Freezing Apples
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Here’s my easy step-by-step guide to freezing apples that taste fresh once thawed. All you need is fresh apples, water, and salt.
Did you know you can freeze fresh apples? If you end up with an overwhelming haul of apples from the orchard or your garden this fall, don’t think you have to bake lots of apple pies (although I also have an excellent frozen apple pie recipe). Instead, it takes just a few easy steps to freeze apples to use later.
The only things you need for freezing apples are fresh apples, salt, water, and some ziplock freezer bags for storage. I’ve included step-by-step instructions below and in the printable recipe card for easy access. This is the method my mama’s stepmother taught her back in the day. But blanching fresh apple slices in salt water prevents them from turning brown. So once they defrost your apples will still look and taste fresh. How good is that?
You can use whichever apples you have on hand. Keep scrolling for some recipes that would be perfect to make with these frozen apples. They make a great and can be used in muffins, cakes, and so much more.
Okay, who’s ready to learn how to freeze apples?
Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh apples
- Salt
- Water
How to Freeze Apples
First, pour about a cup of warm water into a large bowl and add about 1/4 of a cup of salt.
Stir until salt dissolves.
Add the remaining water.
This water should be cold.
Now we’re gonna peel our apples and slice them up one at a time.
Cut apples however you prefer.
I usually do sections.
Be sure to remove the core.
There we go!
As you cut them, place all of the fresh apple slices in the salt water.
I left the skins on some of mine because I prefer my fried apples to have the skin on.
Push them down in the water a bit and make sure they all get submerged well at some point.
After they have soaked for a few minutes, drain them in a colander.
Then place the sliced apples in a freezer bag and label it.
Laying them out flat like this when you freeze them will keep them from sticking together and allow them to thaw more quickly.
Here is a bag of apples a few days later, frozen and still beautiful thanks to the wisdom of the “old folks”.
Storage
Your apples will last in the freezer for up to 12 months when stored properly. Thaw them at room temperature or in the fridge, but you can also use them in baking straight from frozen if you like.
Recipe FAQs
What are the best apples to freeze?
This method works for any type of apple, like or . Today I am freezing Jonagold and Fuji. If you’re going to be freezing them for an apple pie later, you might want to cut up a few Granny Smith apples and include some in each freezer bag.
Can you freeze whole apples?
You can. However, it’s much easier to freeze apple slices if you’re going to use them for baking purposes later on. It’s also easier to store apple slices in the freezer.
Can I freeze apples with the skin on?
Yes, you can either peel the apples or leave the skin on, the choice is yours.
Do frozen apples have a salty taste?
No, the salt water solution doesn’t leave the apples with a salty taste.
Is there another way to blanch apples?
Yes, before freezing apples you can blanch them in a lemon water solution instead. Substitute the salt for 2 tablespoons of lemon juice but follow the remaining directions.
What can you make with frozen apple slices?
Here are some recipes you can make with frozen apple slices:
- Apple Cake With Caramel Fudge Icing
- Apple Bran Muffins
- Homemade Apple Fritters
- Apple Bread
- Apple Butter in the Crock Pot
- Snickers Caramel Apple Salad
- Apple Crisp in the Slow Cooker
- Apple Snack Cake (Right From The Orchard)
Ingredients
- apples
- 1 gallon water
- 1/4 cup salt
Instructions
- Place one cup of warm water in a large bowl and stir in salt until it dissolves. Add the remaining cold water.1 gallon water, 1/4 cup salt
- Peel and slice apples (you can leave the skin on them if desired).apples
- Place each apple slice in the salt water as you go along. When done with all your apples, stir the water a bit to make sure all slices have been submerged. Drain in a colander.
- Place immediately in a freezer bag, label, and freeze.
“The wisest mind has something yet to learn.”
~George Santayana.
My Aunt Tootie always said, “Life is too short to be at odds with one another.” She was the youngest of 8 children, never married, and devoted her life to taking care of her family. She lost 2 siblings at a young age and that is what inspired her to live by those words.
They say you learn something new everyday…and this is mine!
Thanks Christy!
Christy, I have tears in my eyes from reading your post. You are wise beyond your years from respecting your wise and wonderful elders and from being on the journey to prove out the wisdom they instilled in you.
One very important lesson I learned was the respect it took to make a three generation household work well for everyone. Respect was paramount in our family and was expected of everyone. My grandmother was a paragon
of this virtue and consequently my father, who was her son-in-law not only never made a mother-in-law joke, but rather loved her as if she had birthed him.
Although they have both been gone for over thirty years, I still love to focus my mind on them and their great love and respect for each other.
My great-grandmother was from the north. And she lived no easy life either. She lost her first baby 3 days after it was born. Swore she would never have another. She then got pregnant again and had 9 children! Her husband died 3 years after her last child was born. She was left to raise all 9 children. She used everything. To this day, I bake my bread in tin cans because that is how she did! It comes out beautiful!
She taught me that all families have there problems, but at the end of the day, you accept them for who they are. They ARE your family and they are important!
would love to have your tin can bread recipe
I have a question. Will the soaking method work with peas and other garden vegtables?
I have a question about canning on a flatop range. How do you can with a canner if it cannot be used on these new ranges. I thought this would be the cats meow, and its nice but the canner will not sit on it, and I cannot use my cast iron skillet or roaster on it like the rangetop with burners.Any ideas on this, maybe a different kind of pot or pan.Would you have any suggestions on what I should do. Thanks for your time.
Kim, I have a glass flat top range and I use my cast iron skillet on it. I don’t use my old waterbath cannerpot on it because the user guide says not to use speckled enamal pots on it. I went out and bought a LARGE stock pot made of stainless steel to use. I do use my pressure pot on it for canning without any problems. Hope this helps….
my dad always told my sisters and i “believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” gossip and rumors have never crossed his lips, and his truly non-judgemental personality is so very admirable. our extremely small community is rampant with rumors and stories about others, but all go in one ear and out the other for my dad. he may be a man of few words, but these were never forgotten.
Thats the kind of wisdom that makes you always hold someone in justified reverence, and everyone who knows him and everyone who knows those who know him will be better off because of the way he lives his life!
What an amazing man!