This Homemade Fruit Roll Ups Recipe is a wonderful way to use fruit that’s just a bit too ripe to be appealing. If you have picky kids like I do it’s also a great way to introduce them to fruits they might otherwise not dare to try. For instance, my son won’t touch pineapple regardless of whether I serve it in slices or chunks, fresh or grilled. But put it into a homemade fruit roll-up and he’ll happily eat as many as I’ll let him.
Of course, both kids and parents need to use common sense with snacks like this. It’s dried fruit, after all — even though you’re just eating one or two roll-ups you’re still putting away several pieces of fruit. Keep that in mind so little tummies don’t get too full!
Note: Whether to peel the fruit or not is a matter of personal choice. I use homemade fruit and vegetable wash on all of my produce, and if it’s not organic then I typically peel it. Without the peel you get less fiber but your homemade fruit roll ups will be more translucent, like the store-bought stuff.
If you have a dehydrator it’s even easier to make homemade fruit roll-ups in larger batches. Just use the solid plastic rack liner, or line your racks with wax paper, and load your dehydrator up with all the homemade fruit roll-ups you want. Dehydrate for 4 hours at 115 F.
Homemade Fruit Roll Ups Recipe
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
- 2 cups fresh fruit, chopped
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- Sugar (optional)
- Preheat oven to 180 F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Simmer fruit, water and lemon juice together in a medium sauce pan, stirring occasionally, until fruit is tender.
- Let the fruit mixture cool 10 minutes then blend it in a food processor or blender until smooth. Taste and add sugar if necessary. (Note: flavor will be sweeter after cooking so do not add too much@)
- Pour the fruit puree onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it with spatula into an even layer.
- Bake at 180 F for 8 to 10 hours (or overnight) or until firm. If the edges begin to look hard before the center is done simply brush them with water and continue cooking.
- Remove from oven when firm and immediately lift the parchment paper or silicone mat from the baking sheet and transfer it to a cooling rack.
- Cut the fruit roll ups with scissors or a pizza cutter into strips and wrap each strip in wax or parchment paper.
- Store in an air-tight container kept in a cool, dark location for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 6 months.
It’s really up to your imagine to decide what flavors of homemade fruit roll-ups to make. I’ve made apple, watermelon, kiwi, pineapple, raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry, along with just about every combination possible from these.
Great idea!! Love being able to make snacks for my kids at home!
Amber, I love making my kids’ snacks, too. It beats stuffing them full of artificial dyes and fake flavors!
Thanks for the instructions for how to make these without a dehydrator. I like that you can make it on wax paper, I have a really hard time finding parchment paper in our tiny town. I will be ordering some online at some point, but I have a TON of wax paper right now.
Thanks for linking up to Healthy 2Day Wednesday! Hope to see you again tomorrow.
I like this idea. We will try it when school starts. We are getting ready for county fair now.
Do you roll them up with the wax paper on them?
After you cut the thing into strips, lift the strips off and place them on individual strips of waxed paper, then roll. Kids like them just as much as those horrible fake ones from the store!