Strawberry Applesauce

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This easy strawberry applesauce recipe blends ripe berries and apples into a smooth, flavorful preserve. It’s perfect for canning, and can be made with or without added sugar.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Canning Time20

Total Time50

Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American

Keyword: apple canning recipes, Strawberry canning recipes

Servings: servings, Makes 3 Pints

Equipment

Ingredients

4 lbs apples as purchased, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 lb strawberries hulled and chopped
1 cup water or apple juice
Sugar to taste optional

Instructions

Prepare a water bath canner, 3 pint jars, and lids. Keep everything hot.
In a large pot, combine chopped apples, strawberries, and water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft.
Process the mixture using a food mill, immersion blender, or potato masher to your desired consistency.
Taste and add sugar if desired, then return the sauce to a boil.
Ladle hot sauce into jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.
Wipe rims, apply lids, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes for pints and half pints, and 20 minutes for quarts.
Let jars cool for 12–24 hours before checking seals.

Notes

Apple Varieties: Use naturally sweet apples like Fuji, Gala, Golden Delicious, or McIntosh for the best flavor without added sugar. Tart apples like Granny Smith can also work, but you may want to add a bit of sugar or honey to taste.

Strawberry Quantity: One pound of fresh strawberries equals about 3 cups hulled and chopped. If you’d like a stronger strawberry flavor, you can increase to 2 pounds (about 6 cups) with no change to the canning time.

Sweetener (Optional): Strawberries and sweet apples often make the sauce sweet enough on their own. Taste after cooking and add sugar, honey, or maple syrup if desired. Start with 2–3 tablespoons and adjust to taste.

Texture Options: For a chunky sauce, mash with a potato masher. For a smooth sauce, use an immersion blender or run the mixture through a food mill. You can also strain out strawberry seeds for a smoother finish, but it’s optional.

Yield: This recipe yields approximately 3 pints, depending on how long you simmer the sauce and how juicy your fruit is. Increasing the amount of strawberries will slightly increase the final yield.

Freezer Option: If you’d prefer not to can, this strawberry applesauce freezes beautifully. Allow it to cool, then store in freezer-safe containers with ½ inch headspace. Freeze for up to 1 year.

Jar Sizes: You can use quarter pint, half pint, pint or quart jars for this recipe. I find that quarter pints are more work, but they’re awfully convenient when packing lunch boxes for my little ones in preschool. That said, not that they’re a bit older, I use half pints for a single serving for them. Processing times for jars smaller than 1 pint are the same for pint jars.

Altitude Adjustments

The altitude adjustments for canning strawberry applesauce are as follows:

0 to 1,000 feet: 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts
1,001 to 3,000 feet: 20 minutes for pints and 25 minutes for quarts
3,001 to 6,000 feet: 20 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts
Above 6,000 feet: 25 minutes for pints and 35 minutes for quarts

Note here the canning times for pints between 1,000 and 6,000 feet are the same, but there is an increase for quarts.

Nutrition