Substitutions for apple sauce

MsOpus
MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I found a muffin recipe that looks oh so good, but it takes apple sauce. I have one daughter who is allergic to apples. A banana won't work because I can't eat bananas.
The apple sauce looks like it's used as a sweetener as there is no sugar but a bit of maple syrup. I think using more syrup would make it too sweet and too maple flavored. There's lots of other moisture in the recipe (yogurt, and pumpkin)
Any suggestions?

Replies

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    edited September 2019
    What about another fruit, like a berry? You could macerate them into the same consistency as applesauce. I'd suggest blueberries, raspberries or strawberries, or even a combination.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
    Pumpkin?
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    I’d try pear, as already suggested. Closest texturally to apple. Apple sauce is often subbed in baking recipes in place of fat to provide the bulk and moisture though so maybe I’d even try courgette (zucchini) and a little extra oil/butter?
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I third the idea of pear. What is the recipe for?
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,309 Member
    Blenderized stewed prunes is another option.
  • MsOpus
    MsOpus Posts: 99 Member
    The recipe already has pumpkin. Its a pumpkin muffin recipe. Has no oils, or sugars. 2 egg whites, greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, maple syrup. Oat bran, protein powder
    Makes sense the apple sauce replaces oil or butter. I might try the pear. Do you think baby food pears or fruit would work?
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Pear baby food would probably work, but buying a pear or two and pureeing it would probably be cheaper and only slightly less convenient.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,096 Member
    MsOpus wrote: »
    The recipe already has pumpkin. Its a pumpkin muffin recipe. Has no oils, or sugars. 2 egg whites, greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, maple syrup. Oat bran, protein powder
    Makes sense the apple sauce replaces oil or butter. I might try the pear. Do you think baby food pears or fruit would work?

    These are both things I was going to suggest, as apple sauce is often used to replace some or all of the fat in baked goods to lower the calories. And I was going to suggest pureed pears or plums as baby food -- I've used them occasionally when I needed a small amount of pureed fruit in various recipes, and for any reason (less work, not having leftover fruit, etc.) didn't want to deal with buying fresh or frozen fruit and making the puree from scratch.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,969 Member
    I am lazy, so would blitz any tinned fruit packed in juice in the food processor. Pears, pineapple, peaches.
  • icemom011
    icemom011 Posts: 999 Member
    You can use banana as a sub for applesauce
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
    icemom011 wrote: »
    You can use banana as a sub for applesauce

    In her original post the OP said banana won’t work because she, herself, cannot eat banana.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    oil

    applesauce is often used in baking to reduce calories and replace the oil
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Here's a pumpkin cranberry muffin I use as a base (inspired by cranberry orange relish, I also add some orange, with peel, and 2 oz of walnuts.)

    Original recipe:

    http://www.ahealthyme.com/Library/Recipes/30,22531

    How I make it:

    b00442e7117b9f526efbcbd2f79c5c75.png
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,096 Member
    MsOpus wrote: »
    The recipe already has pumpkin. Its a pumpkin muffin recipe. Has no oils, or sugars. 2 egg whites, greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, maple syrup. Oat bran, protein powder
    Makes sense the apple sauce replaces oil or butter. I might try the pear. Do you think baby food pears or fruit would work?

    Or pureed prunes. As I recall, when this was first a thing back in the heyday of low-fat diets, there was actually a commercial pureed-prune product on the market, generally stocked with the solid shortening and cooking oils, intended as a fat replacer. It was roughly the consistency of applesauce, as I recall, so they must have added some water back in. I guess you could just plum baby food, as prunes are pretty much plums less some water.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    This is not the place for solutions for food allergies. They are far more complex than to rely upon a bunch of random Internet posters. Ask an allergist. For my part, I know it is not about the "apple" unless it is purely psychosomatic, it is about the chemicals in the apple which occur in many other fruits and even some vegetables.

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