Fruit, Garden, How To, Recipes

How to Make Apple Fruit Leather – with Added Protein!

Apple season is upon us!

There are so many amazing ways to use apples, from apple pie to making apple juice. But a great way to use the apples and have them last multiple months is to make your own apple fruit roll ups, also called apple fruit leather!

These roll ups are great for school lunches, hiking snacks or even airplane snacks. This recipe uses no processed sugar, is only 4 ingredients, and has added protein to keep you full for longer.

a wood bowl is filled with apples, with two wire bowls in the background filled with more apples

What is Fruit Leather or Fruit Roll Ups?

Fruit leather is dehydrated fruit that is made by pureeing fruit and dehydrating it on a sheet. You can make fruit leather using any type of fruit, from strawberries to mangoes, and in this case, apples. Fruit leather is super easy to make, only uses a few ingredients and is a healthy snack that you can enjoy anywhere.

Making Fruit Leather in a Dehydrator

To make this recipe you will need a dehydrator since the temperature that the apples dry at is lower than the lowest setting on an oven. Most ovens won’t go down below 170°F and we will be drying the apples at 140°F. If you don’t have a dehydrator already, and have been looking to invest in one, I highly recommend the Cosori dehydrator. It took many weeks of research for me to find the perfect dehydrator, but I settled on this one for reasons. First, I love that there are 6 shelves so I can dehydrate a lot of food at one time, and second, the appliance has very little plastic. I always try and think about the entire supply chain with the products I invest in, which includes what happens when I’m finished with the appliance at the end of its life.

a Cosori metal dehydrator sits on a wood table beside apples

Fruit Leather Equipment

Dehydrator (or an oven that can be set to 140°F)
Fruit leather pan/baking sheet/parchment paper
Knife & cutting board
Peeler
Blender
Pizza cutter
Toothpicks
Storage container

Fruit Leather Ingredients

Apples
Lemon juice
Maple syrup
Ground chia seeds

Steps to Make Apple Roll Ups/Apple Leather

Wash and peel the apples. Once peeled, cut them into cubes. 4 cups of apples (approx. 4 medium size apples) will fill one 12″x12″ sheet.

a peeled apple sits on a cutting board being chopped into slices

Add the apples to a sauce pan. For every 4 cups of apple add 1/2 cup of water. It may seem like a small amount of water but as the apples start to cook they will release liquid which will help cook them (see second photo). Cover them with a lid and allow them to cook for 15 minutes, until soft. Pour out any extra liquid, if you wish, to help with dehydration time.

peeled and cubed apples sit in a steel pot

In a blender, add the cooked apples, 2 tbsp of ground chia seeds, 1.5 tbsp of maple syrup, and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

Pour the blended mixture on to the fruit leather sheet that comes with the dehydrator. If you don’t own one of these, you can use parchment paper directly on the drying rack. Spread the mixture with a spoon until it is smooth and equal thickness. Be aware that the mixture will be thick due to the chia seeds.

a white plastic sheet is covered in pureed apples that are being prepared for the dehydrator for apple fruit leather

Place the apple sheets in the dehydrator and dry it at 140°F for 6-8 hours. Depending on how thin you spread the apples will depend on how long it will need to cook for. After 6 hours check on your leather. The thinner parts will dry faster and any thicker areas will feel springy if they are not fully dried. Keep it in the dehydrator until all parts feel hard and don’t spring back when pressed.

a sheet of dehydrated apples sits in the centre of the photo for apple fruit leather while fresh apples are on the top left and top right of the photo

The fruit leather should peel easily off of the pan or parchment paper. Lay it on a cutting board and use a pizza cutter to slice it into strips. If you don’t have a pizza cutter, a normal knife will work as well.
You can either store the leather in pieces, or you can roll them up. We like to secure them with toothpicks (you can cut off the sharp ends), but you can tie them with some string, or cut them into squares and stack them with parchment paper in between as separators.
Store the fruit rollups in an airtight container. They will last in your pantry for around a month (unless you eat them before then!), but you can also freeze them to have them last longer (although we haven’t tried this method as they never last this long).

apples sit in the background while apple fruit leather or apple fruit roll ups are rolled in the foreground of the photo

Enjoy!

Apple Fruit Roll Ups

Ingredients

4 cups of apples, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp ground chia seeds
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Directions

Wash and peel the apples. Once peeled, cut them in to cubes. 4 cups of apples (approx. 4 medium size apples) will fill one 12″x12″ sheet.
Add the apples to a sauce pan. For every 4 cups of apple add 1/2 cup of water. It may seem like a small amount of water but as the apples start to cook they will release liquid which will help cook them. Cover them with a lid and allow them to cook for 15 minutes, until soft. Pour out any extra liquid, if you wish, to help with dehydration time.
In a blender, add the cooked apples, 2 tbsp of ground chia seeds, 1.5 tbsp of maple syrup, and 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
Pour the blended mixture on to the fruit leather sheet that comes with the dehydrator. If you do not own one of these, parchment paper will work as well. Place the parchment paper on the dehydrator rack that you will be using. The mixture will be thick due to the chia seeds. Spread the mixture with a spoon until it is smooth and equal thickness.
Place the apple sheets in to the dehydrator and dry it at 140°F for 6-8 hours. Depending on how thin you spread the apples will depend on how long it will need to cook for. The thinner parts will dry faster and any thicker areas will feel springy if they are not fully dried. Keep it in the dehydrator until all parts feel hard and don’t spring back when pressed.
Peel the fruit off of the pan and lay it on a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice it into strips. With the 12″x12″ piece we cut it into 5 strips. Next, roll the strips into rolls, however this step is optional. We like to secure them with toothpicks (you can cut off the sharp ends), but you can tie them with some string, or cut them into squares and stack them with parchment paper in between as separators.
Store the fruit rollups in an airtight container. They will last in your pantry for around a month (unless you eat them before then!), but you can also freeze them to have them last longer.