Dehydrating Vegetables
There’s so much to love about dehydrating vegetables. Once dehydrated, they take very little room to store. Nutrients aren’t destroyed as they are with canning. If the electricity goes out for an extended time, nothing is spoiled. And dehydrated vegetables can store for years.
Most vegetables can be dehydrated; some require blanching first, but for many vegetables, prep is as simple as chopping or slicing. If I’ve never mentioned that I love simple, well, now would be the time.
Good Practices for Properly Dehydrated Vegetables
Two important factors are necessary for dehydration to take place – heat and air circulation. The heat pulls the moisture from your vegetables, and air circulation moves the moisture so that it can evaporate. Therefore, where you place your dehydrator is an important factor. Using it in a very damp basement, for example, will prevent proper drying.
For the most successful results, be sure to use vegetables at the peak of their ripeness. Freshly harvested from your garden is ideal. The low temperature used in dehydrating vegetables helps to preserve nutrients.
There are many ways to make dehydrated vegetables including sun drying, oven drying, or using an electric dehydrator. I’ve used all 3 methods, and I definitely prefer dehydrating vegetables in my Excalibur Dehydrator.
With 15 square feet of space, I can get a lot done at once. I’m not heating up the house, and I’m not dependent on the weather. Still, sun drying and oven drying are not to be discounted; they are both very effective methods of dehydration.
Time and Temperature for Dehydrating Vegetables
Vegetables are generally dried at 125°F/52°C. Higher temperatures may cause the outside of the vegetable to harden while the inside remains moist, causing spoilage. There are some exceptions, so be sure to follow your recipe.
How long it will take to dehydrate depends on several factors. The higher the humidity in the air, the longer it will take vegetables to dry. Your weather forecast is one way to determine humidity. An indoor humidity monitor is another.
Foods, like tomatoes, that contain high amounts of moisture will naturally take longer to dry. And, of course, the size and thickness of your vegetable will be a factor. Individual recipes can guide you, but times can vary dramatically based on these variables.
Conditioning and Storing Your Vegetables After Dehydrating
After dehydrating, you will need to condition your dehydrated produce. This is a process that ensures that the moisture in your dehydrated food has even moisture levels so that mold will not form.
To condition, place the dried product in a ziplock bag, or glass jar that has extra room in it. Shake the bag or jar daily and look for signs of moisture – this might be condensation, or perhaps the vegetables are sticking together.
If you observe any signs of moisture, return the vegetable to your dehydrator for more drying time. Be sure to allow your vegetables to cool before packaging and storing. Any clean, airtight container will work. While you don’t want to re-use jars from store-bought items for canning, they are perfectly fine for your dehydrated vegetables. Zip-lock bags also work well.
Label your containers with the item and date. I measure my vegetables before and after drying them. I mark this information on the label as well to give me a better idea how much to use.
For example, on my dehydrated peppers label, I have marked “1/4 cup dry = 1 cup fresh”. That way, when I’m adding dried peppers to chili, I know that if the recipe calls for 1 cup of fresh peppers, I just need to add 1/4 cup of my dried peppers.
After packing, store them in a cool, dry, and dark area. Most dehydrated vegetables will last a year or more if properly stored.
A to Z Guide to Dehydrating Vegetables
Asparagus
Dehydrating Asparagus from Preparedness Mama
Beans
Crispy Green Bean Chips from Whole New Mom
Dehydrating Beans from Easy Food Dehydrating
Broccoli
Drying Broccoli for Food Storage from Joybilee Farm
Beets
How to Dehydrate Beets from It’s a Love / Love Thing
Cabbage
How to Dehydrate Cabbage from One Acre Vintage Home
Carrots
How to Dehydrate Carrots from Practical Self Reliance
Celery
Air Dehydrate Celery Leaves from Little Mountain Haven
How to Dehydrate Celery from Frugal Upstate
Corn
Dehydrating Corn from Simply Canning
Cucumber
How to Make Cucumber Chips from Practical Self Reliance
Eggplant
How to Preserve Eggplant from The Free Range Life
Dehydrating Eggplant from Pinch of Prepping
Garlic
Make Your Own Garlic Powder from Learning And Yearning
How to Dehydrate Garlic from Mama Kautz
Greens
Dehydrating Swiss Chard in the Oven from Learning And Yearning
DIY Greens Supplement Powder from Joybilee Farm
Dehydrating Kale and Greens to Preserve Your Harvest from Green Talk
Okra
Dehydrating Okra from Fresh Bites Daily
Onion
How to Make Onion Powder at Home from Homesteading in Ohio
How to Make Your Own Dehydrated Onions from Mom Prepares
Dehydrating Onions from Living Life in Rural Iowa
Peas
Dehydrating Peas from Easy Food Dehydrating
Peppers
How to Dehydrate Sweet Bell Peppers from Mom Prepares
How to Dehydrate Peppers for Food Storage from Grow Forage Cook Ferment
Potatoes
How to Dehydrate Potatoes from One Hundred Dollars a Month
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato and Apple Fruit Leather from Learning And Yearning
How to Dehydrate Sweet Potatoes from One Hundred Dollars a Month
Tomatoes
Sun-dried Tomatoes from Learning And Yearning
Dehydrating Tomatoes from Schneider Peeps
Winter Squash
Winter Squash “Fruit” Leather from Eat Beautiful
Zucchini
Dehydrating Zucchini for Winter Use from Learning And Yearning
3 Easy Ways to Preserve Zucchini from Grow a Good Life
Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26
Lana Johnson says
I will use jelly jars to make Christmas pepper jelly for family. Also planning on putting up some pickles for the hubby soon.
Shannon O says
this is sooo cool and thank you for all the ideas for foods that you can store like that…
Roxana S. says
Mostly for pickles and kraut but now that we are getting close to winter some jam would be nice to curb my sweet tooth :O) TY
Judy Coleman says
Thank you Susan for all the wonderful tips, free books, articles… you share with your followers. You are amazing!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Judy, for this sweet compliment!
Stacy C says
I love to make jams, jellies, and put up herbal tinctures so I would use those jars for all of the above. 🙂
Wendy says
I need more jars for kraut and pickles! I’ve been bitten by the preserving bug!
Brenda Jahnke says
I will use the jars for jams and tinctures, soaked and dried nuts and herbs. Thanks for a great giveaway!
Shawn says
I will try to teach my self to can.
Susan says
I just finished dehydrating some of my end of season tomatoes, (the red ones). I love having them in the winter for pastas and such.
I also slice all green tomatoes, dredge in flour, then freeze on cookie sheets. Take out when frozen and put in baggies and vacuum seal them and throw in the freezer. Great as fried green tomatoes (southern style) or to throw in fried potatoes when frying up a batch.
I love gardening and love canning, freezing and dehydrating. Apples are my next victims. LOL…I do all three: can, freeze, and dehydrate.
Thanks for your web site. Really enjoy looking at it.
Susan Vinskofski says
Thanks, Susan! I really love your green tomato idea. I’ll be sure to try it.
LindaW says
Well, it probably shows a lack of imagination on my part, since reading all the great info here about preserving veggies, but honestly I would probably use them for jam/jelly. This year I’ve done more than 2 doz types of jam/jelly. I like to enter them at the local fair, and give them out at Christmas.
Helena Wolkonowski says
I’m a medicinal herbalist. When I can, I wild-craft nature’s bounty such as wild grapes, hedgerow roses, wood violets, dandelion leaves, elderberries, Blue Spruce tips. Folks are surprised, especially the blue spruce tip, on how delicious this is. I also dehydrate fruits from my trees, like grapes (i use for mead) elderberries, etc. and also garlic, onions and herbs. I use the canning jars also to make homemade pickles, sauerkraut, okra, green beans. My house is like a huge kitchen- much to my husband’s dismay. But he’s always bragging about how I use nature’s harvest. I’ve used my canning bounty to exchange for goods. for instance a woman gave me a signed copy of her significant other’s published book. I in turn, gave her my homemade apricot jam
Susan Vinskofski says
This is fantastic, Helena!
Sherry says
I have my grandmother’s recipe for blackberry jelly and I never have enough jelly jars because it is sooooo good.
DJ says
I would use them for making some tasty jams and jellies.
Dawn says
I am low on jars. I would use them to help me put up the rest of my garden.
Tam Martin-Kessell says
I live in Arizona… a wonderful area for dehydrating foods the natural way. No machines needed!
Susan Vinskofski says
That’s so fantastic!!!
donna a says
I would love to use them myself since we live on a small farm now, but I think I would give them to our “tenant” who just graduated from college, built a tiny house and moved to our farm in June. She is trying to learn how to do all of this stuff and I think she would REALLY appreciate this!
Dee Fedor says
I would use these jars to preserve my fall raspberries. Love jam with seeds!
Karen Hieb says
I’ve frozen all my tomatoes, but look forward to thawing them to make tomato sauce and paste to can. Thank you for the giveaway!
Justice Erikson says
I’ll use them for my herbal tinctures, and preserving some CSA harvest!
Jen says
I have recently started to preserve and I have been enjoying the learning process so far.
More jars means more jam and chutney!
Liz says
These would be lovely for jams and soups. And oddly, also handy for freezing extra breastmilk!
Daphne Atkins says
Fig preserves for my mother.
Joy says
Hey! I would use these jars to preserve my fermented foods as well as using them to keep things safe in my refrigerator!
Hannah says
I’d love to preserve some of the seasonal tomato harvest for winter.
Christy Brown says
I would use these for toiletries and food storage
donna says
Susan, do you ever put in packets to absorb moisture or oxygen? I am just wondering if I need to be careful about which packets to buy. you know, are any of them actually toxic or exposing my food to suspicious substances? I’d appreciate your thoughts on that!
Susan Vinskofski says
Good question, Donna. I have never used the packets and haven’t found the need. I have a few jars of dehydrated vegetables that are over 2 years old with no signs of moisture at all. My understanding is that you want to avoid any silica gel packets that contain a moisture indicator that turns pink when moist.
WMA says
It seems that you have forgotten about how to prepare Nopales cactus
Lisa L Lombardo says
Hi Susan…great guide! I’m sharing a link on my post ‘How to Preserve Your Harvest Like a Pro!’
Susan Vinskofski says
Wonderful; thank you! Readers can find your post at https://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2019/09/how-to-preserve-the-harvest-like-a-pro.html.
Deborah says
I love dehydrating veggies, and fruits. I’ve made jerky for years for Gifts. Still do. Our local grocery store had a sale on frozen veggies for $1 for a12 – 14 Oz bag. I bought several and dehydrated some. I store them in vacuum sealed bags. For the okra, when I get ready to cook it, I’ll rehydrate it then bread it and fry it. (It was the cut okra.)
Susan Vinskofski says
You are so resourceful, Deborah! Thanks for sharing your ideas!
Polly says
This all looks wonderful and I just bought a dehydrator only to discover that you can get botulism from jarred dehydrated veggies. Nobody seems to talk about that. Do you have a way to ensure you are not growing botulism in an airtight jar?
Susan Vinskofski says
If your food is completely dry, it won’t grow mold, and then it won’t grow botulism. After drying vegetables, I always place them in my storage container with the lid, and then observe it for a few days to see if there is any moisture.
Achuthan Nedunghat says
The articles are interesting and informative to read.