Dehydration is the fastest, simplest, and most versatile approach for food preservation. I bet you didn’t know how many recipes you could make with your dehydrator, so be prepared to have your mind blown. So, if you think that sounds interesting, keep reading because I will show you some of the most exciting food dehydrator recipes on the internet.
Best Dehydrator Recipes
Listed below are some of our favorite recipes. We hope you enjoy them. Read on for more information about dehydrator recipes.
Crispy Green Bean Chips
These chips are so crunchy, salty, and delicious that it’s hard to believe. Plus, they are MUCH more healthy than a pretzel stick. They are also easy to change, so you can use whatever spices you like.
DIY Fruit Leathers
As kids, everyone’s favorite snack was fruit leather. It’s sweet and chewy, and making it at home is surprisingly easy. So why wouldn’t you make them yourself if all you need is pureed fruit, a dehydrator, and a little time? This recipe has many flavors: strawberry, blueberry, banana, raspberry and peach.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Since about 700 BC, sun-dried tomatoes have been a tasty treat. And the dehydrator makes the process much easier. This is a great recipe because it is easy to follow and has many tips and tricks. You’ll get great results that way. And your dried tomatoes taste MUCH better than any you could buy in a store. You can put them in salads, serve them with chicken, or use them to top homemade pizzas.
Homemade Yogurt
It might seem complicated to make yogurt at home, but it’s not that hard. This yogurt is thick, tangy, and full of probiotics. Yes, you can make it in a dehydrator. Buying good yogurt regularly can be expensive, so this should save you quite a bit of money.
It’s easy to change to fit your needs. Two quarts of new yogurt can be made from a half-gallon of milk and two tablespoons of yogurt.
Dried Peppers
You can add some spice to your life with these tasty dried peppers. There’s a dried pepper here for everyone, no matter how hot or mild you like your peppers. These are great for adding flavor to dishes; you can even rehydrate them to put in sauces.
Banana Chips
A great snack is banana chips. They are sweet, crunchy, and taste strongly of banana. They are also very simple to make in a dehydrator. These little banana pieces are great in oatmeal, trail mix, or to eat alone. You can even make nachos for dessert with them.
Dried Orange Slices
These cute little orange slices taste like sweets. Cinnamon, ginger, and coconut sugar give them a sweet, sour, and delicious flavor. These are great in sangria or garnish for any drink with citrus. You can use them to decorate tarts, cakes, and ice cream or cut them up and put them in fruit cake. There are a lot of options.
Dehydrated Spiced Cauliflower Popcorn
Dehydrated Cauliflower Popcorn is a healthy snack that’s hard to stop eating. It’s made with tasty spices and is spicy and crunchy. You should try this on your next movie night for sure. Dehydrated cauliflower is one of those treats people don’t think to make, but once you do, you’ll make it all the time.
Zucchini Chips
With Keto Crispy Zucchini Chips, you can keep all the deliciousness of summer zucchini to satisfy your crunchy cravings all winter. Each serving has less than 2g of carbs. These tasty and healthy snacks are easy to make and don’t need a recipe.
Beef Jerky
Once you try these, you won’t want to buy beef jerky from the store again. They are chewy, full of meat, and have a smoky flavor. This recipe makes traditional, tasty beef jerky that isn’t too sweet and has a nice salty flavor. But you can change the marinade in any way you like. For an Asian-style jerky, use teriyaki sauce. Use lime, cumin, chili powder, and garlic for a Southwest style.
Salmon Jerky
Love salmon? Then you’re going to LOVE this salmon jerky. This recipe has a light fish taste with a nice smokey and salty finish. It’s just right! This jerky tastes excellent because of the smoke flavor from the liquid smoke and the saltiness from the soy sauce.
Watermelon Candy Fruit Strips
Fruit works well in a dehydrator because the taste gets more robust as the water evaporates. So, this healthy candy tastes like watermelon and doesn’t have any hard-to-say ingredients. These strips are naturally chewy and sweet, and they are perfect.
Dehydrated Pumpkin Pie Leather Roll-Ups
These pumpkin roll-ups that have been dehydrated taste like pumpkin pie but don’t have as much sugar. Even kids like them. They are naturally sweet and taste just like pumpkin pie because they are made with pumpkin puree, apple puree, and traditional pumpkin pie spices. This recipe takes more work because you have to roast the pumpkins and stew the apples yourself.
Apple Chips
Using apples that aren’t quite as crisp as you’d want to make apple chips is a great idea. Or if you happen to have a surplus of apples. They are lovely, despite their sweetness and their crispiness. They become even more delicious if you flavor them with cardamom or cinnamon.
Fruit Powders
The use of fruit powder in cooking is significantly underappreciated. They are lovely in baked items and add color and flavor to the food you prepare. Baking mixes, frostings, icings, and spreads can all be flavored using fruit powder. It can also be incorporated into oatmeal, bread dough, yogurt, and smoothies. They also lend a delicious flavor to pancakes, another of their many uses.
Salt and Vinegar Cucumber Chips
Umami can be found in abundance in salt and vinegar chips. They have a salty, savory, and sour flavor to them. This flavorful alternative made with cucumber has the same great qualities but only a fraction of the calories. They are airy, crunchy, and incredibly delicious!
Chicken Jerky
This tasty chicken jerky will keep you full while you’re on the go. It tastes great and is meaty and chewy. The chicken is marinated in a delicious sauce made of garlic, chili, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, liquid smoke, and honey. The result is the best chicken jerky you’ll ever eat.
Do Dehydrated Foods go Bad?
Yes, dried foods can go bad. Even though it doesn’t happen as quickly as fresh foods, bacteria, mould, or other microbes can make dehydrated foods go bad. Foods that have been dried out can also get bugs, lose nutrients, or pick up bad smells.
Here are some of the most common reasons why dehydrated foods go bad and what you can do to stop them.
Moisture
Moisture levels always try to reach a point of balance. If the air around your dried foods is moist, some moisture will get back into the food. Over time, the foods that have been dried out can get wet again. Wet foods make it easy for mold and bacteria to grow, so they can start to grow on them.
Before you store dried foods for a long time, they must be dehydrated. When bent, they should break. You also need to keep the dried foods in airtight containers, so they don’t get wet from the air around them. Desiccants can also help, but they aren’t as good as packaging that keeps out air.
Temperature
The nutrients in foods that have been dried out will break down faster at high temperatures. It also makes bacteria grow more quickly. Heat is bad for foods that are high in fat, like jerky, because the fats will soon go bad. Most rancid foods are safe to eat but taste awful and smell bad.
If you don’t keep the dried foods in a container that doesn’t let any air in, bugs can get in and lay eggs in the food. Soon, you’ll see insect eggs, silk, and maybe live insects in the containers. Also, dehydration won’t kill insects if there are already insect eggs on the fruit. So, it could still have bugs even if you store it in a jar that doesn’t let air in.
The best way to keep insects from eating your dehydrated food is to keep it in an air-tight container. Without oxygen, the bugs and their eggs will die.
Nutrient Loss
Some nutrients are fragile and lose their value when they come into contact with oxygen, heat, or light. For instance, vitamin C starts to lose its effectiveness at 86°F. Vitamins A and B, as well as antioxidants, are very sensitive.
Keeping dehydrated foods in airtight containers without oxygen and away from heat and light will slow the loss of nutrients, but it won’t stop it completely. So, even if your dried foods are still safe to eat after a long time, they probably haven’t got as many nutrients as they used to.
How long will Dehydrated Meat Last?
Commercial jerky made with preservatives can usually be kept without special care for a year or more. Homemade jerky might only keep in the pantry for a week.
For homemade jerky to last longer, it needs to be kept in a cool place, very dry, and low in fat. The best place to keep it is in a container that keeps out air and has oxygen absorbers or in the freezer.
The Disadvantages of Dehydrated Foods
The oldest way to keep food fresh is to take the water out of it, which is what dehydration is. Dehydrated food is popular with campers, bikers, and hikers because it is light and usually takes up less space. It is also popular with people who want to store food in an emergency. However, dehydrated food does have some disadvantages.
Freeze Drying
Freeze-drying, also called lyophilization, is a process that uses a vacuum to freeze and then evaporate the water in food, leaving only about 2% of the original amount of water. Emergency Essentials says this is the best way to dry fruits and meat.
The process may not completely stop the microorganisms that cause food to go bad or the toxic and infectious organisms that cause food poisoning if the food is not packed and kept in a dry place. Sometimes, the finished product may easily break apart and lose its smell. Since this process doesn’t change the shape or size of the food, the finished product takes up more space than other types of dehydrated food.
Drying in the Air, in the Sun, or on a Kiln.
When foods are dried in the air, sun, or kiln, they often lose some of their texture and taste. Foods dried in these ways usually need to be kept in a container that keeps out air and has an oxygen absorber. If the food is dried too quickly, the outer layer of cells may harden, making the food tough and rubbery. It is also said that sun-dried foods may lose some nutrients, like vitamin C.
Lifespan
Depending on the type of meat and how it was dried, dried meat can last anywhere from a few weeks to a year. This means they don’t last as long as other dehydrated foods, most of which can be stored for at least 25 years. Because of this, meat alternatives like textured vegetable protein (TVP) are used to store food for a long time.
Conclusion
From chips and jerky to yogurt and fruit leather, you can find a tasty recipe for your needs with our collection of the best dehydrator recipes. The following are some of our top choices. These recipes can be made with few ingredients, less time, and less effort. It’s so simple and fast that even your kids can do it! So, try one of these for a quick snack.
