So many people in my free Take Back Your Health community on Facebook complain that baked goods are what really hold them back from eating healthy. They say, “If it weren’t for my breads, I’d be skinny!”
A different way to attack this “problem” is to figure out how to get the food you love and still be healthy. This way, you get what you love and you also love your diet. No unhappiness. No frustration. Just pure and simple healthy goodness. Sounds awesome, right?
Well, one of the easiest ways to lower the fat and calories of your baked goods is by substituting applesauce for oil. This couldn’t be easier to do and the flavor and texture aren’t affected hardly at all. I’ve used this technique in breads, muffins, even waffles and pancakes and it always turns out very well.
Unsweetened applesauce is a great substitute for oil in baked goods, like muffins, cakes, breads because it keeps food moist without all the added saturated fats. Plus, unsweetened applesauce contains naturally occurring sugars that are already sweet, reducing the need for sugar in the recipe.
Let’s compare 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, shall we?
• Unsweetened Applesauce: 50 calories, 0 fat, lots of vitamin C, 1 gram of fiber
• Vegetable Oil: 964 calories, 109g of fat, no vitamins, no fiber
Pretty clear why unsweetened applesauce rocks, right? It’s higher in all the good stuff and lower in all the bad stuff. So easy!
So remember how I said it was super easy to do? To substitute applesauce for oil, all you have to do is use a 1:1 ratio of applesauce to replace oil. That means, if your recipe calls for 1/4 oil, just replace that with 1/4 unsweetened applesauce instead. That’s my kinda math!
You can also used mashed banana or a different puree (like pumpkin or butternut squash!) to make a moist, sweet, and delicious baked good.
Substituting Applesauce For Oil
Here are some tasty and healthy examples of substituting applesauce for oil in my recipes:
- Healthy Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- The shortcakes in my Gluten-Free Strawberry Shortcakes
- Apple Cinnamon Walnut Bread (this is my recipe that I shared with Tastemade)
- Double Chocolate Gluten-Free Muffins (this is my recipe that I shared with Center Cut Cook)
One quick note on using unsweetened versus sweetened applesauce. Opt for unsweetened applesauce since it’s already sweet and doesn’t contain any extra high fructose sweeteners. Trust me – the unsweetened is plenty sweet and will work perfectly in your recipe.
Can I substitute applesauce for butter in banana bread?
Lula, that sounds like a great idea! Lacey does use apple sauce in quite a few of her bread recipes. She doesn’t use butter in her banana bread either, as you can see in this recipe post: https://www.asweetpeachef.com/banana-nut-bread/ I hope this helps! -Jen
I’m trying it tonight and I’ll see if I like it. I didn’t ever try applesauce in a baked good before, but this is with Ghiardelli boxed mix so may be too sweet.
I’ll let you know.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes! -Jen
Hi Lacey. How much sugar can I reduce in a recipe if I’m substituting oil with apple sauce?
Check the food guide on the label of the apple sauce for the grams of sugar. 4 grams = 1 teaspoon.
For instance I switched from olive oil to 1/4 cup of apple sauce in my whole wheat buns: it has 6 grams of sugar, so I no longer add the 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar I used to.
Thanks for the information Lacey. I would try the same and let you know
Yay! You’re very welcome 🙂