• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Savory Lotus

simple clean eats + healthy treats

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Healthy Living
  • Resources
  • Safe Skincare
    • BEAUTYCOUNTER
    • PRIMALLY PURE
  • MEAL PLANS

By Katja Heino 23 Comments
Savory Lotus may receive commissions from purchases made through links in this post.

5 Amazing Apple Fruit Leather Recipes

fruit leather rolls in a glass jarI’m up to my elbows in apples right now.  Our beautiful tree has blessed us with an abundance of fruit, and I am on a mission to not waste it.  Apple crisp, baked apples, apple noodles with my spiralizer, dried apples, and applesauce.  We’ve made it all.  And today I am sharing how I made 5 different amazing apple fruit leathers.

There is something completely satisfying about making use of the things around me.  Don’t you agree? I live in Northern California where we are blessed with an abundance of food growing all around us.  Every year, I notice tons of fruit going to waste on trees all around me.  I think the art of preserving food is lost to many folks.  Are we too busy to take advantage of the gifts given to us?  Not this mama!

This week my dear friend, Lauren, and I set out on a mission to make applesauce with all of the apples falling off the trees around us.  I’m all about the buddy system when it comes to working in the kitchen.  There was a time when folks got together and processed, preserved, and shared the bounty of the seasons.  It was quite easy and tons of fun, even with our 2 toddlers running around.   We washed, peeled, cored, and cooked down the apples into delicious homemade applesauce.

OK, confession time:  I’m a total sucker for nifty kitchen gadgets.  Lauren has an apple peeler corer.  If you haven’t seen one, it’s a simple metal tool that clamps to a cutting board or table that peels, cores, and slices your apples all is one swift turn of the cute little handle.  I love it!  It made making applesauce super easy and super fun.  While Lauren gathered and washed the apples, I happily turned this magical machine over and over again to watch the perfect little strips of apple peel twirl off.  I’m a dork, I know!

Click HERE to PIN THIS!

5 Amazing Apple Fruit Leather Recipes - savorylotus.com

apple peeler and knife

All said and done, we made 3 gallons of applesauce, all from free apples.  I’m feeling pretty accomplished.  Now what to to with all this sauce?  I could can it all.  Nothing like homemade apple sauce over warm, steamy grain free pumpkin pancakes in the winter.  But I decided to experiment instead.  I came home and made 5 different flavors of apple fruit leathers, with my little one as my taste- tester.  She’s 2, and her response to each flavor was an enthusiastic “YUMMY!”  That’s my girl.

Apple fruit leathers are easy to make.  Add your favorite flavorings and puree your applesauce until creamy smooth.  I used my Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator.  It took about 12 hours. I’m wary of the non-stick, teflon-coated sheets made for dehydrators, so I just use unbleached parchment paper on the trays.  It works just fine.  I’ve also seen folks dry the fruit leather on baking sheets in the oven on the lowest setting.

piles of small fruit leather rolls in yellow and red

The recipes below are quite simple.  They all have the same amount of apple sauce (3 cups).  Each batch made 2 large sheets of apple fruit leather.  This will vary depending on your trays.  Have fun with this.  Experiment.

How to Make Homemade Applesauce:

Making applesauce is a breeze.  Peel, core, and roughly chop your apples.  Add to a big pot, toss in some lemon juice (about 4 TBS for 12 apples) and stir to coat.  Cook on medium heat, and when apples begin to sweat and give off their juices, pour in a bit of unfiltered, unsweetened apple juice.  Just enough to have about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot.  Continue to cook apples down until soft and breaking apart.  Give it a good stir every once in a while.  Applesauce is done when all of the apples are soft and easily mash down.

I never add sweetener to my applesauce.  It doesn’t need it.  If you are a chunky applesauce kind of person, leave it as is.  If you like it a bit smoother, you can use an immersion blender to break it down more or run it through a food mill.

several rolls of fruit leather in a pile

5 Apple Fruit Leather Recipes

Apple Spice

  • 3 cups apple sauce
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp ginger powder (like this)
  • 1/8 tsp cardamom powder (like this)

Apple Pumpkin

  • 3 cups apple sauce
  • 1 cup cooked pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/8 tsp clove powder (like this)

Apple Raspberry

  • 3 cups applesauce
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

Apple Elderberry

  • 3 cups applesauce
  • 4 TBS homemade elderberry syrup

Apple Lavender

  • 3 cups applesauce
  • 1/2 tsp dried lavender (like this) OR 1 tsp homemade lavender extract

Directions:

Place ingredients into high speed blender OR use immersion blender to puree until creamy smooth.

If using dehydrator: Cover mesh screens with unbleached parchment paper and pour mixture on top. Spread evenly until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Dehydrate overnight until no longer sticky and has a smooth surface, usually around 8-12 hours, depending on your dehydrator.  For cooked purees, I use 125’F, and for raw purees, I use 105’F to preserve the living enzymes.

If drying in an oven: Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.   Pour mixture onto parchment paper and spread evenly until it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Set oven to lowest temperature possible (140’F to 145’F,  and dehydrate until no longer sticky and has a smooth surface (6-10 hours.)

step by step on how to make applesauce

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Filed Under: Healthy Snacks Tagged With: apple fruit leather, fruit leather

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lois says

    October 29, 2013 at 7:17 am

    Wow, that’s a lot of apples. Lucky you!

    Reply
    • Kellie T says

      August 6, 2020 at 6:55 am

      These look amazing! How do you store them and how long do they last?

      Reply
      • Katja Heino says

        August 20, 2020 at 1:31 pm

        I store them in a large glass jar. As long as they are dry, they can last for months.

        Reply
  2. Allison Jordan says

    October 30, 2013 at 5:54 pm

    Drool…I am really wanting a dehydrator now!!

    Reply
  3. Blythe says

    November 1, 2013 at 11:05 am

    Thanks for the post! I, too, am inundated with apples right now. Nice to think of alternatives to the standard cinnamon flavor. I don’t bother peeling in making sauce or leathers – I just core them and throw chunks in the blender. Leathers are so great for snacks, lunches, and any time you’re craving a sweet without added sugar. (Never understood why commercial varieties have added sugar, when the fruit is sweet enough as it is.) Thanks for the inspiration! Going to get back into making these! Ginger pear is also very good. Try lightly sweetened rhubarb leather in the spring. Yum!

    Reply
    • Katja says

      November 2, 2013 at 1:40 pm

      Oh, I love rhubarb. My grandma made rhubarb soup all of the time when I was growing up.

      Reply
  4. Jason says

    December 29, 2013 at 5:42 am

    For the applesauce, can you use just plain water instead of the unsweetened apple juice?

    Reply
    • Katja says

      December 29, 2013 at 5:25 pm

      Yes! I have done that. The juice just makes it a bit more flavorful.

      Reply
  5. erica says

    October 19, 2014 at 2:32 pm

    I just got done doing the same thing. I didn’t bother peeling or scoring mine first though. I run it through my kitchen aid food mill abd it pulls out the skins and seeds. Saves me a ton of time!

    Reply
    • Katja says

      October 21, 2014 at 10:07 am

      I haven’t tried that food mill. Sounds great!

      Reply
  6. Calesta says

    November 16, 2014 at 1:47 pm

    If you like kitchen gadgets try a squeezo make apple sauce tomato sauce a snap and all the apple goes into sauce. no peeling the apples.
    Since I can no longer turn the crank i took handle off and hook it to a drill, makes it really fast

    Reply
  7. cindy williams says

    February 27, 2018 at 10:19 am

    Hi i have been thinking about some kind of topping for a sugar free oatmeal bar i make . I was thinking of some kind of apple leather to give it more flavor. I found your recipes which i will try. They sound wonderful & i cant wait. I also have a apple tree that gives us alot of fruit more than we can eat. Thanks so much for the recipes & beautiful pictures. Its unselfish people like you that take the time to help others. We are a older couple & dont know much about computers than to look up recipes & ebay. I will be sure to keep you posted about my health bars & if the leather worked out. Thanks so much .

    Reply
    • Katja Heino says

      March 7, 2018 at 12:05 pm

      Aww! Thank you so much, Cindy! You just made my day. Please keep me posted about how it goes with your recipe. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Tammy Trentham says

    September 10, 2020 at 4:52 pm

    Thanks for the tips. I cooked my leather too long and it was crispy-still good though. Did you know that you can make apple jelly from the discarded peels and cores?

    Reply
    • Katja Heino says

      September 14, 2020 at 3:48 pm

      I did not know that. I love it. I need to learn more.

      Reply
  9. Denise says

    March 16, 2014 at 5:55 pm

    These look so good and healthy. I need to make some for my grandsons. Hope you saved all those apple peels to use for something. I usually eat mine to get all the vitamins and minerals from them plus fiber, but I don’t think I could eat that many.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hi I’m Katja!

And this is how we do healthy in our family. Just REAL food. Simple. Easy. Gluten free. More about Savory Lotus

Follow Me on Instagram

👉 78% of american adults are over-weight, 60% h 👉 78% of american adults are over-weight, 60% have a chronic health condition, 12% of the population has diabetes, 1 in 4 deaths is from heart disease, autoimmune conditions  are on the rise • whatever we are doing as a nation is NOT working 

👉 i’ve said it many times, and i’m going to say it again • no one is coming • no one is going to do it for you • if you want to be healthy (and not be one of the 40-50% who are going to get cancer) you have to take charge of your own health • our medical system is broken • i see clients every week in my office who are looking for a better way to heal their bodies bc all conventional medicine has to offer is 💊💊

👉 there is no magic 🦄💊🦄 • there’s no short cut to wellness • you’re gonna have to eat the good food (and reduce the foods that may be causing your inflammation, joint pain, brain fog, skin issues, etc), drink the clean water, move your body, manage stress, + reduce your overall toxic body burden (get your drainage flowing + clean up your home environment) • it takes a lot to get + stay healthy • prioritize your wellness every day 💗

👉 on my plate:

• wild salmon
• roasted sweet potatoes 
• steamed broccoli 
• shredded carrot, beet, sprout salad 
• tons of olive oil 🫒
💗 the perfect day • on the water • doing wh 💗 the perfect day • on the water • doing what i love • with the people i love • and puppy’s first kayak adventure 💗

💗 much love + appreciation to all the mamas in the world • especially my own @alexandraantiques , raising 3 children through 3 different countries with countless ups + downs of life • love you 💗
🥦🥬 our meals aren’t always glamorous + blo 🥦🥬 our meals aren’t always glamorous + blog-worthy • but they are delicious + nutritious • i’ve been thinking a lot about how our society eats • all the junk food i see EVERYWHERE we go • how little real nutrition there is in the processed foods most people live on • over 1/3 of americans eat fast food daily 😳 • it’s no wonder 6 out of 10 adults have a chronic illness • 4 out of 10 have two or more chronic illnesses • yet our healthcare system still focuses on a pharmaceutical approach instead of lifestyle changes • our government still subsidizes the foods that are making us sick: GMO corn, wheat, soy • not a word is mentioned about preventative care • it’s a damn shame ☹️

🥦🥬🌱 on my plate:

• steamed bok choy
• steamed broccoli 
• braised cabbage 
• instant pot mung bean dal
🫐🫐 NEW POST: gluten free + vegan blueberry c 🫐🫐 NEW POST: gluten free + vegan blueberry crumble bars • jammy blueberry goodness • super easy to make • with the BEST buttery crumble base and topping • tastes like a little slice of summer heaven • so freaking tasty • my family dusted the whole tray  in one day • enjoy! 

🫐🫐 full recipe link in my BIO:

https://savorylotus.com/gluten-free-vegan-blueberry-crumble-bars/
Load More... Follow Me!

Follow Me on Pinterest

Don't Miss These!

  • Crustless Garden Vegetable Quiche (gluten free + dairy free)
  • Simple Coconut Flour Cake (gluten free, grain free, nut free, paleo) | savorylotus.com Simple Coconut Flour Cake (gluten and grain free, paleo)
  • dry heels, cracked heels, how to heal, DIY Easy Home Remedy for Dry Cracked Heels
  • Loaded Veggie Turkey Meatballs )gluten free, paleo, whole30) | www.savorylotus.com Loaded Veggie Turkey Meatballs (gluten free, paleo, whole30)

Clean Swaps

Clean Swaps

My Cookbook!

My Cookbook!

Footer

Get More Recipes on Pinterest

Visit Savory Lotus' profile on Pinterest.

Get More Recipes on Facebook

The Savory Lotus on Facebook

Stay Connected

Copyright © 2022 Savory Lotus    ·    Affiliate Disclosure     Disclaimer     Privacy Policy     Terms of Service