7 Healthier Snack Recipes to Try with a Food Dehydrator America

7 Healthier Snack Recipes to Try with a Food Dehydrator America

Have fun making your own! Try out these tasty and healthy snacks using your own food dehydrator.

We can all be guilty of over indulging in unhealthy snacks sometimes, with many snacks full of sugar, artificial colors and preservatives. Making your own snacks means you know exactly what goes into your food which means you'll be able to create something that's nourishing and healthy. Making your own snacks is also more cost effective than buying pre packaged snacks from your grocery store so you'll also be saving pennies. Have a read of our dehydrator snack recipes below:

Click ahead to view the dehydrator snack recipes here...

Beetroot & Sweet Potato Chips
Kale Chips
Dried Fruit
Mixed Berry Fruit Rollup
Apricot & Coconut Fruit Rollup
Activated Granola Bars
Vegan, Gluten Free Crackers or Bread
Beef Jerky

Beetroot & Sweet Potato Chips

Create your own healthy crisps with your favorite vegatables. Your dehydrator will dry, not fry to create healthy deliciousness every time:

  • 1 large sweet potato (yam)
  • 3 whole beetroots
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp coconut or olive oil
  • Salt to season

1. Thinly slice sweet potato and beetroot, ideally into 0.1 inch slices. Doing your chips thickers means they'll take longer to dehydrate.

2. Place slices into mixing bowl and combine with oil and paprika

3. Dehydrate at 130°F for 8 hours. Adjust drying time depending on thickness of vegetable slices

4. Season with sea salt
Kale Chips

Salt & Vinegar Kale Chips

  • 1 bunch of kale
  • 1/2 cup of balsamic vingear
  • 1 tbsp of oil (coconut or olive)
  • Rock salt to season

1. Tear the kale leaves from the stalk and continue to tear into 3 inch size pieces

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the kale with your oil and vinegar and stir

3. Dehydrate at 110°F for 4 hours

4. Season with sea salt

Dried Fruit

You'll find that when you make your own dried fruit, you'll create a snack that is not only healthy, but has a more intense sweet flavor. When you buy packaged dried fruit, it often contains sulphur dioxide which is a chemical that can be harmful for anyone with allergies or asthma. Say goodbye to the preservatives and chemicals and make your own instead.


Dried Strawberry Kiwi and Banana

Our top picks for dried fruits:

  • Watermellon
  • Cantelope
  • Apple
  • Strawberries
  • Mango
  • Peaches
  • Oranges

1. Thinly slice the fruits ideally into 0.1 inch slices. Thickers slices will take longer to dehydrate

2. Place fruit slices onto the dehydrator trays without overlapping. To prevent the fruits browning, you can squeeze some lemon over the top

3. Dehydrate at 130°F for 8 hours. Adjust drying time depending on thickness of fruit slices. The water content differs depending on the fruit, which means that higher water content fruit will take longer. As a general rule, 8 hours should be sufficient

Apple and Mixed Berry Fruit Rollup

Blend your favorite fruits to create tasty, chewy fruit leathers. Try adding coconut cream or yogurt to make your fruit rollups extra creamy.

  • 2 cups of mixed berries (defrosted or fresh)
  • 2 red or green apples

1. Chop the apples into cubes for easy blending and discard the core and seeds

2. Blend the berries in a high speed blender until they are smooth

3. Prepare a dehydrator tray with a non-stick sheet or baking paper to cover the whole tray

4. Pour the berry mixture out onto the sheet. Pour into the centre of the non-stick sheet and work with a spatula out into a circle. Ensure the edges are the thickest part, the remaining circle should be evenly spread

5. Dehydrate at 130°F for 6-8 hours
Apricot Coconut Fruit Leather

Peach & Coconut Fruit Rollup

  • 1 tin of peaches or 4 fresh peaches
  • 2 ounces of dessicated or dried coconut

1. Blend the peaches in a high speed blender until they are smooth

2. Prepare a dehydrator tray with a non-stick sheet or baking paper so that it covers the entire tray neatly

3. Pour the peach mixture onto the sheet. Pour into the centre of the non-stick sheet and work with a spatula out into a circle. Ensure the edges are the thickest part, the remaining circle should be evenly spread

4. Sprinkle the top with an additional 2 ounces of coconut

5. Dehydrate at 130°F for 6-8 hours

 

Activated Almond Orange Granola Bars

Activated nuts are much easier for the body to digest and have increased nutritional value.

  • 2 cups of oats
  • 1/2 raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup of pepitas (or pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds
  • 2 tbsp. salt
  • 2/3 cup cold pressed orange juice
  • 1/4 cup of shredded coconut
  • 1 cup of chopped dried fruit (peaches, strawberries, watermellon)
  • 2 tbsp. honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Add the salt to 18 ounces of filtered water and add the almonds and pepitas. Cover and soak for 8+ hours

2. Roughly chop the almonds

3. Add the oats, juice and sweetener into your bowl and stir to combine

4. Add the almonds, pepitas, cinnamon, dried fruit, shredded coconut to oat mixture and combine. If you prefer a wetter mix, add some more orange juice

5. Prepare a dehydrator tray with a non-stick sheet or baking paper so that it covers the entire tray neatly

6. Form mixture onto the non-stick sheet and spread until 1/3 inch thick.

5. Dehydrate at 130°F for 4 hours

Vegan, Gluten Free Bread or Crackers

Adjust the thickness of this mixture to create crackers or use as a bread alternative.
Dehydrated Crackers

  • 1 cup of buckwheat or quinoa, soaked for 5+ hours, rinsed and strained
  • 1/2 cup of almonds, soaked for 5+ hours, rinsed and strained
  • 1/2 cup of flax seeds, soaked for 5+ hours, rinsed and strained
  • 1/4 cup of black sesame seeds or chia seeds
  • Optional: 1 tsp ground fennel seeds
  • 1 tbsp. molasses, honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
  • 1 tsp. cracked black pepper
  • 1/3 cup of water
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp. sea salt

1. In a food processor or high speed blender, add the buckwheat/quinoa and almonds and pulse

2. Add the water, lemon, salt, pepper, sweetener and fennel seeds and blend until the consistency is smooth

3. Place into mixing bowl and add sesame seeds and flax seeds. Stir well

4. Prepare a dehydrator tray with a non-stick sheet or baking paper so that it covers the entire tray neatly

5. Spread the mixture onto the non-stick sheet. Thickness: 1 inch for bread or 1/4 inch for cracker

5. Dehydrate at 130°F for 6-8 hours until you get the right consistency

Beef Jerky

Making your own beef jerky is far more cost effective than buying at your grocer. When you make it yourself, you can be sure that it's free from unnatural ingredients like MSG, preservatives and sodium nitrate. 
Beef Jerky

  • 2 pounds trimmed rump or topside beef
  • 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  • 3 cloves of fresh garlic crushed
  • Sea salt flakes, for sprinkling before drying the meat

1. Ask your butcher to trim the beef of any excess fat

2. Slice beef into 1/4 inch thick slices. Cut against the grain for tenderness or with the grain for chewiness. Either is delicious

3. Place sliced beef into bowl and add garlic and soy sauce and stir to combine

4. Place beef slices onto the dehydrator trays ensuring they are not overlapping

5. Dehydrate at 150°F for 6-8 hours