How to Dehydrate Bananas

Bananas are a great snack, but they have a rather short shelf life. Quite annoying, true, but fortunately there’s a great way to keep them around longer. Dehydrated bananas are a great and healthy snack, and they can be mixed with other nuts to make a trail mix. Here’s how you can make your own.

Ingredients

• Bananas
• Lemon juice, enough to cover the banana slices

Tools

• Bowl
• Knife
• Mesh sheet
• Chopping board
• Baking sheet
• Dehydrator or oven

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. If you’re using a dehydrator, skip this step.



2. Peel the bananas and slice them into equal pieces, around 1/4th inch thick each.
3. Quickly soak the bananas in lemon juice for around five minutes to prevent them from turning brown. Don’t worry, the lemon juice won’t affect the taste. You can also use unsweetened pineapple juice as an alternative.
4. Arrange the banana slices in rows in a mesh sheet on top of the bowl to let the excess lemon juice to drip off.
5. Place the banana slices in a baking sheet. Make sure that they are not touching each other.
6. Put them in the oven. Let them dehydrate for 18 hours. Yes, 18 hours. Turn off the oven once the banana slices start becoming pliable. After a while, they will become crunchy.
7. If you’re using a dehydrator, put the dehydrator on medium heat and let dehydrate from 12 to 24 hours.
8. Once the time is up, turn either the dehydrator or the oven off and let the banana slices cool fully.

Remember, dehydrating banans are not quite the same as making banana chips. For one thing, dehydrating bananas is a healthier option as it only involves lemon juice and dehydration.

Don’t trust the commercially-sold dehydrated bananas as there’s a big chance that those are actually deep-fried in oil instead of being healthily baked. Making your own dehydrated banana slices ensures that you’re getting the best alternative around.

Learn more about banana preparation options: How to Make Banana Chips