5-Minute Easy Raw Applesauce (No Cooking Required)
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It was 90 degrees. In September. In New Hampshire.
I stood in my kitchen staring at a bowl of apples, completely unwilling to turn on the stove.
New Hampshire fall is supposed to mean sweater weather and simmering pots of applesauce on the stove all afternoon… not this. So I did what any stubborn homesteader would do. I skipped the cooking entirely.
Turns out, raw applesauce might actually be better.
(Update: my kids didn’t even notice the difference — which, if you’ve ever tried to sneak something past a picky eater, you know is basically a five-star review.)
This isn’t the applesauce you grew up with. No simmering, no peeling, no standing over a hot pot on a day that felt more like July than September. Just apples, a food processor, and a few minutes… and you end up with something that tastes closer to fresh apple cider than the jarred applesauce from the store.
Here’s how I make it, why I think it’s worth trying even if you’re skeptical of “raw” anything, and a few ways I use it beyond just eating it with a spoon (though, honestly, that’s most days).
Summary
When an unexpected 90° September day in my New Hampshire kitchen left me refusing to touch the stove, I ended up making applesauce completely raw — just apples, a food processor, and a few minutes. Turns out skipping the cook time doesn’t just save effort… it keeps more of the fiber, enzymes, and nutrients intact, and the flavor is closer to fresh apple cider than anything simmered. Below: my exact raw applesauce recipe (peels on, no added sugar needed), why I’ve mostly ditched the cooked version since, and a few ways I use it beyond eating it straight off the spoon.
Why RAW Applesauce?
I’ll be honest… I didn’t set out to discover some big raw food revelation. I just didn’t want to stand over a hot stove in 90-degree weather.
But once I tasted it? I got it.
Cooked homemade applesauce already beats anything from a jar. Raw applesauce tops even that. It tastes like drinking apple cider, if apple cider had a little more texture to it.
Here’s what I noticed once I started making it this way:
- It’s basically instant. No simmering, no waiting, no babysitting a pot. Chop, blend, done.
- The peels stay on. Which means more fiber, more vitamins, more minerals… most of that lives in the skin, and I used to peel it all away without thinking twice.
- It still has its “life” in it. Cooking apples breaks down the natural enzymes and beneficial bacteria that raw fruit carries. Skip the heat, and you keep more of that intact.
- Less work, more payoff. Peeling apples has never once been my favorite kitchen task. Skipping it is a genuine win.
(Update: I’ve made this three times now since that first hot September day, and I haven’t gone back to the stove version once.)
If you’ve never tried raw applesauce, I’d start here before you write it off. It’s just apples, done simply, tasting more like themselves.
Raw Applesauce Recipe
This is the exact recipe I made that first sweltering September afternoon… and the one I keep coming back to every time apple season rolls around now.
It takes maybe five minutes, start to finish. No stove required.
Ingredients:
- 2 apples (organic, preferably)
- 1 tbs. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice (optional if using immediately)
- 1 soaked Medjool date or 1 tbs. maple syrup (optional)
- a few pinches of cinnamon and ginger (optional)
Directions:
Roughly chop the apples and add them to a food processor or high-powered blender.
Add lemon juice or ACV and Medjool date or maple syrup and spices if using, and process until your desired consistency.
Add water 1 tsp. at a time if needed for consistency.
This will keep in your refrigerator for about a week if you add lemon juice or ACV. If you don’t, use it right away, as it will start to brown and ferment (more on tha below).
Raw Applesauce
Ingredients
- 2 apples organic preferably
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice optional if using immediately
- 1 soaked Medjool date or 1 tbs. maple syrup optional
- a few pinches of cinnamon and ginger optional
Instructions
- Roughly chop the apples and add them to a food processor or high powered blender.
- Add lemon juice or ACV and medjool date or maple syrup and spices if using and process until your desired consistency.
- Add water 1 tsp. at a time if needed for consistency.
- This will keep in your refrigerator for about a week if you add lemon juice or ACV. If you don't, use it right away as it will start to brown and ferment.
Why Raw Applesauce Turns Brown (and How to Slow It Down)
If you’ve made this and noticed it turning a little brown by the next day… that’s normal, not a sign you did anything wrong.
Apples brown through oxidation — the same reason a sliced apple browns on the counter. Once you remove the peel’s protection and expose all that flesh to air, the enzymes in the apple react with oxygen and start to change color.
Raw applesauce browns faster than the cooked version because cooking deactivates those enzymes… going raw means you keep the nutrition, but you also keep the browning.
It’s still safe to eat. It just looks less appetizing after a day or two.
A few ways I slow it down:
- Add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar right when you blend it. The acidity slows the oxidation process significantly. This is the best solution I’ve found.
- Store it airtight. Less exposed surface area, less oxygen contact. I press a piece of parchment or plastic wrap directly onto the surface before sealing the container.
- Keep it cold. The fridge slows the reaction; room temperature speeds it up.
- Make smaller batches. If you’re not going to eat it within a couple of days, it’s easier to whip up a fresh batch than to store a big one and watch it change.
As for fermenting — if you leave raw applesauce out at room temperature for more than a few hours, especially in warm weather (like that 90° September day that started all this), the natural sugars and wild yeast on the apple skins can start to ferment on their own.
You might notice a slightly fizzy or sour smell developing. That’s a sign it’s time to either refrigerate it immediately or toss it… not a sign to panic, but it just won’t be the same quality.
How to Use Raw Applesauce
You can use raw applesauce anywhere you’d normally use the cooked stuff… It’s just as versatile, minus the extra step.
In baked goods — I swap it in for oil, eggs, or refined sugar in muffins and quick breads — about ½ cup raw applesauce replaces 1 egg, or use it to replace up to half the oil in a recipe. It keeps things moist without making them dense.
As a pancake or waffle topping — Skip the syrup one morning and spoon this on instead. Add a little extra cinnamon and it tastes like you did more work than you actually did.
Stirred into oatmeal — It sweetens things naturally and, with a pinch of cinnamon, makes oatmeal way more exciting!
Blended into a smoothie — A few spoonfuls in place of a banana gives you that same natural sweetness and thickness, with an apple-cider edge instead.
As a base for fruit leather — Spread it thin on a dehydrator sheet (or a lined baking sheet on your oven’s lowest setting), and you’ve got a shelf-stable snack that started as five minutes of blending.
Straight, with a spoon — Still the simplest option, and still the one I reach for most.
The list can go on and on!
Recipe Variations to Try
Once you’ve made the base recipe a time or two, it’s easy to riff on it depending on what you’re in the mood for:
- Cinnamon-spiced: Double the cinnamon and add a pinch of nutmeg for something closer to apple pie filling.
- Ginger-warmed: Add extra fresh or ground ginger for a bit of bite… good if the weather’s finally cooled down and you want something warming.
- Extra smooth: Blend longer and add a splash more water for an applesauce closer to a puree — great for baby food or baking swaps.
- Chunky style: Pulse instead of blend, and use firmer apples like Fuji or Gala if you want more texture.
- No added sweetener: Skip the date or maple syrup entirely if your apples are already sweet enough on their own — I do this most often, honestly.
- Mixed fruit: Toss in a pear or a handful of berries along with the apples for a different flavor entirely.
Since I’m on the AIP diet, it can be hard to find a snack I can actually eat. So, making my own is often my best choice. This raw applesauce can save the day when I want something sweet, but don’t have the right ingredients for a baked good.
Final Thoughts
So… would I go back to standing over a hot stove for applesauce? Yes and no. This raw recipe is perfectly fine as a quick snack or as an ingredient in a recipe. But if I end up with bushels of apples one day (I hope I have many apple trees soon!) I may still want to cook applesauce… though I’ll leave that to a cooler day!
If you try it, I’d love to know… did you go classic cinnamon, or riff on one of the variations? And if you’re sitting on a big apple harvest this year, I’ll be sharing more ways to use it up around the site soon — this is just the beginning of apple season here on the homestead.
For now, grab a couple of apples, skip the stove, and see for yourself.
Loove raw applesauce – I make 6 apples twice a week and I usually have some with my babies’ meal time. I’m curious what the word “turn” means and also wondering why stores don’t sell raw. Just curious if anyone knows!
By “turn” I mean turn alcoholic :) That may be why stores don’t sell it raw.
Do you have any suggestions for how to make it thicker without cooking it? It was too watery so my young one didn’t like it.
You could let it sit in a colander for some of the juice to run off. I think it also depends on the kind of apple you use.
I’ve been using raw applesauce for months now. Without lemon and cider, just apples :) and it makes a difference on vegan cakes and muffins! Also i am not using sodas or baking powders so apple sauce is really a great help. 💜
Great to hear!
Is there a way to can this? I usually put it in my freezer, but im running out of room.
You can certainly can applesauce, but to do so requires cooking to sterilize it and get the jars to seal. There is no way to can applesauce and keep it raw.
Looks so good. Probably a silly question, but do I need to peel them before putting them into the food processor or do you leave the peels on?
Thank you!
I think you could do it either way, but if you wanted the applesauce to be as close to store-bought as possible, I’d peel the apples.
What’s the best apple to use for this raw apple sauce please?
Em
I have used many different kinds (pink lady, gala, granny smith, fuji, etc) and I don’t have a preference.
My grandma always swore by Gravenstein apples for applesauce, and hers was quite delicious. Though, she bought her Gravensteins from a nearby neighbor who had his own small orchard of them, every year. I cannot say I have ever seen Gravensteins in the grocery store. But, if someone is looking for the “ultimate” applesauce, and can find the Gravensteins, I would definitely recommend giving them a try! I’ve never been steered wrong by Grandma Parrish! :)
Thanks for sharing this!! I have never heard of Gravenstein apples but if I ever run into them I will have to get some and make applesauce!