Applesauce is a delicious method of cooking up your leftover apples. It tastes great on its own and even makes a great sauce to add to your roast pork on a Sunday. But, a little goes a long way, so what do you do with those leftovers?
Can You Freeze Applesauce?
Yes, you can freeze applesauce for up to 3 months. You can freeze it in freezer bags if freezing in large portions or you can freeze applesauce in ice cubes for use in smoothies and drinks.
Do Does Applesauce freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Applesauce? No
How To Freeze Applesauce
Applesauce is super easy to freeze, and you probably want to store it in handy portion-sized bags. So we will talk about how to freeze the applesauce in portions.
How to Freeze Applesauce in Portions
This is the easiest way to freeze applesauce. In essence, you bag it up, seal and freeze it. But it might not be the best approach if you continue reading on:
- Cool: Make sure your applesauce is completely cool before freezing. This shouldnāt be a problem but if you have only just made your applesauce you may need to wait for a little for it to cool.
- Portion into Bags: Spoon portions into freezer bags. This means that you can grab out a bag and be sure it only has one portion and the rest wonāt go to waste.
- Seal: Squeeze out any excess air and seal the bag tightly.
- Freeze: Label the bag with the date and name and pop it into the freezer.
How to Freeze Ice Cubes of Applesauce
This is a great way to freeze smaller portions of applesauce. If you only ever use a few tablespoons at a time then this is a far better approach to take.
Before you get started, you’ll need to grab a couple of ice cube trays. This method also works if you want to use cupcake trays. Just make sure they are freezer-safe before using them.
- Portion into Tray: Spoon applesauce into each section of the tray. Only spoon in enough to fill three-quarters of the section. Your applesauce will expand as it freezes and fill up this space.
- Flash Freeze: Pop the filled trays into the freezer. Keep them flat and allow the applesauce to freeze completely.
- Bag Up: When the applesauce has frozen, you can transfer it from the trays into a freezer bag.
- Label: Label the bag containing the cubes of applesauce and then seal the bag tightly.
- Freeze: Put the freezer bag into the container.
Now you have handy cubes of applesauce you can grab whenever you need.
3 Tips for Freezing Applesauce
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing applesauce to have the best results:
Consider Portions
You need to think about the portions of applesauce you normally consume and then freeze it in portions equivalent to the portions you consume. This is a great way to avoid unwanted waste in future.
Use Thick Freezer Bags
Cheap freezer bags are cheap for a reason. They tend not to be completely airtight and may not even be leak proof. Before you know it, you’ve got applesauce seeping out over the rest of your freezer.
Try Using in Smoothies
If you have made your own applesauce (without sugar) then it can work great in a smoothie. Grab a cube and toss it into your blender with the other ingredients and it’ll keep the smoothie nice and cold.
How Long Can You Freeze Applesauce?
Applesauce keeps fairly well in the freezer and should be fine for up to three months. You might find that after this time the applesauce can degrade and become freezer burnt.
Luckily enough, there are plenty of opportunities to use up that delicious applesauce before it goes bad.
Applesauce will keep for around 10 days in the fridge. It should be kept in a jar with a tight-fitting lid or in a Tupperware container.
How Do You Defrost Applesauce?
If you have chosen to use it in smoothies then there is no need to defrost it at all. Just grab a couple of applesauce cubes from the freezer bag and pop them into a blender with the rest of your smoothie ingredients.
This will add sweetness but the ice helps to make the smoothie deliciously creamy too.
If you have portions that you do need to defrost in order to eat then the method that will get you best results if you pop it into the fridge and allow it to defrost slowly overnight.
You can speed up this process a little by popping the bag of applesauce into a bowl of cool water.
However, you need to be careful that you donāt mix any water in with the applesauce.
Can You Refreeze Applesauce?
You shouldnāt refreeze applesauce. By the time you have thawed it, the applesauce has been cooked, rested and frozen once already and doing this process again can degrade the taste and texture of the applesauce.
If you are unlucky then this can even make you sick due to bacteria growth.
Does Applesauce Freeze Well?
Applesauce does freeze pretty well. You may notice that there is a little texture change because when sauces containing water are frozen this can cause crystals to form and the solids separate out from the water.
Giving the applesauce a stir or a quick whiz in the blender should sort out any issues and the applesauce will still be delicious.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing applesauce or applesauce in general, then these may help:
Generally speaking, store-bought applesauce can be frozen. The good news is that most packaging will state whether or not it is suitable for the freezer or not so the best place to check is the packet.
Freezing applesauce may cause it to split a little as ice crystals form in the liquid content. But, a quick stir or a blitz with a blender will fix this quickly.
