Freezing Apples the Easy Way
Learn all the tips and tricks for Freezing Apples to stock your freezer with this delicious fruit. Learning how to freeze apples sets you up for amazing baked goods, smoothies, and desserts all year long.
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Apples are peak fall produce, and there is nothing better than fresh apples! But when you have too many in the house at once, freezing apples can help you prevent food waste. It’s so easy to do, and I’ll show you how.
I assume you’re an apple fan, so you’ll want to make sure you also check out our Healthy Apple Nachos, Apple Pie Egg Rolls, tutorial on How to Dehydrate Apples, and Cinnamon Apple Donuts.
Can I Freeze Apples Without Cooking Them?
Yes, absolutely! There is no need to precook or blanch apples before freezing them. However, we do steam these Healthy Cinnamon Apples when we make them, and those are freezer-friendly.
To prevent the apples from browning in the freezer, I love the kitchen hack of tossing them in a little pineapple juice. I always keep a few small cans of 100% pineapple juice in my pantry to use as a sweet and natural preservative for cut fruit. In my experience, the juice works better at keeping the apples fresh than any other method.
Can You Freeze Apples With the Skin On?
Yes! Sliced apples with the skin on work great for smoothies, canning applesauce, Instant Pot Applesauce, or Apple Pie Pancakes. You may want to peel and slice apples thinly for things like Canning Apple Butter, Canning Apple Pie Filling, or to make apple crisp or other apple desserts, but it is totally up to you.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Firmer apples like Fuji, Jazz, and Honeycrisp will freeze better over softer varieties of apples.
- While I prefer pineapple juice to prevent the apples from browning, you can also use lemon juice (dunk the slices in 1/4 cup per 6 cups of cold water), citric acid, or Fruit Fresh. You can also use sugar as a preservative by sprinkling a light dusting of sugar over the apple slices on the baking sheet prior to freezing.
- If you are processing a lot of apples at once, consider investing in an apple corer/peeler. In just a few minutes, you can peel and slice A LOT of apples, saving you a ton of time.
- You can layer parchment/waxed paper over the apples on the baking sheet to freeze a lot of apples at once. This works especially great if you have limited freezer space.
- These are our favorite reusable storage bags, and you can get 15% off using coupon code sustainablecooks15.
MORE “HOW TO” POSTS LIKE THIS:
- Check out my entire guide on how to freeze fresh produce.
- How to Freeze Beets
- Freezing Zucchini
- How to Freeze Spinach
- Freezing Peppers
- How to Freeze Celery
- Freezing Corn on the Cob
- How to Freeze Pineapple
- Freezing Cranberries
- How to Freeze Potatoes
- Freezing Pesto
- How to Freeze Garlic
- Blanched Green Beans
Freezing Apples the Easy Way
Ingredients
- apples {firmer varietes work best}
- 6 oz pineapple juice {or 1/4 cup lemon juice, or citric acid, or Fruit Fresh}
Instructions
- Set up a workstation with peeler, cutting board, sharp knife, a bowl for the sliced apples, and a bowl for the peels and cores.
- Clean your apples, and peel (optional), core, and slice the apples thinly or to your desired sized.
- Place the slices in a bowl and sprinkle with a bit of pineapple juice. Sprinkle a bit more anyime you add additional layers of apples.
- After you've finished cutting all the apples, gently pour them into a fine-mesh strainer to drain the pineapple juice.
- Place a piece of parchment, waxed paper, or silpat on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Arrange the slices on the baking sheet so that there is space around each slice, and the slices are not touching.
- Freeze for 3 hours, then transfer to freezer-safe storage.
- Store in the freezer for up to 12 months.
Notes
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