So I've made Raspberry Peach Fruit Leather. And then I made Mango Fruit Roll-Ups. But I'm not going to rest on my delicious fruit snack laurels! No! I've been floating around ideas and trying to think of something that would work during winter and then it hit me: banana fruit leather. So I made it and it was good. And then I made it again and it was still good. Good enough to share, in fact.
How To Make Banana Fruit Leather (With No Dehydrator!)
- Before you start, you will need 4 ripe bananas. You'll need to pre-heat your oven to 175°F and spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. (Don't spray on too much—you don't want oily banana fruit leather.)
- Peel your bananas and cut them into large chunks.
Now you need to puree your bananas. I like using an immersion blender, but a food processor or regular blender is fine. Make sure there are no large banana pieces. It needs to be smooth!
Try not to eat the puree. It's delicious! It's almost like banana pudding. (Okay, not really. But I try to convince myself it is.) Pour the puree onto your greased baking sheet. Hopefully your baking sheet is in better shape than mine—oh, the shame!
Using a spatula, spread the puree to cover the baking sheet. It's really important to make sure it's spread evenly, otherwise you'll end up with parts that are crispy and parts that are chewy. If this happens, it's not the end of the world though—the crispy bits are good too.
Bake at 175°F and keep an eye on your fruit leather's progress. Mine took 2 ½ hours to cook. (If parts on the edges are done and the center is still wet, you can cut those parts off and return the baking sheet to the oven.) When the fruit leather is done, you should be able to easily lift it from the pan—it should be pliable, but not wet. Use a pizza cutter or kitchen scissors to cut into strips or shapes.
Your fruit leather is unlikely to last very long. It's just that good! But if you do have leftovers, you can wrap it in plastic and store it for 1 month at room temperature or 1 year in the freezer. (Note that I haven't actually tried storing my fruit leather this long, but that's what the National Center for Home Food Preservation says.)
Sonadorra313 says
Great Idea! I have a pretty old oven so it took much longer to bake (4 hours), I also could have made it to thick, but it turned out super yummy! I used my Silpat so I didn't have to use cooking spray I just took the Silpat out and peeled the fruit off. Worked wonderful. We never buy fruit leather because it is so spendy, so this is awesome! Thanks so much!!
Kiersten says
I've heard from someone else that she used a Silpat too--I'm definitely going to have to try that!
Lara says
Silpat works just great, I tried mango fruit leather, mine took just 2 hrs at 175 degrees F. However, I spread a really thin layer. Just one question, have you tried doing 2 sheets at a time?
Kiersten says
I haven't tried 2 sheets at a time, but if you do, definitely rotate the sheets every hour or so. But other than that, I think it should work!
Laura says
Hi there !
What size cookie sheet did you use ?
Thank you and keep up the good work
Kiersten says
It's a large rimmed baking sheet--it's about 12 x 17 inches.
Joy says
I live in Australia and we have celsius temperatures. My first go at banana leather was a disaster as I did it at 175C - should have been 80C! However, the second lot was great - thanks for the idea. I used a silicon sheet which worked really well.
Kiersten Frase says
I'm sorry about that! I've started specifying Fahrenheit in my recipes now, but I haven't had the chance to go back and add it to my older ones. I'm glad it turned out for you the second time at least!
Saira says
what kind of oil spray do you use?
Kiersten Frase says
I use a refillable oil mister with grapeseed oil in it. Alternately, you can line your baking sheet with parchment paper and omit the oil.
Wendy says
Do you have any recipes for dehydrating pineapple or making fruit leather with pineapple?
Thanks : )
Rachelle W. says
Have you ever tried adding chia or flax seeds to the pureed banana? Honey?
Kiersten says
No, I haven't. If you try it, let me know how it works out!
Karel says
Is is possible to make fruit leathers without an oven? Any suggestions perhaps?
Thank you.
Kiersten says
You can make them in a dehydrator if you have one.
tony says
175 degrees
which
celcius? or farenheit?
Alissa says
Fahrenheit - that's what we use for all of our recipes unless otherwise specified. 🙂
Alida says
Hi there, i was wondering if i could add other fruits to the banana ? Like mango maybe?