|

How to Make Fruit Leather in a Dehydrator

This post may contain affiliate links. View our disclosure.

How to Make Fruit Leather in a Dehydrator

My kids are back in school, which means I’m back to packing lunches. To prevent lunch box boredom (for me and them), I like to tuck fun things in their boxes from time to time. This week it was homemade fruit leather. If you’ve never made any before, it couldn’t be easier. Here’s a video of the process.

And here are the directions all written out for you. Be sure to print a copy of the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

How to Make Fruit Leather in a Dehydrator

Total Time:

6 hours 15 minutes

What You’ll Need:

A dehydrator (I have a Nesco Snackmaster, but any dehydrator will work)
Fruit roll sheets
Parchment Paper
Fruit

Fruit Roll Screen

This is what a fruit roll sheet looks like. It sits on top of the regular tray, and seals off all of the holes, so you can dry things that are more liquidy.

What You Do:

Puree the Fruit

Puree your fruit. This can be fresh fruit or canned fruit. Two cups of puree should be enough to cover one fruit roll screen. In this example, I used a can of cherries combined with a bit of applesauce. If you’d like to sweeten your puree with sugar or honey, this is the time to do it.

Pour the Pureed Fruit onto the Fruit Leather Screen

Pour your puree onto the screen. Add more, if you need it.

Smooth Out the Fruit Puree

Then, smooth the puree out with a rubber spatula. You want it to be 1/8-inch thick everywhere.

Trays of Cherry Fruit Leather

Turn on your dehydrator, and let it run for at least six hours. Your fruit leather is done when it feels completely dry to the touch.

Peel the Fruit Leather Off the Screen

Allow your fruit leather to cool. Then, carefully pull it off of the screen …

Place Fruit Leather on Parchment

and place it on a piece of parchment paper.

Cut the Fruit Leather into Strips

Then, cut the fruit leather (and parchment paper backing) into strips.

How to Make Fruit Leather in the Dehydrator

Roll the strips with the parchment paper facing out, and secure each bundle with a piece of tape.

Fruit Leather Rolls

Store your finished fruit leather in an air-tight container, and drop a couple into your kids’ lunchboxes each day until they’re gone.Want to learn how to make fruit leather without a dehydrator?

Click here to learn how to make fruit leather in the oven.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Homemade Fruit Leather

How to Make Fruit Leather in a Dehydrator

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Use your dehydrator to make homemade fruit leather from fresh or canned fruit. Less than 15 minutes of hands on time required.

  • Total Time: 6 hours 2 minutes
  • Yield: Varies

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups pureed fruit – fresh or canned

Instructions

Pour your fruit puree onto a fruit leather sheet, and smooth it out with a rubber spatula.

Turn on your dehydrator, and let it run for at least six hours. Your fruit leather is done when it feels completely dry to the touch.

Allow your fruit leather to cool. Then, carefully pull it off of the screen; cut it into strips, and enjoy!

Notes

Store in an air-tight container to maximize the shelf life.

Similar Posts

16 Comments

  1. Will parchment paper work in the dehydrator, if we don’t have the special trays with no holes? My husband has a dehydrator for making beef jerky, but I’ve never used it myself

      1. parchment works great! I just started making fruit leather again and pour the puree directly on the parchment lined trays to dry. Once done, roll up the parchment and store. the fruit leather peels right off. My grown-up grandson asked me today if he returned the paper, would I use it again to make him more 🙂 Looks like I’m going to be very busy this fruit season.

    1. Hi Kerry,

      I ordered them off of Amazon. If you click through the “fruit roll sheets” link under the “What You’ll Need” section, it’ll take you right two them. They don’t cost much.

  2. Am I missing something…looking all over your site for a ‘what you’ll need’ section, to figure out which dehydrator and trays to buy, and I’m not seeing it!? Help please!

    1. Hi Krystal,

      Scroll past the video, and you should see the “What You’ll Need” section. It includes info on the dehydrator that I use, plus links to everything. Hope that helps.

  3. I have made fruit leather just sitting it out in the sun. 3 days, bring it in at night to avoid pesky night critters and of course screen it during the day. Works best on parchment paper, any cookie sheet works splendidly. Absolutely no sticking problem

  4. I can a lot of jam. One batch didn’t setup as thick as I like it. Found your recipe for fruit leather in a dehydrator. I am dehydrating blue razz (blueberry raspberry jam) , applesauce and pear sauce. Cross my fingers. If this works, I will experiment with a jar of my peach jalapeño jelly. The wheels are turning in my brain. Thank you

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star