How To: Dehydrate Strawberries

Dehydrating strawberries are a great way to preserve the fresh, vibrant flavor of strawberries for months to come. This easy guide will walk you through how to dehydrate strawberries at home!

Some people are cookie monsters, some people prefer salty snacks, but my kid, well, he prefers berries.

This is great, I’m happy to feed him fresh fruit by the bushel, but sometimes, that’s not always possible.

Sometimes, in the winter months, we are relegated to terribly watery, flavourless, and expensive strawberries that just don’t live up to our expectations.

I’ve discovered that when I find tasty berries that I can preserve them in my food dehydrator for future enjoyment!

This how to guide is dedicated to tasty strawberries ALL year!

Holding up one dehydrated strawberry slice.

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Tips + Tricks

No. 1 –> Use fresh, tasty berries in this recipe. Frozen berries will not work, and tasteless or bland berries will not improve in flavor by dehydrating. Your strawberries should be high quality, and perfectly ripe.

No. 2 –> You may be tempted to increase the temperature on this recipe to speed it up, but it’s important to avoid case hardening. Case hardening happens when the temperature is too high and cooks the outsides of the fruit and traps the moisture inside.

No. 3 –> Slice your berries in a consistent, uniform size, this will improve drying results. Speaking of drying results, dehydrated berries should be tested through the drying project – see the recipe card below for more information on testing doneness.

Dehydrated strawberries on a mesh dehydrator tray.

Key ingredients

Strawberries: Pick delicious, fresh strawberries that are very red, firm, and have a strong berry scent. Avoid any bruised or overripe berries.

Fresh strawberries in a small metal bucket.

How to dehydrate strawberries

  1. Prepare strawberries for dehydrating by washing carefully in a sink of cold water with a splash of vinegar. Rinse the berries when they come out of the sink, and allow to dry completely as excess moisture will prolong the drying time.
  2. Cut off the tops of the berries, if there is any green stem left in the strawberry use a pairing knife to cut it out.
  3. Slice the strawberries into quarter inch thick slices, using either a sharp knife or a mandolin slicer. A mandolin makes quick work of firm strawberries, but if yours a little more ripe, you may need to use a knife.
  4. Spread the sliced strawberries on a dehydrator tray, leaving gaps between the fruit to improve airflow.
  5. Dehydrate the strawberry slices at 135f for 8-10 hours, or until they are leathery and crisp. To check doneness of the berries, remove one or two slices from the dehydrator and allow them to cool. Once cooled, slice them or break them down the middle, if any moisture is present, they must be dehydrated longer. The strawberries should be leathery and somewhat pliable. It is better for the berries to be too dry than not dry enough and risk spoilage.
  6. Once the strawberries are dried, allow them to cool on the dehydrator trays for 30-45 minutes.
  7. Transfer your berries to an sterilized airtight container for storage.

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Storage information

Dehydrated foods can be kept in proper conditions for many months. In order to prolong their shelf life, I recommend storing your dried strawberries in sterilized airtight containers, like mason jars.

The jar should be kept in a cool dark place without temperature fluctuations, as flux in temperature can create condensation in your jars and premature spoilage.

How to use dehydrated strawberries

There’s a lot of fun ways to use your dehydrated strawberries!

Add them to:

  • salads
  • trail mix
  • cereal
  • yogurt
  • homemade granola bars

Grind them up into a powder to:

  • flavour icing
  • make strawberry cupcakes
  • stir into milk for strawberry flavoured milk or milkshakes
  • blend into smoothies
A pile of dehydrated strawberry chips.

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

Fresh, bright strawberries in a metal bucket.

No dehydrator?

No problem! You can dehydrate your berries in the oven too!

To dehydrate your berries in the oven, prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper, and lay the sliced berries on the parchment paper. Bake them in the oven at 170f for 2-3 hours, until the tops are dry to the touch, then flip them over and continue to bake until they are completely dried using the test in the recipe card.

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A bowl of dehydrated strawberry chips.

How To: Dehydrate Strawberries

Allyson Letal
Dehydrated strawberries are an easy, healthy treat. Give your berries a quick wash, slice and dehydrate to preserve their freshness for months to come.
4.80 from 5 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Course Preserved
Cuisine American
Servings 2 cups
Calories 3 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • strawberries as desired

Instructions
 

  • Prepare strawberries for dehydrating by washing them carefully in a sink of cold water with a splash of vinegar. Rinse the berries when they come out of the sink, and allow them to dry completely as excess moisture will prolong the drying time.
  • Cut off the tops of the berries, if there is any green stem left in the strawberry use a pairing knife to cut it out.
  • Slice the strawberries into 1/4" slices, using either a sharp pairing knife or a mandolin slicer.
  • Spread the slices on a dehydrator tray, leaving gaps between the fruit to improve airflow.
  • Dehydrate the strawberry slices at 135f for 8-10 hours, or until they are leathery and crisp. To check the doneness of the berries, remove one or two slices from the dehydrator and allow them to cool. Once cooled, slice them or break them down the middle, if any moisture is present, they must be dehydrated longer. The strawberries should be leathery and somewhat pliable. It is better for the berries to be too dry than not dry enough and risk spoilage.
  • Once the strawberries are done, allow them to cool on the dehydrator trays for 30-45 minutes.
  • Transfer your berries to a sterilized airtight container for storage.

Notes

No dehydrator?

To dehydrate your berries in the oven, prepare baking sheets by lining with parchment paper, and lay the sliced berries on the parchment paper. Bake them in the oven at 170f for 2-3 hours, until the tops are dry to the touch, then flip them over and continue to bake until they are completely dried using the test in the recipe card.

Storage

In order to prolong their shelf life, I recommend storing your dehydrated berries in a sterilized airtight container, like a mason jar.
The jar should be kept in a cool dark place without temperature fluctuations, as flux in temperature can create condensation in your jars and premature spoilage.

how to use dehydrated strawberries

There’s a lot of fun ways to use your dehydrated strawberries!
Add them to:
  • salads
  • trail mix
  • cereal
  • yogurt
  • homemade granola bars
Grind them up into a powder to:
  • flavour icing
  • make strawberry cupcakes
  • stir into milk for strawberry flavoured milk or milkshakes
  • blend into smoothies

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 3kcalCarbohydrates: 1g
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