How to Dehydrate Apple Slices
Why Dehydrate Apple Slices?
Dehydrated apple slices are actually very good (especially when done yourself). I find that they are one of the simplest snacks to make for my kids. My three year old actually loves joining me in the process because she loves how great they taste 🙂 All in all, I love to dehydrate apple slices because it is a great way to preserve apples while also having healthy go-to snack ready for any occasion.
What Do Dehydrated Apples Taste Like?
Dehydrated apples can taste a little different depending on what kind of apple you choose to dehydrate. If you choose a relatively sweet apple like Gala, Pink Lady or Honey Crisp, they are going to taste quite sweet once dehydrated because the sugars concentrate in the dehydrating process. So, if you choose a more sour apple like the Granny Smith, then they will taste a little more sour than sweet because there is a lower sugar count. Overall they taste like apple (wow, shocking)?!!? I know 😉 But with a stronger sweetness/sourness.
How Do You Dehydrate Apple Slices?
My favorite way to dehydrate apples is using my dehydrate function on my Ninja Foodi. I don’t have a super large dehydrator that I can use to do mass batches of this stuff currently because really nice dehydrators are more on the pricey side. Maybe someday! But I find that it does a great job crisping up the slices, which is my favorite part!
Another way to dehydrate apples is by dehydrating them in the oven. This can be a little bit more tricky because most ovens don’t go below the standard low temp of 200oF. The ideal temp for dehydrating apples is in between the 140oF and 130oF. This temperature allows the moisture to leave the apples more slowly which keeps them from turning more than desirably brown. Ovens can also start to cook the apples, which isn’t the point. Dehydrating is removing the majority or even all the moisture from the fruit, not to bake it, which alters the taste. But with all of this being said, I have found a way to dehydrate apple in the oven even if the temp doesn’t go below 200oF.
The Best Way to Dehydrate Apple Slices In Oven
Again, I don’t think this is the best way to dehydrate apple slices, but I think its the absolute best way to dehydrate them in the oven. First I preheat the oven to the lowest temp of 200oF. Next I prep my apples by peeling them. Then I like to slice them quite thin, preferably with a mandolin because they achieve uniform slices. After that I place them on a baking rack over a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet. Once the oven is to temp, I place the sheet on the top-most rack for one hour. Once that hour is complete, I turn the apples over. (DO NOT leave kiddos unattended in dehydrating vicinity). Then take a wooden spoon and put it in between the oven door and where the oven seals, leaving a half inch gap around the rim of the oven. Leave apples in oven until they reach desired crispness (for me that’s an additional hour). That’s my secret trick to getting amazing oven dehydrated apples without all the brown over-baked fuss.
Dehydrated Apple Slices
Equipment
- 1 Vegetable Peeler
- 1 Apple Corer
- 1 Mandolin optional
- 1 Chefs Knife
- 1 Tupperware Container (for soaking apples in lemon juice)
- 1 Sheet of paper towel (or clean tea towel)
- 1 Dehydrator (or dehydrate in oven)
Ingredients
- 4 small Apples (Gala, Pink Lady or Honey Crisp) or use 2 large apples.
- 1 whole Lemon
Instructions
- First, wash, peel and core apples. (If dehydrating in oven, preheat oven to 200℉ at this time).
- Then use Mandolin (or chefs knife) to slice from top to bottom the entire apple whole.
- Once sliced, use knife to cut lemon in half and squeeze into Tupperware container. Then put apple slices in container with lemon juice and let sit for about 15 min.
- After the apples have sat, remove them from the container and dry them off with either the paper towel or tea towel.
- When the slices have all been dried, then add them to you dehydrator. Make sure none of the slices are overlapping or touching one another. This inhibits the dehydrating process. (See notes for further instruction on how to dehydrate apples in the oven).
- Now set the time and temp on your dehydrator to 12 hours and 135℉ and press start. Now wait for the apples to dehydrate.
- When the dehydrator has completed its process, remove apples and store them in an airtight container for up to 6 months.