How to Dehydrate Apples and Make Apple Chips

Easy tutorial for making dried apples in the oven, dehydrator, and air fryer! They’re a fun, healthy snack that’s crispy, slightly sweet, and impossible to resist!

One of the best ways to save money on groceries is to stock up when there’s a sale. This is easy to do when it’s pantry items like beans or pasta or canned tomatoes. And it’s easy to do when it’s frozen items, like frozen green beans or frozen strawberries, or marked-down meat you can put in the freezer.

But how can you stock up on produce when it’s on sale? I can only make so many loaves of Chocolate Zucchini Bread, and there’s not enough room in my freezer for pounds and pounds of brown bananas for Banana Ice Cream.

That’s when I thought of one of my favorite snacks – dried apples!

Easy Dried Apples (Apple Chips)

Dried apple slices – also known as dehydrated apples or apple chips – are apples that have been sliced, and dehydrated in either a dehydrator or oven to remove all the moisture.

The result is dried apples – crispy, slightly sweet, and can be stored in your pantry… which means you can make as much as you want!

Those small bags of cinnamon apple chips and caramel apple chips were actually one of my favorite snacks as a kid. They were crunchy and practically tasted like candy!

Now that I know how to make them myself, I can take advantage of sales and markdowns and make a delicious, healthy snack for my kids for a fraction of the cost!

Ingredients for Dehydrating Apples

You only need one ingredient for dried apples: apples!

You can sprinkle with cinnamon if you’d like, and you can do a quick soak in lemon juice and water to prevent browning while they dehydrate, but both are optional.

I prefer to do the quick soak AND sprinkle with cinnamon because they turn out the best that way and taste amazing!

What are the best apples to make apple rings?

You want a variety of apples that are naturally crispy. From there, you can choose if you want the apple to be tart or sweet. In either case, you want to avoid apple varieties that are mealy and soft, like Red Delicious or Gala. Good apples to make apple chips are:

• Honeycrisp
• Jonathon or Jonagold
• Granny Smith
• Pink Lady
• Fuji apples
• Golden Delicious

Can I make other flavors when drying apples?

Yes! Cinnamon is my favorite because it reminds me of apple pie and makes the kitchen smell amazing, but here are a few other spices that go well with apples:

• Cinnamon + Ginger
• Pumpkin Pie Spice
• Chai Spices
• Cut the ground cinnamon in half and add brown sugar for “caramel apple” chips

How to Dehydrate Apples In the Oven

I’m sharing the steps to dry apples using the oven, since that is what most everyone has available. Keep reading if you want to know how to dehydrate apples in a dehydrator or an air fryer.

Step 1: Peel the apples with an apple peeler (if desired) and slice them into slices about ¼” thick. The thickness is critical because if the apples are too thin, they’ll dehydrate into nothing and be difficult to remove from the dehydrator trays. If they’re too thick, they’ll take a very long time to dehydrate.

I recommend using a ruler for the first slice or two, until you know they’re the right thickness, and then using that slice as the guide.

Step 2: (optional) Mix together lemon juice and water in a large bowl and let the apples soak for 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 3: Strain the apples and wipe out the bowl. Place the apples back into the bowl and toss with the cinnamon.

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 200F. Line a baking sheet (or multiple large baking sheets) with parchment paper and place the apple slices in a single layer, without overcrowding them.

Step 5: Bake the slices for 1 hour to 1 ½ hours. At the halfway mark, check the apples to ensure they’re cooking evenly, and rotate the baking sheet if necessary. Also, flip the apples over at this point.

Step 6: Continue to bake the apples until they are crispy and all the moisture has evaporated. Store them in an airtight container in the pantry.

Dehydrate Apples in Dehydrator

Dehydrators have a reputation for being expensive – and some brands are – but I’ve had this very affordable dehydrator for 8+ years now and it’s still going strong!

You can often find gently used, or even new dehydrators, at yard sales or online marketplaces for very cheap. I highly recommend buying a dehydrator second-hand if you can, but always plug it in and make sure it works before you purchase!

Drying apples in a dehydrator is very similar to using an oven and will give you dried apples that can be stored infinitely in the pantry.

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 as outlined in the OVEN method above.
2. Place the apples on a single layer on the dehydrator trays. Set the temperature to low, or 145F, and let the apples dry for 6-8 hours. Depending on your dehydrator and climate, you may need more or less time and may need to rotate the trays.
3. When the apples are crispy and all the moisture has evaporated, remove the apples and store them in an airtight container in the pantry.

Tip: If you’re new to using your dehydrator, start the process one morning when you plan to be home for the day. Set a kitchen timer and check the apples every hour to ensure they’re drying evenly. This will allow you to catch any hot patches in your machine, and also narrow down the time frame for drying apples in YOUR dehydrator.

Dehydrating Apples in Air Fryer

When using an air fryer, you’re technically making dried apple chips, and not actually dehydrating. Because of this, they have a shorter shelf life. Still, they’re a fun snack to make!

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 as outlined in the OVEN method above. Preheat the air fryer to 300F.
2. Place the apple slices in the fryer rack in a single layer, without overcrowding them.
3. Air fry for 13-17 minutes, gently tossing the apples every 5 minutes.
4. When the cooking time is over, remove the apples and let them cool. They’ll continue to crisp as they cool.
5. Store in an airtight container or in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Tip: Depending on the size of your air fryer, you can do multiple batches.

Dried Apple vs. Freeze Dried Apples

It’s important to note that dried apples from a dehydrator are not the same as freeze-dried apples. Freeze-drying requires a special machine that’s pretty expensive. Here’s a great article on freeze-drying if you want to learn more about the process.

Storing Dried Apple Slices

Dried apple slices can be stored in an airtight container, like a re-purposed glass jar or glass storage container, or a reusable storage bag. If you want the dried apple slices to retain their shape, you’ll want to use a hard-surface storage container. Using plastic storage bags can lead to apple chips breaking.

Once in their container, store apple chips at room temperature.

How to Get Consistent Size Slices

As I mentioned before, the size of your apple slices matters because it affects the dry time and the end result. If the slices are too thin, they’ll dehydrate into nothing and create a huge sticky mess to clean up. If the apple slices are too thick, they’ll take a very, very long time to dehydrate.

Skilled home chefs can use a knife to create a consistent size apple slice, but the more novice may enjoy the convenience of a mandolin slicer. They’re easy to use, easy to clean, and give you the perfect size apple slice every time.

Plus with a mandoline, you can make apple rounds with the core, apple rings (without the core), or slices. If you want apple rings, you’ll need an apple corer as well.

FAQs About this Dried Apple Recipe

More Apple Recipes

• Applesauce Muffins
• Cheesecake Baked Apples
• Homemade Applesauce
• Apple Crumble Ice Cream