My favorite fruits are in season right now, which means it’s time to make some homemade fruit leather for backpacking!
It’s such a tasty snack – it’s like a healthier version of a fruit roll-up!
I recently bought a new dehydrator, and I’m absolutely loving it! (I’ll give some tips on buying a dehydrator below.) Even if you don’t have a dehydrator, you can make fruit leather in the oven by setting your oven to low heat (more on that below!)
Choosing a Dehydrator
I love my new dehydrator. I recently bought this Gourmia Dehydrator.
It’s a pretty affordable dehydrator at just $90 on Amazon. I really like that it has a clear door so I can keep an eye on the dehydrating process. It’s also surprisingly quiet! My old dehydrator had an incredibly noisy fan. In fact, it was so loud, we’d dehydrate the food on the porch!
If you haven’t invested in a dehydrator yet and love making your own backpacking foods, I highly recommend getting one! It’s been worth every penny.
Fruit Leather Recipe
Fruit leather is surprisingly easy!
All you need to do is blend your fruit, spread it on a tray over parchment paper, and dehydrate it at 150 degrees for 5-6 hours. Time can vary slightly based on the thickness of your leather.
The most important part is to try to spread the fruit blend as evenly as possible on the parchment paper, so the fruit leather dehydrates evenly. I shake the tray and tap it on the counter a few times to try and even out the blended fruit.
In the recipe below, I’ve listed some of my favorite variations of fruit leathers. I like to always use at least one naturally very sweet fruit, like mango or peach. For more tart fruits, I recommend adding additional sugar.
Fruit leather is also a great way to use up some overripe fruit! Fruit that’s a bit too ripe dehydrates fine and is extra sweet.
Homemade Fruit Leather
Ingredients
Blueberry Peach Fruit Leather
- 1 cup sliced peaches
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tbsp sugar
Strawberry Mango Fruit Leather
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1 cup mango fresh or frozen
- 1 tbsp sugar
Peach Fruit Leather
- 2 cups sliced peaches
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- (Optional Step) If you're using frozen fruit, thaw the fruit first. You can heat on the stovetop to thaw quickly.
- Blend fruit in a blender until smooth. Mix in chia seeds.
- Cover dehydrator tray with parchment paper. Spread blended fruit mixture evenly, about 1/8″ thick.
- Set dehydrator to 150 degrees. Dehydrate for 5-6 hours, or until the leather is no longer sticky.
How to Make Fruit Leather in the Oven
Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Bake the leather for 6-8 hours in the oven.
Once it’s no longer sticky, remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. You can cut your fruit leather into strips (I use my kitchen scissors for this) or store the entire sheet of leather!
Lastly, be sure to store the fruit leather in an air-tight container or ziplock bag to bring on your next hike!
Do you have any variations of your favorite type of fruit leather? Let me know in the comments!
An you make fruit leather from the juice of berries that are past their prime in the freezer?
I haven’t tried to make the leathers from older berries. They might take a bit longer to dehydrate, but otherwise I suspect they’ll turn out fine! Let me know how it goes 🙂
thank you!
Can you use honey instead of sugar?
Yes! I’ve made a batch with honey too. It worked and tasted great! I recall it taking longer to dehydrate, but it eventually got to that “leather” consistency. I’d need to experiment with honey again… I’d love to hear how it works for you!
How long will the fruit leather last? (How far in advance of a hike can I make them?)