How To Can Fresh Apple Juice at Home
Canning apple juice is one of the easiest ways to preserve your apple harvest. With a simple water bath canning setup, you can store shelf-stable juice for months, no additives or preservatives required.
The bonus? You’ll also end up with a batch of homemade applesauce from the leftover mash, so nothing goes to waste.
We use the hot pack method for safety, and I’ll walk you through each step. Once you try this, you’ll never look at store-bought juice the same way again.
When apple season is in full swing, be sure to try making some homemade apple juice. It is smooth, delicious, and the perfect snack. The best part is that there are no preservatives or sugar.
What Apples to Use
We like to use a mixture of apples, just like we do when we make applesauce. It gives the juice a more rounded flavor. Each variety will provide you with a different flavor and sweetness level.
Try to use some sweet apples, like Honeycrisp, and some tart ones like Granny Smith. In this particular batch, we used Honeycrisp, MacIntosh, and a no-name tart apple that is growing on our property.
Other varieties that are great for juice are Fuji, Pink Lady, Rome, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala,
When sourcing apples any time of the year, be sure to source organic apples that have not been sprayed with chemicals. They may have a few spots on the skin, but they are the better choice for the health of your family.
Apples are notorious for requiring lots of chemicals to maintain perfect-looking fruit. They are a favorite food source of insects and fungi alike, so they are on the list of the most sprayed crops on the planet (up to 14 different sprays per growing season).
New to canning? Start with our comprehensive article on “How to Can Everything“. It will walk you through all of the dos and don’ts related to canning.
What You Need
For this recipe, you only need fresh apples at their peak.
How to Make It
Wash apples well. Halve them. Remove the core with a paring knife. (You don’t have to core apples if you aren’t using the apple pulp for applesauce)
If you have an apple corer, you can use it to core and halve the apples. Sprinkle the cut side with lemon juice.
Place them in a large Dutch oven. Add a few inches of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover with lid.
Heat on high until water boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until they are soft.
Remove apples to a food mill. We use the Kitchenaid with the vegetable strainer attachment.
Reserve this leftover water/ juice.
You could also use a steam juicer for this process, which will steam the fruit rather than cooking it in water.
Remove the skins with your food mill or strainer, or slip the peels off with a paring knife after they cool a bit.
If you don’t have a food mill, mash the apples or process just a few pulses with your food processor.
Line your fine mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth.
Pour the water/juice that was left in the pot first.
Drain the mash, which is essentially applesauce. Let it strain for at least a few hours or overnight.
Juicing Methods for Clear Apple Juice
If you’d like the juice clear, bring it to a hard boil for a few minutes, then strain it using multiple layers of cheesecloth again. Be sure to reheat it before pouring it into the canning jars.
You can also refrigerate the juice for 24-48 hours. Without disturbing the liquid, carefully pour off the clear liquid at the top. Strain it again through several layers of damp cheesecloth or a coffee strainer. Discard the sediment.
Waterbath Canning Instructions
Heat up the juice over medium-high heat until it begins to boil, and prepare and sterilize your jars. Ladle hot juice into hot canning jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars clean with a damp paper towel. Center the lid on the jar. Screw on bands fingertip tight.
Process pint jars in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (See altitude adjustment in recipe below). Note: If processing pint jars under 1000 ft above sea level, the jars should be sterilized. If you are canning quarts or above 1000 ft, sterilization is unnecessary.
Get the canner water hot. Wash the jars and lids. Add the clean jars to the canning pot to heat. Once the jars are filled, add them to the canning pot. Bring the water in the pot to a boil. Once the water is boiling, set the timer.
When the processing time is complete, remove the pot from the heat, carefully open the lid, and partially lift it off the top of the canning pot. Let it rest like that for 5 minutes.
Then, remove the lid and let the jars rest in the canning pot for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
After resting, remove the jars onto a kitchen towel placed on your counter and let them thoroughly cool for 12-24 hours, undisturbed. You may hear the lids pinging sometime in the next hour. This is music to a canner’s ears. It is due to the reaction of the lids being sealed to the jar.
Check the seals. Press down in the middle of the lid. If it flexes up or down, the jar is not sealed and should be refrigerated and used first.
Then, remove the bands. Gently pick up the jar by the lid to check the seal further. Again, if it is not sealed, use it first.
Label jars with contents and the date. Store in a cool, dark place for at least a year. Avoid areas with large temperature fluctuations.
Do not stack jars on top of each other. This can compromise the seals. If you run out of room on your shelf, use a sheet of cardboard or a thin piece of wood and place that on top of a row of jars. Then you can put jars on top of that. This will distribute the weight evenly.
Before using any canned goods, always inspect the packaging and the food itself. Make sure that it looks and smells as it should. If it doesn’t, it’s best to err on the side of caution and discard it.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. All of the recipes on this site are based on one or both of these trusted sources. We just do a more thorough job showing you how to do it, step-by-step.
FAQs
Honeycrisp, MacIntosh, Fuji, Pink Lady, Rome, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, and others are popular, but any apple will work.
No. You can use citric acid if you have that. If you don’t have either, don’t use it. Try to core the apples quickly to prevent browning.
Yes, but if you do, add it to the jars and not before straining, as it will make a mess.
No, if you don’t want to can it, pour it into freezer bags, leaving enough headspace so the bags don’t burst when they freeze.
More Apple Recipes
More Juice Recipes
If you are a fan of homemade juice, give this Apricot Juice a try. It’s healthy, easy, and so delicious!
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
How to Can Apple Juice
Ingredients
- 8 pounds apples
Instructions
- Wash apples well. Halve them. Remove core with a paring knife. (You don’t have to core apples if you aren’t using the apple pulp for applesauce)
- If you have an apple corer, you can use that to core and the halve them.
- Place them in a large Dutch oven. Add a few inches of water to the bottom of the pan. Cover with lid.
- Heat on high until water boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until they are soft.
- Remove apples to a food mill. We use the Kitchenaid with the vegetable strainer attachment.
- Reserve the leftover water/ juice.
- Remove the skins with your food mill or strainer, or slip the peels off with a paring knife after they cool a bit.
- If you don’t have a food mill, mash the apples or process just a few pulses with your food processor.
- Line your fine mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth.
- Pour the juice that was left in the pot in first.
- Strain the mash. which is essentially applesauce. Let it strain at least of few hours or overnight.
- Heat the juice until it begins to boil, and prepare your jars. Ladle hot juice into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of the jars clean with a damp paper towel. Center the lid on the jar. Screw on bands fingertip tight.
- Process pint jars in a boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (See altitude adjustment in notes below).
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Nutrition
Originally published November 7, 2022. Updated August 23, 2025.
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Apple juice AND applesauce. This sounds awesome as I LOVE real apple juice and applesauce. Thanks
You are very welcome! Thanks Charles