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    Home » Dehydrating

    Author: Darcy Baldwin • This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

    DIY Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Strawberry banana fruit leather with text overlay "Diy Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather"

    This Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather Recipe is a wonderful way to use up fruit and create a great lunchbox snack for your kids. Heck..it'd be a great snack for you!

    strawberry banana fruit rollups with text overlay "DIY No Cook Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather"

    Fruit leathers, also known as fruit paper and fruit taffies, are chewy fruit roll-ups made from either cooked or uncooked fruit purée. They are an excellent use for slightly overripe or bruised fruit that you might otherwise discard.

    Strawberry banana fruit leather is a no-cook fruit leather recipe. You can turn this into a raw fruit leather recipe made in your dehydrator with only a few modifications.

    This recipe is best suited for strawberries and bananas that are very ripe. This fruit will be naturally sweet and therefore, no sugar is needed.  Using less than ripe fruit will still work but it will yield a tart fruit roll. If you find that you need to use fruit that is not fully ripe, consider adding raw honey during the blending process.

    Strawberries and bananas
    Jump to Recipe

    Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather Recipe

    Yield || 2 large dehydrator trays cut into 16 one inch strips

    Drying Time ||  135°F for 6 to 8 hours

    Ingredients

    • 2 pounds strawberries, washed and hulled. Though, from personal experience, I wash and don't hull.
    • 3 medium-size ripe bananas. Use bananas when they are just beginning to have brown spots, that is when they are at their sweetest.
    • water or fruit juice (optional) as needed

    Equipment:

    • Blender
    • Dehydrator
    • Fruit leather sheets or parchment paper

    Instructions:

    1. Wash the strawberries and cut them into quarters. Add to a blender.
    2. Break bananas up into 2-inch pieces, then add to the blender.
    3. Add honey to taste, if desired.
    4. Blend the fruit mixture until smooth. Add water or juice in 1-tablespoon increments, as needed to thin.
    5. Spoon the fruit puree in equal amounts onto 2 dehydrator trays that are covered with tray liners or parchment paper.
    6. Dry at 135°F / 57°C for 6-8 hours or until done.
    7. Flip the sheets over as soon as they are sturdy enough to handle to make a more efficient drying time

    Oven directions:

    1. Follow steps 1-4 above
    2. Spread puree onto Silpat or other non-stick oven-safe sheets or parchment paper that has been placed in a cookie sheet.
    3. Dry at the lowest possible setting your oven has. If it doesn't go down enough, you can crack the door (see more tips for oven drying here). If you cannot crack the door keep a close eye after a few hours.
    4. Dry for 2-6 hours (or overnight if you can get it down to 140°F/60).

    When is the fruit leather dry?

    You will know your fruit leather is finished when you can easily remove it from the tray in one piece. If there are parts that are still sticking to the liner, keep drying for 5 to 10 more minutes.

    You will see that the side of the leather that was facing the tray is shiny and the side that was facing up is dull. It will be easy to handle and not sticking to your fingers. It may stick to itself, but that’s ok.

    Drying Fruit Leather FAQ's

    Best Technique for spreading fruit puree?

    Dehydrator trays tend to dry from the outside in. To help the leather dry equally, adjust the thickness of the slurry on the outside to be a bit thicker than the inside. This is easily done with a spatula or cake decorating offset knife.

    How thick should Fruit leather puree be?

    Puree should not be spread any thicker than one-quarter of an inch on dehydrator trays. The thinner you make your slurry, the quicker the sheet will dry.

    Use caution with thin slurry, it will dry faster than the drying times recommended in this recipe and may become brittle instead of pliable.

    My Fruit Leather is Sticking!

    It is easiest to remove fruit leather from the tray liners when the leather is still warm.

    Alternatively, you can put your sheet into the freezer for about ten minutes, then peel the backing from the leather (as opposed to peeling the leather off the backing).

    Can You Overdry Fruit Leather?

    If you find that you have overdried your fruit leather to the brittle stage, you have two options:

    • Turn it into powder and use for baking or smoothies,
    • Wet a paper towel or napkin and place it over the dries leather. It will absorb moisture and become pliable again.

    Can I do this on a raw food diet?

    If you are eating on the Raw Food Diet dehydrate adjust the dehydrating temperature to 110°F. Because of the lower temperature, you will also need to add additional drying time. This could be anywhere from 2 to 4 hours depending on the humidity.

    Raw food has digestive health benefits and using a dehydrator to make fruit leather allows you to control the temperature better than using a traditional oven. While there is some debate over this topic, many experts feel that foods heated over about 112°F retain less vital enzymes.

    According to the article Raw Food Diet Benefits on Dr. Axe, “Digestive enzymes are used by the body to break down foods to smaller and more operable nutritional units. This point shouldn’t be overlooked, because it’s not only how many nutrients a food has to offer that matters, but how we are actually able to absorb these nutrients.”

    Rolling strawberry banana fruitleather to make rolups

    How to Store Fruit Leather in the Pantry

    Fruit leather will usually not be sticky right after it is finished and you may think that it is not necessary to wrap it in paper or plastic. If you know that it will be eaten in a few weeks, you are safe to roll it without paper.

    Strawberry Banana fruit rollups in plastic containers

    As the leather sits in storage, the sugars will become more active and the fruit will begin to stick together. If you expect to keep them in the pantry for more than 2 weeks, take the time to wrap them so they will be easier to eat.

    I keep these pieces in a canning jar with a tightfitting lid so my family can remove individual serving size pieces. They will store in a cool, dark, dry pantry cupboard for 1 to 2 years.

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    Strawberry banana fruit leather with text overlay "Diy Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather"
    strawberry banana fruit rollups in parchment paper
    Print Recipe
    5 from 3 votes
    PIN THIS!!

    Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather

    Create a quick, easy, DIY strawberry banana fruit leather perfect for healthy lunchbox or afterschool snacks.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Drying time8 hrs
    Total Time8 hrs 10 mins
    Course: Snack
    Keyword: Banana, fruit leather, Strawberry
    Author: Darcy Baldwin

    Equipment

    • Blender
    • Dehydrator
    • Fruit leahter sheets or parchment paper

    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs Strawberries washed and hulled
    • 3 medium Ripe Bananas Just ripe enough - brown spots are great!
    • 1 tablespoon Honey Optional
    • Water Optional

    Instructions

    • Wash the strawberries and cut them into quarters. Add to a blender.
    • Break bananas up into 2-inch pieces, then add to the blender
    • Add honey to taste, if desired.
    • Blend the fruit mixture until smooth. Add water or juice in 1-tablespoon increments, asneeded to thin
    • Spoon the fruit puree in equal amounts onto 2 dehydrator trays that are covered with tray liners orparchment paper.
    • Dry at 135°F / 57°C for 6-10 hours.
    • Flip the sheets over as soon as they are sturdy enough to handle to make a more efficient drying time.
    • Roll the fruit leather in fresh parchment paper and cut into serving sized pieces.
    • Store in an airtight container for up to a year.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thepurposefulpantry or tag #thepurposefulpantry!
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    Comments

    1. Lori says

      August 10, 2021 at 1:05 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent Recipe! I modified it just slightly for what we had available and change the consistency with honey slightly. I had 1 lb of strawberries, 2 bananas and used 3/4 Tbsp of honey. it filled approximately 5 trays in my dehydrator. it took approximately 6.5 - 7.5 hours. 3 trays had a couple spots where it was still a little wet, so I put it in for 30 minute increments. The kids (and I) Loved it! Thank you Darcy!

      Reply
    2. Josee Godmaire says

      April 10, 2022 at 10:30 am

      Can we use the frozen fruits ?

      Reply
      • Darcy Baldwin says

        April 10, 2022 at 2:49 pm

        yes

        Reply
    3. Elizabeth says

      May 16, 2022 at 10:00 pm

      I am trying fruit leather and will try this when strawberries are in season. If the cooled fruit leather is sticky to the touch is is done?

      Reply
      • Darcy Baldwin says

        May 17, 2022 at 2:19 pm

        Should not be sticky. Can be a little tacky (think sugar leftovers vs post-it note). But you really want a dry leathery feel.

        Reply

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    Howdy! I'm Darcy! I've spent the last twenty years learning how to stretch our budget to meet the needs of our growing family. I want to help you succeed at it, too!

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