I have said it once and I will say it again, apples do not get nearly enough love in the fall. It’s all – pumpkin this and pumpkin that. Apples are the red-headed skinned step-child of the autumn.
Life has been a tad busy as of late, so that has meant that baking has been totally out of the question. Beside that fact, it’s been so summer-like in Southern California that turning the oven on sounds quite miserable. In an effort to enjoy the amazing spiced flavors of a homemade fall apple pie or crisp, I decided to simply take some of the many beautiful apples we had from our farmer, the market and our own yard and make some yummy, healthy, cinnamon apple chips.
This simple tutorial works great with a dehydrator, but if you don’t have one, you can even make these in the oven. Easy. The best part about these cinnamon-dusted apple chips is how the whole house ends up smelling like you have an apple pie baking, the entire time they are dehydrating.
How-to Make Dehydrated Apple Chips
Start with crisp ripe apples, whatever type you like. I prefer honey crisp, red delicious or gala. But granny smith are also great with a little tartness.
Slice off the end of the apple then slice the apple into thin rounds, somewhere around 1/8″. I prefer using a mandoline slicer so they are all the same thickness. I leave the peels on, as long as they are organic.
You can cut the core out if you want or if you want to see those pretty stars that are formed in the middle, just pop out the seeds and leave them just as they are.
Toss the sliced apples with a little cinnamon and sugar, if you’d like (highly recommended)
Dehydrator: Arrange the apple slices in a single layer in your dehydrator. Turn the dehydrator to 135ºF. Allow the apples to dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours or until they are dried and as crisp as you want them to be.
Oven: Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Arrange the apple slices in a single layer on a parchment paper lined metal baking pan. Bake the apples slices for 1 hour, then flip them and allow to bake for another 1 to 2 hours until the chips are no longer moist. Flipping occasionally.
These homemade apple chips are best stored in an airtight container to maintain crispness.
[print_this]How-to Make Dehydrated Apple Chips
- 3 to 4 crisp, ripe organic apples
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon granulated sweetener of your choice (optional)
Slice off the top, stem side, of the apple and then slice the apple into thin rounds, somewhere between 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick. A mandoline slicer works best so they are all the same thickness. Remove the seeds or the whole core. Peel can be left on or taken off.
Toss the sliced apples with cinnamon and sugar (optional) and arrange in a single layer in your dehydrator or onto a parchment paper-lined baking pan.
Dehydrator: Turn the dehydrator to 135ºF. Allow the apples to dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours or until they are dried and as crisp as you want them to be.
Oven: Preheat the oven to 200ºF. Bake the apples slices for 1 hour, then flip them and allow to bake for another 1 to 2 hours until the chips are no longer moist. Flipping occasionally.
Store your apple chips in an airtight container to maintain crispness.
[/print_this]
NOTE: This is the dehydrator that I use
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links – your cost remains the same, but I earn a small percentage to help support this blog. Thank you!
27 Responses
I love apple chips and a sprinkling of cinnamon gives it a lovely warmth Beth!
I’ve been thinking about dehydrating some apples into chips this week. This is just the push I needed!
Picked up a giant bag at the farmers’ market on Sunday 😀
Thanks, we’re going to try this!
Awesome idea because we’re trying to find something that still tastes sweet but that does not contain added sugar (we won’t add the sugar). Buying the right apple is the key.
Yeh I have made them both ways, honestly I have only added a small amount of sugar when they are super tart apples, but most of the time it is not even needed.
Glad you like!
Yay no dehydrator needed! I’m going to make these this weekend.
Love this! Thank you for also having oven directions as well. I have come across my fair share of dehydrated fruit/vegetable recipes that only have dehydrator cooking times.
Sounds delicious! We borrowed a food dehydrator and are planning to make these for part of xmas presents. A couple questions: I love the idea of not coring but just popping out seeds and leaving the star centers, but are those center parts difficult to chew/eat once dehydrated? Also — any thoughts on storage? We’ll be gifting them in clear cellophane bags, and seal them so they’re air tight. I’m guessing the best bet is to make them and store them in a jar or other airtight container and then move them to the bags closer to the holidays — any thoughts on how long they last/taste good/etc? Thank you thank you! And happy holidays.
How do i know what temp is n the range on the High,Med and low settings. That would help to know this very much. I just got my waring pro dehydrator that didnt have this info in the instructions.
I don’t know the answer to that since every machine is different, I would maybe reach out to the manufacturer, to see if they can give you a range of temperatures for that particular device.
Mine was 140 at medium so I used that.. Google your exact question “waring pro dehydrator fahrenheit settings?” or something like that… That’s how I found mine.
Will a food thermometer fit inside so you can check it at each level?
Im going to use fruit fresh instead of lemon ect. Not a lemon person. So is fruit fresh a good way to go with fruit. Now remember im very new to this
you can also use crushed vitamin C
Great recipe. Love from MN!
Wow! I just made these and the sauce is good enough to eat with nachos or drizzled on vegies. The chips are in my dehydrator right now, and just did a taste test. So good! I have tried a number of internet cheesy kale recipes, but this is my new favorite. Thanks so much for posting! I didn’t have fresh Thyme, so I used a tsp of dried and it is very flavorful. I have also tried making apple chips from other recipes using pampered chef potato microwave chip trays, they work OK too, better tasting than the oven and faster, but definitely a best dehydrator makes the best chips.
Can I leave the apples in reg sliced form? (Like when you cut it with an apple slicer).. leave them kind of rubbery I guess. Would that work as well??
Misty, I am not sure what you mean? Do you mean the wedges that you get from the apple corer/slicer? Those are much thicker and would take longer to dehydrate, and yes, would likely be more rubbery.
Can you freeze them or do they freeze well? Going to make a large amount if I can and put some away for later.
Jessica, I have never tried freezing them myself. They might lose a little of their crispness, but if you freeze them, you could defrost and dice use in cereals, granola, as a topping for ice cream or yogurt, etc.
I have froze them in freezer bags after dehydrating them and they are a great treat in the summer , just eat what you want and refreeze the rest . you can also soak them and make great apple pies. Mine lasted a couple years
We have a good dehydrator and do jerked meats and when the apples came out we thought wow lets get another use for the dehydrator so today it is apples have a apple peeler,corer,slicer so it went fast half cinnamon , half plain smelling gooood.
Thanks so much for posting! I didn’t have fresh Thyme, so I used a tsp of dried and it is very flavorful. I have also tried making apple chips from other recipes using pampered chef potato microwave chip trays
How long will the last?
They should last well over two years, Deanna, provided they are preserved in air-tight jar or frozen in zip-lock bags.
Thanks for the delicious recipe. I love the fact that you slice it whole and have the star shape in the middle.
HOW DO YOU ADD FLAVORS INTO THE CHIPS ? IT DOES NOT STICK ON THE CHIPS AS THEY ARE NOT FRIED.