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This applesauce for one is lightly sweet, with a little cinnamon stirred in. It’s made from scratch with one apple and takes about 20 minutes on the stove. Mash it for a chunky texture or blend it until smooth.
Featured Comment
“I can’t believe I haven’t sung the praises of this recipe before now. I’ve made it at least twice this fall already and look forward to making frequently from now on.”
– Lisa
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Equipment: 1-quart saucepan
- Cook Method: Stovetop
- Servings: 1
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Sweet apple with a light touch of cinnamon.
One apple cooks down to about ½ cup of applesauce, enough to fill a small bowl while it’s still warm from the pot.
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Applesauce For One
I like this applesauce best warm, a few minutes after it comes off the stove. It’s one of my favorite ways to use one apple, and it takes 20 minutes with a small saucepan and four ingredients you probably have already.
I developed this small batch applesauce recipe around one apple, with water, a little sugar, and ground cinnamon. That’s the whole ingredient list, no preservatives, so you know exactly what’s in your bowl. About 20 minutes after the lid goes on, you’re eating applesauce that still tastes like the apple you started with.
Mash the cooked apple with a fork for a chunky applesauce with pieces of apple in every bite, or blend it smooth with an immersion blender.
Looking for more single serving apple recipes? Try an apple crisp for one, an apple muffin for one, small batch fried apples, or mini slow cooker apple butter.
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this stovetop applesauce recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
Apple: One medium apple, about 5½ to 6 ounces, is all you need for a single serving. The apple is the applesauce, so use one you like to eat. Extra apples? Bake a mini Dutch apple pie or stir them into apple pie oatmeal.
Water: Three tablespoons is enough to soften one apple under the lid.
Sugar: Half a teaspoon gives a light sweetness. Add a little more for a tart apple, or leave it out if your apple is sweet on its own.
Ground cinnamon: An eighth of a teaspoon gives the applesauce its spice. Leave it out for plain applesauce.
Best Apples For Applesauce
Any apple you have on hand will work. The variety mostly changes how much sugar you’ll want. Sweet apples like Gala, Fuji, and Honeycrisp make a naturally sweet applesauce and need little or no added sugar. A Granny Smith gives you a tangier applesauce, so add a bit more sugar if you want it sweeter.
Recipe Variations
This cinnamon applesauce recipe is easy to change. Here are a few of my favorite variations.
Unsweetened Applesauce
Leave out the sugar and let the apple do the sweetening. A Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp has enough natural sugar that you won’t miss it. Taste the finished applesauce first, and if it needs a little help, stir in a pinch of sugar while it’s still hot.
Chunky Applesauce
Skip the blender. Once the apple is fork-tender, mash it right in the saucepan with a fork or potato masher and stop while you can still see pieces of apple. Mash less for bigger pieces, more for a finer texture.
Spiced Applesauce
Keep the cinnamon and add a pinch of nutmeg, ginger, or allspice along with it at the start of cooking. A pinch is enough for one apple. The spice cooks into the applesauce over the 20 minutes instead of sitting on top.
Apple Cider Applesauce
Swap the water for the same amount of apple cider or apple juice. The applesauce comes out with a deeper apple flavor. Juice is sweeter than cider, so taste before you add the sugar.
Pear Applesauce
Swap half the apple for a ripe pear, peeled and chopped the same size as the apple so both soften in the same time. The pear makes the applesauce a little softer and sweeter. A reader named Lisa makes it this way and calls it her favorite combination.
Small Batch Applesauce For Two
Double every ingredient and cook it in a 2-quart saucepan so the apples sit in a single layer. Mash or blend it the same way.
How To Make Applesauce With One Apple
These photos and instructions show how to make a single serving of applesauce on the stove. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full instructions.
- Prep the apple. Peel and core the apple, then chop it into ½ to ¾ inch pieces. Keeping the pieces about the same size helps them soften at the same rate.
How To Core An Apple
With an apple corer: Stand the apple on a cutting board, center the corer over the stem, push straight down, twist, and pull the core out.
Without a corer: Use a small paring knife. Insert it about ½ inch from the stem, angle the blade toward the center, and cut around the core in a circle. Lift the core out with the knife or a spoon.
- Combine. Put the chopped apple, water, sugar, and cinnamon in a 1-quart saucepan and stir once so the cinnamon isn’t sitting in one spot.
- Simmer. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cover. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, lifting the lid to stir once or twice so nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Check for doneness. The apple is ready when the pieces are soft and a fork slides into them with no resistance.
- Mash or blend. Take the pan off the heat. For chunky applesauce, mash with a fork or potato masher. For smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender in the pan, or transfer to a regular blender. If it’s thinner than you’d like, put it back over low heat uncovered for a few minutes until it thickens.
Want a hands-off version? Try our mini slow cooker applesauce instead.
Expert Tips
Use a 1-quart saucepan. One apple is a small amount, and in a bigger pan it spreads thin, the water cooks off early, and the bottom can scorch before the apple softens.
Cut the apple into even ½ to ¾ inch pieces. Same-size pieces soften at the same time, so you won’t have mush in one spot and firm chunks in another.
Keep the lid on. Three tablespoons of water isn’t much, and the lid holds the steam in so the apple cooks through in 20 to 25 minutes. Lift it only to stir once or twice.
Add a splash of water for a bigger apple. If your apple is larger than 6 ounces, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of water so it has enough liquid to cook evenly.
Taste before you decide on sugar. Start with the ½ teaspoon, taste once the apple is cooked, and add a little more only if it’s a tart apple or you want it sweeter.
Fix a thin applesauce on the stove. If it looks watery after mashing or blending, set the pan back over low heat uncovered and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring, until it thickens.
Store it covered. Homemade applesauce keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Troubleshooting
Here’s how to get homemade applesauce exactly the texture and sweetness you want.
Why is my applesauce watery?
Applesauce turns out watery when too much liquid is left in the pan after cooking. To thicken it, return the pan to low heat, leave it uncovered, and simmer for a few minutes, stirring, until the applesauce reaches the texture you want.
Why did my applesauce stick to the pan?
Applesauce sticks when the water cooks off before the apple is done, usually because the lid was off or the apple was larger than 6 ounces. To prevent it, keep the pan covered, stir once or twice during cooking, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water if the pan looks dry.
Why won’t my apple soften?
Apple pieces stay firm when they’re cut too large or the heat is too low. To fix it, cut the apple into ½ to ¾ inch pieces, keep the pan covered at a steady simmer, and cook a few more minutes until a fork slides in with no resistance.
Why is my applesauce too tart?
Applesauce tastes tart when a tart apple, like a Granny Smith, is cooked with only ½ teaspoon of sugar. To fix it, stir a little more sugar into the hot applesauce and taste again.
Why isn’t my applesauce smooth?
Applesauce stays chunky when it’s mashed with a fork or potato masher. For a smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender in the pan or transfer the cooked apple to a regular blender.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few ways to serve this single serving of applesauce.
- Air Fryer Pork Chop: The classic pairing. A spoonful of applesauce next to a seasoned chop.
- Waffle Recipe For One: Warm applesauce in the pockets, or on the side.
- French Toast For One: Spoon it over the top instead of syrup.
- Baked Oatmeal For One: Stir a spoonful in or serve it alongside.
Frequently Asked Questions
One medium apple, about 5½ to 6 ounces, makes about ½ cup of applesauce, which is a single serving.
Two medium apples make about 1 cup of applesauce. Double every ingredient in this recipe and cook it in a 2-quart saucepan for applesauce for two.
Stovetop applesauce takes 20 to 25 minutes of cooking. Simmer the chopped apple covered over medium-low heat until a fork slides in with no resistance, then mash or blend.
Sweet apples like Gala, Fuji, and Honeycrisp make the best applesauce because they need little or no added sugar. Any apple will work; a tart one like Granny Smith needs a little more sugar.
Yes. Applesauce made with a sweet apple like Gala or Fuji doesn’t need any added sugar. Leave the sugar out of this recipe and taste the finished applesauce before deciding whether to add any.
Yes, peel the apple for this stovetop recipe. The skin doesn’t soften enough to mash with a fork, and peeling one apple takes about a minute.
Homemade applesauce lasts up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this single serve applesauce recipe please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Applesauce For One
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium apple
- 3 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon sugar , plus a little more if using a tart apple like Granny Smith
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel and core the apple, then chop it into ½ to ¾ inch pieces.
- Put the chopped apple, water, sugar, and cinnamon in a 1-quart saucepan and stir.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the apple is soft and a fork slides in with no resistance.
- Remove from the heat. For chunky applesauce, mash with a fork or potato masher. For smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender in the pan or transfer to a regular blender. If the applesauce is thinner than you'd like, simmer it uncovered over low heat for a few minutes until it thickens.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I got a little over half a cup from one regular granny smith apple. (Thats the amount for substituting 2 eggs in a baking recipe.)
Thank you for sharing that! It’s a helpful gauge for anyone using applesauce in place of eggs.
Doubled it for 2 of us and it was just the perfect amount. Always have apples on hand and looking forward to trying other fall spices next time. A keeper for sure!
I can’t believe I haven’t sung the praises of this recipe before now. I’ve made it at least twice this fall already and look forward to making frequently from now on. I won’t be buying that tasteless, prepackaged stuff from the store anymore thanks to Joanie reminding me just how simple it is to make great applesauce.
It’s been fun using different apples, fruits and spices to vary the types of sauce I serve at different meals. I highly recommend an apple and pear combination.
Thanks Joanie! 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m thrilled to hear how much you’re enjoying the applesauce, and I love that you’re experimenting with different fruits and spices—apple and pear is absolutely delicious! Making it from scratch really does make a world of difference.
I make applesauce and spicy apple butter every year from the apples on my trees. This recipe is perfect! 🙂
Waaayyy back when I ate meat, I’d pour applesauce over a pork roast and sprinkle a generous amount of allspice over the top; in the crockpot on low, 8*-10 hours. Fahhhhbulous!
Terrific recipe.