Dehydrator recipes allow you to create healthy convenience foods and snacks easily and inexpensively.
Why Dehydrated Foods?
Dehydrated foods contain all of the healthy vitamins and minerals of fresh. They are easy to store and last for extended periods. They take up very little space, and best of all they can save you money. If using local, in season produce is important to you dehydrating will allow you to preserve food in season.
Almost all foods dehydrate well. Some vegetables and fruits need to be cooked briefly before dehydration but most need little preparation at all. The food should be the same size before putting it in the dehydrator so that it dries evenly.
If you are on a raw foods diet, you can actually make cookies and bread in the dehydrator. Other dehydrator recipes will allow you to make granola, snacks, and even casseroles that only need to be reconstituted.
Snacks
There are numerous snacks that you can make with the dehydrator.
- Fruit leathers
- Raisins and other dried fruit
- Granola
- Raw grain crackers
Basic Fruit Leather
Fruit leathers are simple to make and you can use any combination of fruit from some very sophisticated flavors. Consider mango and strawberry, kiwi and Key lime, and other unique flavor combinations. Ingredients:
- 3 cups fruit puree (puree fresh fruit in a blender)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Honey or agave to taste
Instructions:
- Spread pureed fruit on the dehydrator tray
- Dehydrate the mixture until it is leathery and dry but not crisp, this will take several hours.
- Store in resealable bags in a cool, dry place.
This is a versatile snack, limited only by your access to fruit and your imagination. Always use a total of three cups of puree but you can vary the purees that you use.
- Apple and blackberry
- Blueberry and orange
- Mango, pineapple, and strawberry
- Strawerry and rhubarb
- Banana, orange, and blueberry
- Raspberry and pear
- Peach and cherry
Corn Chips
Is there anyone that doesn't like corn chips? These are simple to make, and low fat. You may need to add a little more water to get a runny but not watery consistency. This dehydrator recipe is versatile; you can try other grain purees for variety.Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked corn, pureed
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Salt and pepper to taste, or other seasonings
Instructions:
- Mix the pureed corn and flour
- Stir in seasonings
- Spread in the fruit leather pan of the dehydrator or line the dehydrator tray with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray
- Dehydrate until crispy, six to eight hours
Main Dish Ingredients
You can make your own convenience foods that are easy to store with your dehydrator. Unlike frozen foods, dried foods last indefinitely when stored properly. Just store your meals in resealable bags and rehydrate as needed. In this way, you can make your own seasoned rice mixes and other mixes like the expensive ones at the store.
Tomato Leather
Tomato leather is great for adding to dehydrated mixes that require a boost of tomato flavor. You can dehydrate it plain or add basil, cilantro, oregeno, garlic, or other herbs and spices to the puree. Using organic tomato paste keeps this an easy dehydrator recipe.
Spread tomato paste over the fruit leather tray of your dehydrator about one fourht of an inch thick. Dry about six to eight hours, or until you can peel it and roll it. Don't over dry because it will develop a strong flavor.
Hubbard Squash
Hubbard, or any winter squash, dries beautifully when pureed. Drying brings out the sweetness and makes it easy to create soups and other dishes. You can cut shapes out of the dried squash to use as beautiful embellishments when plating your dish.Just peel and cube the squash, discarding seeds and fibers. Simmer in boiling water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and puree the squash and then proceed as for tomato leather.
Mixes Using Dehydrated Ingredients
Once you get used to dehydrating your fruits and vegetables you can make many different foods with your basic dehydrator recipes.
Mushroom Pilaf
- 2 cups of rice
- ½ cup dried mushrooms
- ¼ cup dried onion
- 1 tsp dried sage, or to taste
Mix and store in a cool, dry place. Cook by adding it to four and a half cups boiling salted water and simmering for about forty minutes.
Lentil Soup
- ½ cup lentils
- ¼ cup dried carrots
- ¼ cup dried onion
- ¼ cup dried celery
- A two inch square of tomato leather
Mix and store in a cool, dry place. Cook by adding to five cups of boiling water and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about forty minutes.
More Sources for Dehydrator Recipes
There are a number of websites that specialize in, or at least have dehydrator recipes. By spending some time reading the sites you can familiarize yourself with the varieties of foods that you can dehydrate.
Using dehydrator recipes will allow you to get the most use out of your dehydrator. The more you use it the more skill you will have at developing your own recipes. Dehydrating foods is an ancient skill that is still valuable today.
