How to Freeze Apples

Fall is the perfect time to stock up on fresh apples — whether you’re picking them yourself or grabbing them by the bagful at the market. ? But what happens when you have too many to eat before they start to go soft? Don’t let them go to waste — freeze them!

Freezing apples is a simple and practical way to preserve their flavor and freshness for months. Whether you’re planning to use them in pies, crisps, smoothies, or sauces, having frozen apples on hand means you’re always just a step away from a delicious homemade treat. In this post, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to freeze apples the right way — with tips for slicing, storing, and using them later on..

You will need:

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apples (duh)
sharp knives (I swear by Global Knives) (do yourself a favor, make sure they are sharp – it will go much faster and easier if they are)
large bowl with diluted acidic water – I used apple cider vinegar but you can also use lemon juice or plain vinegar. About three tablespoons of acid. Or the juice of half a lemon.
wire rack for drying – I use my cooking rack from baking
baking sheets with wax paper
deep freezer
bags or containers to store frozen slices

How to Proceed:

Lay out a sheet of wax paper on your baking sheets
Have two bowls at the ready: the one with the acidic water and one empty to collect the apple cores and peelings.
Cut your apples into halves, then quarters, then eighths. Trim the core.
Peel

Drop into the acidic water.
Remove the slices from the water and line up on the wire rack to dry a bit.
Place on the wax paper lined baking sheet making sure the slices do not touch.
When the sheets are full place in the deep freeze until frozen solid. At least 4 to 6 hours.
Quickly pack into bags or plastic containers and store in the deep freeze until needed.
Will keep up to 6 months. (This is my first time freezing apples so I cannot attest to this. Will update if mine last this long or longer).
Use in apple pie, applesauce, apple cake and any other way you would like to cook/bake with apples.
Use from frozen.