Easy fruit-flavored homemade applesauce makes a delicious snack for babies, kids and adults, and the flavor combinations are endless!
I told you guys I’d be bringing you all kinds of apple goodness this fall. It started with apple butternut squash muffins and sautéed chicken and apples, and it continues today. To be honest though, apple season never actually ends at our house.
It’s not very local or seasonal of me — and usually I’m pretty good with both of those — but I buy apples year-round. I eat an apple pretty much every single day, and my husband does too.
My kids love apple slices and they really love applesauce. Especially homemade applesauce. And double especially fruit-flavored applesauce.
So today I’m bringing you 5 flavors: peach, blueberry, strawberry, mango, pineapple.
What I’m not bringing you? Actual homemade applesauce.
We’re not making the applesauce today. It needs to be ready to go and we’re just adding all the flavors. I’m sorry if that’s absolutely ridiculous. I have two explanations in my defense:
- I have a post coming up for my slow cooker apple butter. And if you stop after the first part of that process, you have homemade applesauce. And the best part? No peeling required! It’s pretty fantastic. (You can sign up for my e-newsletter so you don’t miss it!)
- I tend to buy applesauce from the store. (Hangs her head in shame.)
I know, I'm all about homemade everything. But guys, we use a TON of applesauce. My kids eat it plain, eat it flavored, we make squeeze pouches, and I use it a lot in baking. (See my healthy blueberry cake, baby banana cookies, harvest zucchini muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip mini muffins, whole wheat pumpkin applesauce bread and so many more!)
I’d have to make applesauce every other day to keep up. So I take this shortcut and get on with life. (Please don’t judge!)
That said, I do make sure to buy 1-ingredient unsweetened applesauce. And I buy organic (cause apples are part of the Dirty Dozen for pesticides). There’s just apples in my applesauce. Nothing else. (I buy the Trader Joe’s brand.)
But if you want to make your own, I got you covered. With that other post coming up. Haha! OK, moving on...
A few notes + ideas on fruity homemade applesauce:
- You can use frozen fruit, thawed, if you don’t have fresh. I do this during the winter.
- Want it a bit sweeter? Taste it first because it will depend on the sweetness of your fruit, but then you can add 1-2 teaspoons honey to any or all of these flavors to sweeten them up a bit.
- You can add fresh spinach or kale to any of these fruit mixes for a veggie boost. It blends right in and doesn’t affect the flavor at all. (And if you’re using a darker fruit, it won’t affect the color either.)
- Other add-ins: Add a splash of vanilla extract for the strawberry or mango versions. Or add some coconut for the pineapple applesauce.
- Other fruit flavors to try: pear, plum, cherry, blackberry, mixed berry (I use bags of frozen mixed berries for this).
- Feel free to mix some of these together, such as peach + pineapple, strawberry + mango, blueberry + peach — any combination you like!
For a portable kid snack, you can make squeeze pouches out of any of these combinations. For more information on how to use the squeeze station, and for a round-up of fruit + veggie combos, see my homemade baby food pouches post.
These fruity applesauce combos also make great baby foods! (See my complete homemade baby food resources for more.)
You can freeze batches of this applesauce if you have extra. Just store it in a freezer-safe container, label it and pop it in the freezer.
I hope you’ll mix up some of your own so you can control the ingredients and know you’re getting only the good stuff. And you can make your favorite flavors and mix and match your fruits how you want.
Whether it's apple picking, your local farmers market, the supermarket or just a jar of applesauce, grab some apples and get to blending!
Enjoy!
~ Kathryn
Homemade applesauce: 5 fruit flavors
Easy homemade fruit-flavored applesauce: 5 flavors and lots of ideas for variations!
Ingredients
For the peach applesauce:
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups chopped peaches (from 2 small peaches)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- don’t remove peel
For the blueberry applesauce:
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the strawberry applesauce:
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the mango applesauce:
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups chopped mango
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
For the pineapple applesauce:
- 1 cup applesauce
- 2 cups chopped pineapple
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- For each flavor, just combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. Done!
Notes
You can use frozen fruit, thawed, if you don’t have fresh.
Want it a bit sweeter? Taste it first because it will depend on the sweetness of your fruit, but then you can add 1-2 teaspoons honey to any or all of these flavors to sweeten them up a bit.
Feel free to mix some of these together, such as peach + pineapple, strawberry + mango, blueberry + peach — any combination you like!
You can freeze batches of this applesauce if you have extra. Just store it in a freezer-safe container, label it and pop it in the freezer. (For smaller portions for babies, you can freeze the applesauce in ice cube trays.)
You can make your own applesauce in the slow cooker, with no added sugar and no peeling required! Check out this post and just omit the spices.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 596Total Fat: 3ggCarbohydrates: 154ggFiber: 19ggSugar: 125ggProtein: 6gg
diane
Your homemade baby pouches are adorable. What brilliant ideas for making applesauce and mix-ins!
Kathryn
Thanks Diane! My kiddos LOVE them!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Homemade applesauce is the best! When I first made it last year, my whole apple-loving world changed! Haha! Love these fun variations!
Kathryn
It's SO good, isn't it? I always make a few batches in the fall to savor how delicious it is fresh and homemade!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Hubby and I eat either a banana or orange every single day (and sometimes one of each). Apples would certainly be a nice way to change things up 🙂 Love all these variations of applesauce and the colours are just gorgeous! So perfect for porkchops or even drizzled over greek yogurt! Have a wonderful weekend, Kathryn! xo
Kathryn
It's a banana and apple every day for me! But I love oranges too. And pretty much every other fruit ever 😉 Thanks Dawn! XO
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
Ha! NO judgement what-so-ever for buying your applesauce, Kathryn! Sometimes a woman has to do what a woman has to do... especially if that woman is busy and raising two kids! We eat a lot of applesauce, but our consumption pales in comparison to yours! <3 Anyways, I clearly live under a rock, because I've never heard of or thought of fruit flavored applesauce before!! SO CLEVER! All these flavors sound delicious and the colors are just fabulous! I totally need to get on this! Cheers, girlfriend!
Kathryn
Oh yes, we're all about the flavored applesauce! Endless possibilities - and we love them all!! You gotta try it girl! XO
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen
Yum! What a fun and colorful idea!! And I love the homemade baby food pouches. So cool!
Kathryn
Thanks so much Tara!
Adina
Such beautiful colors! And my son asked me just yesterday, when am I making apple sauce again, he loves to eat it just as it is, as dessert. These combinations are a wonderful idea, I will keep them in mind.
Kathryn
Smart boy 😉 You should surprise him with one of these fruity twists!
Holly Simon
Hi Kathryn,
Great recipes! I am a dietitian and nutrition educator for a non-profit organization with the University of Wisconsin Extension - FoodWIse programming. Here is a website link to our homepage: https://fyi.uwex.edu/foodwise/.
A little about FoodWIse - "FoodWIse is federally funded by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and serves Wisconsin residents with limited incomes.We seek to empower Wisconsin residents with limited incomes to make healthy choices to achieve healthy lives and reduce health disparities."
I am wondering if we could use your 'Homemade Fruit Applesauce' recipes as a resource and tasting for our "parent and caregivers of young children" audience. The recipes would be presented to parents as a cost-effective, fun, nutritious option to provide to their families. If you give me the permission to use the recipes I would provide the recipes to parents/caregivers in the form of a handout, giving you credit as our recipe source.
Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your time!
Kathryn
Hi Holly, thanks for reaching out! Yes, you are welcome to use these applesauce recipes as a resource for your group. I would ask that you not use the photos, however, as they are copyrighted. And I appreciate you giving me credit as the source. If it's helpful, I also have a ton of homemade baby food resources on my site that some of these parents might find helpful as well. 😊
Linda L Duncan
Can this applesauce be stored in jars for gift-giving? What storage instructions should I include?
Kathryn
Hi Linda, I think that sounds like a lovely gift! This recipe isn't designed to be cooked and canned, but you could certainly use this and place the applesauce in pretty jars with ribbons and give it as gifts. It will need to be refrigerated (before and after gift giving) and should keep for up to 10 days. I hope that helps!
Norma
My blender's motor just wore out. Can I use an immersion blender for these recipes?
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, you definitely can! I used only an immersion blender for years and years, including for these and other fruit blends and baby food purees. Works great!
Elizabeth
Maybe a silly question, but do you think canned fruit would work? Such as peaches, pears, etc, if they are in juice and drained? I love this idea to add extra goodness to applesauce!
Kathryn Doherty
Not silly at all! Yes, I think canned fruit would work just fine. Definitely drain it well though so you're not adding too much extra liquid that might water down the applesauce. Would love to hear if you try it!