Fruit leathers are an awesome gluten-free vegan snack. Just perfect for satisfying a sweet tooth with a healthy and delicious alternative, especially for those on restricted diets. DIY Fruit roll-ups are also unbelievably easy to make. All it takes is some fruit, a Silpat (or some parchment paper) and a cookie sheet, a food processor and an oven (or dehydrator, if you want to make these raw). That's it. It takes all of 5 minutes to whip up, and the rest is done in the oven. A few hours later you've got yourself some delicious DIY fruit roll-ups!
Note: this is the first time I've tried making fruit roll-ups in the oven (as opposed to a dehydrator), and they came out quite good. I got inspired to try it out after seeing this recipe from Just a Taste.
Also note: you can do this with any fruit or berries. If you use things that are seedy (like raspberries), you may want to push the processed mixture through a sieve to get rid of the seeds so that the roll-ups consistency is more smooth. You can also use a bit more fruit than recommended — the more fruit you use, the thicker the leathers will be, though you'll also then need to increase the baking/dehydrating time accordingly. Also, the beauty of DIY fruit roll-ups is that you can certainly keep them classic and simple, or get creative and make some interesting flavored ones (cherry chocolate, blueberry lemon lavender, vanilla peach anyone?).
Also, note that if you're using parchment paper or wax to make these on, make sure that it's cut to fit perfectly into the cookie sheet and so that no edges overlap the mixture on top (any parts covered by parchment will remain a little soggy).
PrintDIY Fruit Roll-Ups
Ingredients
- 2 ripe mangos, chopped
- 1 cup strawberries, hulled (or equivalent of 3 cups of fruit or berries of your choice. See notes above.)
Instructions
In the Oven
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Preheat oven to 175F. Line a cookie sheet with a Silpat or some parchment paper (see notes above).
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Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until the mixture is fully pureed. Poured onto the cookie sheet and spread the mixture out evenly.
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Place in the oven and bake for 3-4 hours until the fruit leathers are dry to touch and not sticky (baking time can vary depending on how thick you make these).
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Remove from oven and allow to cool down. Once cooled, transfer onto a cutting board and cut into strips.
In the Dehydrator
- Puree fruit in a food processor until mixture is smooth.
- Lightly grease your dehydrator sheet with some coconut oil (or use dehydrator liners).
- Spread the mixture evenly and smoothly over the sheet.
- Dehydrate on 108F overnight (or for at least 9-10 hours) until the leathers are dry and stop being sticky. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into strips.
Notes
Use extra parchment paper to roll these up in so that they do not stick together.
Michelle says
My fruit roll ups are back in the oven again. I baked for 3.5 hours last night but didn't get the chance to roll it up because I needed to get to bed. I tried earlier and it was still wet so I am trying for 2 hours. Also I don't recommend foil. The fruit sticks to it like mother in law said. I will try again with Silpat.
Michelle says
Ok mine turned out to be a fruit log than a roll up. Total baking for me was 4.45. It was my fault but I think you should definitely warn against foil. The fruit sticks to it like crazy! Next time I'll definitely be using my Silpat and I won't spread the fruit puree too thin. Thanks for the recipe and making me realize that I can use my oven to make fruit roll ups. I have an 8 year old baby and this is good be able to do for her.
Ashley Worley says
Does this taste like the store bought ones? I'm in love with them, but they cost a lot in the long run.
The Real Person!
Hi Ashley. Fruit roll-ups, commercial and homemade are just dehydrated fruit. But hard to say if this will taste just like the store-bought version you're used to as they are all different and are made of different fruits. But you can definitely achieve the same results at home with a DIY method.
ron says
My fruit cracked
The Real Person!
Hi Ron,
Cracked?! That's strange. Sounds like your oven temperature was too high and it baked them into a crisp perhaps? Or did you by any chance have the tray very close to the broiler? Or by "cracked" do you mean it tore / was soggy perhaps? If that's the case, it just needs to keep dehydrating longer... Can you describe what you did and the result a bit more? I could use a few more details to help you troubleshoot the recipe. Sorry it didn't work out.
Sara says
Has anyone tried this with frozen fruit? If I thawed it and proceeded with the recipe, would that be ok?
The Real Person!
Hi Sara, yes, it will work with frozen fruit -- just thaw it out and bring it to room temperature first. Enjoy it! :)
Eileen @ Phoenix Helix says
This recipe looks delicious AND it fits the paleo autoimmune protocol (a rare thing). So, thank you! I recently started a weekly Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable through my blog, and I would love it if you linked up this recipe. I’m trying to expand resources for the AIP community. Here’s the link: http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2014/03/12/paleo-aip-recipe-roundtable-18/
The Real Person!
Hi Eileen,
Sure, I'd be very happy to link up this recipe. Sounds like a neat idea to pool together autoimmune-friendly recipes. I love to explore paleo and autoimmune-friendly desserts and snacks (more and more as time goes on, actually), so I'd be very happy to contribute any suitable recipes to the link up from time to time. Thanks for stopping by here and see you at the roundtable ;)