Homemade Fruit Leather Recipe (With Money Saving Tips!)

ByLaurie Neverman January 5, 2023February 7, 2024

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We love this homemade fruit leather recipe. It’s easy to make. uses a simple tip that saves money and gives more reliable results. I’ll also share some things to avoid and which fruits work best.

You can make fruit leather (homemade fruit rolls) it in the oven or the dehydrator. Since you choose the fruit, you can avoid the artificial ingredients in some store bought fruit rolls. (Homemade is also MUCH more budget friendly than premium brands like Stretch Island fruit leather.)

Homemade Fruit Leather Recipe for the Oven or Dehydrator

The “secret” to great fruit leather is pectin. Some fruits are naturally high in pectin, while others don’t have much. By combining applesauce with your favorite fruit, you get the signature “leather” texture instead of brittle fruit jerky.

Adding applesauce also mellows out the flavors and adds sweetness to tart fruits. (Drying tart fruit intensifies the tartness.) Fruits like raspberries and blueberries are usually more expensive than apples, so adding applesauce saves money. The finished fruit leather still tastes like berries.

You can also save money by using fruit that would otherwise go to waste. I hate it when I stock up on something, only to have the family stop eating it. This is a great way to turn those overripe pears or bananas into a whole new snack. Waste not, want not.

To make an 11×17 baking sheet of fruit leather or two Excalibur dehydrator trays, combine:

2 cups applesauce
2 cups fresh fruit puree (about one pound of fruit)

Homemade applesauce works best. If you don’t have any applesauce on hand, just core and chop a pound of apples and puree them.

Add the fruit mixture (applesauce and favorite fruit) to a medium stock pot. Simmer the fruit over low heat to thicken, stirring occasionally. If you’d like to add sweetener or spices (like pumpkin pie spice), this is the time to do it.

Cooking the fruit activates the gelling characteristics of the pectin. Acid helps to activate the pectin, too, so adding lemon juice is helpful for low acid fruits.

Once the puree thickens, remove from heat and cool completely. Now you’re ready for drying the fruit leather recipe.

Oven Drying

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread the cooked puree into a thin, even layer.

Place the fruit filled baking sheet in a low temperature oven. Around 140°F (60°C) is great if you can set the oven that low. If your oven is hotter, you’ll need to reduce drying time.

Bake at 140°F (60°C) until barely tacky, about 8-9 hours.

Dehydrator Drying

To make it easier to get your finished fruit leather off, oil the fruit roll sheets lightly. Use an oil without a strong flavor, such as refined coconut oil. Spread the room temperature puree evenly over the sheet in a 1/4 inch thick layer.

loading fruit puree into dehydrator — Aim to get an even layer of fruit puree on each tray.

Load trays into dehydrator and dry at 135°F (57°C) for 8-20 hours. When dry, fruit leather should feel “leathery” – not sticky.

Drying times will vary depending on the:

dehydrator model
liquid in fruit
humidity levels in the air
thickness of the fruit puree on the fruit leather tray

finished strawberry fruit leather — This strawberry apple fruit leather dried to a natural bright red color.

Sometimes you may notice that the underside is sticky when you peel up thicker leather. If this is the case, flip the moist side up and load it back into the dehydrator until evenly dry. (You can typically remove the fruit leather sheet at this time for better air circulation.)

To Store Your Homemade Fruit Leather

Once dry, cut your fruit leather recipes into small sheets or strips. To keep the fruit leather sheets from sticking together, dust them with arrowroot powder or cornstarch. If you made your fruit leather on disposable parchment paper, you can keep the paper on for storage.

Store the finished leather in an airtight container. We keep ours in a wide mouth mason jar, or zip top plastic bag.

If properly dried, this homemade fruit leather should be shelf stable. We’ve kept some in the pantry for over a year. If you’re not sure about the dryness, store it in the refrigerator or freezer.

fruit leather storage — We store our finished fruit leather in wide mouth jars and zip top bags for easy access.

Sweetener

We usually don’t add sweetener, but if your fruit is less ripe, you may want some.

Try a spoonful of honey or maple syrup, or 1-3 tablespoon of fruit juice concentrate. Orange juice concentrate adds a little citrus brightness, but any fruit juice concentrate will do. You can also use sugar substitutes, such as powdered Swerve.

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Mistakes to Avoid

Do not use plastic wrap, wax paper, or aluminum foil for your fruit leather recipe. Plastic wrap and wax paper can melt in the oven, and all three will stick to the fruit roll.

homemade peach fruit leather — If you like, you can dress up your fruit leather with individual wraps.

Which Fruits are Best for Homemade Fruit Leather?

You can make this homemade fruit leather recipe with a variety of fruits. It’s fine to use fresh, canned or frozen fruit (thawed). Citrus and melons do not work well in homemade fruit leather.

Drain canned or thawed fruit before use to reduce drying time. Canned fruits contain extra liquid (and often sugar), which increases drying times.

You can make fruit leather with any high pectin fruits by themselves. Low pectin fruits work much better with added pectin. For instance, peach leather or mango leather works well, but plain raspberry leather is brittle.

Fruits that are naturally high in pectin include:

apples
apricots
bananas
blackberries
blueberries
cranberries
currants
figs
gooseberries
grapes
guavas
mangoes
peaches
pears
pineapples
plums

Fruits that have less pectin include:

cherries
citrus fruits
melons
pomegranates
raspberries
strawberries
rhubarb

(Lists adapted from Mary Bell’s Complete Dehydrator Cookbook.)

Handy tip – save time by keeping the tops on your strawberries. Strawberry tops contain vitamin C, iron, calcium, and some pectin.

Bananas have a pH around 5, so it’s safest to pair them with other fruit and lemon juice. (Remember, we want a pH below 4.6 to prevent microbe growth.)

If you don’t want to use applesauce, you can also purchase powdered apple pectin for thickening. Add 1-2 tablespoons per 3 cups puree.

Since mango is high in pectin, you can make mango fruit roll ups without adding other ingredients.

Recommended Equipment for Making Homemade Fruit Leather

It’s pretty easy to whip up a batch of fruit leather, but a few kitchen tools are needed.

Blender – Think applesauce consistency for your puree. I currently have a Vitamix, but any reasonably high powered blender or food processor will do.

Dehydrator or oven – You can make homemade fruit leathers in a basic unit like a Snackmaster, or even a homemade dehydrator. Sun Ovens an also be used for dehydrating.

I like the Excalibur dehydrator for making fruit leather. The square shape makes it easy to spread the fruit mixture and cut the fruit roll strips.

Fruit Leather Sheets – I bought these basic non-stick sheets for my Excalibur. Their ParaFlexx fruit leather sheets are sturdier, but more expensive. If you do a lot of leathers or foods with smaller pieces, they may be worth the investment.

Snackmaster dehydrators come with two fruit roll sheets, but you can also purchase additional fruit roll sheets.

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Homemade Fruit Leather Recipe

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This budget friendly fruit leather recipe is a great way to turn extra fruit into a fun snack that will be ready in the pantry when you need it.

Author: Laurie Neverman
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Drying Time: 460 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 7 hours 55 minutes
Yield: 10 servings 1x
Category: Snack

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups applesauce (about one pound of apples)
2 cups fresh fruit puree (about one pound of fruit)
sweetener and lemon juice (optional)

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Instructions

Clean and chop your fruit and puree it in a food processor or blender. Pour the fruit mixture into a medium stockpot.
Add a spoonful of honey or maple syrup, or 1-3 tablespoon of fruit juice concentrate, if desired, for extra sweetness. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice (or more) for extra tartness.
Simmer the fruit over low heat to thicken, stirring occasionally. Once the puree thickens, remove from heat and cool completely.

For oven drying:

Line an 11×17 baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Spread the cooked puree into a thin, even layer.

Place the fruit filled baking sheet in a low temperature oven. Around 140°F (60°C) is great if you can set the oven that low. If your oven is hotter, you’ll need to reduce drying time.

Bake at 140°F (60°C) until barely tacky, about 8-9 hours.

For dehydrator drying:

To make it easier to get your finished fruit leather off, oil the fruit roll sheets lightly. Use an oil without a strong flavor, such as refined coconut oil or cooking spray. Spread the room temperature puree evenly over the sheet in a 1/4 inch thick layer.

Load trays into dehydrator and dry at 135°F (57°C) for 8-20 hours. When dry, fruit leather should feel “leathery” – not sticky.

Notes

Storage: