This 2-Ingredient homemade fruit leather is all-natural, fun, delicious, and a tasty fruit snack and lunchbox treat made using an oven or dehydrator. No boiling needed and no added sugar!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Dehydrating (time varies)6 hourshrs
Total Time6 hourshrs10 minutesmins
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Freezer friendly: 1 Year
Shelf life: 1-2 months (fridge), 2 Weeks (in cupboard)
Blend your fruit of choice into a puree using a blender or food processor until smooth.If you want to make multi-fruit version, blend the fruits separately and combine them half and half on the tray before dehydrating them.
Add the lemon juice and optionally any liquid sweetener to taste.
Spread 1 cup of the fruit puree across a large Silpat or parchment-lined baking tray (don't use wax paper) or dehydrator tray in a thin layer of around 1/8 inch (0.3cm). You can tilt the tray and/or use an offset spatula to help spread it in an even layer across the tray. Check the notes below for more tips!
Step 2: Dehydrate
In the Oven: The aim here is to set your oven temperature as low as it can. 135-150ºF/57-65ºC is ideal, though up to 170-180ºF/75-80ºC will work too. Avoid any temperatures above 200ºF/95ºC, though.The time will vary based on the temperature and how thick your fruit puree is on the tray. As a general guideline, expect it to take between 8-12 hours at 140ºF/60ºC, 5-8 hours at 150ºF/65ºC, and 3-5 hours at 170ºF/75ºC.If the oven doesn't go low enough, prop the end of a wooden spoon in the door to keep it slightly open.In the Dehydrator: Set your food dehydrator to 135ºF/57ºC and allow it to dry for between 6-10 hours until it's dry.
How do you know when it’s ready? It should look and feel dry (or very subtly tacky but not sticky) and it should be pliable. Make sure not to dry/cook the roll-ups for too long otherwise, they will become crispy/won’t roll.
Step 3: Cut or Roll
Allow the dehydrated fruit to cool. Then, use scissors, a pizza cutter, or a knife to chop it into small pieces.Alternatively, to make rolls, cut the fruit into 1-inch strips and then roll them while still connected to the parchment paper. If you dehydrate them on Silpat, peel them away from the sheet first and place them on parchment paper/wax paper before rolling.
Storage Instructions
Store: Store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in a cool, dark, dry location for around 2 weeks or in the refrigerator for 1-2 months (it may last longer, too).Freeze: Place in an airtight container or freezer-safe Ziplock and store for up to a year!
Notes
For seed-free fruit leather: Pass your fruit puree through a fine-mesh sieve or nut milk bag onto the parchment-lined tray.
Don't spread it too thin: The water will evaporate from the fruit puree as it dehydrates and become thinner. I recommend aiming for around 1/8 inch thick but ensuring there are no "holes"/parts where you can see the sheet beneath.
The dehydrating time will vary: The time can vary based on the exact liquid content in your puree, the humidity, your exact model of oven/dehydrator, etc. So keep an eye on it until it's slightly tacky.
Multi-fruit leather: You can blend multiple fruits together for interesting flavors (i.e., mango and strawberry or strawberry and raspberry) or puree the fruit separately and then spread it half and half on a tray, so each roll is two flavors.
If the edges are too dry: This is more of an issue when making fruit leather (but it shouldn't happen if you leave a border on your tray). However, there's an easy fix. Just rub a little water into the edges to help rehydrate them slightly.
Yield: Use around 3 cups of fruit per baking sheet (one cup of pureed fruit per 13x18 inch sheet).
Optional add-ins: you can add vanilla extract (or almond extract, depending on the fruit) or dry spices like cinnamon, clove, etc., for extra flavor. I highly recommend experimenting with different fruit combinations to find your favorite unique flavor mash-ups.
To speed up the oven process, it can help to transfer the fruit mixture to a saucepan first and allow it to simmer and reduce over medium-low heat with the lemon juice and optional sweetener (granulated sugar is fine for this method) until it reduces and thickens slightly (around 10 minutes).
Top Tips for spreading the puree on the tray:
Make it into as much of a rectangle shape, rather than rounded, if you want more even rolls. However, this isn't necessary. I used regular-rimmed baking sheets and spread about a cup of fruit puree per sheet.
Note that a Silpat sheet (silicone mat) works best as parchment paper will slightly absorb some of the moisture in the fruit and crumple up slightly, making the fruit leather uneven in places.
You can make the puree thicker, closer to ¼-inch thickness, but that's best for thicker pieces, not for roll-ups. Just note that the thicker the puree, the longer the time it takes to dehydrate.
Note that your dehydrator may have come with a fruit leather tray (a tray with a rim for liquidy foods).
Check the blog post for more tips and answers to top FAQs!