How to Make Dried Apples at Home for Snacking and Food Preservation

Making dehydrated apples while fresh apples are season means you can enjoy your favorite fruit all year long. Pack some of these easy  dried apples in your lunch or take them on the trail for a wholesome snack.

My other favorite way to preserve the flavor of apples is with this homemade applesauce for canning.

Preserving Apples with Dehydration

There are a number of ways to dehydrate fresh fruit, but the end result is generally the same. Homemade dried apple slices are chewy and delicious.

The crispy dried apple chips (also delicious!) you can pick up at the supermarket are actually freeze dried; you won’t be able to replicate that without a specialized piece of equipment.

Ingredients

Apples —The type of apple you use will depend upon what’s available to you. My favorite apple is the Gravenstein, but any variety of apple will work. Just choose apples that are firm and ripe. Peeling the apples is optional. The apple peel can tend to be a bit stiffer than the flesh when dehydrated, but many people simply skip peeling to save time.

Lemon juice — Sliced apples will oxidize and turn brown. This is somewhat dependent on the sugar content of the fruit. If you’re concerned about this, toss the sliced apples in a bit of lemon juice to help prevent browning, but this is a purely optional ingredient.

Preparing the Apples for Dehydration

Slice the apples into a uniform thickness using a sharp knife. I aim for an eighth of an inch thick or so. This means that the resulting dehydrated apple slices will be more likely to be ready at the same time.

Peeling and coring the apples before you slice them allows you to make dried apple rings if you’re into aesthetics, but that’s an extra unnecessary step. I like to take the easy route and slice them randomly, much as I do for apple pie or this French apple cake. 

Making Dehydrated Apples – 3 Methods

Not every household is equipped with the same tools. That’s why it’s nice to know there are three different ways you can make these dried apple slices. 

Making Dried Apples in a Food Dehydrator

A food dehydrator is a specialized appliance specifically made for drying fruits, veggies, and meat. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all include a number of trays that allow warm air to freely circulate.

This is my preferred method of drying fruit. My 9-tray Excalibur dehydrator holds the largest amount of fruit out of all three of the methods listed here, making the most of the energy used to dry them.

Place apple slices in a single layer on the dehydrator trays and dry at 135ºF for 4-6 hours.

Oven Dried Apples

Drying apples in the oven utilizes equipment most people already have on hand. It’s not the most energy-efficient method, but it does the trick in a pinch.

Set the oven to a low temperature. 135ºF is the ideal, but not all ovens offer that precise low heat. If you have an oven with a bread proofing setting you can try that. Older ovens that only go as low as 200ºF can be used, but you’ll need to prop the oven door open. 

Place sliced apples on a wire rack on baking sheets. This allows the air to flow around the slices. Alternatively, you can line each sheet with parchment paper. 

Dehydrating Apples in an Air Fryer

We can’t really grow a great crop of apples here, but that’s what the area I grew up in is famous for. Visiting my mom during apple season means I get to indulge in fresh apples, but I wanted to bring some home to share with my family. She doesn’t own a dehydrator, but she does have an air fryer. Sometimes you’ve gotta use what’s available to you.

The air fryer doesn’t hold as much as my large dehydrator, so it wouldn’t be a great solution if you needed to dry a lot of fruit at once. Use it if you have one, certainly, but my money’s still on a dehydrator for best use of energy and time.

Dry for 6-8 hours at 135ºF.

Storing Dried Apple Slices

It’s critical that you remove enough moisture from the apples. If they’re not thoroughly dehydrated, they’ll mold in storage. The apples should feel leathery and pliable when done. If any feel soft and fleshy, return them to the dehydrator and continue drying them.

Conditioning Dried Fruit

Due to inconsistent thickness, some pieces of fruit may retain a bit more moisture than others. As a result, moisture levels can vary within a single slice of fruit. Conditioning the dried fruit will help redistribute the moisture evenly.

Cool fruit thoroughly and place loosely packed pieces in a large jar. Seal the jar and let stand for a week, shaking it daily to break up the fruit. The excess moisture in some pieces will be reabsorbed by drier pieces. If any condensation appears on the inside of the jar itself, there’s still too much moisture in the fruit. Return it to the dehydrator to remove more moisture.

Store dried apples in an airtight container, such as a mason jar, after conditioning.

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