Dehydrated Bananas are the perfect healthy snack for any lover of the outdoors looking for fuel they can enjoy on the go.
If you are looking to get started making dehydrated food, sliced bananas are one of the easiest snacks to tackle. Making mouthwatering crunchy banana chips is fairly effortless, requiring nothing more than bananas and a bit of lemon juice.
What are they?
Dehydrated bananas are made from a process where the moisture is slowly removed from the banana by circulating low-temperature air over many hours. Most commonly a food dehydrator is used, which creates a firmer, more self-stable stack. Homemade banana chips are a great snack for the kids or are perfect to pack along for your next hiking or camping trip. Dehydrating fresh fruits is also a great way to use them up before they go to waste.
What you will need
- Food dehydrator - Although, some ovens now have a dehydrating feature as well.
- Ripe bananas
- Lemon juice
How to Dehydrate Banana
This dehydrated banana chips recipe is fairly straightforward: cut the fresh bananas into thin slices, then coat them with lemon juice and place the banana slices on the dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 135 degrees for approximately 6 hours.
You don't want to use a higher temperature if at all possible because you are just looking to dry the fruit, not to cook it. Drying time can vary, so if the banana pieces dry out sooner, you can stop dehydrating sooner. If they aren't quite done, let them sit a bit longer.
For best results: Although you could just slice up the bananas and place them on a dehydrator, the citric acid in lemon juice helps prevent them from turning brown.
How to Store Dehydrated Bananas
Store your crispy banana chips in an airtight container such as ziploc bags or mason jars once they have cooled to room temperature. If fully dried, dehydrated fruit will have a long shelf life. However, if you enjoy them being slightly spongy yet, you will have to eat them more quickly before they go bad. For an even longer shelf life, vacuum seal the fully dried fruit for long term storage.
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Dehydrated Bananas
Equipment
- Food dehydrator
Ingredients
- 4 large bananas
- ⅓ cup lemon juice (or as needed)
Instructions
- Slice bananas into ⅛" thick slices.
- Brush lemon juice over the bananas slices on each side. Alternatively you can add bananas to a bowl of lemon juice and toss to evenly coat. Any excess lemon juice can be discarded.
- Place banana slices on a dehydrator rack in a single layer and dry bananas at 135 degrees for 6 hours, or until fully dried.
Randy Puls
I just did bananas for the first time. Couldn't get them crisp. What did I do wrong? Had them in for 3 days.
Denise
Did you use a dehydrator or oven ? Maybe cook longer and do temperature check on oven if that’s what you are using...
Mike Hultquist
Looks awesome! You know I DO love my dehydrated foods and snacks. These are a keeper for sure.