How to Dehydrate Bananas? 3 Easy Ways

There are numerous benefits to dehydrating your own bananas, such as making crispy dehydrated banana chips or chewy dried banana leathers. Learn how to make banana chips that have been dehydrated, and keep some on hand in your pantry for a tasty, healthy snack.

When you find yourself with a few too many bananas on your hands, making banana bread is usually the traditional solution. However, dehydrating bananas is also a fantastic choice! However, how to dehydrate bananas

There are so many great ways to use dehydrated bananas, such as dehydrating bananas in an oven, air fryer, or food dehydrator.

Add them as a garnish to oatmeal, yogurt, or cereal. Add them to your preferred trail mix. Use banana chips as “dippers” for peanut butter. Like plantains, serve them on top of burrito bowls. Or just take pleasure in them on their own!

Table of Contents

Prepping Bananas for Dehydrating

Slice the bananas: Using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the bananas into ¼”-⅜” thick rounds. To aid in even drying, try to maintain the pieces’ uniform size.
For banana “jerky” you can slice the bananas lengthwise into long, ¼” thick slices

How to Make Dehydrated Banana Chips in the Dehydrator?

It’s so simple to dry bananas in a dehydrator, and it’s probably my favorite method for producing banana chips.

Dehydrators are incredibly easy to use and typically come with several stackable trays. Dehydrating your banana chips on a food dehydrator’s overall large surface area.

The air inside the dehydrator is heated and then circulated by a fan to produce warm air. Warm air sweeping across the fruit gradually dehydrates the banana chips.

Dehydrating in the dehydrator:

Place the uniformly sliced banana slices on a dehydrator tray that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray.
Make sure the banana slices are not touching or overlapping as you arrange them in a single layer.
Set the dehydrator to the 135°F setting for fruits and vegetables.
Place the top of the unit on top of the stacked trays. Plug it in.
until the banana chips are dry, dry fruit for 6 to 12 hours or longer.
Throughout the procedure, keep an eye on the chips to see if they have dried.
The thin slices will be finished sooner. It will take longer to cut thicker slices.
Dehydrate the items for an additional period of time if they are not as crispy as you would like. After the dehydration process is complete, the chips have the propensity to become firmer if left out on the counter.
After the banana chips have been dried, shut off the machine and let them cool to room temperature.
Once cooled, place in an airtight container.

How to Make Dehydrated Banana Chips in the Air Fryer

As long as the appliance has a dehydrate function, air fryers are a fantastic additional option for drying fruit. If there is no dehydrate function, you will cook your banana chips rather than dehydrate them.

Cooked banana chips are still tasty; however, because they are not dried, they will not contain the same amount of nutrients. They won’t be able to be preserved the way dehydrated banana chips can.

I find that air fryers generally don’t have enough volume to produce large quantities of dehydrated fruit, but they still work well for smaller quantities.

It is a benefit if your air fryer unit includes multiple baskets for you to use when placing your banana chips.

Some air fryers also have space for stacking units, which can be purchased separately. The stacking unit will increase the surface area that can be used when it is positioned inside the main air fryer basket.

To dehydrate fruit, including banana chips, preheat the air fryer to 135°F as you would a food dehydrator.

To prevent sticking, don’t forget to nonstick spray the air fryer baskets.

Dehydrating in the air fryer

Fruit can be dried effectively by using the air fryer’s dehydrate setting.
Put the banana slices in the air fryer basket in a single layer.
Set the dehydrate setting to 135°F, place the basket inside the appliance, and turn it on.
Depending on the thickness of the slices, dehydrate for six to twelve hours.
Every few hours or so throughout the process, check on the slices to see if they are dry.
You won’t need to check as frequently once you learn how long your machine takes to dry particular foods.
It’s important to become familiar with your own air fryer because different brands of air fryers can have varying cooking and drying times.
The banana chips are ready when they are crisp and dry to the touch. Depending on the thickness of the slices, they might also have a slight chew to them.
When finished, take the chips out of the air fryer and let them cool.
Keep in an airtight container once completely cooled.

How to Make Dehydrated Banana Chips in the Oven

Your oven is undoubtedly an option if you don’t have an air fryer or a dehydrator for dehydrating.

The key to baking banana chips in the oven is to use the lowest temperature setting; otherwise, you risk cooking rather than dehydrating your banana slices.

If you intend to dehydrate them, it’s crucial not to cook them because doing so will prevent the food’s nutritional value from being preserved.

I have successfully dried many fruits at a temperature of 170°F because that is the lowest setting on our oven. You can crack open the oven door just a little to let some heat out in order to lower the temperature even further.

Dehydrating in the oven

It’s a smart idea to spread the banana chips out on a wire rack over a baking sheet so they can dehydrate in the oven.
Getting the banana pieces off the cookie sheet will enable warm air to circulate around them as they dry.
The air flow will also be improved if you have a convection oven.
Before arranging the pieces in a single layer on the baker’s rack, coat the rack with nonstick spray.
Place the banana slices in the oven and dehydrate at the lowest oven temperature for six to twelve hours.
When the pieces are completely dry, take the baking sheet out of the oven and let the banana chips cool until they are room temperature.
When cooled, put the item in an airtight container.

How to Tell When Bananas Are Done?

When completely dried, bananas should be leathery. Take a slice and let it cool to test it. Even if you split one in half and squeeze it, there shouldn’t be any moisture dripping out. It might have some bend.

Put them back into the dehydrator or oven to continue drying if there are any indications of moisture still present.

How to Store?

If you’re dehydrating bananas for snacking and plan on eating them within a week or two, you can store them in a sealed container or zip-top bag on the counter or in your pantry. Simply allow them to cool before storing them in an airtight container. We enjoy using these reusable ReZip bags.

However, when properly dried and stored, dehydrated bananas can last up to six months. Here are our tips for long-term storage:

Prior to transferring, let the bananas cool completely.
Condition: In a clear, airtight container, loosely pack the bananas. For a week, shake it every day to help keep the slices from sticking together and check it for moisture or condensation if there is any. As long as there are no signs of mold, put the batch back into the dehydrator if moisture is detected. If after a week there are no indications of moisture or mold, you can package them for long-term storage.
Maintain in a spotless, airtight container. Use vacuum sealing for a longer shelf life.
If you plan to frequently open the container or if you reside in a humid climate, use a moisture-absorbing desiccant packet.
Label the container with the date and any other important details
Put the container somewhere cool, dark, and dry; a pantry cabinet works well for this.

FAQs

Why Aren’t My Dehydrated Bananas Crispy?

The ripeness of the fruit prior to drying is a common cause of dehydrated bananas that aren’t crispy enough. It is best to start with slightly firm bananas because overripe bananas may take longer to dry and turn sticky rather than crispy.

Avoid stuffing the machine to the brim with layers of fruit to allow the bananas to cook evenly, which will result in the right texture for your dehydrated bananas.

Can I Over-dehydrate Bananas?

As water is drained from the fruit during dehydration, bananas lose moisture. The amount of water lost during the drying process determines the texture of the dried bananas. The bananas have probably been over-dried if they appear burned or have grown to be extremely brittle or crunchy.

The texture and color of the bananas are the best indicators of whether you’ve overdried them. Depending on drying time and your preferences, the texture of dehydrated bananas can vary from crisp to chewy. They should be yellow in color with a few brown spots.

Can I Dehydrate Plantains the Same Way I Dehydrate Bananas?

Bananas and plantains can both be dried out using a countertop oven or air fryer that has dehydrating capabilities. Simply arrange the sliced fruit in a single layer, just as you would for dehydrating bananas.

The length of time it takes for plantains to dehydrate may differ from that of bananas because they have thicker skin and a tendency to be larger. Plantains may need to be dried for 6 to 12 hours, depending on the appliance you’re using.