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Home » Recipes » Breakfast » Easy Homemade Applesauce (with veggies!)

Easy Homemade Applesauce (with veggies!)

By Taesha Butler September 27, 2018 (Updated August 6, 2021) 17 Comments

Servings6 servings
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Jump to Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Making your own delicious homemade applesauce is so easy! With just a few ingredients, this recipe is kid-friendly and packed with added veggies. Easy, wholesome and so tasty . The whole family is going to love this healthy recipe!

Jump to Recipe
A jar of veggie-loaded homemade applesauce on a cutting board with apples, carrots and a bowl of sauce next to it.

Healthy homemade applesauce

As you might know, I am a Maine girl by birth. I grew up swinging from the trees in the woods that surrounded my childhood home, skipping on rock walls and picking buckets and buckets full of apples in the fall. And while I have since relocated my roots to the the sandy beaches of San Diego, my love of Maine and all things fall stay very near and dear to my heart.

Another thing I remember from childhoods in New England was homemade applesauce. If you have never had the pleasure of visiting an apple orchard in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont or any of the other New England states in fall, I highly recommend you add it to your Bucket List. Just imagine it….rows and rows of trees bursting with the sweetest and juiciest apples the size of softballs. I remember picking so many with my brother and sister that carrying them back to the car was physical feat, but always worth it!

The ingredients for homemade veggie-loaded applesauce in a pot before cooking.

Because the best part of apple season came next…the appley goods! My mother is an incredibly talented baker and cook and I was often on her heels in the kitchen helping out (well, at least I like to think I was helping). I credit her for teaching me the art of cooking and giving me the confidence to make my food from scratch. My mom is the unsung hero of all my kitchen creations and TNN wouldn’t 100% not be here if she hadn’t invested her time and patience in teaching me my way around the stove and cutting board.

Anyway, I would remember all the amazing apple goodness that my mother would cook up after a successful apple picking trip. Baked apples. Apple pies. Simple apple slices with cinnamon sprinkled on it. And definitely homemade applesauce.

Why this easy homemade applesauce is so great!

It is great to make with kids!

Applesauce is a wildly simple recipe to make and a great one to include the children in on! I have often made it with my preschool class, allowing children to use kid-safe knives (these are the ones I recommend) to roughly (oh so roughly when kids are running the show) chop the apples and add the cinnamon and water. We would cook it in a slow cooker in our classroom so the children could smell the warm flavors blending together into one amazing treat.

I cherish so many memories around applesauce making…both with my mother and the many children I have had the gift of teaching. It truly doesn’t feel like fall until a pot of warm applesauce is bubbling on the stove and is slathered on pancakes, muffins and all of the other baked goods.

It gets bonus veggies in!

Now, I know that vegetables are not a typical addition to homemade applesauce recipes, but trust me when I say they should be!

I am always looking for ways to up the awesomeness of something good! Especially with veggies. And these naturally sweet veggies (carrots and butternut squash) not only pump up the nutrients in this homemade applesauce, but help to add natural sweetness while adding vegetables into every bite!

Healthy veggie-loaded homemade applesauce after being cooked and blended with an immersion blender.

No added sugar

Many applesauce recipes call for added sugar, which I kind of think is a bit bonkers. Apples are such a naturally sweet fruit that they bring all the natural sugar to the applesauce party that is needed. So, I really encourage you to save the honey and maple syrup for another recipe and let Mother Nature be in charge of this one!

And while natural, classic applesauce alone is great, I am always looking for ways to add more veggies into my family’s diet. It has kind of become my thing and something so many of you have told me you come to TNN for.

So now, I have veggie-loaded the applesauce. The magical, childhood favorite now has a veggie-loaded twist. Paired with beautiful and naturally sweet butternut squash and carrots, this applesauce will still leave your kids seeing all of the heart eyes, but you can feel good knowing that they got an extra dose of veggies into their bellies while they are happy snacking away.

How to make this recipe with your kids

Alice has been cooking with me since she could sit up on the counter and hold a wooden spoon. It wasn’t always a clean project, but I remember the value of my mother’s investment in my own “kitchen education” and know that the mess is 100% worth it in the long run. So, I totally encourage you to involve your children in this cooking process.

Involving your children in the cooking process will also make this recipe and the veggies in it that much more enticing. Children naturally are more likely to try a new food if they feel invested in creating it. So cook this recipe and as many others as you can with your children!

Here are some suggestions for how to make this recipe with various ages of children. Of course, look at your child’s unique abilities and kitchen skills and adjust my suggestions accordingly!

For very young children: Have the ingredients already chopped, prepped and measured out. Allow them to pour ingredients into the pot (hand-over-hand for little ones who may not be strong enough yet) and use a large spoon to stir everything together.

For children ages 4-6: Core apples and allow them to use a child safe knife to roughly cut them into bite-sized pieces. If your child is new to using knives, but sure to offer hand-over-hand help at first and take the opportunity to teach knife safety (even though these knives are pretty harmless). Allow them to chop carrots as well. Butternut squash may be a bit tough for kiddos to get their knives through, so you might want let an adult or older child take care of that. Allow them to measure spices and liquids into the pot and stir everything together.

For children 7-9: Allow them to peel the butternut squash. If they have awareness of and practice how to safely use sharp knives, allow them to use one of those to chop the apples and veggies. Make sure to supervise their cutting as much as you feel they safely need. Allow them to measure ingredients independently and stir everything together.

For children 9+: Let them make this recipe independently! Help them gain confidence in the kitchen by putting them in charge. Make sure to use your best judgement for how much supervision and assistance they will need and act accordingly.

Suggested Adaptations for making veggie-loaded homemade applesauce

  1. Does the orange color scare you? Skip the butternut squash and use yellow carrots instead of orange ones! The color of this sauce will be much closer to traditional applesauce and still veggie-loaded!
  2. Want to make it in your slow cooker? No problem! Just use the same ingredients and same measurements and cook it on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4.
  3. How about in your Instant Pot? You can cook it in there too! Just cook the sauce for 8 minutes on HIGH pressure and use the quick release method once the sauce is done cooking!

Other veggie-loaded breakfast recipes your kids will adore..

  • Strawberry Beet Instant Pot Applesauce
  • Egg-Free Carrot Apple Muffins
  • Healthy Apple Carrot Pancakes
  • Apple Sweet Potato Muffins
  • Veggie-Loaded Kid-friendly Waffles
A bowl of veggie-loaded homemade applesauce with ingredient around it.
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Easy Homemade Applesauce (with veggies!)

Making your own delicious homemade applesauce is so easy! With just a few ingredients, this recipe is kid-friendly and packed with added veggies. Easy, wholesome and so tasty . They whole family is going to love this healthy recipe!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: added veggie recipe, hidden veggie recipe, homemade applesauce, no sugar added applesauce
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 126kcal
Author: Taesha Butler

Ingredients 

  • 6 apples cored and roughly chopped (I left the skins on for extra fiber, but feel free to peel)
  • 2 large carrots roughly chopped
  • 2 cups cubed butternut squash (you can use fresh or frozen)
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup water

Instructions 

  • Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Stir to combine.
  • Cover the pot and bring everything to a boil over high heat.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered for 15-20 minutes until apples and veggies are tender and cooked through.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce to your desired consistency. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can let the sauce cool a bit and then transfer it to a blender to puree. For a chunkier sauce, use a potato masher to crush the fruits and veggies.
  • Enjoy warm or let cook completely before storing in an air tight container in fridge for up to a week or in your freezer for months.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 436mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 9068IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Dairy-Free, Desserts, Gluten-Free, Grain Free, Meal Prep, Nut-Free, Paleo, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole30 Tagged With: carrot, squash

Previous Post: « Pumpkin Almond Butter Cookies {Paleo}
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Reader Interactions

    Leave a comment & rate this recipe Cancel reply

    Did you make this recipe? So good, right? It would mean the world to me if you left a comment and star rating so that more people can see how delicious veggie-loading can be. Plus, it helps me to see what recipes you are all loving so I can make more like them.

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    Comments

  1. matrimonialslive

    October 5, 2018 at 11:40 pm

    Great Applesauce! Thank you very much.

    Reply
  2. Jaime Krueger

    October 21, 2018 at 8:25 pm

    This is delicious! My only questions… how long will it keep in the fridge and would it be okay to freeze?

    Reply
  3. carly

    October 24, 2018 at 4:52 am

    sooo delish!

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      October 29, 2018 at 9:15 pm

      I’m so glad you liked it!

      Reply
  4. Maggie

    September 22, 2019 at 7:56 pm

    Fellow Maine girl here – do you think peaches could be added to this? I just got a fabulous haul of late blooming peaches and am trying to find good uses for them!

    Reply
    • Taesha

      September 22, 2019 at 8:31 pm

      Oh I think that would be a lovely addition!

      Reply
      • Jenna

        October 2, 2020 at 12:17 am

        This is another staple for my house. Live to be able to add veggies to kid favorite

        Reply
        • Taesha

          October 2, 2020 at 7:07 pm

          I am so glad!!

          Reply
  5. Kat B

    January 30, 2020 at 5:44 am

    Yum! Could I process/can this like traditional applesauce? If it’s a hit with the kiddos I’d want to make it in bulk

    Reply
    • Taesha

      January 30, 2020 at 2:58 pm

      I honestly have not tried jarring it. But it freezes really well!

      Reply
  6. Heather

    February 28, 2020 at 4:16 pm

    One of my family’s favorite recipes! My 5 and 7 year old gobble it up every time.

    Reply
  7. Tammy

    August 10, 2020 at 5:03 pm

    5 stars
    A family favorite indeed! We make this year round and it’s one way I know my kids will always eat their veggies

    Reply
    • Taesha

      August 10, 2020 at 5:04 pm

      I love that! And all of these ingredients are things you can easily find all year long! So glad you enjoy it!

      Reply
  8. Michelle Simms

    October 21, 2021 at 5:54 pm

    5 stars
    Would canned butternut squash work?

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      October 21, 2021 at 10:05 pm

      Sure!

      Reply
  9. Carri

    February 28, 2022 at 11:34 pm

    I have been exclusively making this apple sauce recipe for years – my daughter loves it and I think it’s better than just plain apple sauce.

    Reply
    • Taesha Butler

      March 1, 2022 at 12:13 pm

      5 stars
      Your daughter has great taste! 😘

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Taesha! I help busy people fall in love with healthy eating with my simple, family-friendly, veggie-loaded recipes. I believe vegetables can and SHOULD be delicious. Here, let me show you how!

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