Making Dehydrated Apple Chips: A Step-by-Step Guide

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semi dehydrated apples

Dehydrating Apple Chips

Do you have a lot of fresh apples and want to enjoy them year long?  Take those delicious apples and make apple chips.  Dehydrating apples does take a long time (and patience) but they are worth it.

Apple chips can be enjoyed as a snack or you can bake with them using your favorite apple recipes. For a savory mix, you can also dehydrate onions, bananas, cranberries and more.

peeled and cored apples

What Are The Best Apples To Make Apple Rings?

Use your favorite eating apples to make apple rings.  Fuji, Gala, Jonagold, Apple Crisp are just a few apples.  The rings can easily be made into pies, muffins, cake, breakfast dishes or ate straight out of the bag for a snack. Love dehydrating things, try drying cherries too.

lemon juice and water in large bowl

How Do You Prepare The Apples?

Add a generous amount of lemon juice to a bowl of water. To prevent browning, immerse the peeled and cored apples in the lemon water. Then, slice the apples on one edge to separate the spiral cut and position them onto the tray for dehydration.

Why Use Lemon Juice?

Lemon juice prevents fruit from browning as apples tend to quickly turn brown once cut. Lemon juice slows down this process significantly, and citric acid can also be used as a substitute for lemon juice

dehydrator tray with fresh apples cut into rings

How Many Apple Slices Fit On A Tray?

Overlap the apples on the tray by a half inch to get as many as you can on a tray.  Why a half inch?  Because they will shrink about that much in size.

dehydrated apple slices in dehydrator

How Long Does It Take To Dehydrate Apples?

Dehydrating apples at 135°F can take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, sometimes even longer, to remove moisture. It’s essential to periodically check them for moisture content. If you desire a crisp and brittle texture, you’ll need to extend the cooking time. In our case, the apples turned out firm, dry, and slightly bendy. When consuming them, they should have a chewy consistency. Be cautious not to bag apples that haven’t dried sufficiently, as they may develop mold inside the bags.

Can You Dehydrate Apple In The Oven?

You can place apples in the oven to dehydrate. You will need to keep an eye on them, to prevent them from cooking. They have to be at a low temperature (135-145F) and some ovens do not go this low.

trays of dried apple chips

How Many Sliced Apples Fit In A Dehydrator?

Our Excalibur dehydrator has 9 trays and fits about 4 pounds of sliced apples in it at one time to dehydrate. You can possibly fit more in if you overlap them about 1/2 inch on all sides. As the apple slices dehydrated, they will shrink and no longer touch.

How Do You Store Dried Apples?

You can store dried apple chips by placing them in airtight bags and consuming them at your convenience. For extended preservation, opt for vacuum-sealing the bags to ensure the apple slices remain fresh until you’re ready to enjoy them or use them in baking.

bags of dried apple slices

What Other Ways Can You Dehydrate Apples?

Enhance the flavor of your apple chips with spices such as cinnamon. For a sweeter twist, consider adding a touch of cinnamon and sugar. Alternatively, you can experiment with a hint of nutmeg and allspice for a unique flavor profile.

What Can You Do With Apple Slices?

Dried apple chips have a variety of uses. They can enhance granola, oatmeal, trail mix, energy bars, and baking recipes, as well as add a delightful touch to stuffing and potpourri. If you rehydrate them, you can savor their deliciousness in pies, muffins, cakes, and tarts.

sealed dehydrated apple chips

Shelf Life Of Dehydrated Apples

According to the University of George, Cooperative Extension Office, the shelf life can be 1 year at 60F or 60 months stored at 80F. Fruit should be stored in a cool dark location.

semi dehydrated apples
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Step By Step Dehydrated Apple Chips

PIN THIS NOW! Make your own dehydrated apple chips for snacking, baking into your favorite desserts and dishes year round.
Course: Dehydrating
Cuisine: American
Author: Regina Sober

Ingredients

  • washed apples
  • cinnamon (optional)
  • bowl of lemon juice & water

Instructions

  • Take your washed apples and place them on the apple slicer to peel and core.
  • Place 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice into large bowl of water.
  • Place the sliced apples into the water.
  • Remove the apple (the apple is possibly still spiraled together).
  • With a knife, cut through 1 edge of the apples to separate them.
  • Place the apples on a dehydrator tray, overlapping by 1/2" (they will shrink). This allows you to get as many apples as you can per tray.
  • Place the filled trays into the dehydrator.
  • Set the temperature to 135F and close the dehydrator.
  • Allow the dehydrator to process the apples (8-12 hours) until they are dried out.
  • Apples should not be crips, but slightly chewy.
  • Turn off the dehydrator once they are done and allow to cool.
  • Store the apple chips in bags or for longer storage, place in vacuum sealed bags.
  • Apple slices should be stored in a cool dark location for best storage.
  • Enjoy as a snack or rehydrate and use in your favorite apple recipes.
PIN THIS! Make your own dehydrated apple chips for snacking, baking into your favorite desserts and dishes year round.

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