When you have an abundance of apples and you don't want them to go to waste, learning how to freeze dry apples is a great option! Freeze dried apples have a concentrated flavor similar to dehydrated apple chips, but the texture is light and crisp. Additionally, they have a 25-year shelf life!
Do you own a freeze dryer? If so, you need to make these freeze dried apples! If not, maybe it's time you made that investment? Freeze dryers come in various sizes and price ranges and pay for themselves over time.
Last fall, I had the pleasure of going to my friend, Laura's house to pick apples. I left there with 2 large bags full of apples and so many ideas of what to do with them. Because if you know me, you know I just can't enjoy a good apple (or any fruit) without thinking of various recipes to create!
I ended up making canned apple sauce, which was amazing, and some equally delicious canned apple pie filling. I decided to make freeze dried apples with the remaining fruit. They make a wonderful snack, especially on a road trip, while camping, or going on a hike!
If your family is anything like mine, the long shelf life of freeze dried apple slices won't matter because they'll probably be gobbled up before you can package them. However, if you manage to pack some away, they're good for up to 5 years when stored in a mason jars (with an oxygen absorber) and up to 25 years in mylar bags!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- Similar to freeze dried banana chips, freeze dried apples make a wonderful, nutritious snack!
- The shelf life of freeze dried apples is much, much longer than any other way of preserving apples, including dehydrating them.
- All you really need is apples & a freeze dryer to make this recipe. The brown sugar and spices are optional.
- When apples are freeze dried, their flavor intensifies, while retaining their nutritional value. They're so good, it's almost like eating candy!
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Apples: Choose from your favorite variety including Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh, or my personal favorites, Pink Ladies. I used 5 lbs of apples to fill 7 extra large trays. You'll need to scale down the amount based on the size of your freeze dryer.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice may be used to treat the apples to keep them from browning. You will need approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for every cup of water. Vinegar and honey can also be used in the same way. Personally, I skip this step, because I care more about the flavor of the apples than the color.
- Sugar: I used 1 ½ cups of brown sugar to sprinkle over 7 x-large trays of apple slices. Feel free to use more or less or skip altogether!
- Seasoning: I like to sprinkle the apple slices with ground cinnamon and cardamom, but this is also optional.
🔪 Helpful Tools
- freeze dryer
- mandoline slicer or a sharp knife
- Oxygen absorbers
- Quart-sized mason jars or mylar bags.
- mason jar vacuum sealer
🍎 How to Make Freeze Dried Apples
Step 1: Wash apples, remove stems, then slice into ⅛" thick slices using a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife. An apple peeler, slicer, and corer makes the task much easier!
Pro Tip: You'll want to remove the apple seeds so that they don't extend the freeze drying time.
Step 2: Line freeze dryer trays with parchment paper or silicone mats to prevent sticking. If you soaked the apples, blot them dry, before adding them to the trays in a single layer. Optionally, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom powder.
Pro Tip: You only need to season the apple slices on one side, no need to flip them.
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Step 3: Prep freeze dryer by turning it on and cooling the vacuum chamber for 15 minutes. Once the chamber is cooled, slide filled trays into your freeze dryer, then close and lock the door. Close drain valve, then select start.
Pro Tip: The time will vary based on the model of freeze dryer you have, whether you freeze them ahead of time or not, and how juicy the apples are. Rest assured, your freeze dryer will alert you when they're ready.
Step 4: When the time is up, open the drain valve to unseal the door. Check each tray to make sure no further drying time is necessary. The apple slices should feel dry, light, and crisp. If there is any moisture remaining in the apples, select additional drying time until they're dry.
Pro Tip: You can also slice the apples into wedge wedges, or make thicker slices. However, the thicker the slices, the longer it will take to freeze dry them.
🫙 Storing Freeze Dried Apples
Freeze dried apples can be stored in a variety of ways, depending on when you intend to eat them. If they will be consumed right away, you can add them to ziplock bags, making sure to remove as much of the air as possible.
If the freeze dried apples will be consumed in the near future, toss them into some quart-sized mason jars and use a mason jar vacuum sealer to remove the oxygen from the jar. Adding an oxygen absorber if you plan on storing them for up to 5 years.
For long-term storage, add freeze dried apple chips to mylar bags and add an oxygen absorber. Remove as much air as possible out of the bags before sealing them. Store in a cool, dark location, away from direct sunlight.
🤷🏻♀️ FAQs
No, freeze dried apples are apples that have been processed through a freeze dryer. While dried apples can be prepared in a food dehydrator or the oven. Freeze dried apples have a much longer shelf life.
When stored in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers in a cool, dry location, freeze dried apples can last up to 25 years.
The choice is really up to you when it comes to peeling or not peeling apples before freeze drying them. Both methods work well, however, removing the seeds is recommended.
Both are delicious in their own way, but the texture is definitely different. While dehydrated apple slices are sometimes rubbery, freeze dried apples are light and crisp, often described as having a texture similar to styrofoam... but in a good way!
If freeze dried fruit is exposed to air or humidity, it will reabsorb moisture in the air and become soft again. To keep this from happening, freeze dried fruit needs to be stored in mylar bags or mason jars with oxygen absorbers as quickly as possible after being removed from the freeze dryer.
The length of time it takes to freeze dry apples depends on many factors including how juicy the apples are, the thickness of the slices, and how old or new your freeze dryer is. Using a newer model freeze dryer to freeze dry apple rings sliced at ⅛" thickness, took 10 hours. However, the apple chips needed 2 more hours of drying time, for a total of 12 hours of drying time.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- When freeze drying apples, I leave some plain and I make some sprinkled with brown sugar, and the rest seasoned with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
- If storing in mason jars, a mason jar vacuum sealer is a great tool to aid in removing excess oxygen and sealing the jars.
- The freeze drying time will vary based on how thick the slices are cut and the water content of the apples being freeze dried.
- Freeze dried apples can last for up to 5 years when stored in mason jars, as long as they're sealed. Once the jar is opened their shelf life is reduced.
- Whenever possible, I recommend using individually wrapped oxygen packets like these. The ones that come in a packet of 10 begin to deteriorate quickly once the package is opened.
🥧 More Apple Recipes!
🥚Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
How to Freeze Dry Apples
Equipment
- 1 freeze dryer (link)
- 1 mandoline slicer/sharp knife
- mylar bags or mason jars
Ingredients
- 5 lbs apples, any variety (for x-large freeze dryer)
- 1½ cups brown sugar (approximate)
- ground cinnamon (optional)
- ground cardamom (optional)
Instructions
- Wash apples, remove stems, then slice into ⅛" thick slices using a mandoline slicer or a sharp knife. An apple peeler, slicer, and corer makes the job easier!
- Line freeze dryer trays with parchment paper or silicone mats to prevent sticking. If you soaked the apples, blot them dry, before adding them to the trays in a single layer. Optionally, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom powder.
- Prep freeze dryer by turning it on and cooling the vacuum chamber for 15 minutes. Once the chamber is cooled, slide filled trays into your freeze dryer, then close and lock the door. Close drain valve, then select start.
- When the time is up, open the drain valve to unseal the door. Check each tray to make sure no further drying time is necessary. The apple slices should feel dry, light, and crisp. If you sense any moisture remaining in the apples, select additional drying time until they're dry.
- See post for storage instructions
Notes
- You'll want to remove the apple seeds so that they don't extend the freeze drying time.
- You only need to season apple slices on one side, no need to flip them!
- Freeze drying time will vary based on the model of freeze dryer you have, whether you freeze the apple slices ahead of time or not, and how juicy the apples are. Rest assured, your freeze dryer will alert you when they are done.
- You can also slice the apples into wedge wedges, or make thicker slices. However, the thicker the slices, the longer it will take to freeze dry them.
- When freeze drying apples, I leave some plain, and season some with brown sugar. I sprinkle the rest with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
- If storing apple slices in mason jars, a mason jar vacuum sealer is a great way to remove excess oxygen and seal the jars.
- The freeze drying time will vary based on how thick the slices are cut and the water content of the apples being freeze dried.
- Freeze dried apples can last for up to 5 years when stored in mason jars, as long as they're sealed. Once the jar is opened their shelf-life is reduced.
- Whenever possible, I recommend using individually wrapped oxygen packets like these. The ones that come in a packet of 10 begin to deteriorate quickly once the package is opened.
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