there is a canning rack in the bottom of the canner.

Using canning tongs, gently place the jars in the canner. Lock the lid. Soon, steam will start coming through the vent pipe (I call it the steam chimney).

Allow the steam to pass through for about 10 minutes. Then put the pressure regulator (I call it the chimney cap) on top. (see the 4 photo grid below for a visual of this process step by step)

Pretty soon, the air vent will pop up. That is a sign that you’re starting to build pressure inside the canner (get excited. This is happening!). Processing times will vary based on altitude. See the charts below.

When the dial gauge reaches the appropriate PSI, reduce the burner temp to medium, and start your timer. The pressure must stay at the PSA or (a little bit) above for the duration of the cooking time.  You’ll likely need to adjust the temp on the burner a few times depending on your stove.

When the time is up, remove the canner from the burner and allow it to sit until you hear a distinctive “click” of the air vent dropping. Remove the pressure regulator and carefully remove the lid of the canner (Pro tip: I always use oven mitts when I take the lid off because the steam is super hot).

Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner with the canner lid off and then lift them out with canning tongs. Pro tip: allowing the jars to sit in the canner with the canner lid off can help reduce the siphoning of sauce out of your jars.

Place hot jars on a towel where they can sit undisturbed for 12 hours.

After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed.

How Long Do You Water Bath Can Applesauce?

The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving calls for water bath canning applesauce for a minimum of 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts. Some adjustments will need to be made based on altitude. See the altitude guide above and in the printable recipe card.

Do You have to add lemon juice when canning applesauce?

Nope! Lemon juice is needed when the produce that you’re canning doesn’t contain enough natural sugar or has a natural level of acid that is not consistent enough to be considered safe (like tomatoes).

Apples are naturally sweet and can be canned with or without added sugar or lemon juice. However, I do recommend combining lemon juice or citric acid with water in a large bowl for canning prep. I place the cut apples into the lemon juice water to prevent browning before parboiling them.

Alternatively, you can cook the apples down on low heat in a large pot on the stove. Cook and stir often and blend to your desired consistency.

You don’t have to remove the skin if you’d like to skip the peeling step, but there is more of a chance of contamination when canning if the skins are left on.