Easy Chia Seed Cinnamon Applesauce Recipe for Babies

This simple recipe is a great way to use up your apples during apple season! It makes a perfect snack for babies and the whole family! Pair with a source of iron (ie. fortified oats) and fat like whole milk yogurt to make a well-rounded, healthy breakfast.

Ingredients for chia seed applesauce

When making recipes for babies, it’s best to avoid added sugar and salt and use whole foods. Apples, bananas, and dates work great to add natural sweetness to your baby’s dishes.

Feel free to add herbs and spices to your babies food as this will expose them to a variety of tastes early on! This healthy recipe combines apples, chia seeds, and spices.

Wet ingredients

• Apples or unsweetened applesauce (homemade or store-bought)

Dry ingredients

• Chia seeds
• Cinnamon spice or apple pie spice

Materials

To make chia seed applesauce you’ll need:

• Sauce pan
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Wooden spoon

The best apples for applesauce

Really any kind of apples can be used for applesauce. A softer variety will be easier to mash or blend the apples once cooked. Sweeter, more flavorful apples will provide a tastier applesauce. 

Try any combination of Granny Smith, Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Fujis, and more.

How to make chia seed applesauce for babies

Here are shortened instructions for chia seed applesauce:

1. Prep apples (If you do not have prepared applesauce): Peel, core, and chop apples
2. Simmer: Cook apples over medium heat along with a 1/3 cup water and the rest of the ingredients. Stir until the apples are soft. You can use a crockpot on low instead too!
3. Mash: Mash the softened apples or blend if you want a smooth apple sauce. Chunkier applesauce is okay for babies as long as the chunks are very soft.

Variations when making chia seed applesauce

There are a few different variations you can experiment with when making applesauce. 

• You can swap the water for any type of 100% juice such as apple, pear, cranberry, or grape juice. 
• Add different or extra spices like using apple pie spice, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, or ginger.
• Use sweeteners if needed (preferably keep your baby’s batch unsweetened). Try maple syrup, brown sugar, agave nectar, coconut sugar, honey (avoid for babies under 12 months due to risk of botulism)

Ways to use chia seed applesauce

There are so many ways to use apple sauce including:

• Sweeten overnight oats with a few tablespoons of your chia seed applesauce
• Add to Greek yogurt
• Bake applesauce muffins
• Mix up an apple pie chia pudding (simple recipe below)

How to make an apple pie chia pudding

Most chia seed pudding recipes are very similar. They consist of some type of liquid (usually dairy or non-dairy milk), chia seeds, spices, and a sweetener such as honey (do not use for babies under 12 months) or pure maple syrup. 

Here is a simple recipe to make delicious apple chia pudding. Combine 1 cup of milk of choice (cow’s milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc.), 3/4 cup of your chia seed applesauce, 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract, and 3/4 tsp apple pie spice. 

How to store chia seed applesauce

To store the applesauce, cool, transfer to an airtight container (preferably glass), cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can freeze or can applesauce to store longer too.