How To Dehydrate Bananas & Make Them Into A Healthy Snack

As you try to be healthy during the pandemic, learning how to dehydrate bananas and other fruits is probably one of the healthiest game-changers you can try. 

Dehydrating fruits helps prolong the life of fruits and makes them readily available whenever you need them. There are several ways to dehydrate bananas and the lack of equipment won’t be a problem.

In this post, we listed several ways of dehydrating bananas, some recipes you can use them with, and some answers to your frequently asked questions. 

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How To Dehydrate Bananas in 4 Different Ways

From sun-drying to using the latest kitchen equipment, we included all of the possible ways for you to successfully dehydrate bananas.

Dehydration has been used to prolong the lifespan of fruits and make them travel-friendly especially when you go camping or hiking. 

For the first dehydration method, let’s go with sun-drying!

Method 1: Sun-drying

If you want to save on energy and take advantage of the heat of the sun, you can sun dry them. You can use a solar dryer that you can hang in the sunny area. However, since you are only relying on the heat of the sun, it will take about 6 days to fully dehydrate them. 

The length of the drying time will also depend on the weather. If it rains or gets cloudy the drying time can reach up to 10 days.

Here’s how to prepare bananas for sun drying:

Materials:

• 3  of lemon juice
• 2 cups of water 
• 3 tablespoons of honey (optional)
• Strainer
• Solar dryer
• 2 to 3 bananas

Directions:

1. Mix lemon juice and water in a large bowl. You can add honey to make the banana strips sweeter. However, if you’re looking after your weight you can opt it out. 
2. Start slicing bananas thinly and let them get soaked in lemon water. Let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Remove the sliced bananas from the bowl and remove extra moisture with tissue paper.  
4. Place the dried sliced bananas on the strainer inside the solar dryer. 
5. Hang the solar dryer where there is a full sun and good air ventilation. Let them dry and flip the banana slices after two days. 
6. Keep on checking the banana slices from time to time just to check if there are no insects inside the solar or if they are drying well. 
7. Harvest your dehydrated bananas on the 6th day or 10th day when they are already fully dehydrated.
8. Place them in an airtight container and you can consume them for up to two weeks.

Method 2: Dehydrating Bananas Using An Oven

If you want to save on days of waiting for your bananas to get dehydrated, you can use your oven to cut the drying time.

The best tip to achieve the crunchy or chewy consistency of dehydrated bananas is to cut them uniformly thin. The ideal size is a quarter of an inch for best results.

Here’s how to use your oven to dehydrate your bananas.

Materials:

• 2 tbsp. of olive oil
• 3 baking sheets
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 ½ cup of water
• 2 to 3 bananas

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees
2. Mix the lemon juice and water in a bowl.
3. Thinly cut the bananas and dip them in the lemon water mixture. Leave them in the mixture for a minute. 
4. Remove the slices of banana from the lemon water mixture and pat them dry with a tissue paper.
5. Put the baking sheet in the baking tray and brush it with olive oil.
6. Place the banana slices neatly on the baking tray and place them in the oven.
7. Cook them for about 3 hours to dehydrate them right before they get too hard.
8. Remove the trays from the oven and let them cool down before you store them.
9. Peel the dehydrated bananas from the baking tray and store them in an airtight container.

Pro tip: If you want to keep the dehydrated bananas chewy, you can cut the banana slices bigger.

Method 3: Dehydrating Bananas Using An Airfryer

If you want the fastest way to dehydrate bananas, you can save on energy by using an AirFryer. However, unlike sun-drying and using an oven, you won’t be able to place them neatly in a baking tray.

The good thing is that with the AirFryer, every banana slice will still be cooked evenly. Here’s how:

Materials:

• 2 tbsp. coconut oil
• cooking brush or pastry brush
• 2 to 3 bananas
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 ½ cup of water

Directions: 

1. Mix the lemon juice with water and place the sliced bananas into it.
2. Let the banana slices sit in the mixture for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the banana slices in the mixture and pat them dry with a kitchen towel or tissue paper for 2 minutes.
4. Place the bananas in the airfryer and brush them with coconut oil.
5. Open the air fryer and set it to 180 degrees. Occasionally, shake the tray to cook every side of the bananas.
6. Cook it for about 10 minutes and let it cool down before storing.
7. Store the dehydrated bananas in an airtight container.

Method 4: Dehydrating Bananas Using a Dehydrator

If you are looking into preserving your food for the long-term, investing in a dehydrator would be best.

If you already have one, you can easily pop in your bananas inside a dehydrator and extend their shelf life. Here’s how:

Materials:

• 2 to or more bananas
• 3 tbsps. lemon juice
• 2 cups of water
• 3 tbsps. Honey (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut the bananas into thin pieces.
2. Mix the water and lemon juice in a bowl. You may also add honey to make the dehydrated bananas a little bit sweeter.
3. Place the sliced bananas in the lemon water mixture.
4. Pat them dry with a kitchen towel and place them in the dehydrator.
5. Set the temperature at 135 degrees and set it for 6 to 8 hours. At the 6th hour, you can check if you want to make the bananas crispier or you can settle with a leathery and chewy texture. 

Dehydrated bananas are sweeter and have a crispy to leathery texture. They can be sticky to touch but most likely dry to store in airtight jars.

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Benefits of Dehydrating Bananas 

Dehydrating bananas and any type of fruits like mangoes are a good way to enjoy the following benefits:

• Healthy and all-natural alternative to your junk foods
• A good way to help you get rid of added sugars, chemicals, and preservatives that comes with store-bought foods
• Readily available snacks whenever you need them
• Makes fresh food travel-friendly
• Naturally extends the shelf-life of fresh foods
• The fruit doesn’t lose its nutritious content
• Perfect healthy addition to your breakfast bowls and meals
• Saves up your time to go to the market
• A good stock in your pantry in times of emergency

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Delicious Recipes Using Dehydrated Bananas

Aside from eating dehydrated as is, they can also make a great addition to certain recipes. We’ve listed some recipes for you to try at home:

Dried Fruits Trail Mix 

Making a trail mix is a pretty easy one. You just had to mix all the ingredients well and put them in a sanitized jar.

For this trail mix, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Dried bananas
• Strawberries
• Pineapple
• Cashews
• Peanuts
• Pumpkins seeds
• Chocolate(optional)

Banana Pineapple Chia Bars

This recipe is made by Alyssa of My Sequined Life where she uses plant-based ingredients to create bars that mimic snicker bars, except they’re healthy.

If you love nutty and sweet snacks, this is the perfect healthy alternative for you:

Ingredients:

• 8 whole pitted dates
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried pineapple
• 1/4 cup dehydrated bananas
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a food processor and blend them in for 15 to 20 seconds until the mixture becomes creamy like a dough.
2. Wrap around a cling wrap on the mixture and flatten it into the shape you desire.
3. You may use a rolling pin to flatten it into ½ inch thick.
4. Keep the wrap in place and place it in the refrigerator. Let it stay in the fridge for about 30 to 45 minutes.
5. Once it gets firm, you can start to slice it into bars.

Chia, Quinoa & Banana Granola Bars

Another delectable snack from Ambitious Kitchen is a granola bar made from dehydrated fruits and bananas. You can have it as a snack to prevent hunger pangs and help you feel full in between meals. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup uncooked pre-rinsed quinoa
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup of dehydrated bananas
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1/3 cup dried raisins
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 tbsp honey 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. 
2. In a baking pan, place a parchment paper to prevent bars from sticking. You may also brush the parchment paper with a little bit of olive oil.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, quinoa, chia seeds, salt and cinnamon. Mix all the dry ingredients well.
4. Mash or slice the dehydrated bananas and add it to the mixture, including vanilla. 
5. Mix the almonds, pecans or walnuts and dried raisins.
6. Now onto the wet ingredients, heat a separate pan and mix the almond butter and honey.
7. Add the almond butter to the granola bar mixture and mix well. 
8. Pour in the granola mix in the baking pan and flatten it into a rectangular shape.
9. Bake the granola mix for around 25 minutes. 
10. Once done, allow the granola mix to cool completely.
11. Cut it into bars and store in a container.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How long does it take to dehydrate bananas in a food dehydrator?

It takes about 6 to 8 hours to dehydrate bananas in a dehydrator. However, dehydration duration also depends on the consistency that you want to achieve. The longer you leave it in the dehydrator, the crispier they get.

How ripe should bananas be for dehydrating?

Ripe or not, you can dehydrate bananas and still get that sweetness. Unripe bananas or commonly known as plantain are also used for dehydrating bananas. The only difference lies with the taste. Ripe bananas would be sweeter than the unripe ones.

How long do you dehydrate bananas?

The dehydration time for bananas depends on the method you choose.

Sun-drying bananas will take about 6 to 10 days depending on the weather. Dehydrating bananas in a dehydrator will last for 6 to 8 hours, 3 hours in an oven, and 10 minutes in an Airfryer.

Do you blanch bananas before dehydrating them?

No. Most foodies dip bananas in a lemon water mixture to prevent them from turning brown and give the sliced bananas a nice yellow color.

You may also add some honey to the mixture to make your dehydrated bananas sweeter. One trick that other people try is adding some salt to the bananas to bring out their sweetness during dehydration.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to dehydrate bananas is a good skill to learn in preserving food and making your own healthy food options. In a world full of escalating diseases such as diabetes, healthy snacks can really make a difference. 

Bananas are sweet which can satisfy your sweet tooth. However, they are also full of nutrients that are good for your heart health.

Additionally, having a stash of dried bananas and other foods in your kitchen equips you with enough food supply in case an emergency happens. Dehydration is an ancient technique of preserving food that becomes handy in a lot of situations,

We hope that this post has answered most of your questions on how to dehydrate bananas. If you find this post fun and interesting, please don’t forget to share it with your friends.

Let us know in the comments how your dehydrated bananas turned out. We’d love to see them!