APPLE SAUCES - CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE

Updated September 2026

What could be more basic than Apple Sauce?

Apple Sauce is simply Apples puréed into a sauce, possibly with Lemon added if it's not going to be eaten right away. Basic recipes call for Apples + Lemon Juice + maybe a spice like Cinnamon or Nutmeg.

According to Statista 2026, Apple Sauce is the #1 eaten type of canned, jarred or packaged fruit. Let's take a look at a couple of the key players and then identify which brands are Closest To Homemade.

LEMON JUICE IS A NATURAL PRESERVATIVE: The added Lemon Juice in a homemade recipe keeps the apple from turning brown like it does if you cut an apple open and leave it out >> when you cut an apple open, it oxidizes from the oxygen in the air. Although we do see lemon juice as a natural preservative in some manufactured apple sauces, the leading brands tend to use commercial preservatives which are Not In Kitchen™ when making homemade Apple Sauce such as Ascorbic Acid; Ascorbic Acid is a manufactured preservative recognized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (Source: U.S. FDA 2026)

JAB HOLDING COMPANY OWNS MOTT'S APPLESAUCE: Below is a snapshot of three Mott's Applesauce offerings: Original, Cinnamon and Mango Peach. (Sources: JAB Holding Company Keurig Dr Pepper Mott's Website 9/26; Walmart Website 9/26)

Each of these Mott’s products are banned at Whole Foods Market for containing High Fructose Corn Syrup which Whole Foods cites as “Unacceptable in food”. (Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Website 9/26)

MOTT'S HAS NATURALLY OCCURRING SUGARS IN THE FRUIT PLUS THEY ADD HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: Mott’s uses High Fructose Corn Syrup and the FDA-recognized chemical preservative, Ascorbic Acid, in all three of these pouches.

The Mott's Cinnamon and Mango Peach varieties also contain not just added Cinnamon and Mango Purée and Peach Purée (respectively, as one might do at home), but added "Natural Flavor(s)" and, in the case of the Mango Peach >> added Water, more added sweetener in the form of Sugar.

JAB HOLDING COMPANY MOTT'S STRAWBERRY APPLESAUCE CONTAINS HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP: A small cup of Mott’s Strawberry Applesauce is sweetened by the Apples + Strawberry Purée plus it has added High Fructose Corn Syrup.

APPLE SAUCE COMPARISON: Let's look at the Mott's compared to GoGo squeeZ which is Closest To Homemade with no Water, no HFCS, no added Sugar, Preservatives, Colors or Flavors. (Sources: GoGo squeeZ Website 9/26; Mott's Website 9/26)

Q: Which of these Apple Sauces looks most appealing to you from the perspectives of taste and nutrition?

Here’s a closer look at what’s in Mott’s Mango Peach Flavored Applesauce:

MUSSELMAN'S BIG CUP: This larger cup size below contains 32 grams of sugar in one serving. Some of that includes naturally-occurring Sugar from the Apples, but we see that 21 grams of the sugar are Added Sugars. (Source: Knouse Foods Musselman's Website 9/26)

According to The American Heart Association, children should consume 25 grams or less of Added Sugars in one day.

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE JARRED APPLE SAUCES: These Closest To Homemade brands seen below include: Non-GMO Project Verified Whole Foods 365 Organic Unsweetened plain and Cinnamon Apple Sauces; Eden Foods Organic and Kosher certified Apple Sauce; Demeter Certified Biodynamic® Natural Nectar Organic Brittany Apple Sauce; North Coast Organic Apple Sauce and Honeycrisp Apple Sauce, and Non-GMO Project Verified and Kosher certified Field Day Organic. The jars are all made of glass.

These brands have nothing Not In Kitchen >> they contain only things that would be in our kitchens if we were making Apple Sauce at home. They have no added Sweeteners, Flavors, Colors, Water or Chemical Preservatives. Hurray! (Sources: Brand Websites 9/26)

*Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.*

Seen below, ON-THE-GO APPLE SAUCES: Full Circle Market Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce; GoGo squeeZ Organic AppleApple; White Leaf Provisions Demeter Organic Apple + Pear Sauce; North Coast Organic Apple Sauce, and Non-GMO Project Verified and Kosher certified Field Day Organic.

A NOTE ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED APPLES: Shown below, GMO apples have entered the U.S. market >> the brand Arctic Apples has “turned off the genes that make apples turn brown.” This technology enables them to deliver peeled + sliced + bagged GMO apples. (Source: Arctic Apples Website 9/26) Please carefully consider consumption of these apples and all GMO items as they are harmful on multiple environmental and physical levels. There’s a reason why apples from Mother Nature turn brown when they are cut open and this is a scientific process of “turning off the genes that make apples turn brown” so they can deliver the benefit of sliced apples in a bag.

In the world of Apple Sauce:

AVOID: Added sweeteners (especially from corn), artificial preservatives, added water, added colors, natural or artificial flavors (most of the flavored applesauces include added flavoring), GMO apples which are now available under the Arctic Apples brand, plastic containers.

SEEK: Organic apples, organic lemon juice as a truly natural preservative (if there is a preservative), glass containers, BPA-free plastic containers.

Here’s a handy chart of Closest To Homemade Apple Sauces:

Discover more food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 300+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.

Closest To Homemade Master List

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