Easy Dried Strawberries Pack a Flavorful Punch

At their peak of ripeness, fresh strawberries are quite possibly the perfect fruit. Trouble is, their peak is short-lived. Dehydrated strawberries capture the sweet and wonderful flavor so you can enjoy them for months (and months). Add dried strawberries to your favorite trail mix or a bowl of granola.

Be sure to give this strawberry compote recipe a try, too!

If you’ve grown strawberries or have access to farm fresh berries, you know that they can go from “still too green” to overripe in the blink of an eye. When you hit it just right, though? Fresh fruit nirvana. Strawberry salsa, strawberry cobbler, strawberry milkshakes, strawberry jam. 

Dehydrating Strawberries

When there are more perfectly ripe strawberries than you can devour fresh, dehydrating them is a great solution. (You should also try your hand at making strawberry mead!) With dried strawberries, there’s no need for added sugar, making for healthy snacks that are great for popping into the lunch box or taking on a hike.

Some people like to make fruit leather out of summer ripe fruit, but if I’m honest? I’m too lazy for that. I find simple dried fruit slices to be much easier — it requires just slicing and drying, skipping the pureeing and rolling steps.

Ingredients

Strawberries — These soft fruits are listed on the on the Dirty Dozen list put out by the Environmental Working Group, so you might want to opt for the organic berries. Opt for firm, ripe strawberries that are full of flavor. 

Dried Strawberries in a 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.

I’ve had an Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator for years. We use it frequently for dehydrating bananas and apples and making beef jerky (check my book for that recipe). That said, you don’t need a dehydrator to dry strawberries. There are a couple of other ways to save that flavor.

Oven Dried Strawberries

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

Drying fruit requires low heat. On newer ovens, the “bread proofing” setting is probably the best way to dry fruit.

Place sliced strawberries 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. 

Drying Strawberries in an Air Fryer

While I was visiting mom, I picked up some absolutely perfect strawberries at the farmers market. I ate lots fresh, but I also used her air fryer to preserve some to bring home. The air fryer worked much like my dehydrator, resulting in tasty dried berries.

One down side: The air fryer doesn’t hold as much as my large dehydrator. 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 the dehydrator for best use of energy and time.

Preparing Strawberries for Dehydrating

No matter which method you opt to use, preparing the berries will be the same. Wash the berries and remove the little green stems. 

Slice strawberries to about 1/8 inch thick slices using a sharp knife. I find that cutting most large berries into four equal pieces is a good plan. 

Spread the sliced berries out on the tray of a dehydrator or air dryer, or a wire rack in the case of oven drying. Put them close together but not touching. 

Process as suggested below, noting that the time called for will vary substantially based on the method you use. 

Strawberries are done when you are able to pull them from the dehydrator sheet in one piece that feels leathery and pliable. 

Storing Dried Strawberries

Place dried berries in a jar that allows for plenty of extra space. Over the next couple of days, shake the berries in the jar. This conditions the 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.

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.

After several days of shaking, store berries in an airtight container for up to six months.

 

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