Learn all about making dehydrated peaches in a food dehydrator or in an oven. Drying peaches is a simple project for adults and kids and makes amazing healthy snacks.
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Dried peaches or “peach chips” are a favorite snack in our house. The best part of dehydrating peaches yourself? The process is so simple, and you only need two ingredients – ripe juicy peaches and lemon juice.
If you’re looking for other preserving options for peaches, check out our in-depth tutorial on Canning Peaches and making Peach Preserves.
How Do You Dry Fresh Peaches?
There are three methods you can use to dehydrate peaches – the dehydrator, the oven, and sun drying. I’ll walk you through each of the options in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Between you and me, my preference is always to use my dehydrator. It’s energy-efficient, it doesn’t heat up my house, I can dry a lot at once, and I know it will consistently dry my peaches.
But, if you live in a warm place with limited humidity, sun-drying peaches is also an option. It just takes a lot longer!
Which Peaches Are Best For Drying?
Peaches come in two main types, freestone and cling. You can use either or both for this recipe, but for ease of prep, freestone is the way to go.
Freestone – when cut in half, the peach will separate easily from the pit.
Cling – the peach flesh will “cling” to the pit, making it very challenging to cut them in half. You can check out my tutorial on How to Cut Peaches to learn how to slice cling peaches in only 15 seconds.
Whichever variety you choose, you’ll want to select ripe peaches that are heavy and only slightly firm. If gently pressed near the stem end, you’ll want the peach to “give” a bit.
Do Peaches Need to Be Ripe to Dehydrate?
Dehydrating concentrates the natural juices in fruit, so ripe peaches will taste better when dehydrated.
If you have only slightly ripe peaches, the dehydration process will make them a bit sweeter than if eaten fresh.
Do You Peel Peaches Before Drying?
You do not need to peel peaches before drying them. I did a test of half peeled and half with skin on. When all was said and done I noticed almost zero difference in the final texture. For my prep time, leaving the peel on is a no-brainer.
However, if you prefer to peel them, check out my tutorial on How to Peel Peaches. It’s going to walk you through the entire process step-by-step with photos.
HOW DO I KNOW When DRIED Peaches ARE DONE?
Peaches are done when they don’t feel wet anymore (6-10 hours). Some of the slices will finish before the others on the same tray. Remove those that are done and set them aside.
Even finished peaches might feel a bit sticky when warm. Allow the peaches to fully cool for an hour and then fold a slice between two fingers.
If the cooled peach slices aren’t sticky/tacky and there is some give when you fold it, it’s done. If the peaches fold in half like a piece of paper, they are overly dried. They’re still edible and delicious, but likely a little tougher.
Store dried peaches in an air-tight container like a mason jar. If you see any condensation inside the container after a day or so, the peaches were not dried long enough. It would be best to store them in the fridge or freezer at this point.
How to Use Dried Peaches
They’re great as simple snacks, in homemade trail mix, on top of yogurt (related: Instant Pot Cold Start Yogurt), in homemade granola (Paleo Granola and Coconut Banana Bread Granola), or Peach Pie Overnight Oats.
You can also chop them in a clean coffee grinder, spice grinder, or food processor to use in homemade peach tea. For cold drinks, add some to our Instant Pot Iced Tea or this Healthy Sweet Tea recipe.
To rehydrate peaches, soak 1 cup of dried peaches in 2 cups of cool water for 1-1.5 hours.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Aim for slices that are 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick. Thinner slices will dry more quickly.
- Avoid the temptation to increase the heat on the dehydrator or oven to speed up the process. Low and slow wins in the race on this one.
- 12 pounds of peaches will dry down to 2-3 pints or 1-1.5 pounds total.
- Dried peaches will last for up to a year if stored in a cool dry place.
More Peach Recipes to Try
Looking for more dehydrator tutorials? Check out our posts on Dehydrating Apples, Drying Peppers, Dehydrating Marshmallows, Drying Limes, Dehydrating Onions, Dehydrating Potatoes, Drying Chives, Drying Pears, Homemade Tomato Powder, and Dehydrating Tomatoes.
And you’ll love these drying herb tutorials: Dehydrating Oregano, Dehydrating Mint, Dehydrating Garlic, How to Dry Basil, and Drying Rosemary.
Dehydrated Peaches
Ingredients
- 12 lbs peaches {choose ripe and firm peaches}
- 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
- 5 cups cold water
Instructions
- Fill a bowl with cold water and lemon juice.5 cups cold water, 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
- Set up a workstation with a cutting board, a paring knife, and a refuse bowl for the pits.
- Rinse peaches, cut in half, and slice thinly (~1/4 to 3/8 in).12 lbs peaches
- Place the slices in the water/lemon juice mixture for 10 minutes.
- Drain peach slices.
- Arrange the slices on dehydrator trays so that there is space around each slice, and the slices are not touching.
- Set dehydrator to the "fruit/vegetables" setting (135 degrees F) and dry for 6-10 hours. Rotate trays every few hours.
- The length of time they need to dry out will vary based on how many trays you have going on at once, and how thick the peach slices are.
- Peaches are done when they don’t feel wet anymore. Some slices will finish before the others on the same tray. Remove those that are done and set aside.
Notes
- The instructions call for 12 pounds of peaches but you can absolutely dehydrate fewer peaches.
- Avoid the temptation to increase the heat on the dehydrator or oven to speed up the process. Low and slow wins in the race on this one.
- 12 pounds of peaches will dry down to 2-3 pints or 1-1.5 pounds total.
- If you would like to peel peaches prior to dehydrating, this post on how to peel peaches will walk you through the process.
- Dried peaches will last for up to a year if stored in a cool dry place.
- Follow the peeling and soaking instructions above and then place peach slices on baking drying racks set in baking sheets.
- Place in the oven at the lowest temperature possible (usually 140-170 degrees F) and prop open the door with the handle of a wooden spoon. This allows condensation to escape instead of just settling back onto the peaches.
- Bake for 5-8 hours.
- Follow the peeling and soaking instructions above and then place peach slices on baking drying racks set in baking sheets.
- Cover trays with cheesecloth to prevent bugs from settling on them.
- Place outside in full sun (if possible) in temps that are 80F degrees or higher with humidity that is 55% or lower.
- Rotate slices every 5-6 hours. Slices can take days to dry.
- Bring trays in at night.
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