Dehydrating apples is a quick and easy way to make apple chips and rings during the peak of apple season. Apple chips are a healthy, low sugar treat for kids and families. In this post I share with you how to make this super simple recipe!

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I’ll never forget when I got my first dehydrator, it was Christmas and my husband and my mother bought me the same one! To be honest it was hard to return one.

Dehydrating fruit, vegetables, herbs, and even meat is one of my favourite was to quickly deal with a large harvest during the peak of summer.

A food dehydrator is one of the many preserving tools that homesteaders dream of having and if they do, it’s often running.

To make these yummy apple chips you’ll need apples, a peeler corer, and a dehydrator and a little patience.

Have you dehydrated food before? Once you use a dehydrator you’ll be introduced to a whole new world of food possibilities. The ideas and recipes are endless for dehydrating fruits, vegetables, meats, herbs and even mushrooms!

I often like to make these apple chips, fruit leather and beef jerky. I also use mine to dehydrate tomatoes and chanterelle mushrooms In the fall. It’s a tool that’s constantly humming along during harvest season.

HOW TO DEHYDRATE APPLES

Tools for preserving

You’ll need these two main tools to dehydrate apples

APPLE PEELER

Prepare your apples using a peeler corer! I love the cherry apple red colour and it helps that it’s a solid, sturdy cast iron tool I can rely on.

dehydrator is great for beginners. It fits a good amount of food, doesn’t take up to much space and the air circulates very well so you don’t have to adjust the racks. it also has a heat setting which makes it super helpful when dehydrating a variety of foods.

How to make apple chips in the dehydrator

Start by gathering apples. There’s really no perfect apple variety for making apple chips. The fall is a great time to find deals in the grocery store,or glean apples from neighbours in exchange for some tasty treats if you don’t have your own apple tree.

I process all my apples in a weekend, and make apple sauce, apple butter, these tasty chips and apple pie filling!

Then it’s time to prepare apples using an apple peeler corer. I like to make room for this set up in my kitchen. I’m a lefty, so I set up my basket of apples and peeler on the left hand side.

I separate peels and cores into a bowl for my backyard chickens and the sliced apples go into a warm lemon water bath with lemon juice to prevent browning before I slice them up.

RELATED: HOW TO MAKE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AT HOME WITH APPLE PEELS AND SCRAPS

apple processing station for dehydrating apples

Cut the apples in half or leave them in rounds, depending on what you’d prefer for your final product. I didn’t cut my apples into rounds, but I wish I had. They look so sweet stacked in mason jars as a snack for school or work.

Place a single layer of apple slices on the trays from dehydrator. Make sure to leave room between apples, for proper air circulation.

Dehydrated Apple Chips on dehydrator tray

Adjust the heat setting on your dehydrator to 135-145 F. This is the recommended temperature to dehydrate fruit.

Take out when apple chips when they are dried, but not too crispy that they crumble. This takes approx. 24 hr. Feel free to open up your dehydrator to check.

HOW TO STORE APPLE CHIPS

Store in air tight container such as a plastic container or mason jar. They can be stored in ziploc bags as well, just try not to jostle them around too much or they may break and crumble like a bag of chips.

However you store them, these tasty treats won’t last long! Just remember to not eat too much at once as this high fibre treat may upset your stomach- like any dehydrated treat!