Dehydrated Apples

Make dehydrated apples for a crispy, crunchy, sweet snack! Try this dried apples recipe in the oven, dehydrator, or air fryer for a snack that’s 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 comes to pantry items like beans, 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 – dehydrated apples!

EASY DEHYDRATED 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 – a crispy, slightly sweet snack that can be stored in your pantry … which means you can make as much as you want!

• Fun snack. 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!
• Portable. A bag of apple crisps is a great snack for on-the-go!
• Simple ingredients. For the simplest version of the dehydrated apples recipe, you only need 1 ingredient!
• Frugal. 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!
• Great for a variety of dietary preferences. Since they are naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and have no added sugar, you can snack on them all day long!
• 3 cooking methods. Whether you use a countertop appliance or bake them low and slow in the oven, you have options for how to dry apples.

INGREDIENTS FOR DEHYDRATING APPLES

You only need one ingredient to start dehydrating apples: apples!

However, there are two optional ingredients if you’d like:

• Cinnamon. You can sprinkle with cinnamon for a warm, spiced flavor.
• Lemon Juice. A quick soak in lemon juice and water helps prevent browning while dehydrating apples.

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

BEST APPLES FOR DRIED APPLES

You want a variety of fresh apples that are naturally firm and crisp. From there, you can choose if you want tart apples or sweet.

In either case, you want to avoid apple varieties that are mealy and soft, like Red Delicious, Macintosh, or Gala. Good apples to make apple chips are:

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

If you like eating the apple fresh, you’ll enjoy the flavor dried!

DEHYDRATING APPLES IN THE OVEN

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

Step 1: Peel off the apple skins with an apple peeler (if desired) and slice them into slices about ¼” thick. Remove the seeds.

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. You can also use a mandolin.

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. Bake in small batches if you are limited on pan space.

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. Repeat with next batch if necessary.

Store dehydrated apples in an airtight container in the pantry.

HOW TO DRY 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)!

Making dried apple slices in a dehydrator is very similar to using an oven and will give you dried apples that can be stored long-term in the pantry.

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 as outlined in the OVEN method above.
2. Place the apples in 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 timeframe for drying apples in YOUR dehydrator.

HOW TO DRY AN APPLE IN THE AIR FRYER

You can also use an air fryer to make dehydrated apple slices. The air fryer doesn’t remove quite as much moisture as the oven and dehydrator methods, so the dried apples won’t last as long.

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 as outlined in the OVEN method above. Preheat the air fryer to 300F.
2. Place the apple slices on 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 may need to do multiple batches.

DEHYDRATED APPLES RECIPE FLAVOR VARIATIONS

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. Use 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of ginger.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice. Use 2-3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon.
• Apple Pie Spice. Use 2-3 teaspoons of apple pie spice instead of cinnamon.
• Chai Spices. Use 2-3 teaspoons of chai spice.
• Caramel Apple. Use 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon and add 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar for “caramel” apple chips.

DRIED APPLES HOW TO STORE

Dried apple slices can be stored in an airtight container, like a repurposed 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.

ENJOYING DEHYDRATED APPLES AS A SNACK

Dehydrated apple chips are a yummy snack, but it’s easy to go overboard when enjoying them.

Since the dehydrating process removes the water from the apples, the resulting apple chips are much more concentrated in sugar and calories, and they don’t fill you up as much as a fresh apple would.

With that in mind, they’re still a great option to enjoy mindfully.

• Measure out a portion before eating dehydrated apples so you can track them accurately.
• Add protein. Dried apples get their calories mostly from carbohydrates, so pair them with protein to keep your blood sugar stable. High Protein Trail Mix or yogurt would work well.
• Watch for added sugar. Since you’re following this dried apples how to guide, you control the added sweetener. If you eat packaged apple chips, check the labels.

If straight up dried apples is a challenge to eat mindfully, try adding them in small portions to granola, oatmeal, or yogurt parfaits!

DEHYDRATED APPLES FAQS

MORE YUMMY APPLE RECIPES

• Cheesecake Baked Apples
• Homemade Applesauce
• Apple Crumble Ice Cream
• Homemade Apple Butter
• 28 Delicious Easy Apple Recipes