Butter or egg substitute? Try unsweetened applesauce

As I’ve recently discovered, unsweetened applesauce is sometimes used as a substitute in baking in place of butter or eggs, which is great if you’re on a healthy meal plan or a vegan diet.

While it may not work equally well across all recipes, I think the general rule of thumb seems to be one is to one for butter, and a quarter of a cup of applesauce in place of one large egg. Oh, and it doesn’t have to be made purely from apples, you can try cooking down or mixing in other types of fruit too. Here, I used a combination of apples and nectarines.

Ingredients

2 nectarines, peeled and diced
1 medium size apple, diced
2tbs water or unsweetened apple juice

Method

Place all the ingredients in a small pot on the stove over medium heat. Bring to a boil before turning the heat down to a  simmer, approximately 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and puree with a stick blender or in a food processor.