Dried Apple Chips

Dried Apple Slices

Dried apple chips are a delicious and healthy snack and best of all, the kids LOVE them! They’re also very easy to make. For best results, I strongly recommend a mandoline. They’re available almost anywhere and you don’t need to invest in an expensive model. Even a very basic and affordable madoline will do the job nicely. A mandoline is important because it allows you to cut the apple slices consistently thin; this allows them to all dry at the same rate.

Here I have “Pink Lady” apples, but we’ve made apple chips with Braeburn, Cortland, Fuji and other varieties. You can use Delicious apples, but my family prefers a crisper, tarter apple. Choose your favorite or try a variety.

Place apple slices evenly on the dehydrator trays. If you want, you can cut out the middle or just leave the pretty star the way it is. I used the back of one of my icing tips to cut out the middle on some slices. This really isn’t necessary, but it’s up to you.

On this tray, we gave the apple slices a light sprinkle with cinnamon mixed in with just a tiny bit of sugar. Some trays we left plain. Either way, they’re great!

Place the trays on the dehydrator * and set the temperature to about 105˚ F. Dry until the slices are no longer moist, but still pliable. The amount of time it’s going to take will depend on the type of apple you choose as well as your dehydrator, humidity and the thickness of your apple slices. These apples took about 8 hours. The house had a delicious apple/cinnamon smell – what a bonus!

Tip: Make a lot more than you think you’ll need…they disappear FAST.

*Some people try to use their oven to dry apples and other fruit, but it really doesn’t provide a reliable or consistent result. A food dehydrator is definitely worth the investment and offers much more versatility. I have the Nesco Gardenmaster Food Dehydrator and love it.

I have the screen inserts, which make it easy to dry small items like corn and blueberries, but it also makes it simple to remove items that tend to stick, like strawberry slices. I also have the solid inserts that allow me to dry semi-liquids, such as fruit purees. These make great homemade fruit rolls that are a fraction of what you’d pay in the store and are 100% fruit with no added sugar. You can even make your own combinations like strawberry-apple fruit leather. Once you have a dehydrator, you’ll find it easy to make all kinds of delicious and healthy snacks.