Fruit leather is a popular snack among children. In addition, knowing how to create fruit leather in your air fryer at home would save you a lot of money on snacks.
Fruit leather is dehydrated pureed fruit. You probably recall eating them by the foot in elementary school. Organic, naturally sweetened alternatives are available at the grocery store, but they can be costly.
This is why so many individuals make their own. Fruit leathers are easier to prepare in your kitchen than ever, thanks to more people adding dehydrators or air fryers with a dehydrate feature to their household equipment.
I’ll continue to make my fruit leathers because it’s SIMPLE, and CHEAP!
Seriously, if I had known how simple it was to build, I would have done it YEARS ago.
I’ve tried several fruit leather variants in my air fryer and worked out what works and what doesn’t.
So, here are a few easy fruit leather recipes to try, as well as all the tips and tricks you’ll need to make delectable handmade fruit leathers every time.
Fruit Leather Recipe
What’s fantastic about DIY fruit leathers is how simple it is to tailor them to your family’s preferences and dietary requirements. Furthermore, you may make fruit leather using either fresh or frozen fruit.
Fruit Leather Recipe With Fresh Fruit
I enjoy making fruit leather with fresh fruit. Adding strawberries and peaches enhances the flavor and natural sweetness of the fruit leather. Feel free to experiment with other berries and fruits.
Ingredients for Strawberry & Peach Fruit Leather
- 1 can (29 oz./820 g) peaches in juice
- 1 lb. (450 g) of fresh strawberries
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) honey, agave, or another sweetener
- 1 mandarin orange, cut in half
Step by step Guide to Make Fruit Leather with fresh fruit in an Air Fryer
- STEP 1: Remove the stems from your strawberries and rinse them. Place them in the blender pitcher. Add half of the mandarin orange juice to the pitcher. Finally, drizzle with honey, agave, or other sweeteners.
- STEP 2: Blend or pulse the contents until it is thoroughly mixed and smooth. Then, place the strawberry puree in a clean basin and put it aside. Clean the pitcher of the blender.
- STEP 3: After that, rinse the peaches and place them in a clean pitcher. Once more, pulse or mix until smooth.
- STEP 4: Fill the Air Fryer Fruit Leather Trays halfway with strawberry and peach purees, rotating between the two tastes to create a swirling design. As required, smooth out.
- STEP 5: Set your Air Fryer to DEHYDRATE at 120°F (49°C) with the full trays. Then, dehydrate it for 12-15 hours, or until the fruit, and leather is no longer sticky. Rotate the trays often to guarantee equal cooking on all of them.
- STEP 6: Allow the trays to cool after removing them from the Air Fryer. The leathers should then be rolled up on parchment paper (as shown below). They will keep it in an airtight container for up to 14 days.
Fruit Leather Recipe With Frozen Fruit
No fresh fruit? Not a problem! You can certainly use whatever frozen fruit you like. Allow the fruit to thaw in the fridge or counter before continuing with the recipe.
I discovered that producing fruit leather provides excellent consistency regardless of the season—and that adding a little honey or agave gives it a delicious flavor. You might also use coconut sugar, maple syrup, or pureed or powdered monk fruit as natural sweeteners.
Frozen fruits you can use frozen cherries, frozen papaya, frozen mango, frozen berries, etc.
- Blend the frozen fruits until smooth in a blender.
- Fill each well of the Air Fryer Fruit Leather Trays with the mixture.
- Spread the mixture evenly around the tray, ensuring sure the borders are clean.
- Cook on DEHYDRATE for the time specified, turning the trays halfway through.
- Check for completion at the minimal time specified. When the fruit leather is no longer tacky, it is finished. (Each tray’s drying time may vary.)
- Allow cooling fully before transferring to airtight containers.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll
- Calories: 52
- Sugar: 10.4g
- Carbohydrates: 13.1g
- Fat: 0.3g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Protein: 0.7g
- Fiber: 1.9g
- Sodium: 1.2mg
Cost of DIY Fruit Leather
The cost of this fruit leather recipe is dependent on how much you spent on the fruits. If you’re paying cash, go for in-season fruit to get the best value. Even better, see if the farmers market has “jam berries” or “seconds.”
It doesn’t matter if the fruit is past its peak because it will be pureed regardless!
For example, one pound of strawberries will give around 3 cups of chopped fruit. Strawberries in my neighborhood cost an average of $1.65 a pound, making fruit leather; each strip costs just $9.
The typical commercial fruit leather costs 45c. Thus producing it yourself saves you 80 percent! And you’re receiving 100% fruit with no added ingredients!
FAQs
Can I make fruit leather in an air fryer?
If your air fryer has a dehydrated setting, you can make fruit leather in it. Each fruit leather tray has a wire rim, making it simple to put it into an air fryer. This is one of the main advantages of utilizing fruit leather trays.
The flexible silicone makes it simple to extract perfectly formed fruit leathers without having to tear them apart because each well carries roughly 1-2 tbsp (15-30 mL) of puree.
On the air fryer basket, spread out the fruit. Dehydrate for 3 to 8 hours at 135 °F. Depending on the fruit and the thickness of the slices, drying periods might vary. Throughout the drying process, check on your fruit, and when it is completely dry, take it out of the dehydrator.
What temperature should I dehydrate fruit leather at?
The ideal dehydrating temperature for fruit leather is between 140°F and 145°F. Fruit purée is dried in thin layers in the oven or dehydrator to create fruit leather. Fruit leather dries at 140°F to 145°F in 4 to 10 hours.
How do you make dried fruit in an air fryer?
To produce dried fruit in the air fryer, lay the fruit flat on the basket. Dehydrate for 3 to 8 hours at 135°F. The drying time varies depending on the fruit and the thickness of the slices.
Check on your fruit periodically during dehydration, and remove it from the dehydrator when it is completely dry.
Store in sealed containers in a cool area for up to six months.
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