Artificial Food Coloring Free Whole30 Cinnamon Apple Sauce
Warm, fragrant, and naturally sweet, this homemade applesauce is the kind of simple recipe that makes you wonder why you ever bought the jarred stuff. Store-bought versions are notorious for sneaking in artificial dyes and synthetic additives — even when you'd least expect them in something as wholesome as applesauce. Here, the only ingredients are real apples, a splash of water, fresh lemon juice, and a cozy blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt. Nothing hidden, nothing unnecessary. The apples simmer down into a silky, spoonable sauce that you can leave chunky with a potato masher or blend completely smooth depending on your mood. A squeeze of lemon brightens the whole thing and keeps the color looking gorgeous without any artificial help. It works beautifully as a snack, a side dish, or stirred into breakfast bowls — and you can tweak the spice level right at the end to make it exactly yours.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 3 lbs apples (about 6 medium), peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
- 1
Combine the apple chunks, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir to coat the apples.
- 2
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are completely tender and collapse easily when pressed with a spoon, about 20–25 minutes. If the pan looks dry before the apples are soft, add water 2 tbsp at a time.
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