This is how to dehydrate apples in dehydrator sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. They’re the best healthy snack my whole family loves, especially my kids! We share the longer old fashioned method here or try air fryer apple chips if you need one quick.
Have you wondered about food dehydrators, and whether you’d enjoy one? I did, but once we learned how to dehydrate apples we were hooked! Naturally sweet with just a pinch of cinnamon on top, these are now my family’s favorite fresh apple recipe. Special thanks goes out to Cosori for sponsoring this post. (affiliate links present, originally published 9/19)
How to Dehydrate Apples in Dehydrator
Let’s start with the basics shall we? This Cosori dehydrator is the model I have. In the past we had a really huge one but it didn’t fit on the counter so it was always stored away and never used. This one is way better in size and works just as well.
- it’s large enough for our family of 5
- comes with a recipe book
- fits comfortably on my countertop
- looks sleek
- We chose to dehydrate apples (and how to dehydrate bananas too) this time.
Jump to:
- How to Dehydrate Apples in Dehydrator
- How to Dehydrate Apples
- Chewy Dried Apples Dehydrator
- Dehydrated Apple Chips Recipe
- How to Make Dehydrated Apples
- Are dehydrated apples good for you?
- Does dehydrating apples remove nutrients?
- Which dried fruit has the least amount of sugar?
- How do you store dehydrated apples?
- Do dried apples need to be refrigerated?
How to Dehydrate Apples
I know, you want to try this too right?? The cook time will vary depending on your altitude, how thick your slices are and how crispy you want them to become. This is what you’ll need to get started:
- This Cosori dehydrator
- An apple corer
- Apple peeler
- Knife or mandoline
- Gallon baggie
- Fresh apples
- we used small granny smith
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- easier yet you can buy it already mixed together
Chewy Dried Apples Dehydrator
You can use any type you want, Fuji is my favorite. They are the sweetest apple and stay firm unlike yellow and/or red delicious. Green or Granny Smith are the firmest variety and good too. The shorter the timing the more chewy they will stay, just a tip.
Those are my favorite to make apple crisp because they’re the best apples to bake with in the oven or Instant Pot for sure.
- I’ve ended up using a knife and just slicing them thin because the mandoline I purchased was having issues. 😉
- That method is my preference but when all else fails, you use what you have at the time right? lol
It worked just as well which is good to know if you don’t have one yourself. Once you core and peel them they’ll start to turn brown quickly so it’s best to do it all in one swoop and not wait a long time in between steps.
Dehydrated Apple Chips Recipe
Of course you can use a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning but that isn’t necessary if you just get it all done right away.
- I suppose you could dredge your fruit in cinnamon and sugar in a bowl but I thought a baggie would be way easier. It was. I didn’t use anything on the fruit, just the moisture itself made the flavors stick.
Of course it is totally up to you whether you want to add that or not. If you just wanted a pinch you could alternatively lay your fruit in one layer on each try, hold it over the sink, and sprinkle it on top.
I say do this over the sink because it will eliminate a lot of the mess.
This is what the sliced apples looked like shaken in a gallon freezer bag. You want to make sure that they do not overlap on your dehydrator trays.
Just like when you use an electric air fryer and making apple chips with that, your food needs hot air to circulate in order to dehydrate apples.
How to Make Dehydrated Apples
This isn’t much different than making dried lemons, limes, oranges or any other type of dried fruits. Once you fall in love with these you will get the hang of it and try other things from there. 😉
- Peel the apples.
- Core the apples, discard peels and cores into garbage or compost bin.
- Put sliced apples on a paper towel or plate.
- In a gallon Ziplock bag put half your cinnamon and sugar mixture + half your sliced apples and gently shake.
- Once they’re coated lay on your food preservation trays like you see here, do not overlap them.
What temperature do you dehydrate apples?
- You set to 145 degrees for 6 hours to make dried apple rings in the oven.
- If you want really crispy apple chips it will take closer to 8 hours baked on a sheet pan.
Store in air tight baggies or put them in cute mason jars with a ribbon around the mouth as gifts! You can use this same machine to make Chicken Jerky too!
Are dehydrated apples good for you?
Yes you could dry apples in the oven but there is NO way I am leaving it on that long. Using a food dehydrator like this one by Cosori it keeps your kitchen cool while it dries your meat, fruits, and vegetables all day.
That’s right, you can dry just about anything in this beauty. Love beef jerky, make that another night.
We did one rack of dried bananas on this round and were so obsessed with them that we made an entire batch the next day. Now those are my kids (and my) favorite healthy snack.
- Yes!
- They are nutritious with no fat but plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber.
- Essentially they’re fruit with the water removed.
Does dehydrating apples remove nutrients?
There is a bit of vitamin loss because of the heat and air. Vitamins A and C are lost but not much. You lose less at a lower temperature for longer than if you used really hot air or fried them.
Which dried fruit has the least amount of sugar?
Going down the list of popular choices would be:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Lychees
- Apricots – oh so good
- Prunes
- Figs
- Cranberries that have been sweetened
How do you store dehydrated apples?
Then store and enjoy whenever you like. That is how to dehydrate apples my friends!
- They actually require very little storage space.
- Store them in sealed plastic bags like this one.
- Airtight jars can be used too.
Just pack fruit as tightly as possible, removing as much air as you can so they stay fresh longer.
Do dried apples need to be refrigerated?
You can actually keep them at room temperature, no need for refrigeration which is great. They will last 6-12 months like this too!
If you love these, try our easy baked apples and inside out caramel apples too.
How to Dehydrate Apples
Equipment
- 1 apple corer
- 1 peeler
- 1 knife
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 12 small apples, peeled, cored, sliced thin
- 1/4 c cinnamon
- 3/4 c sugar
Instructions
- Core apples, then peel the skins. Use a mandolin to slice thin (the thickness is up to you, the thinner they are the crispier they will be and less time it will take).
- Mix your cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Add half into a gallon baggie with half of your sliced apples and shake until fruit is coated well.
- Separate apples and lay flat in one layer on stainless steel rack. When that is full slide it into your dehydrator.
- Use another rack to lay out rest of fruit.
- Then add the remaining cinnamon and sugar mix into your baggie with remaining sliced apples and shake again.
- Lay remaining apple slices on trays until they're full. Close door and set dehydrator to 145 degrees for 6 hours.
- Timing will vary slightly depending on how crisp or chewy you like your apples, and how thin you sliced them. Check at 5 hours and see what your thoughts are, keep in for longer to crisp up more.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Super excited to give this a try. Thanks for all the tips!
Super easy and they’re a family fave.
Can you please remove me from your posts. I do not have an instapot.
Ok, this post isn’t about Instant Pot anything. If you’d like to stop getting newsletters just hit the button at the bottom of one to unsubscribe.
For $99 when on sale, it’ll be the best money you ever spent. Once you familiarize yourself with it, you’ll wonder how you lived without one. Trust me, I was apprehensive about the machine. The flavours infused in anything you cook are incredible. The meat is moist and tender. I out of all the buttons on the machine, all you use most of the time are sauté, cancel, pressure cook, time and your good to go. How simple is that?