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Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce)
Tart cooking apples simmered soft with a splash of water or sweet cider, lemon, a little sugar and cinnamon, then mashed into a chunky sauce, the essential partner to Käsknöpfle.
Liechtenstein · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~130 cal · 0g protein · 35g carbs · 0g fat · 5g fiber · 27g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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In Liechtenstein, as across the Alpine valleys of Switzerland, Austria and southern Germany, a bowl of Apfelmus, apple sauce, is part of the meal rather than a dessert. It is the classic side for Käsknöpfle, the country's cheese dumplings, where its sweet tartness cuts through the rich, melted mountain cheese and fried onions, and it is spooned beside Ribel, the old cornmeal staple, too.
It is made with sour, well-flavoured apples that fall apart when cooked, such as Boskoop, Gravensteiner or Cox. They are peeled or simply cored, cut up and simmered covered with a little water or sweet apple juice, lemon juice, a spoonful or two of sugar and cinnamon for a quarter of an hour, then mashed roughly or passed through a food mill. Sealed hot in jars, it keeps for months.
Beyond cheese dumplings, Swiss and Liechtenstein cooks put it next to Älplermagronen, rösti and spätzli, with blood and liver sausages, and with milk rice.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 1 kg tart cooking apples (such as Boskoop, Gravensteiner or Cox)
- 100 ml water or sweet apple juice
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 to 4 tbsp sugar, to taste, depending on the apples
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, or a cinnamon stick
Instructions
- 1Peel, quarter and core the apples and cut them into chunks.
- 2Put them in a pan with the water or apple juice, lemon juice, 2 tbsp of the sugar and the cinnamon. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the apples are soft and starting to fall apart.
- 3Take out the cinnamon stick if you used one. Crush the apples with a potato masher for a chunky sauce, or blend them smooth. Taste and add more sugar if the apples are very sour.
- 4Serve warm or cool beside Käsknöpfle, Ribel or rösti. Sealed hot in sterilised jars, it keeps through the winter.
Liechtenstein and Alpine home tradition, served with Käsknöpfle.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Vaduz. Kasknopfle is closest to a spaetzle: soft dough dumplings scraped into boiling water, drained, then layered up with melted mountain cheese and covered with onions fried dark. The apple sauce alongside is not optional, and it is the part outsiders usually leave off.
🗺️
Liechtenstein. It belongs to the Alpine Rhine valley rather than to one principality, appearing as Kasknopfle in Vorarlberg over the Austrian border and as chasechnopfli in Switzerland. The principality is small enough that its food is genuinely regional rather than national, which is an honest thing to say about a country of forty thousand people.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Liechtenstein
KäsknöpfleSoft little dumplings tossed with melting mountain cheese and crowned with sweet fried onions.
Bircher MüesliOats soaked overnight in milk and yogurt with grated apple, nuts, and a squeeze of lemon.
HafalaabCornmeal-and-flour dumplings simmered in broth with ham and cabbage, a rustic national dish of Liechtenstein.
Browse all Liechtenstein recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
Make it a Liechtenstein meal
ApfelchüechliDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce)?
Tart cooking apples simmered soft with a splash of water or sweet cider, lemon, a little sugar and cinnamon, then mashed into a chunky sauce, the essential partner to Käsknöpfle.
Where does Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce) come from?
Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce) is a Liechtenstein dish from Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Can Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Apfelmus (Liechtenstein Apple Sauce) take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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