You don’t need a dehydrator to make your own dried fruit. I will show you How to Make Oven Dried Pineapple so that you can enjoy this sweet and healthy treat.
I always thought I needed a dehydrator to dry my own fruit. Every time I contemplated getting one, I looked at the size of it and realized that I had no place to store it, let alone the counter space to use it. So, my dream of making my own dried fruit came to an end. Until, that is, I figured out how to do it in my oven.
The first time I tried dried pineapple was in this Hawaiian style granola I made with macadamia nuts, coconut, oats, and dried mango, pineapple, and banana. Sounds good, right? I was oh-so good. It was at that moment that I realized dried pineapple is an incredibly delicious snack. Some fruits don’t dry well in my opinion. Pineapple does. You must make sure you start out with a perfectly ripe pineapple. You can tell when it’s ready by the color (it should be more yellow than green) and it’s scent (the bottom should smell wonderful).
Once you slice off the exterior and cut your pineapple into thin slices, you need to get rid of the core in the middle. You can just use a knife, but as I was rummaging through my utensil drawer I realized that this metal frosting tip would be perfect, and it was.
Simply lay them in a single layer on your lined baking dish. I actually had two more slices than what you see here but I couldn’t resist and had to eat them fresh. I make no apologies.
The end result is perfectly chewy, naturally sweet, tart and tangy nature candy!
These are so chewy and sweet and delicious that I’m willing to bet that your kids (the younger ones, at least) will believe they are candy if that’s what you tell them. If you do, please come back and let me know if they fell for it!
How to Make Oven Dried Pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 ripe pineapple
Instructions
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Using a serrated edge knife, cut top and bottom off of pineapple. With the pineapple set vertically on your cutting board, cut the sides off. Use a paring knife to remove any eyes that remain on the fruit.
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Lay the peeled pineapple on its side and slice it into ¼ inch rounds (or even thinner if you can).
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Use a paring knife or the round part of a metal frosting tip to remove the hard core center.
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Lay rings in a single layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
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Dry in 175° F oven for 8 hours while flipping pineapple rings every couple of hours.
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Store in airtight container.
Just thought I’d let you know, I used an electric knife to cut my pineapple. It made REALLY thin slices!
GREAT suggestion! I have one, but have never used it to cut pineapple!
Can I use canned pineapple?
Hi Stacy, I wish I could tell you for certain, but canned and fresh pineapple are so different I’m not sure how it would turn out. If you try it, will you come back and let me know? Thanks, krissy
At 175 degrees, this actually took closer to 11 hours for me. I had ~1/4″ slices on a Silpat mat, so maybe that was the difference. Fortunately, I used the time cook option on my oven and didn’t have to stay up all night to watch them (though I did flip them several times before I went to bed). I’ll definitely make again, but I might turn up the temp to get that chewy texture and golden color. Oh, and buy twice as many pineapples because they’re addicting!