Dehydrated Apple chips are crispy, sweet and the perfect healthy snack. You can save a lot of money by making them at home with a food dehydrator. It's an easy process! Let's do it!
Supplies
- Food Dehydrator
- Sharp Knife, Apple Slicer, or Mandalin
- Apples
- Lemon Juice
- Optional: Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the apples. You do not need to peel the apples, but you can if you want to. You can also core the apple, but again, it’s not necessary.
- Thinly slice the apples, they should be about ⅛th of an inch thick.
- Coat the apples in a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning. Optional: You can also sprinkle the apples with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Lay out the apples on the dehydrator trays, leaving a little space between each apple.
- Turn on your dehydrator and begin dehydrating apples. If your food dehydrator has a temperature setting, set it to 140 degrees.
- After 1 hour, flip apple chips over to prevent sticking. Flip again around the 2 hour mark. After 2 hours, the apples should be dry enough that they won't stick, so you'll no longer need to flip them.
- Because every apple variety is different, and every dehydrator works a little differently, the apple chips will need to be dehydrated for 8-12 hours. So after 8 hours, check on the chips every hour. You'll know the chips are done when they are not soft or flexible at all.
- When apples are fully dehydrated, store them in an airtight container or they'll get soft again.
Storage
It is very important to store dehydrated apples in an air tight container, because they soften up when exposed to air. Options include your favorite tupperware, a mason jar, or a ziplock bag. We always recommend using a reusable storage option. Apple chips don't need to be refrigerated, but should be kept in a cool, dark spot.
If properly stored, these crunchy snacks will last for months. If you have made so many that you truly think you cannot eat them all in a few months time, apple chips can be frozen. The ladies over at Homemade Food Junkie have a tutorial about how to go about the freezing process. You can check it out here.
Nutrition
Are apple chips good for you? Yes! Apple chips are great for you! They contain all of the healthy benefits of a regular apple, including high fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals. Something to keep in mind, however, is that fruit loses a lot of volume when dehydrated. So eating a handfuls of apple chips is the equivalent of eating several apples. Too much of a good thing can turn into a bad thing. The great news is that just a few of them should easily fill you up!
Also, some people add a cinnamon sugar coating to their apple chips. This would obviously lower the nutritional value. I find that apple are sweet enough, and just adding cinnamon, without the sugar, tastes just as great and is healthier.
Uses
Apple chips are great to snack on by themselves, but are also great in recipes. Here are some of my favorite recipes from around the web that use apple chips.
Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Gimmie Some Oven
Caramel Apple Cookies from Crayons and Cravings
Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal with Dried Apples and Cranberries from Barefeet in the Kitchen
Top Tips
- I highly recommend using a mandoline for thinly slicing the apples. It makes the job so easy, and evenly cuts the apples so they all dehydrate evenly. Be careful though! I’ve sliced the side of my thumb off before! If you're looking to purchase one, I recommend the "Fullstar Mandoline Slicer Spiralizer." (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases, with no cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Incredible Bulks).
- Apple chips are tasty just the way they are, but adding cinnamon can be delicious too. My personal favorite is to sprinkle pumpkin pie spice on top. (P.S. Pumpkin Pie Spice is expensive to buy. You can make your own for a fraction of the price. Check out Low Cost and Easy Homemade Pumpkin Spice).
- We've made apple chips with a lot of different varieties of apples, and have yet to find one we didn't like. I have noticed that sweet apples become even sweeter and sour become even sourer when dehydrated, so keep that in mind when picking a variety to use.
- My very favorite apple chips are made from Honeycrisp apples, but that's also my favorite apple to eat. I also enjoy Granny Smith apple chips. Red Delicious make a pretty decent apple chip as well. I would recommend using your favorite apple variety.
I hope you like these dehydrated apple chips and found this how-to guide helpful!
✌️Ems
📖 Recipe
How to Make Perfect Apple Chips in the Food Dehydrator
Ingredients
- Apples
- Lemon Juice
- Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Seasoning optional
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the apples. You do not need to peel the apples, but you can if you want to. You can also core the apple, but again, it’s not necessary. Thinly slice the apples, they should be about ⅛th of an inch thick.
- Coat the apples in a little bit of lemon juice to prevent browning. Optional: You can also sprinkle the apples with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Lay out the apples on the dehydrator trays, leaving a little space between each apple. If your food dehydrator has a temperature setting, set it to 140 degrees. Turn on your dehydrator and begin dehydrating apples.
- After 1 hour, flip apple chips over to prevent sticking. Flip again around the 2 hour mark. After 2 hours, the apples should be dry enough that they won’t stick, so you’ll no longer need to flip them.
- Because every apple variety is different, and every dehydrator works a little differently, the apple chips will need to be dehydrated for 8-12 hours. So after 8 hours, check on the chips every hour. You’ll know the chips are done when they are not soft or flexible at all.
- When apples are fully dehydrated, store them in an airtight container or they’ll get soft again.
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