Best Foods to Dehydrate for Snacks

If you love backpacking and spend a lot of time outdoors, you know the real value of dehydrated foods. They are healthy, tasty and easy to store. Dehydrated foods can make your life a lot more enjoyable. But what are the best foods to dehydrate for snacks? In this post, we will try to answer this question.

Dried delights are not just for people who love backpacking. Even if you hardly leave your home, you will fall in love with different types of dehydrated foods. Let’s see what foods can be dehydrated for snacks.

Bananas

We all know how healthy bananas are. Whether you like the or not, you can not deny their nutritional value. But you can not transport them easily. The good news is, you can make some amazing snacks by dehydrating bananas. Dehydrating bananas is surprisingly easy. Here is the process:

Bananas are among the best foods to dehydrate for snacks. To make banana chips, cut bananas into thin slices. You can use a sharp knife to do it. Marinate them with whatever you like, and put them into your food dehydrator. You will see magic in a very short time!

Meat

Meat is one of food items can be dehydrated for making snacks. Dehydrating meat is not something new. The practice can be traced back to thousands of years. In modern times, jerky is a protein-packed food item favored by many people, especially backpackers.

Easy storage is perhaps the main reason why so many people dehydrate meat. You can do it with or without any equipment. Meat can be dehydrated in your oven. But you will find things a lot easier if you have a dehydrator.

Meat is one of the best foods to dehydrate for snacks. Your likes and dislikes will determine the type of meat you choose. You can dehydrate turkey, chicken or beef. The procedure is very simple. You just need to cut the meat into thin slices, marinate them and put them on the trays of your dehydrator.

You will find step-by-step instructions on the internet. If you are interested, you can do some research to learn more.

Chickpeas

Chickpeas are packed with protein and other nutritional values. They can give you energy almost instantly. But the fact is, you can not easily carry them to your office or somewhere else.

The good news is, you can make some crunchy snack by dehydrating them. Depending on your taste, you can turn the plain flavor of chickpeas into something sweet, savory or spicy. Once you taste this snack, you will crave it again and again.

Yogurt

Yogurt powder is an ingredient that can be used in a host of recipes. It adds tang or creaminess to your recipes, and you do not need to use any liquid substance. It also contains a lot of protein.

Believe it or not, yogurt is one of the best foods to dehydrate for snacks. Drying yogurt is easier than it sounds. You just need to spread it on your dehydrator tray, set the right temperature and heat it for 7-8 hours.

Once the yogurt is dehydrated, you have to break it into chunks, blend the chunks and make fine powder. For long storage, make sure you use an airtight container. If you container is really airtight, dried yogurt can be stored for a few months.

Potatoes

We all are familiar with potato chips, but many of us don’t know that we can dehydrate potatoes to make dehydrated potato chips. Whenever you need a quick meal, you can have some dried potato flakes.

The procedure is pretty straightforward. First, you have to make some mashed potatoes. Cut the potatoes into thin slices and then boil the slices for about 20 minutes. Drain them thoroughly and make sure that they are free from lumps.

Then you have to spread it on the trays of your food dehydrator. Set the temperature and let the mashed potato dry for about 15 hours. When the mashed potato is completely dry, remove it from the trays and let it cool. Serve the snacks immediately or store them in an airtight container.

Apples

Apples are tasty and healthy, and they can be easily dehydrated to make snacks. The procedure is more or less the same as those of other food items included in this list. Cut the apples into thin slices, marinate them and put them into your food dehydrator.

Set the temperature and keep heating until the slices are crispy. If you do it well, you will get some tasty and crunchy snacks. Dried apples taste different, and some say they taste better than fresh ones.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are tasty, and they are easy to dehydrate if you have a dehydrator. You can dehydrate them easily with your food dehydrator, and then grind them down into powder. This powder can be used to make tomato puree and tomato ketchup.

If you can do it the right way, tomatoes can be used to make a very delicious snack. When listing the best foods to dehydrate for snacks, do not forget to include tomatoes.

Raspberries

Raspberries are as popular as strawberries, and many people find it hard to choose between the two. You will be happy to know that dehydrated raspberries are almost as tasty as fresh ones, and they retain their nutritional properties even when they are dehydrated.

You can add dehydrated raspberries to many different recipes to make them more delicious. Try it just once and you will fall in love with dehydrated raspberries. You will look at raspberries in a different way once you dehydrate and consume them.

Dates

Most vegan desserts use dates, and there are good reasons for that preference. You can make some amazing recipes with dehydrated dates. For example, almond butter and date caramel can be added to raw apple sandwiches.

And dates are very easy to dehydrate. If you have a food dehydrator and you know how to use it, you can do it without any prior experience. The procedure is almost intuitive.

Cherries

It is very easy to dehydrate cherries, and dehydrated cherries can be added to many different types of food items. You can drop them into scones, and mix them with a summer drink.

If you know how to make the best use of your food dehydrator, cherries can be one of the best foods to dehydrate for snacks.

Vegetables

There are many vegetables that can be dehydrated to make healthy snacks. Examples of such vegetables are broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, corn, celery, green beans, eggplant, parsnips, peppers, peas, and squash.

And many more!

The foods mentioned above are some of the best foods to dehydrate for snacks, but there are many more foods that can be dehydrated for snacks. This is by no means a complete list. If you are a bit creative, the options are almost endless!

You just need to be a bit creative. If you do some research, you will find many other food items that can be dehydrated to make delicious snacks. Make some snacks and invite your near and dear ones!