How to Make Fruit Leather

Enjoy the best homemade fruit leather recipe that uses only 3 ingredients and captures the essence of ripe fruits in a chewy, irresistible roll-up! Follow the easy Step-by-step instructions to make fruit leather in the oven or dehydrator in a vast array of fruit flavors!

And since fruit leather is a delicious and healthy snack, it’s perfect to take on all your adventures from school, work, hiking, camping, or just snacking around the house!

{originally published 8/23/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 8/25/23}

🧐 Why Make Fruit Leather? 

One of my favorite memories as a kid was helping my mom make homemade fruit leather. Back then we would spread the fruit puree on large 4′ X 4′ makeshift screens and dry it in the sun.

Then my mom acquired a very old and very large dehydrator. Literally, this thing is a huge box that is almost as tall as me! It really makes me appreciate modern food dehydrators.

We would make all kinds of different flavors like peach, apricot, nectarine, and more. My mom was amazing at food preservation! And now I am in the position to be able to carry on that tradition with my own family.

Homemade fruit leather is so easy to make and is a great healthy snack! But there are so many more reasons why I prefer homemade fruit leather vs buying it from the store!

• Less added/processed sugar
• No artificial colors, flavors, or ingredients
• Kids prefer it over fruit snacks, sugar-filled granola bars, and even candy!
• You know the ingredients your kids are eating
• Healthier than what is in the store
• More cost-effective
• Tastes better
• Another way to store fruit, for when you have already canned peaches, frozen peaches, and made peach jam or freezer jam.

🍑 Ingredients:

I love fruit leather because it only requires 3 simple ingredients. And two of them are completely optional!

The Fruit:

The great thing about fruit leather is that you can make it with so many different flavors. Traditional Fruit leather flavors include:

• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Apricots
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Mangos
• Plums
• Papaya
• Apples
• Pears
• Kiwi
• Grapes
• Cherries

NOTE: You can use bananas, but they will need to be combined in a ratio of 2:1 (bananas being the 1) with another juicier fruit for the fruit leather to actually turn out. Strawberry Banana is a fun flavor combination.

Not only can you do any single flavor, but another fun thing to do is combine fruits for completely unique fruit leather flavors! Like peaches and raspberries! Or peaches and mangos. Or kiwi and strawberry!

Sweetener:

The traditional way to sweeten fruit leather is with regular white sugar. Yet, using 100% pure maple syrup or local honey are excellent options as well. I prefer the flavor profiles most when we use maple syrup or white sugar, but that is my own personal preference.

The amount of sweetener you use will depend largely on the sweetness of the fruit and your own personal preference on how sweet you want it. I always taste the puree before I dry it, to make sure it has the right level of sweetness for my preference. And remember that the sweetness will slightly intensify as it dries.

And of course, if you prefer, you can go without any kind of sweetener at all.

Acidity:

Lemon Juice or Lime juice added to the fruit puree will greatly brighten the flavor and color of your fruit! This is a completely optional ingredient. But will produce amazing results if you include it. You can even try orange juice!

🤫 Secret Time-Saving Tip

If you are short on time, or not able to find the fruit you need, I have the best secret tip for you! One time, I wanted fruit leather but didn’t have any fresh fruit on hand. So I simply got flavored applesauce from our food storage and spread it out on the pans and put them in my dehydrator. The kids LOVED it!

Or you can just do a regular applesauce on its own in the dehydrator or oven. Simple, and easy.

🛒 Equipment

Some of the links below are Amazon affiliate links, which means that I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase through them. This helps me to keep this blog running and to provide you with free content.

Another reason I love to make our own peach fruit leather is that it is easy and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. You will need:

• Food processor or blender
• Parchment paper or silicone non-stick mats
• Rubber Spatula
• Large Baker’s Rack (13′ X 18″ cookie sheets) for the oven method
• Food dehydrator with compatible fruit roll sheets for the dehydrator method
• Food String (optional)
• Air Tight Container
• Marker for labeling and dating

🔪Do I need to Peel Peaches?

For several types of fruit leather, it is not necessary to peel the fruit first. While some recipes out there suggest that you peel peaches, apricots, and nectarines first; I found that the difference in texture was negligible and not worth the effort. Plus the skins of these fruit adds a depth of flavor, fiber, and nutrition.

So instead I thoroughly wash all my stone fruit first. Remove the pits. And then puree the fruit as normal. The added skins don’t throw off the flavor or texture. So why add an additional step?

But if it does bother you, you are welcome to peel or blanch your peaches or stone fruit first.

🫗 Make Fruit Leather Puree

Some say you need to cook the fruit on a medium temperature for about 45 minutes with sugar to soften the fruit but also so that it thickens the puree. Others say all you need to do is puree the fruit with sugar and you are ready to go. So who is right?

They both are! I tried out both methods and really the only difference is the cooked method had a slightly darker color and the flavor was slightly different. But for me, honestly, I don’t think the difference is worth all the added work. But that’s just me.

Step 1: Wash the Fruit

Before you begin always be sure you have thoroughly washed your fruit. Any stone fruit will need to have the pits removed. Berries need the greenery removed. Grapes need stems removed. You get the idea.

Step 2: Puree the Fruit

Puree the peaches (whatever fruit choice you select), lemon juice, and maple syrup in a blender or food processor until it is very smooth. It should be the consistency of applesauce.

The maple syrup is really there just to sweeten any peaches (or other fruit) that may not be fully ripe, and also because flavors greatly intensify in the drying process, so adding a little maple syrup (or sugar) helps keep the dried fruit leather from being too sour.

Step 3: Dehydrate into fruit leather

Now that you have your fruit puree, you can proceed with drying it into fruit leather.

🔥 Dehydrating Methods:

The ideal peach leather is pliable and slightly chewy, not brittle and crunchy or too soft and jammy. You’ll know your peach leather is done when it’s darker in color, and no longer sticky, tacky, or wet to the touch. It is overdone if the leather starts cracking or getting so dry that it can break.

It typically takes 6-9 hours to fully dry, but it could take up to 12 hours to fully dry depending on how thick you spread your fruit puree.

👩🏻‍🍳 Oven Method:

Line a large baker’s sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

Spread the fruit puree mixture to a thickness of about 1/4″ on your prepared cookie pan.

💡 PRO TIP! The edges will cook faster than the center. So if anything, spread the mixture slightly thinner in the center and thicker on the edges.

Place the baker’s sheet in the oven at the lowest setting your oven can go, preferably below 175 degrees. (My oven only goes down to 175 degrees, so I just make sure to rotate the pans more often)

Rotate your pans after a couple of hours.

Normally it will take 6-9 hours to dry thoroughly. You will want to check every hour after 6 hours until all is dry and no longer “squishy” to the touch, extra sticky, or wet.

Dried fruit leather should be darker in color and no longer sticky, tacky, or wet to the touch.

Let the leather cool for 1-2 hours before eating/storing. This allows it to finish drying, cool off, and even soften up any crisp edges that might have developed.

Dehydrator Method:

Use your fruit trays specially designed to work with your food dehydrator. Lightly spray with a little oil. Coconut oil is our preferred oil for fruit leather.

Spread the fruit puree mixture to a thickness of about 1/4″ on your prepared trays.

Set the dehydrator to 135 degrees, the optimal setting for fruits.

Stack your trays and leave them for approximately 6 hours.

Check the trays at about the 5-hour mark and rotate them. Then allow to finish drying.

Dried fruit leather should be darker in color and no longer sticky, tacky, or wet to the touch.

Let the leather cool for 1-2 hours before eating/storing. This allows it to finish drying, cool off, and even soften up any crisp edges that might have developed.

🥡 How to Store Fruit Leather

You can choose to keep the fruit leather in large roll-ups or cut them into individual-sized rolls. If you want to cut them, use a pizza cutter and cut them into little strips about 1-2″ wide.

Lay out a sheet of Saran Wrap or parchment paper slightly larger than the fruit leather roll. Gently lay a little edge over the first 1″ of the fruit leather to keep it from sticking to itself.

Proceed to roll the fruit leather into a tube shape, with a layer of saran wrap or parchment paper between each layer.

You can leave the ends as they lay, or you can give them an extra twist like a candy wrapper to ensure they are fully sealed.

Place The fruit leather roll-ups in an air-tight container. I like to put mine into a thick Ziploc bag or an air-tight food storage container. That is if my kids don’t eat it all before I can get any into the cupboard!

Label your package with the date so you know just when the fruit leather was created and you can keep the oldest rotated to the front and eaten first.

Room Temperature:  Wrap the pieces in plastic wrap or parchment paper and then put your fruit leather rolls in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 2-4 weeks. If there is any moisture in the fruit leather at all, it may mold, so ensure your fruit leather is fully dried before storing it.

Refrigerator: Wrap the pieces of fruit leather in plastic wrap or parchment paper and then put them in an airtight container. It will keep for up to 1-2 months.

Freezer: Roll up the fruit leather in plastic wrap. Then place them in a large freezer ziplock bag or vacuum-sealed bag in the freezer. Fruit leather will keep for up to a year in the freezer.

💭 FAQs

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