When life gives you free apples, make apple chips I say. Not only are apple chips incredibly delicious, they are good for you too. The Girl and I made several batches of dehydrated apples over the weekend, and now they are all gone. The only problem of course, is keeping them in the pantry.
Yesterday, as Monkey Boy was packing his lunch for school, I noticed he had stuffed an entire quart sized bag of apple chips in his lunch sack. I stood there staring at him for a good 10 seconds trying to decide whether I should say anything or not. In case you don’t know, a quart sized bag holds about 6 dehydrated apples. Holy apple crack! When is a kid ever going to eat 6 apples in one sitting?
I ended up not saying anything. Because hey, if my kid wants to eat 6 apples… I think I must be doing something right.
Not only are apple chips the best snack on the planet, they are super easy to make.
Ingredients
6-8 large apples {I like to use Fuji or Braeburn}
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 cups water
Directions
Peel, core and slice apples about 1/4 inch thick. Soak in a solution of lemon juice and water to help prevent browning. Remove apples from liquid and place on trays. Dehydrate according to the manufactures directions on your food dehydrator {it takes about 6 hours at 135 degrees in my food dehydrator}. When apples are finished dehydrating, let them set out out for about 30 minutes before bagging them up.
Have you made dehydrated apples before? How long does a batch last in your house?
Here are a few links if you are interested in dehydrating:
Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook
Apple And Potato Peeler, Corer, and Slicer $12.99 {Amazon.com}
Nesco American Harvest 400 Watt Food Dehydrator
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Kim says
Are these apple chips chewy or crispy?
Mavis says
I like mine in between. If you want them crispy, just dehydrate them a little longer. 🙂 Yum Yum Yum!
Robin in SoCal says
Seriously I am in love with my dehydrator. I dehydrated like crazy last summer…apples, pears, and plums. A full quart jar packed full lasted the usual teenagers that hang here less than 2 hours of snacking time. But I will do it all again as at least we know what they are eating. If you feel adventurous try making your own fruit roll ups, esp. yummy with pears and striped with raspberry. Pureed pears (or fruit of your choice, lemon juice to inhibit it turning brown, a bit of honey. Put pears in saucepan bring to a simmer add honey, & lemon…spread on silicon dehydrator sheets (or the back side or freezer zip lock bags)Put the raspberry in a pastry bag or a ziplock baggie, seal the bag closed then cut one end of the bottom corner so you can stripe your pear puree. Now dehydrate until the spread is no longer sticky. Cut into strips and stand back as the kids devour!
Michelle says
We LOVE apple chips around here! And yes, they get devoured at a ridiculous rate, but I’m like you, I’d rather see them eating a ton of apples than regular chips or worse. We keep the skins on too – have you ever tried that, my kids request them that way. It also adds more vitamins and fiber to an already healthy snack. I also like to dip the apples in different juices for variety. One of our favorites is to dip the apple slices in apple/mango juice – yum!
Heather says
You had me at…Monkey Boy was packing his lunch for school…awesome job Mavis! 🙂
I have a three year old who loves/wants (…”i do it!”…) to make her own Egg Salad Sandwiches for lunch! I figure at this rate, if I play my cards right, by age 6 she will be well versed in lunch making for school too! LOL!
Heather S. says
I dried a lot of fruit last year, but somehow, not apples. I’ll have to try them… We did do strawberries (great in cereal), mangos (great whenever), watermelon (I didn’t care for it, but the kids LOVED it), and bananas (we usually freeze these for smoothies or make banana bread, but when it is warm out they get ripe faster so I had some extra).
Mavis says
If we get strawberries again this week I think I will give them a try. 🙂
Lara Fara says
I ordered one 🙂
Banana chips, here I come!
mh says
I don’t know if you have ever tried drying bananas or strawberries but an egg slicer makes it so much easier to slice them for drying.
jillyj says
What a brilliant tip!
jamie says
I love to use the apple peeler/corer/slicer so you have beautiful circles. I never use lemon juice, but sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar, delish! My mom likes to sprinkle kool-aid packets on top for a “festive party” treat : D
I found your blog a couple of weeks ago and have been reading it from the beginning (I’m currently on page 52.) My kids think I’m crazy because I’ll just start randomly laughing hysterically! I live in the Seattle area, have couponed for a couple of years, have teenagers, and put in 4 raised garden beds this year. (I decided to try again after giving up years ago because of squirels and slugs.) My neighbors have chickens, but my husband says, no. I also have a very large stretched canvas I bought years ago thinking I’d have my second daughter paint it and hang it above my bed. Of course, right after I bought it she decided she wanted to try sculpting and wouldn’t paint it, so it’s been sitting in a corner. Way, way, way back you posted about making your husband go buy a canvas for a project you wanted to do. You have a picture of you painting it black, but I didn’t see your end product, and was curious what you did with it? Thanks for the laughs!
Jan says
I have a Nesco dehydrater and have tried doing apples numerous times. No matter how long I dehydrate they never get crispy. Is there a trick? What am I doing wrong?
Kim says
I would like to know the same thing. Thanks for asking Jan.
Jody says
mine never get crisp either, no matter how thin i do them or how long i dry them i cant figure it out
karey says
yes my son is wanting to dehydrate apples and he had asked me if you can still use the seeds after they have been dehydrated ? I am not sure for I have never done this before and he also is going to make juice ,could you please you point me in the right area to go to find out the questions please .We have so many apples and they will be going to waste if we do not do this ,Thank you for any help you might be able to give me .
Renay says
My neighbor has an orchard in Leavenworth and gave us bags of dried apples – OMGOSH they are the BEST!!! I need a dehydrator badly!!! haha but really I do!
Johnny says
I have a stuiped question that has probably already been answered, but about how long did you soak the apples in the lemon juice?
Mavis Butterfield says
2 minutes. 🙂
Jenni says
I dehydrated apples yesterday for the first time in my Presto dehydrator. I used an apple corer/slicer and left the peel on. I used your lemon juice solutions and then dehydrated for 7 hrs (they were still a little chewy) and then stored in glass container overnight which perfected them into crunchy chips! So pleased with the results. Trying bananas today and hoping for same results. Thanks for the great post! I do not blog but will follow you on Pinterest.
Bob says
When you say in a glass jar is that with cover on ?
Jenn says
Yes I had the cover on. It was a Pyrex type bowl.
Jody says
How chewy were they when you took them out of the dehydrator? What temp did you use as well? 24 hours later in the dehydrator and they’re still soft and floppy. Cut them paper thin too!
Jenni says
Mine were just lightly chewy. My presto dehydrator does not have a temperature selection, I just plug it in and it dehydrates on same temp I suppose. Maybe try putting it in airtight container over night and see if they crisp up? I waited over night to test them after placing in container. Hope this helps!
m says
I coat the slices in apple cider and put cinnamon on them before dehydrating them, it’s great! In our dehydrator it only takes about four hours
Melissa Gula-Wyszynski says
My kids love dried apple slices too! We made some last night and used our apple peeler-corer-slicer. Didn’t soak in lemon juice b/c they were dusted with cinnamon. I have an Excalibur dehydrator, set it at 135 degrees and checked after 12 hours. They are drying very well, but still have a leathery feel to them so I turned the dehydrator down to 125 degrees and will check them when I get home from work in about 9 hours. My kids like them crispy no chewy. Love this post, so I’m also now following your blog! Happy dehydrating!
Chris says
I cant for the life of me get my apple chips crispy. They are chewy 🙁
Jennifer Coe says
Can you give me some more information on how to store them? I am concerned they will mold. Should I refridge them?
Jenni says
Hey! I am not sure about everyone else but I had mine in a glass jar with airtight lid. They were eaten so fast I didn’t have to worry about any mold!
Melissa says
My daughter had the good fortune of attending “Outdoor School”. It was a one semester program in her 11th grade. She attended the second semester and at first foods for their extended excursions could be prepared ahead of time and then frozen…by mid April we had to pull out the dehydrator…we dried salsa, chili, stew, apples, strawberries, mangoes, and fruit leathers made with apple sauce and fruit mixtures…I have a friend that dehydrates her garden grown onions…the only limit is your imagination…
DJ Allen says
Thank you! I will be following your post! My kids are grown but if they find out I’ve got a new dehydrator I won’t keep much dried fruit in the pantry! Yea for good food! So excited to get back into it!!
Mary says
My apples stuck very badly to the dehydrator racks. What did I do wrong? Can I spray the racks with Pam?
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Mary,
I would not use Pam as I think it would effect the taste of the apples. I’ve noticed that when I sliced my apples really thin, they stuck to the trays more than when I sliced the apples a little thicker.
Scott says
after dehydrating I place the dehydrated fruit in wide mouth mason jar and vacuum pack- this evens out the moisture in the chips