Alright, anyone with kiddos knows my plight. Those damned applesauce pouches. Seriously, what’s with those, anyway? Who invented them? My kids go crazy for them, eating sometimes multiple a day unless I invoke a ration limit. Seriously, what the hell? Yes, they’re absolutely convenient and, yes, that’s why I’ve purchased them for several years now, but I cannot justify the price anymore! They’re outrageous. At my grocery store, they’re around $6 for a pack of 12, which comes out to about $0.50 each. While that may not sound overly expensive, it really adds up in our grocery budget, especially with how fast my kids go through these. Not to mention the environmental impact, hello? I mean, I’m not the most granola mom you’ll ever meet, but I at least know that throwing away all those empty applesauce pouches cannot be good for Mother Earth, right? So, I wanted to know, how do you make applesauce pouches at home?

I found these on Amazon for $9.99 for a pack of 6. So, it does require an initial investment, but if your demon spawn devour applesauce pouches like mine do, you’ll make it up in no time. I know I did.

My kids were totally in love with these pouches the minute they came home and they couldn’t wait to try them out. Although, I must admit that I was a little bit nervous to figure out how to actually get the applesauce in them without creating a giant mess. But sometimes, you just gotta face your fears.

Next, I was forced to make another decision. Do I use store bought applesauce, or make my own? Hmmm, for my first attempt at this adventure, I decided to go all the way and my own applesauce from scratch. Right? Way to be an Earth Goddess, amiright?

Apples are one of those produce items that either seems somewhat reasonably priced, or just outrageously expensive, depending on what time of year it is. When I decided to do this experiment, apples were about $0.99 a pound. So, I guess kind of an alright price? Probably the cheapest I’ve seen at my store for a while. I ended up with about two pounds of apples for this project. I estimate that each of my pouches cost about $0.25 cents each to make at home. And you know what? I’ve saved a little bit and that’s awesome so far. I’m going to also price out buying the giant ass containers of unsweetened applesauce at Costco and see how that comes out per pouch as well for comparison. I have a feeling that will end up being a pretty good savings as well.

You’ll also have a big decision to make; to peel or not to peel. This step is entirely up to you. I chose not to peel my apples. I find that it gives the applesauce a nice dark pink look and it gives it a nice texture. Anyone buy that? No? Okay, well, honestly it does give the applesauce a pretty color, but to be perfectly real with you, I’m just a lazy bitch. I think the applesauce is just peachy without being peeled. So, you do you, boo.

After I made the first batch, both of my kids were quite dubious about trying my homemade applesauce. In fact, my seven year old took one look at it and told me he didn’t care for it. You didn’t even try it, yet, kid! Anyway, I forced them to try it and now it’s their fav. This recipe is the bomb and so easy. You’re welcome in advance.

Ready to try it? Here’s how I did it.

How to Make Applesauce Pouches at Home

Ingredients:

• About 8 apples (I used Gala)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 water

Directions:

First, make sure your apples are washed thoroughly. Next, if you decided to peel your apples, now’s your chance!

Next, core and chop the apples into little chunks. I used a crock pot, but you can easily do this on the stove as well. I filled my crock basically as full as I could get it.

Add the cinnamon, brown sugar, and water. Set your crockpot on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 (if you’re doing this on the stove, do medium-low until your apples are cooked).

After your apples are really, really soft and tender, mash those puppies up! How you want the consistency is totally up to you. I used my immersion blender, but you can also use a potato masher or even a blender. I made my applesauce pretty smooth, but left it just a touch lumpy for some texture.

After making sure to screw the lid on tightly, open the bottom of your reusable pouch and place it in a jar to keep it upright. Carefully, very carefully, fill each one up about 2/3 full. Then, seal the bottom super tightly.

Enjoy! These will keep in the fridge for about 5 days, but to keep them even longer, throw them in the freezer and just pull out a couple here and there as needed. Happy DIYing!