Last year many of our readers were surprised to learn you could make homemade fruit leather without a dehydrator. This year, we tell you that you can do the same thing with fruit chunks to make homemade dehydrated fruit. How you ask? Use your oven!
Yep, all you need is your favorite fruit, a cookie sheet, tin foil if your cookie sheet is kinda gross like mine, and your oven! That’s it! Now for the REALLY easy part…
Set your oven temp to the lowest it will go. Mine happens to be 170 degrees F but I know some can go as low as 120 degrees.
My favorite dehydrated fruit happens to be the tropical blend that comes in a can but you can chop up any kind of fresh fruit you want or you can use stuff from a can like me. Just spread it in an even layer on your cookie sheet.
Put your cookie sheet in the oven and wait (and wait, and wait…). I mean 8-10 hours!
Ok, you will have to check on your fruit after about 4 hours and probably every 1-2 hours after that because some pieces will dry a little faster than others. This is my tray after 4 hours. Some of the super small chunks were done. Some of the larger chunks (i.e. the pineapple) took a few more hours. You’ll also want to turn the chunks at least once so that the one side doesn’t get overly dry.
That’s it! You’ll know the fruit is done when the chunks are just slightly squishy to the touch. You don’t want to over dry them or they’ll end up to be hard as a rock once they are cool.
I, I mean my kids, eat these like candy! Pineapple and papaya are’t fruits we buy and eat normally but when they are dehydrated they make a really tasty treat!
Does your family eat dehydrated fruit? Which kind is your favorite?
Thank you!! we eat a lot of dried fruit with our granola mix.. this will save a lot of money making our own.. my favorites are the pineapple and apricots