Making Dried Bananas in the Dehydrator
Easily Make Dried Bananas
Ever buy to many bananas or find a good sale and the turn faster than you were expecting? You can make your own dried banana at home (with or without a dehydrator) and make your own snack food. These bananas are simple and easy to make and only require one ingredient. And patience.
What Do You Need To Dehydrate Bananas?
- fresh bananas (ripe)
- cutting board
- knife
- dehydrator (or oven)
- baking sheets (from dehydrator or cookie sheets)
Are These Banana Chips?
Not really. Banana chips are fried in oils, like coconut oil. Dehydrated bananas are made only with banana slices. They can be dipped in lemon juice to prevent darkening (personal preference) or cinnamon for added flavor.
Are These A Healthy Snack?
These are all natural. There are no added sugar in these bananas. It is simply fresh bananas in this recipe. If you like these, be sure to try our apple chips we dehydrated.
Do I Use Ripe Bananas?
For the best results, the banana’s should be ripe. The peels should still be yellow with a few spots. The banana itself should still have it’s shape and slightly firm. If it’s soft and soggy, do not use it for dehydrating bananas, it’s time for banana bread.
What Temperature Do I Set the Dehydrator?
Set the dehydrator between 135F and 165F. It will take 10+ hours to dehydrate the slices.
If you are using your oven, if you can set it at 165F or lower, you can dehydrate the bananas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Keep an eye on them at the end to make sure they do not over dehydrate.
How Can I Tell if The Bananas Have Dehydrated?
When pulling the dried banana, it should be like a fruit roll up. It should bend, and not be moist. The texture should be chewy and pliable.
How Do I Store The Bananas?
The bananas may be slightly sticky. Store them in a airtight container. If you have a food saver, you can use this to remove the air from the bags (date the bags before filling) and this should prevent them from spoiling. Place in cool dry place or in the freezer.
You can also dip the dehydrated slices in chocolate, use as decoration or even chop into pieces and use in your banana bread or ice cream recipes.
How Do I Rehydrate the Slices?
Use a 3 to 1 ratio of water to banana chips. Allow them to simmer in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes, flip as needed to absorb water. Once softened you can use them for baking, smoothies and in your yogurt, cereal or eating straight out of the bag as a snack.
Be warned, dehydrating food can be addictive. You’ll be dehydrating onions, apples, and other fruits and veggies. You can also use them to make banana extract.
Mastering Dehydrated Banana Slices
Ingredients
- ripe bananas yellow, some brown spots
Instructions
- Peel the bananas and place into cutting board.
- With your knife, cut into small 1/4" slices.
- Place the bananas onto the dehydrator tray, leaving distance between.
- OVEN: If you are using your oven, place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat Oven 165℉
- Place filled trays into dehydrator and set temperature to 135℉. Allow to dehydrate for 10 hours and check to see if they are done. They may be sticky, but should not be wet.
- Process longer if needed.
- Peel from tray and place in a thin layer in a storage bag. Date and seal bag. Eat immediately.
- To have them last long, you can place in the freezer. You can also use a Food saver, to remove air from the bags. Be sure to date the bags before putting the dried bananas in the bags.
- Do not put several layers in the food saver bag as they can become a stuck to each other.
Notes
