We took a road trip last week and as I was packing up snacks to keep my little guy busy during the drive, I realized that I had a few containers of berries that needed to be eaten before we left. My son loves fruit leathers and I usually just spring for the expensive organic ones at the store, but they usually have added sugar. I'd been wanting to make them from home in my dehydrator for quite some time but just never got around to it, so this seemed like the perfect occasion. I developed the Homemade Fruit by the Foot to be cost effective and delicious!
Of course, we had to do a taste test to make sure they would satisfy him on our trip. I'm always so relieved and excited when Asher eats the things I make. He's my biggest critic, aside from my husband!
If you used a SilPat, gently lift from the corner and peel off the rectangle. Lay it on a piece of parchment paper, then cut into 1 inch strips using a pizza cutter or knife. Next, use scissors to cut the parchment into strips in the same size. Roll them up and keep in an airtight container for a week. If the rolls come undone, you can secure the end with a small piece of tape. It's that easy to make homemade fruit by the foot!
Shared with Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
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Dawn @ cuter than gluten
If you over cook (dry out) these until they become brittle you can break them up and use them as “sprinkles” on ice cream. I have a “sprinkles” recipe that I keep meaning to write-up but it is very similar to this.
Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
aww what adorable photos! those look delicious! i used to love “fruit by the foot” — these look fabulous and healthy too!
Mollie
Already making these for our trip on Thursday. Thank you!
Kelly
These look so yummy and fun and much easier than other recipes I’ve seen out there. I just pinned it and plan to try it sometime over summer! Lots of Blessings, Kelly
Elle
Oh my gosh! These look like such fun treat. I must try this!
Heidi @ Bits of Sunshine
these are fantastic! i love this idea!
sally cameron
Great recipe Danielle! Love the no added sugar. Have not had fruit leather for years and will have to try your method. Thanks.
Trista
Just made these today. I used stevia instead of honey and used water (not juice) and they turned out great! The lowest my oven went was 170 degrees and it took about 6 hrs before they weren’t sticky. They finished just before my 2 year old went to bed and he was really enjoying them. Great recipe! Love the feeling of feeding my family good healthy food.
Becky
Would these work in a fan oven? I don’t have a dehydrator 🙁 I adore fruit leather, so would love to be able to make these! 🙂
Terri Herrera
Can frozen berries be used? Would the amount of water/juice need to be changed since frozen berries seem to be very juicy when they thaw?
Mandy
I was wondering if you have any advice for getting them poured evenly. I have had problems with this recipe and others where it was partially wet still in area of the rectangle after drying. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Carolyn
Can these be done in the oven? My dehydrator is an American Harvester, which is round with a whole in the center of the trays. Not exactly conducive to making fruit roll-ups. Also, do you see any reason these can’t be frozen? I’d like them to keep longer than a week.
Against All Grain
I have notes above about doing it in the oven. I’m not sure about the freezer, but they would probably last longer on the shelf than a week. That’s just how quickly we eat them!
Susan
I can’t see the notes about the oven??
Lauri
I just wanted to clarify the instructions. You put it on med-high heat and then do you reduce to simmer for the 20 mins or do you keep it at med-high and boil for the 20 mins? Can’t wait to try these and neither can my two boys!
JoBeth
This recipe looks great! Do you know if you can use frozen berries? If so, do I need to adjust the amount of juice? Thanks.
Kelly
What’s the benefit to cooking and straining rather than just blending and dehydrating? Do they taste better/different?
Against All Grain
It’s really just a matter of if you like the seeds or not
EllenFitz
So you could just use a blender with less liquid (to compensate for what would have evaporated during cooking) and then strain (to remove seeds) and dehydrate? Seems healthier this way since the fruit was never brought to a high heat, but I am far from being a nutritionist. But it is less work and less cleanup! 🙂
Heidi
I used a combination of frozen strawberries, papaya and bananas along with fresh raspberries. I decided to strain the frozen fruit first since there seemed to be so much water. I then put it all in a pan w/o additional liquid and 1 T. honey. I set my convection oven to 170 and within 2 hours they were done! I just got finished rolling the fruit and let me tell you, they turned out great! Thanks for the easy, very healthy snack that I know my kids are going to love!
SwissMissMama
Excellent recipe! We live in Switzerland so fruit roll-ups/leathers are not available here.
This was my first experience making a fruit roll up by hand! I used a medley of frozen berries & 1 fresh banana sliced and 1/2 cup of no sugar fruit juice that I had on hand. I also added honey and lemon juice per the recipe. I omitted the lemon zest. After simmering 20 minutes I pureed with a hand blender and then strained to remove the tiny seeds. I baked mine in a normal electric oven at 170F for 5 hrs — I probably could have gone only 4.5 hrs. They turned out excellent and my 3 year old LOVES them!! 🙂 Thanks for the excellent recipe — this is a keeper!!
Tracy Konoske MS RD
I did this today using all frozen fruit…so I didnt add any water or juice. I just was careful about not scorching my fruit before it thawed and released all the water. I used organic peaches, raspberries, and a few strawberries. Costco had organic fruit this summer and I overbought and now that its cold I’m beyond a smoothie. So anyway, I didnt cook 20 minutes..just enough to thaw and mix in my honey and lemon and zest. I pureed and put on my silicon sheets with seeds. I started out with my (adjustable temp) dehydrator on 100 thinking I’d keep my fruit raw, then realized it did come to a boil so I’d already lost any enzymes I guess. It’s a bit tart b/c I was minimal in sweeteners but it is great. i learned that if you have any thick spots, they were still gooey so I’ll check more thoroughly next time before I take the trays out. But i am soo glad to have a use for my extra fruit. Thanks Danielle! Keep up the great work!
Against All Grain
Thanks for the feedback! I noticed a few of the same things after making them yesterday and paying more attention so I’ll add a few of those notes to the recipe.
Pam
I made strawberries and champagne “leather” years ago – quite tasty. I also leave the seeds of berries for the fiber.
Jessica
Is there anything that can be used in place of the lemon? I’m allergic to citrus.
Against All Grain
No I’m sorry. Lemons are necessary to help the fruit set and bind in the strips.
jesse
I would imagine you can use vinegar. The user of lemon juice in this case is probably not for flavor, but to reduce browning.
bobbi
Strawberry or blueberry vinegar would work. You can usually get it at farmers market.
Carrie2
Thanks for the advice. I was going to try it without the lemon.
Caitlin Self
You don’t actually need the lemon! We’ve made different batches with strawberries, blueberries, and mangoes and I’ve never used lemon to bind it.
Christine
This sounds like a great idea. I will be trying this today. Hopefully it works out as my oven only goes as low as 200.
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Did it work
Rachel
You can leave your oven door cracked with a wooden spoon and it will regulate itself. That is how we dehydrate our deer jerky!
Sue Laughlin
did it work Christine?
wasfou
most ovens go down to 200 only. What you do is have the oven door slightly open while the fruit is in there…
Julia
It stuck to the parchment paper. Anyway, without using a slipat, of making it so it doesn’t stick? I don’t want to throw another batch out.
Jen
I rub a little bit of oil (we use grape seed or olive) on the parchment paper before pouring the fruit on. It works great for me. 🙂
Celia
make sure you’re really using parchment paper and not wax paper. In my experience, almost nothing sticks to parchment paper, but many things stick to wax.
Margie
My family LOVES this recipe! This morning my 3 yo and I were craving some fruit leather, but didn’t want to wait forever (8-10 hours since we don’t have a dehydrator). Anyway, we followed steps 1 and 2, but then experimented by adding 1/3 cup of our Great Lakes grass-fed gelatin. It only took about 30 min to set in the fridge. The texture is obviously different than the leather, but the same yummy flavor remained. Just wanted to share and thank you for all your amazing recipes.
Chris
Margie, Where did you get the Great Lakes grass-fed gelatin?
Kristina
This is great! I used a batch of chopped plums that I forgot to can and some blueberries. I did not add any apple sauce or apple juice. I only put in the lemon juice and a tiny bit of honey. I just simmered a little longer because they were frozen. Threw it all in the food processor, strained none of it, I put the parchment paper directly on to my hydrator trays and set it for 9 hours. It’s a little tougher than store bought but both my boys love it!
Catheline Froehlich
my fruit leather stuck to the parchment paper, how can I make it again without this happening, and without using silpat?
T.
Try spraying a thin layer of cooking spray on the parchment before pouring the fruit onto it. It should help it peel off easier.
Jonique Dietzen
Has anyone tried it using a juicer instead of blending/straining?
Carrie2
I would think that juicers would take all the needed fiber from them so it would be like trying to make it with only juice.
Danielle
Chris, you can get Great Lakes Gelatin on my Amazon store https://bit.ly/1j6znRE, or at local health food stores.
brandy
I wish they shipped to Canada. I have found only 1 supplier for Canada
Nicole
Brandy – who is the supplier in Canada?
Kris
Can you use wax paper ?
Mollie
Is the 8-10 hours in the regular kitchen oven?
JScarl
What is the yield on his recipe?
JM
These were so good! I used a combination of fruits I had frozen. It ended up being Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries, and Peaches. I added the Applesauce, Lemon Juice & Zest, and Honey per the recipe. They turned out great! Thanks for the recipe. (PS – What’s the best way to store these? In the fridge or on the counter?)
sarah
I made these yesterday and they turned out awesome, apart from the fact I didn’t have a blender, so couldn’t puree the berries, so were a bit more crunchy than they kids would have like, but still worked awesome. My little boy even ate some, and he wont eat fruit so this in itself was great. Im trying mango and pineapple roll ups today. I have a convection oven, so just put it on the lowest it would go, with the fan going, and put a wooden spoon in the door to keep it open slightly and after about 4 hours they were done.
Lisa | Mummy Made.It
These will make a great Kinder Snack. I too will have to use my oven…I’ll kept you updated how it goes.
Brooke
How do you store these and how long do they last?
Thanks,
Brooke
Danielle
Hi Brooke, you can store them in an airtight container for up to a week. ~Eileen
Kelly C
I’m going to get these today w fresh plums, strawberries and blackberries. Can’t wait! These will be an excellent quick snack and a great alternative to gluten-free sweets no one really needs. 🙂
Ashley
I have fresh mangoes on hand and wanted to know if I could just swap the berries for mangoes and keep everything else the same?
Danielle
Hi Ashley! This is versatile recipe that works well with (most) fruit of your choice! It should be good to go with berries. Let us know how it turns out – another reader might have the same question!