How To: Dehydrate Pears

Use your dehydrator or oven to turn fresh pears into delicious crunchy pear chips. This easy to follow dehydrator recipe results in the perfect dehydrated pears.

I am a woman of many flavors. I like to eat sweet, and salty, and spicy, and creamy foods.

But no matter the flavor, the one thing I cannot resist is crispy, crunchy foods.

And dehydrated pears are a delicious crispy, crunchy snack!

This dehydrated pears recipe is dedicated to perfect snacks.

Jump to:

• Key ingredients
• How to make dehydrated pears
• No dehydrator? Use the oven!
• Storage information
• Recommended equipment
• 📖 Printable Recipe

Tips + tricks

No. 1 --> Use a mandolin to achieve thin, consistent slices. This will improve drying results. If you don't have a mandolin, use a sharp knife and aim for consistent slices.

No. 2 --> If you prefer crispier chips slice your pears thinly, and if you prefer a little chew, slice them a little thicker. I like them sliced somewhere between 1/8 - 1/4".

Key ingredients

Pears: For this recipe you want to pick fresh, pears that are still mostly green. They still have some bite and aren't too soft to be sliced into uniform slices. Once sliced, cut off or remove any bruised or blackened pieces.

Antioxidant: This step is not necessary, but it will prevent or reduce browning from oxidization. Soaking the sliced pears in a bowl with cold water and Fruit Fresh (or lemon juice) for 5-10 minutes is all you need.

How to make dehydrated pears

1. Wash the pears with hot soapy water. We are leaving the peels on when we dehydrate, so it's important to wash them well.
2. Combine 2 teaspoons of Fruit Fresh with 2 cups of cold water in a medium-sized bowl. If you don't have Fruit Fresh, mix 1/2 cup lemon juice with 2 cups cold water. Set aside.
3. Set the depth of your mandolin - my preference is a slice around between 1/8 and 1/4 inch.
4. Slice the washed pears from the bottom to the top, remove the seeds from the slices.
5. Soak the sliced pears in the bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes.
6. Remove the pears from the soak and place them on a dehydrator tray, leaving a gap between each slice for proper airflow.
7. Slide the trays into your dehydrator, close the dehydrator and run at 135f for 5-6 hours.
8. Check the pears starting around 5 hours in. The pears are done when they are pliable and leathery. If desired, they can be dried longer - until they are crisp.

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No dehydrator? Use the oven!

1. Wash the pears with hot soapy water. We are leaving the peels on when we dehydrate, so it's important to wash them well.
2. Combine 2 teaspoons of Bernardin Fruit Fresh with 2 cups of cold water in a medium-sized bowl. If you don't have fruit fresh, mix 1/2 cup lemon juice with 2 cups cold water. Set aside.
3. Set the depth of your mandolin - my preference is a slice around between 1/8 and 1/4 inch.
4. Slice the washed pears from the bottom to the top, remove the seeds from the slices.
5. Soak the sliced pears in the bowl of cold water for 5-10 minutes.
6. Remove the pears from the soak and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the oven at 170f for 2-3 hours, flipping them once the tops is dry to the touch.

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Storage information

Your dehydrated pears can be cooled completely and stored at room temperature in an airtight jar or bag. If you've gone overboard and made TOO many pear chips, you can allow them to cool to room temperature then slide them into a freezer ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for long-term storage.

Recommended equipment

Food Dehydrator: I have and love(!) a 9 rack Excalibur dehydrator. We use it to dehydrate citrus wheels, dehydrate garlic, dehydrated marshmallows, dehydrate strawberries, and much more. It's got a 24-hour timer and very precise temperature controls so it's great for dehydrating various foods.

Mandolin Slicer: A good mandolin slicer will make projects like this a breeze. It's much quicker to whip off a few slices on a mandolin than with even a good knife.

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