Dehydrated Strawberry Chips
Dehydrated strawberry chips are a simple snack with the concentrated, candy-like sweetness of strawberries. They’re easy to make with a dehydrator or your oven, and all you really need are strawberries.
Pack them in lunchboxes or take them to the office for the mid-afternoon munchies. They’re proof that not everything in life is immoral, illegal, or fattening!
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About dehydrating
Drying or dehydrating food is a way to remove moisture through natural or artificial methods to preserve it. You can dry food using the sun or air or mechanically with your oven or dehydrator. Drying at lower temperatures takes longer, but it preserves the flavor, color, and nutrients in the food.
Dehydrating strawberries preserves the burst of summer strawberry flavor when you have too many strawberries and aren’t in the mood for more strawberry jam. Though I might convince you to make jam so you can make these homemade strawberry heart pop tarts.
Are you into dehydrating and preserving foods? Check out other dried fruit from the Ugly Duckling Bakery archives including these dehydrated apples, dried cherry tomatoes, and dried citrus for cocktails.
Recipe tips and tricks
How to hull a strawberry
I only recently discovered how easy it is to hull a strawberry without losing any of the flesh!
Hold the washed strawberry in your non-dominant hand. That’s the left hand for most people (Panel #1, below). With your right hand, pinch the leaves and stem together and pull and twist them off (Panel #2).
Insert the tip of a paring knife into the strawberry (#3). Rotate the strawberry so you are always cutting away from your left hand, and cut a small, cone shaped segment out of the strawberry (#4).
Step by step
Slice the strawberries into quarter inch thick slices. It doesn’t matter if you slice them length-wise or cross-wise, use a mandoline or use a knife. Just try to slice them evenly.
Dip them into the lemon juice solution if you like. Lemon juice is primarily used in dehydrating to prevent browning, but there are some who say that it has antimicrobial properties.
Lay the strawberry slices on a rack or on baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone mats. They can be touching but do not overlap the slices.
Stackable racks are great for making oven-dried strawberries and other fruits or for cooking bacon. Mmmm bacon.
Dry your strawberry chips in your oven on the dehydrating setting at 175 degrees Fahrenheit or the lowest setting possible if your oven doesn’t have a dehydrating function. Dry your strawberries for about 4 hours or until they’re as dry as you like. Turn them over about halfway through, especially if you are drying on baking sheets.
Let cool and then store in an air-free container at cool room temperature.
What to do with dried strawberry chips
- Eat them plain.
- Add them to homemade granola or trail mix.
- Grind super-dry dried strawberries into powder for meringues or macarons or strawberry milk.
- Add dehydrated strawberry chips to salads like fruit salads or this rainbow salad bowl.
Recipe FAQs
Strawberries do well in a stand-alone dehydrator, or you can use your oven on a low temperature setting (e.g. 150 degrees Fahrenheit).
Depending on how well they’ve been dried, dehydrated strawberries will keep in a cool location for weeks to months. If they are still somewhat soft, they’ll keep only about a week or so.
Some people seem to the think that the terms mean different things, but they are typically used interchangeably, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not distinguish between the two.
Related strawberry recipes
Are you looking for recipes for strawberries? You might need to make:
Or use those strawberries along with all the other summer fruit to make this rainbow fruit tart.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Dehydrated Strawberry Chips
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) fresh strawberries
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then slice them into quarter inch slices.1 pound (450 grams) fresh strawberries
- Optional: mix the lemon juice with 1 tablespoon of water and dip the strawberry slices into the solution.1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Lay the strawberry slices on a rack or on baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone mats. They can be touching but do not overlap the slices.
- Dehydrate in the oven at 175°F for about 4 hours or until they are the desired consistency. I would recommend turning them over about halfway through, especially if you are drying on baking sheets.
- Cool and then store in an air-free container at cool room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
These instructions for making dehydrated strawberry chips were first shared June 22, 2021. The post was last updated April 27, 2023.
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