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Much healthier than the pre-packaged option, this homemade fruit leather is easy to make with fresh or frozen fruit. Read on to learn how!
Strawberry Fruit Leather
This is one of the easiest recipes to make, but it does require a lot of time in the oven, about 4 hours, so make sure you plan to make your fruit leather on a day when you’ll be home for a good stretch of time.
It can be hard to find recipes made with fresh ingredients that kids will actually eat. These homemade fruit roll-ups are a great start that you can feel good about including in the lunchbox.
Ingredients
I love using fresh fruit to make fruit leather. By using strawberries, which are in season right now, gives the fruit leather more flavor and natural sweetness. Here’s everything you need to make these fruit roll ups:
- Strawberries: feel free to substitute with other fruits like mango, blueberries, raspberries, or peaches.
- Honey: for sweetness and texture. You can omit it, but do now swap it for sugar since it doesn’t give the right texture.
Fruit Leather with Frozen Fruit
Don’t have fresh fruit? No problem! You can definitely use any of your favorite frozen fruit. Allow the fruit to defrost in the fridge or on your countertop and proceed with the recipe.
How to Make Fruit Leather
Making fruit leather is an easy process that uses simple ingredients. Here’s what to do:
- Prep
Start by preheating the oven to 200F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and chop the fruit, if using strawberries, remove the leafy green tops. - Blend
Place the chopped fruit in a blender and puree until smooth. Add honey, if desired, and blend to combine. If making strawberry leather, which has tiny seeds, pass the pureed berries through a colander before baking. - Bake
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the fruit mixture onto the paper until smooth, and bake it in the oven until the leather peels away from the parchment. - Cool down
Allow the fruit leather to cool down for 4 hours or overnight before cutting into long strips.
First time making fruit leather? Watch how easy this recipe comes together in this video:
More Lunchbox Sides
Fruit leather looks adorable in lunchboxes and the kids are so thrilled to see a favorite snack! Surprising them with healthy lunchbox sides that taste amazing is super simple when you have the best recipes, like these fruit cups, these apple chips, or even homemade Doritos! Oh wait, and if you didn’t try yet my baked banana chips, make them asap!
How to Make Fruit Leather – EASY
Watch How It’s Packed:
Ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved (or any other fruit)
- 2 tablespoons honey, optional
Instructions
Prep the oven:
- Preheat oven to 150- 200F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (do not use wax paper).
Prep the fruit:
- Pour berries and honey into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
- Pour berry mixture onto parchment lined 9×13-inch pan. If you want to remove the berry seeds, pour it through a sieve or ring it through a cloth (much faster).
- Spread the berry mixture with a spatula to a thin even layer.
Bake:
- Bake for 6 hours, until leather peels away easily from the parchment. Set on the counter to fully cool down for 4 hours or overnight.
Roll up!
- Using scissors, cut the parchment paper from the edges and then into strips. Roll them up, parchment and all.
Notes
- Don’t pour too thin of a layer or you’ll have fruit crisps instead of fruit leather. Pour it too thick and it will take longer to leather.
- Oven temperatures will vary. Start checking it after 3.5-4 hours. If you leave it in too long again… fruit crisps.
Emily says
How long is this fruit leather good for? Should it be stored in the fridge or pantry?
Laura Fuentes says
In the pantry, in a zip bag, about 3 days.
Vandana says
Can we do it in air fryer
MOMables - Laura says
Only if your airfryer has a dehydrating function. In that case, follow the directions in the instruction manual for that feature.
Nicole says
I can not find the answer to my simple question, can you make fruit leather with frozen fruit ? If you can how ?
MOMables - Laura says
The simple answer is: Yes, you can. You’ll need to thaw the frozen fruit first, then puree it in the blender like in the fresh fruit directions. Depending on the fruit and how much water it retains, using frozen fruit, even after thawing, might add 15 to 20 additional minutes to the dehydration process.
Sana says
I made this recipe with my class, a room of 12 2nd and 3rd graders on a lesson of mixing and measuring; and a lesson on fresh fruits can be nutritional healthy and just as good as pre-packed stuff. It was a hit with the students and parents alike. So many lessons packed into one delicious recipe! Thank you for this, I found food to be a good motivator for excellent life lessons.
Adriana says
recipe looks good! i’ll give it a try with some frozen fruits I have. What would you recommend for storing and how long do you think they will last, in case I decide to make a bigger batch next time. Thank you for your recipes! me and my family enjoy them a lot!
Z says
I need some help can i use Sugar instead of honey
MOMables-Laura says
Hi Z, the honey can’t be replaced with sugar. Honey gives it the right pourable texture.
DKRosa says
Can I use Watermelon?
MOMables-Laura says
Watermelon’s high water content makes it nearly impossible for all of the moisture to evaporate when making fruit leather. If you have extra watermelon you can make icees like in this post: https://www.momables.com/1-ingredient-watermelon-icee/
Jonathan says
I think you would be able to do it if you put it through a strainer first and take it out from the top to remove the moisture
cathie says
Why do people call this leather instead of just fruit roll-ups? is there a texture difference? thickness? The word leather sort makes me think of rawhide…ewww.
MOMables - Laura says
The term “fruit leather” and “fruit roll-ups” are both used when referring to this recipe. Fruit “leather” is the original term and it is often found as flat pieces. Fruit “roll ups” was the term coined by the packaged variety and also because they rolled theirs for packaging. Same recipe two terms.
Ellen Murphy says
Does the packaged kind of fruit leather/ roll-ups just use fruit or do they add preservatives to those products? This looks really easy. I’m going to try it! Thank you for posting.
MOMables-Laura says
Most prepackaged fruit roll-ups are made with corn syrup and other preservatives, these are much better for you.
DONELLE PERKOVICH says
I made these but parchment paper turns brown and not as appealing. If I put finished fruit onto fresh piece of parchment paper will it still stick to it?
MOMables-Laura says
I’ve not tried this method, so I can’t say for sure if it will work. If you try it and it works, do let me know!
Susie Dams says
Can this be made in a crock pot? With energy costs rising, I try not to use my oven much during the summer months.
MOMables-Laura says
Hi, Susie, this recipe will not work in a slow cooker.
Carissa says
I cook them in my dehydrator so no parchment paper needed. I wrap them in plastic wrap and it gives that little bit of “cling”
Sarah says
Hello, I tried this with hot honey and frozen strawberry and then regular honey and frozen blueberry. The strawberry came out right but the blueberry had the texture of dried fruit and not fruit leather. Do you think i maybe over dried it or didn’t get it dry enough? Thank you for the recipe
MOMables-Laura says
Hi Sarah, I’m not sure what happened here. How long did you keep it in the oven?
Rachael says
I did as instructed with an Excalibur dehydrator (I can set the temp to whatever I want). It’s delicious, but it sealed to the parchment paper. Any tips on getting it off?
MOMables - Laura says
I have not tried it with the Excalibur dehydrator. I often make these in the oven and my dehydrator has some silicone-like liners so nothing sticks. Usually, if you wait until they cool down they “peel” right off.I hope this helps.
Early Bird says
I make mine in a dehydrator. Wipe the trays with a very light layer of spray oil using a paper towel. Too much oil will change the taste, so be sure it is only a teeny bit. Dried rolls will peel right off.
Dinah Sisson says
I made these today and they turned out wonderful! I also used an Excalibur dehydrator and if you look in the book that comes with it, it states for fruit leathers to set the temp to 135 for 4-6 hours. I did for 4 hours and they turned out great. The first couple of sheets were poured a little too thin and we had to work carefully to pull off ( I had used the sheets that was ordered with the Excalibur) so next time I’m going to just use parchment paper. The other trays/sheets seemed to have the right amount poured and came off great! I pulled some peaches out of the freezer I had put up this summer and combined that with fresh apples I had gotten at an orchard. Thanks so much for the recipe, will be making multiple times!
Alison says
I did strawberries, Granny Smiths, and rhubarb — no honey. Delicious! One batch was fine and easy enough to pull off (I used tin foil as I don’t have parchment paper), but the other two were still wet after 4 hours. So make it thin if you don’t want a hot house!
Caitlin says
After i cook this fruit leather and i cut it into strips for snacks later, how can i store them , and for how long?
MOMables says
in an airtight container or zip bag for 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Lisa says
Hi there. Can you actually make it thicker if you want? Like a 1/2 inch. I wanted to make a sheet and cut it into little cubes. :)
MOMables says
That might take a really long time to dehydrate. I’ve never tried it that thick.
Eliza says
A great way to get the greens off of strawberries is to use a stiff straw to “core” them. Start at the pointed part of the strawberry and push up through the center toward the leaves. the top will just pop off. I think this way is faster and more of the strawberry is usable. Maybe this is why they are called “straw”berries ;)
Thanks for the insperation, these are going to be so delicious!
Candice Jackson says
if im making fruit leather and use wax paper will that work
MOMables says
No this only works with parchment paper.
C Prost says
I cooked fruit leather too sour…Can I put a bit more sugar and water in a pot AND
re-cook the fruit (rasp/rhubarb)
MOMables says
Yes that should work!
Lacey says
Could I use quilon paper or is that along the same lines as wax paper?
MOMables says
That should work!
Brian says
Can you explain why you have to cook the fruits? Is there a reason you could not puree the fresh fruits?
MOMables says
Making “fruit leather” is dehydrating the fruit. The “leather” texture is achieved when you take out the humidity/water content from the fruit. You aren’t really “cooking” it at 200degrees. If you puree fresh fruit you have…. fruit puree.
Susan B says
He was asking about dehydrating cooked vs raw fruit puree.
I’ve never tried it with raw fruit, but I’m seeing lots of recipes online that don’t require cooking. Try it both ways…Good luck!
khushi says
can i refrigate it instead of baking it
MOMables says
no, you need to bake it to make the “leather”
Anita says
Ok so I guess my layer was too thin and I didn’t scroll all the down and see that was paper is a no no. So I made 2 pans of mango nectarine flavor and it won’t separate from the wax paper :( Any tips on getting it off? I think I just wanted a lot of fruit :(
MOMables - Laura says
I’m so sorry. Wax paper will melt into the fruit. Your best option is to fully wait until it cools and slowly peel it.
Melody says
I am really itching to try this, but I was wondering the steps for using frozen fruits instead of fresh. Also, some recipes say just blend and bake, but some say to cook it first, so I am curious as to why we have to cook it. I have a confection oven, so I’m hoping it wouldn’t take as long. Wish me luck!
MOMables says
you can just blend and bake using fresh or frozen. when you use frozen strawberries the water content is high, so it will take a longer to dehydrate.
Jerilynn says
Can this recipe be used in a food dehydrator?
MOMables says
Absolutely. It takes about 24h in mine.
Lily says
I just made the Apple Cinnamon Fruit Leather from your Best Homemade Kids’ Snacks on the Planet book. I had the puree in the oven at about 175 for 11 hours. I used a 1/4 sheet pan with parchment paper and they come off the paper without any trouble. A bit tough on the edges, but perfect texture in the middle. Great flavor and the kids really like it! Just took lots of extra time.
MOMables says
I’m so glad it was a success! perhaps it was poured a bit thick?
Pat says
How do you know if the fruit leather is done. I did some in the oven and it was sticky. I then used my dehydrator and it’s been over 26 hours. It still seems sticky.
MOMables - Laura says
There is “sticky” and there is “wet.” Sticky is ok. At that point, remove it from the dehydrator or oven and let it air “dry.”
Carmalene Churba says
I used a siltpad and then transferred the finished product to a piece of parchment paper and it came our great. I also cooked the the berries and added a little bit of sugar while cooking as they were really tart. Cooking them beforehand helped cook off some of the moisture in the berries and took less time in the oven. I simmered them for approximately 35 mins they reduced to about half. I pureed the fruit after it cooled a bit and I also made sure the puree was 1/4″ thick when I had spread it out on the pad, otherwise if they’re too thin and it turns into a fruit crisp or stuck the parchment when I used parchment.
Cassie says
I added sugar and it burned at 2 hours, can you not add sugar?
MOMables says
Sugar will burn. The recipe calls for honey, it has different cooking points than sugar.
Bridget says
I made this for my granddaughters out of some cherries I bought at the fleamatket. They are really good! I used parchment paper and it worked wonderfully. I did spend quite a lot of time making
sure the consistency was correct before pouring into the cookie sheet. It was rather thick. Perhaps that is why it worked? bridget
Donna says
I had the same trouble as Zoe. I couldn’t get the leather off the parchment. Had to throw away 4 pans of apricot leather. So discouraging!
MOMables says
did you use parchment or wax paper? the recipe only works with parchment.
Eliane says
And in a dehydrator, how many hours and temperature?
MOMables says
Eliane,
I dont’ own a dehydrator but this is a good resource to check.
Zoé says
Just tried this recipe but–oh so sad!–what we managed to peel off the cookie sheet was so stuck to the parchment paper I ended up throwing it away. Anybody else had this problem and what to do? I’d like to try again because it tasted awesome, but don’t want to waste more strawberries!
MOMables says
Zoe, did you use non-stick parchment paper or wax paper? Please the box. The recipe will melt to wax.
Geoff says
I have the same problem, using parchment paper.. does it matter if you pour on the shinier side or dull side?
MOMables-Laura says
Hi, Geoff, I’m not certain what type of parchment paper is being used but there is no right or wrong side. You should be able to pour it on either.
Erica says
Use Silpat sheets. My fruit leather turned out a little thin, but it came off really easily. Just need to make it thicker next time. Also, I used honey, I read somewhere you can also use corn syrup but sugar may crystalize.
kristina says
I dont have any honey . Is there an alternitive?? Or can I make it with out honey?
MOMables says
You sure can make it without it.
Sara says
I just made these, one with blueberries and one with peaches. The blueberries took a good 7 hours in a 170 degree oven (as my oven will not go any lower) and were still a little wet underneath, but the top firmed up nicely. The peach is a different story, however. It went in at the same time as the blueberry batch, and 7 hours later still hadn’t set up. I finally just pulled it and scrapped off the peach puree and decided to freeze it to make peach muffins at a later date. Why do you think the peach would not set up?
MOMables says
Sara, the only thing I can think of is that it was set too thick on the parchment paper. Every oven is different and in mine it takes about 4-4.5 hours while at my parent’s house only 3.5!
Janice says
Have you frozen these? We were given some fruit leather once that had been frozen. I tried to get the recipe but it was from a friend of a friend and I was never able to connect with her. Would love to make this during the summer and have for lunches this fall.
Laura says
Janice, I’ve never frozen this recipe. It usually doesn’t last long enough! I imagine that it shouldn’t be a problem. If you try freezing one batch, will you let us know?
Maureen Barnes says
Once the fruit leather is made , it can be frozen for longevity.
alicia says
i tried it but too way longer then six hours
Laura says
Oven times will vary. It also depends how thick your ‘leather’ is. don’t get discouraged!
Shoushig says
In lebanon we dry the fruit leathers under sun rays .it takes 3 or 4 days . In august two days are enoufh in septem it takes 3 to4 days
sunithi says
lovely ! Pinned it !! Looks so yummy. Will try it over the summer when we go berry picking. What other fruits work well ? have you tried others ?
Laura says
I’ve tried apples, mangoes, strawberry – banana and even spinach (but this last one was done in a food dehydrator)
Jen N says
I have always wanted to do this and now I cannot wait to go berry picking. Once they are cooled and cut, how long do they last and how are they best stored? :)
AlisonBickel says
Jen–Store them in an airtight container and they’ll usually last about a week. After that, they are a bit too ‘leathery’.