Cranberry Applesauce | Canning Recipe
Cranberry applesauce is a delicious alternative to plain applesauce. It combines the sweetness of the apples with the tart cranberries allowing for a little less sugar and a winning flavor combination! This recipe for cranberry applesauce is safe to preserve with a water bath canner.
Why This Recipe Works
- Safe for water bath canning. Both cranberries and apples are high acid foods, meaning they are safe for canning in a water bath canner. I also add a some lemon juice to ensure acidity and preserve color.
- Shelf Stable. Canned cranberry applesauce will last for approximately two years. It can definitely last beyond that point but the quality and color of the produced food lessens after that point.
- Big Batch Preserving. This recipe makes roughly 7 quarts, or you can mix quarts and pints. But keep the processing time the same! One batch on you’ll have plenty to store in your homestead pantry.
Ingredients
Apples: A combination of tart and sweet apples usually works best for flavor when canning a sauce. I used Jonathan and Lemonade apples but feel free to use whatever you can find locally. Read this guide first if your thinking of planting your own apple trees for a harvest.
Cranberries: Frozen cranberries or fresh will work in this recipe. We get our cranberries from Azure Standard.
Lemon Juice: Canned lemon juice is require and make sure it’s the full 5% acidity. I like the Lakewood organic brand. I also purchase this from Azure Standard.
How to Make Cranberry Applesauce for Canning
STEP 1 Place water, apples, and cranberries in a very large saucepan.
STEP 2 Cover and simmer on medium low heat, stirring often to prevent scorching.
STEP 3 Meanwhile, prepare a water bath canner and jars.
STEP 4 After the cranberries and apples have fully softened, run through a food mill, sauce maker, or sieve to remove both skins and seeds.
STEP 5 Return to the saucepan and keep warm on low heat. Add in lemon juice and sugar and stir until dissolved.
STEP 6 Ladle hot cranberry applesauce into half pint jars leaving a 1/2 inch of head space. Wipe rim. Center lid on the jar. Screw on the band with until it is finger tip-tight.
STEP 7 Place jars in canner and ensure the jars have at least one inch of water above the tops of the jars.
STEP 8 Bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Remove lid, turn off heat, wait 5-10 minutes then remove jars. Let cool and store.
Video Tutorial For Cranberry Applesauce
Tips & Tricks
- To prepare apples for cooking, use an apple peeler corer slicer. If you don’t have one, quarter the apples and remove the seeds.
- If you don’t have a sauce maker to remove the skins, after cooking push the apples and cranberries through a sieve.
- You can soften the apple and cranberries in a saucepan, a crockpot on low, or even the oven on low (225ºF). The key to any sauce is to make sure it doesn’t get brown or burnt! Low and slow is always the way to cook and stir it often!
- I also put a cup of water in the bottom of my pan so nothing sticks before the juices start to release.
- New to canning? Here is a list of basic canning equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Sugar is not essential and it’s still safe to water bath can this even without sugar. Feel free to adjust sugar to taste. Alternative sugars like honey and maple syrup are also ok to use.
If you’ve ever made homemade applesauce before you know the answer to this question. It’s all about taste!
Homemade applesauce and cranberry applesauce has a fresh flavor that is unmatched by its commercialized equivalent. As the creator of homemade cranberry applesauce, you know the quality of the fruit that went into it.
While commercial applesauce is made in a similar fashion there is really no contest between the two. Homemade wins every time. You can also control what kind of sugar you’d like to use, and how much, if any at all.
Other Cranberry Recipes
If you made this Cranberry Applesauce Canning Recipe or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Cranberry Applesauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 10 lbs apples washed and quartered, seeds removed.
- 5 lbs cranberries
- 2 Cups Sugar (Optional) You can taste it plain and if it's too tart slowly add sugar until it's to your liking.
- 1/4 cup canned lemon juice
Instructions
- Place water, apples, and cranberries in a very large saucepan.
- Cover and simmer on medium low heat, stirring often to prevent scorching
- Meanwhile, prepare a water bath canner and jars.
- After the cranberries and apples have fully softened, run through a food mill, sauce maker, or sieve to remove both skins and seeds.
- Return to the saucepan and keep warm on low heat. Add in lemon juice and sugar and stir until dissolved.
- Ladle hot cranberry applesauce into half pint jars leaving a 1/2 inch of head space. Wipe rim. Center lid on the jar. Screw on the band with until it is finger tip-tight.
- Place jars in canner and ensure the jars have at least one inch of water above the tops of the jars.
- Bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes. Remove lid, turn off heat, wait 5-10 minutes then remove jars. Let cool and store.
Notes
- This can be water bath canned in pints too. Process pints for 15 minutes (adjust for altitude as needed).
- Sugar is NOT necessary in this recipe for water bath canning safety. You can adjust the sugar to taste. We usually land on about 2 to 2 1/2 cups. How much you need will vary based on the sweetness of the apples you’re using and personal preference.
- Weigh 10lbs apples AFTER removing the seeds and/or cores but before cooking.
