Sausage Applesauce Appetizer

Couldn't believe how great this was. We tweaked the recipe a little by sauteeing the onions, but isn't that what cooking is all about! And... it was totally consumed at the party I brought this to. Thanks!

I made this for Bunco a few weeks ago. I was testing new recipes out on my friends to use for our holiday parties. Every one of them has come to me and asked me for this recipe! I drained the applesauce, just a little, so it wouldn't be too soupy. The flavors were fantastic!!! It was hard to keep my husband and daughters from eating all of it before I brought it to Bunco. Thanks, this will be a great addition to our party table!

WOWOWOWOWOW!!! i am not a sausage lover usually, i just made these for a little after Christmas party, and i cant keep my hands off, they are yummy and everyone asked for the recipe, half the guests didnt get to try them, they vanished so fast. thanks a bunch!

This is a great recipe. It was so easy to make, great for a make ahead appetizer. After tasting the sausage and commenting to my husband how good it was, he informed me he added beer to the skillet after he browned the meat. We cooked the sausage in a pan with chopped onions, browned, then added 1/4 cup beer. The second time we made it we used alittle less brown sugar, much better, not so sweet. Really Good....

This recipe is good but needs some adjustments. First, 2 pounds of sausage is just way too much for an appetizer designed for 8 people(1 link per person). I used 1.5 pounds (6 links) for 12 people and that was still a lot. Second, there is way too much brown sugar in the original recipe. I added 2 Tbsp and that was plenty. Next time I'll try it with none at all.

Very easy to make, and lots of good flavor. It was a hit at the party!

I just realized I haven't rated this recipe. I have been making it for several years for get togethers. I rarely have any leftovers. I do make sure the sausage is good and browned before I mix it with the other ingredients. If its only lightly browned it doesn't taste quite as good.

Very simple recipe that is very tasty. I used regular applesauce since that's what I had on hand and it was delicious.

Great quick appetizer for any occasion.

I guess I am going against the crowd and saying I wasn't really thrilled with this recipe, and I followed it to the letter. It was okay, but I think I would make a few changes...I would cut about a third out of the brown sugar, and maybe use a hotter sausage..was very sweet, and I like sweet....but was a rather strange combination of flavors...the onions were very good. It wasn't bad, just none of us thought was that great

the chunky applesauce adds a wonderful flavor - this will be perfect for the superbowl! KTDS

These are very good! Used Bob Evans Italian sausage, Splenda brown sugar, regular Motts applesauce, and dried minced onion. Only baked for 30 minutes since we made a fraction of the recipe, which was just the right amount of time. Also formed the sausage into small balls instead of cutting up patties. The chunky applesauce would probably be better than plain, but even so this came out nicely sweet with just a little kick from the onion. Very tasty!

This was gobbled up by everyone at our party, especially the guys. Hint: I would not categorize what i had to bake it in as a "small casserole dish."

Most everyone enjoyed these....they are a tad sweet. I think they would benefit from some red bell pepper and chunk pineapple. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

This dish is POSITIVELY awesome. I tripled the recipe and took it to our office party. Everyone raved about it. At least five people asked me for the recipe. I think toothpicks, though, are not the way to go. I provided small bowls so everyone could enjoy the onions, sausage and broth together. I feel it could also be served as an appetizer.

Quick and easy recipe. I read most of the comments before I made the dish. I have to say you do need to use chuncky applesauce because it seems the regular apple sauce would be too "runny". The chunky applesause constitency was just like chutney. I also read a lot of users sauteed the onions before they baked them with the sausage. I'm not sure why because the onions will sautee in the oven. I just placed the raw onions in the oven with the sausage and they were fine. I also used HOT Italian sausage and only about 1/4 cup of sugar. The dish was delicious. I mean come on, the sausage sells itself :) I hope you enjoyed my comments.

The BEST ever for our Tail-gate party. I used kielbasa and added beer in the last couple minutes of frying. I also added less brown sugar and a spoon full of apricot preserves to applesauce mixture. I baked it 40 minutes, then put it in a crock-pot so people could graze on it as they wish. It turned to a nice glaze. I served it with toothpicks.

It was a hit, I made it for my family visiting from Florida, and the couldn't believe how simple it was to make. Made a few changes to my taste, but over all great recipe. Will make it again.

This was great....different but very interesting flavors. I would make again. I did cut down on the sugar and used no sugar added applesauce, just as a personal preference.

I liked it. Will do it again. A friend of mine said it was to sweet (he prefers the taste of meat, I don't). Thank you!

I made this for my daughters birthday party. It was a huge hit. There were no leftovers. I chose to use sweet italian w/basil sausage and my seven year old daughter and five year old niece loved it cause it was not spicy at all. Any kind of sausage would work great in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!

it was so so nothing exciting won't make it again.

Very good. I didn't give it more stars because I did modify the sauce quite a bit. I made the sauce separate first by adding apple sauce, brown sugar, honey, 1/2 cup of beer, 1/4 cup of prepared bbq sauce, some minced garlic, and about a tablespoon of crushed pineapple. I also added a dash of cayenne pepper to add some heat. This was good. My family actually loved the sauce more than the meat. I will make again.

Wendy Sausage patties worked better than links, but the links looked prettier! Bake them for the entire time and they are to die for!

This recipe is ok, not great. It just tastes like sausage and onion. The sauce it made is just so, so. It's hard to disciminate between the sugar and the oil from the sausage. Maybe try hotter sausage as another reviewer suggested?

Not bad but nothing to write home about. It also does not look pleasing to the eye. It just sat there. It was tried but but no one came back for more. Big disappointment.

I made this for a potluck dinner with friends and it was awesome! My cooking skills are suspect at best (which is why I love this site and the reviews - so helpful to us fledgling cooks!). I was amazed at how simple this was to put together. I used extremely hot sausage (which is what we prefer). The sweet and the spicy - perfect! This is going in the regular rotation!

This recipe was nothing special. I thought for sure it would be better with all the rave reviews.I used regular applesauce. Would that make a big difference??? I guess I will grind up leftover meat for spaghetti

I used this sauce on slices of precooked jalepeno sausage and served with toothpicks as an appetizer. Everyone loved it- I had tried this sausage previously and it was way to spicy for me but this sauce was wonderful and toned down the spiciness of the sausage. Want to try this again using precooked garlic sausage.

This is a very good and very simple recipe! My grocery store did not have the sweet Italian sausage, so I had to buy the spicy Italian instead. The sweet/spicy combination was very interesting! Everyone really liked this appetizer, however when I make it again for Christmas, I will use the sweet sausage. Try it both ways! One commenter said it just sounded nasty. Don't knock it till you've tried it!

WOW WOW WOW! This was spectacular! I used homemade applesauce and some of the Johnsonville sweety sausages and removed it from the casing before cooking it. Then threw in the applesauce and sugar and onion and cooked it. I wrapped it up in phyllo dough and baked it instead of baking it alltogether to make for an easier snack and had I not syopped my boyfriend, he would have eaten all of them! This will be getting made again soon! My mom's already requested that I make it for her after hearing my rave reviews. Spectacularly delicious!

This was simple to make & so yummy

Keeper. I have made this several times. I always cut the sugar by half and saute the onions. This last time I couldn't find chunky applesauce so I used regular and finely chopped an apple and sauted with onions. Was running late for work so I put everything in crock pot on low for 6 hours. Turned out wonderful

I thought it sounded interesting, but this was not good.

It's surprising how good this recipe is with only 4, seemingly oddly matched, ingrediants! I only had sweet Italian sausage so I added a little cayenne and cut down the amount of sugar. Was wonderful and can't wait to try it unchanged.

This was a really easy fast recipe. I love the fact that there are only 4 ingredients. I sauteed the onions before I added them and used hot Italian Sausage. The combination of Hot from the Sausage and the sweet from the brown sugar and applesauce really goes well together. Will definitely make this again in a pinch. Thanks! =D

Excellent. Totally devoured at a potluck.

pretty good.

This is....weird. First, 3/4 cup of brown sugar is WAY OVER THE TOP. Like teeth hurting kind of too sweet. I only made it because I was slightly intrigued by the combinations but there are some major flaws. First, using an Italian hot sausage was probably not the best choice. Second, I only used 1/4 cup of brown sugar and had to increase the applesauce to probably almost 2 cups. The onions NEED to be sauteed in a little butter and salt BEFORE adding them. I think maybe adding some green or red bell pepper would be better, use a sweeter or saltier sausage and do NOT use 3/4 cup of brown sugar. The first couple of bites were weird and unpleasant. Following bites were better though I still find this bizarre.

They were very good, and we all enjoyed them very much!

Excellent. Consistently popular (even with friends that don't normally like sausage.) The only thing I do differently is use a low-fat sausage and I cut it up into the little pieces before browning it. (I used regular sausage once, and ended up with 1/2" of oil floating on top.) Last time, I used Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage with Maple Syrup made by Al Fresco. Yummy!

Anytime something can be made ahead of time it automatically gets one star! But on top if that it was a huge crowd pleaser at my party. I do agree that it was a tad sweet and would recommend a spicy sausage to try and counter that.

I added a green and red bell pepper to it and served over rice! LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

I made it with CHICKEN Italian sweet sausage. Cut sugar by half. there was hardly a need to drain, because it was chicken not pork. Used what ever drippings to sauté the onions till soft.

This was awesome! I took it Christmas Eve where my family gathers and everyone just brings appetizers. It was the first to go and everyone was asking for the recipe. I don't normally eat this type of stuff, but my husband loved it and begged me to try it. I can't wait to make it again! New Years Eve I will be using it as a side dish.

I made this Christmas Eve and everyone ate it but no one asked for the recipe ...but I thought it was tasty . I think next time I'll try it with chicken sausage.

This is definitely one of the best recipes to try! Great for dinner parties. Simple and doesn't take up a lot of time. I have made this multiple times.

I didn't like this recipe. Maybe because I used applesauce with cinnamon. I won't be making it again, but because of all the rest of the great reviews, try it for yourself! Thanks anyways!

This was amazing!!! My picky eater actually ate it!!! I served it with buttered noodles and made a meal out of it. Delicious!!!

Added fresh cranberries before baking. Delicious!

pretty good and simple to make for a party appetizer

This was a hit, everyone loved it and it was so easy to make. Don't mind making this appetizer when I am too busy to cook! I am going to try making it with spicy sausage next time.

I have been trying out some appetizer recipes for an upcoming open house.My Hubby Loved Loved Loved It. I thought it a little sweet, but I don't particuarly like real sweet, hubby does. It's a keeper.I did like the defnite apple taste.

I love this recipe - easy and so very good. I couldn't find chunky applesauce so I made my own. I used 3 apples, peeled, cut and cooked with a little bit of water and a dash of lemon. I added the brown sugar to the cooked apples right at the end just before pouring over the sausage and onions. This appetizer is a big hit with everyone

This was a pleasant surprise recipe! I made it for a neighborhood "Wassail Wingding" party. I set the warm casserole dish on the dining room table and 30 minutes later, more than half the appetizer was GONE!!! I used Johnsonville Italian Sausage (1 package), traditional applesauce (could not get chunky) so I added 1/4 diced Granny Smith apple and cooked the sauce down, about 30 minutes. I also added the chopped 1/2 onion to the sautéing sausages. Mixed all ingredients together in the casserole dish and baked it for 40 minutes. It was so YUMMY!!!

Who'd think applesauce and onions would work with sausage. But it was good. Used kielbasa sausage, cooked in covered frying pan instead of oven, then put it in crock pot. Used less brown sugar, as applesauce was sweetened.

With all the high ratings, I really thought this would be amazing. Instead, it was too sweet and the combination of flavors was strange. I made it exactly as written. No one at the party particularly liked it, and it even looked unappetizing. Now I'll have to find a use for all this leftover sausage!

I made this sausage/applesauce appetizer for a 60th birthday picnic. It was such a hit, everybody wanted the recipe. Now I get requests to bring it everywhere. Hats off to the chef!

We really liked this! Made this for Super Bowl and after sautéing (including some minced onion), transferred to the crockpot. It was one of the easier apps I made that day and would absolutely make again. Thanks for sharing this appetizer! It’s a keeper!

I used turkey sausage, sugarfree splenda, sugarfree applesauce, and doubled the onion. A good recipe for diabetics, but I've had better sausage recipes.

This was really good, except that it was a bit too sweet. I didn't have chunky applesauce so I used plain no-sugar-added applesauce and diced up a small Fuji apple. I should have cooked it longer to cook the apple down more, but that's being a little picky. I used pre-cooked link Italian spicy sausage, sliced. I also added cilantro, which was really yummy with the spiciness of the sausage and the sweetness of the the applesauce. I used less sugar, as others suggested, and I would use even less, maybe only ¼ cup if even that -- it was pretty sweet. Otherwise, people at the party enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the little bit of leftovers! I'll be making this again.

very easy and very very tasty, I only had peach applesauce but it worked just great.

so easy and a real crowd pleaser! I used spicy italian sausage.

Well, first of all chunky applesauce is impossible to find. I went to 3 stores with no luck, so I just used regular. They have a delish flavor. I used hot and spicy ital sausage.....what a kick.