How to Make Dried Strawberries, 3 Methods

Inside: Learn how to make dried strawberries at home. Three methods for you to choose from. Use a dehydrator, the oven, or an air fryer. Each method can be used to make delicious and healthy dried strawberries. 

These dried strawberries are a healthy and yummy snack everyone will love. You only need one ingredient and a few tools to make your own strawberry chips easily. 

Learn how to make dehydrated strawberries now, so when strawberry season hits you’ll be prepared to preserve strawberries or other favorite summer fruits. 

Then you can enjoy strawberries for a long time in the winter months. Make your dried strawberries for snacks, to put in granola or cereal, or even bake in muffins. 

If you grow strawberries at your house or if you find them at your local farmers’ market, this is an easy way to make them into a sweet treat. 

Once dried, you can store them for a long time in glass jars in a cool, dark place. So you can enjoy them in the winter months.

3 Ways to Make Dried Strawberries at Home

Can I dry strawberries in the oven or an air fryer?

There are three ways to can make your own dehydrated strawberries. You can dehydrate the strawberries in a dehydrator, in the oven, or even in an air fryer.  

I’ve included instructions for all three methods below. You can use whichever method works best for you.

Any of the methods can produce dried strawberries easily. 

What You’ll Need to Make Dehydrated Strawberries at Home

The complete process of drying strawberries is pretty simple, but you will need a few tools. 

You’ll need something to dry them with…

• Food Dehydrator
• Oven for oven-dried strawberries
• Air Fryer

Other Equipment needed…

• Cutting Board
• Sharp Small Knife like a paring knife
• Baking Sheet or Dehydrator Tray or Air Fryer Basket
• Parchment Paper
• Strawberry Huller (optional)
• Storage Containers, mason jar, vacuum bags, or zipper bags

The Ingredients you’ll need to make dehydrated strawberries…

Fresh Strawberries the best strawberries to use are peak season, ripe strawberries. You want tasty, ripe berries to dry. 

How to Make Dried Strawberries (Video Tutorial)

I made a quick video so you can see all the steps to dehydrating strawberries. I also shared tips in the video to make sure your strawberries dry evenly and at the same rate. 

But if watching a video isn’t for you, I get it. Keep on scrolling to get the written and photo tutorial below. 

Plus, at the bottom of this post you can grab the printable instructions look for the recipe card. 

How to Dry Strawberries (Photo Tutorial)

In just a few easy steps, you can make your own fruity snack of dried strawberries easily. You’ll want to start with ripe strawberries. It’s best to use fruit at the peak of the season. 

Step 1 Wash the Strawberries

The first step you want to take is to wash your fresh strawberries in cold water. Strawberries because they grow close to the ground can be muddy. So wash them well.

After washing, place them into a colander to let most of the water drip off. 

Step 2 Remove Stem and Hull

Remove the stem and hull from the strawberries. You can use a strawberry huller to make this job easier. I like to use a small sharp knife.

Insert the knife next to the stem and go around the stem in a circular motion to remove the stem and hull in one step.

Or you can use a strawberry huller if you have it to make this job one your kids can help with. 

Step 3 Slice the Strawberries

Slice the washed strawberries about 1/4 an inch thick. You can make your strawberry slices into thick slices or thin slices.

 You want to make sure the slices are uniform in thickness so they will dry at the same rate. Keeping the thickness uniform gives the best results.

Slice strawberries lengthwise keeps the strawberries more uniform. 

But if you prefer, you can slice them across the berry. But you will end up with some berries larger and some smaller. Which means you may end up needing to remove the smaller ones sooner. As they will dry more quickly.  

Step 4 Place Sliced Strawberries on Trays

For the food dehydrator…

 I use the trays with the mesh liners. I love the mesh liners that can be removed so you can bend and twist them to release the dried strawberries. 

Place in a single layer with room around each strawberry slice. Don’t overcrowd the tray. The strawberries should not be touching each other. 

For the oven-dried strawberries…

You’ll want to use a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to place the strawberries on. Place in a single layer with room around each strawberry slice. Don’t overcrowd the pan.

For the air-fried strawberries…

Slice the strawberries, pat dry and place in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Don’t overcrowd the tray. The strawberries should not be touching each other. 

With this method, you may have to work in batches depending on how many strawberries you are drying and how big your air fryer basket is. 

Step 5 Dehydration Process

In the Dehydrator…

Set the dehydrator to 135 degrees. Insert dehydrator trays with sliced strawberries. Drying time will be about 10 hours or until the strawberries are crisp and no pockets of liquid remain. 

In the Oven…

Turn on the oven as low as it can go. My oven only goes to 170 degrees, but if your oven can be set lower, set it to the lowest setting. 

Place the lined cookie sheets with the sliced strawberries in the oven. Leave the door cracked a bit. This will help keep a low temperature so the strawberries will dry and not cook. 

Leave in oven for 4-6 hours. The dried strawberries are ready when they are crisp and no pockets of liquid remain. 

In the Air Fryer…

Set the air fryer to the lowest temperature. Some models can be set to 180, but others only go as low as 200. 

Place the air fryer basket into the air fryer and let dry about an hour. Flip the strawberry slices and let dry another 30 minutes. 

The strawberry chips are ready when they look leathery and no liquid pockets remain. 

Step 6 Cool

Before you package your dried strawberries for storage, cool them completely first. If the dehydrated strawberries are warm, they can draw moisture, and that is not good for dried foods. 

FAQ’s for Strawberry Chips

Do you need to pretreat strawberries before dehydrating?

No special pretreating is needed with strawberries.

Should I put sugar on strawberries before dehydration?

If you are using fresh in season ripe strawberries, you won’t need to add any sugar. But you can sprinkle a little sugar or lemon juice on the strawberries if you want to.

I don’t add anything to my strawberries before I dehydrate them. 

How long do homemade dried strawberries last?

If your strawberries are fully dried and stored properly, they can be stored 6 months to a year. But follow these steps below to get a good shelf life.

Cool: always fully cool before you pack your dehydrated strawberries into containers for storage.

Condition: Loosely pack your dried and cooled strawberries into an airtight container. I use a mason jar with a plastic lid with a seal. Over the next week, shake the jar each day and check for moisture. If no moisture is present in the jar after a week, pack your dry strawberries for long storage. 

Seal: for the longest storage possible, a great way to store your dehydrated food is to vacuum seal it. 

Label: once sealed, be sure to label the container with date, contents, and any other details you’d like to add. 

Store: in a cool dry place. Inside the pantry will work. You can freeze your dried strawberries if you’d like. 

How to Use Dehydrated Strawberries

Dried strawberries can be used in so many great ways!

• Eat them as a delicious snack.
• Add them to salads.
• Add them to trail mix.
• Cook with oatmeal, add with dry oatmeal, add milk or water, and cook. Or put them into homemade oatmeal packets. 
• Mix into ice cream or yogurt.
• Grind into strawberry powder and use in frosting or add to milk.

Get the Printable Instructions below…