Cranberry Applesauce
Cranberry applesauce is a bright, tart twist on classic homemade applesauce, cooked until smooth and then canned in pint jars for easy pantry storage. Made with apples, cranberries, and your choice of water, cider, or juice, it’s a simple fall batch that’s perfect for oatmeal, yogurt, and everyday dinners that need a pop of flavor.
Servings: 16 servings, makes 4 pints
Equipment
- Food Mill optional, for a smooth sauce
- Immersion Blender another option for a smooth sauce
Ingredients
- 16 cups sliced apples see notes
- 6 cups cranberries see note
- 6 cups water or juice, see note
- ½ cup sugar optional, adjust to taste
Instructions
- Combine the sliced apples, cranberries, and water or juice in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook, stirring often, until the apples are completely tender and the cranberries have burst and broken down. If the pot starts to look dry at the bottom, add a splash more liquid and keep stirring so nothing scorches. Total cook time is usually 15 to 25 minutes on the stovetop. This can also be made in a crock pot, cooking 3 to 4 hours on high, or 6 to 8 hours on low.
- Purée the hot mixture to your preferred smoothness. A food mill gives the smoothest sauce (and neatly removes peels if you left them on), but an immersion blender works well too. However you blend it, make sure the finished sauce is a true purée with no large chunks, since an even texture helps ensure consistent heat penetration during canning.
- Stir in sugar if you’re using it, then bring the applesauce back to a full boil. Keep it hot while you prepare jars.
- Ladle the boiling-hot cranberry applesauce into hot pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, adjust headspace if needed, wipe rims, and apply lids and rings to fingertip tight.
- Process jars in a boiling-water canner, starting the timer once the water returns to a full rolling boil. Process pints for 15 minutes and quarts for 20 minutes, adjusting for altitude as needed. When processing is complete, turn off the heat, let jars rest in the canner for 5 minutes, then remove and cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours before checking seals.
Notes
To make this recipe, you'll need about 5 to 5 1/2 pounds apples as purchased, depending on how efficient you are at peeling, which make 4 pounds prepared. That's 16 cups sliced, or about 16 medium apples.
A "bag" of cranberries is about 3 cups, and this recipe requires 2 bags (24 ounces total by weight).
If using juice, choose apple juice, cider or cranberry juice. Make sure it doesn't include additives or preservatives. Bottled cranberry juice sometimes includes calcium to lower acidity, and that's not safe for canning. If it does include added sugar, reduce the sugar in the recipe to taste.
Recipe Yield and Scaling
This recipe is written for a 4-pint batch, but if you’d like to scale it, here are the quantities for a single pint:- Apples: 4 cups sliced apples, which is about 1 pound prepared (peeled/cored/sliced), or about 4 medium apples as purchased
- Cranberries: 6 ounces by weight (about half of a 12-ounce bag)
- Liquid: 1 1/2 cups water or juice (apple juice, apple cider, or cranberry juice)
- Sugar (optional): start with about 2 tablespoons per pint expected yield, then adjust to taste depending on how sweet your apples are
Altitude Adjustments
The altitude adjustments for canning cranberry applesauce are as follows:- 0–1,000 ft: 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts
- 1,001–3,000 ft: 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts
- 3,001–6,000 ft: 20 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts
- Above 6,000 ft: 25 minutes for pints, 35 minutes for quarts