Maddy has been on a “fruit roll-ups” kick lately. Not the actual name brand kind that I so vividly remember peeling away from a cellophane wrapper when I was a kid. No, Maddy’s been eating the Gerber toddler kind. I don’t feel too bad about her eating them in moderation although if she had her way she would eat the entire box of 5 in one sitting.
So the other day while at my in-laws house, my mother-in-law said “I can’t believe you haven’t tried making these from scratch yet.” That’s all it took… Guess what I did the very next day? And guess what else? This is SO easy! So easy in fact, that I doubt Gerber will be getting my money anymore… at least it won’t be spent on their fruit leather.
The other brilliant and wonderful thing about homemade fruit leather is you can make it with hardly any sugar! The sweetness of the strawberries and kiwis was plenty sweet enough. I only used a few tablespoons and that was all it needed. You can use whatever fruit you like, just be sure you get nice ripe fruit and the natural sweetness will shine through. Fruit leather is a natural treat that requires very little extra sweetness.
Just ask Maddy! She seemed to love it despite the fact that it had barely any sugar at all.
Enjoy!
~K
Easy, healthy homemade fruit leather for a guilt-free treat.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups chopped strawberries
- 2 1/4 cups chopped kiwis
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Sugar, to taste (I used 3 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Place the fruit in a saucepan with the lemon juice over medium-low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the fruit is very soft.
- Purée fruit in a blender until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
- Preheat oven to the lowest setting, at least somewhere between 140-170°F with rack in middle.
- Line a large baking sheet with plastic wrap, a Silpat or other nonstick baking mat. *After comments from readers, this has been updated to reflect the use of a nonstick baking mat. Thanks so much! A Silpat works wonderfully for this project.
- Pour hot purée onto prepared pan and spread thinly and evenly as possible into a rectangle using an offset spatula.
- Dry purée in oven until it feels dry to the touch, about 6-8 hours.
- Cool in pan on a rack until completely dry, at least 3 hours and up to 24.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper over leather, then peel leather off liner and roll up in parchment.
- Store wrapped in plastic for up to one month.
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, you make it look so easy! I’m hoping I can keep this bookmarked…til I have kids, so I don’t make the mistake of going out and buying the store brand stuff! 🙂
Aww! Thanks! It really is easy to do and tasty for one and all, not just kids. My husband and I both really enjoyed them also.
these look amazing .. and so much healthier than the store bought ones full of sugar! Just a quick question, do you only cook the fruit in with the lemon juice .. no water? Thanks for the great recipe, will definately give these a go 😉
Hi Kristy! I have seen recipes that call for water. I personally didn’t use it but if you do choose to add water the measurement seems to be 1/2 a cup of water for every 4 cups of fruit that you use. You’ll essentially be stewing the fruit and that will help maintain its color. These really are so yummy!
Ok, all I can keep questioning is: Plastic wrap? PLASTIC wrap? Are you suuuurrreee? It’s not gonna melt on me??????
Ha!! Yes, I know… seems a little crazy but yes, plastic wrap 🙂 It won’t melt in the oven because you’re going to have it at such a super low temperature. You’re just dehydrating the fruit. I used Glad Press & Seal since that’s what I had in the house. Not gonna melt 😉
I was just going to comment on the plastic wrap when I saw this. I’m not familiar with Glad press & seal, but is it thicker than regular plastic wrap? From the picture it definitely looks like it. I’d hate to do this with the stuff I have on hand and have it ruined.
I think maybe it’s a little “tougher” than regular plastic wrap. I recently tried using a Silpat non-stick baking liner and that worked beautifully. Another reader expressed concerns about BPA which I hadn’t considered so I’ll be updating the recipe to reflect that change. So use whichever you like.
Ooh, this looks so good. I made mango lime fruit leather not too long ago, but I never thought of making strawberry kiwi. Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks! Mango lime sounds do good. Think I’ll have to try that combo next 🙂
This looks amazing but being a picky mom myself I just wanted to point out that plastic wrap is usually full of BPA. Even at a low heat it’s probably leaching into the fruit, especially since fruit acid helps this process. Try parchment paper or some other alternative, maybe a silicon mat? Even non-BPA plastics have chemicals that I wouldn’t necessarily want to eat or feed my kid.
Thank you so much for your comment, Jasmin. That’s something that never even occurred to me!! You bring up a great point. Thank you so much. I’ll definitely have to try utilizing something else under the fruit in the future.
I have never tried making fruit leather, but you make it look so delicious! I may have my daughter help me with this one!
It was SO easy! Definitely give it a try. It’s a great, kid-friendly cooking project.
That is so cool! I would never have imagined a fruity food item to look anything like that, and it seems really fun to make as well. So trying this over the weekend!
Oh I hope you like it Anna! We really enjoyed them. What’s even better is that they’re ridiculously easy to make! And good for you too 🙂
This sounds really yummy and I can’t wait to show it to my sister who is a new mommy. The only thing is what temp do you set the oven to when you place it in to dry?
Hi Christian! Thanks for your comment 🙂 As for the oven temp, you’ll put your oven on the lowest temp which for most ovens is usually between 140-170 degrees. Hope that helps and hope your sister enjoys this!
This is awesome. I’ve never thought of making my own fruit roll up Thanks for posting.
Thanks for the comment! I’m glad you like it. It was really tasty and way better than the store bought stuff for sure.
Maddy is just the cutest! Love the strawberry kiwi combo, Kate!
Aww! Thanks Amber 🙂 And I love those pictures of Maddy… Early morning, crazy hair. She was so little! She’s changed so much since then
Could you use frozen fruits?
I’ve only ever used fresh fruit so I couldn’t tell you 100% yes, but I would imagine so. If you try it, I’d love to hear about your results! Let me know how it goes.
does this work with any kind of fruit? what if I did strawberries and Pineapple? Would I still need lemon juice if I used pineapple I wonder?
I haven’t ever tried making fruit leather with pineapple but yes, I feel like it would likely work with any fruit. If you give it a try, I’d love to hear about your results!
I don’t know what I did wrong! I followed your recipe to a T! My plastic wrap melted completely and the fruit leather became completely burnt to a crisp at hour 4. 6-8 hours is seriously long! I have seen other recipes that are pretty much the same but they say to put it in the oven for 3 hours max. Does your fruit leather come out thicker?
I’m so sorry you had issues with this recipe Sarah! What oven temperature were you using? As for the thickness, It’s not very thick at all. You can see the thickness in the accompanying pictures.
Just got a dehydrators and couldn’t find a recipe for strawberry kiwi leather in the books that came with it. Thank you for this easy one! Can you tell me if the freshness of the kiwi would make s difference? I have a lot of the fuzzy fruit and they don’t stay fresh long. Thanks again. Love to mix my flavors on my leathers.
The freshness of the kiwi shouldn’t make any difference as all so as long as they aren’t spoiled, go for it! Hope you enjoy this recipe.
Have you ever frozen these afterwards to extend the time they can be stored? If not do you think they would freeze and store well that way?
Hello Michelle! No, I haven’t frozen them. I would imagine that once defrosted they would become a sticky mess and not have that same fruit leather texture to them so I don’t think they would freeze well but you never know! If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out.
Would i be able to use parchment paper to bake it on instead of plastic wrap? I do have silicon mats but i feel like it would be runny and go under the mat?
Also could i use honey instead of sugar? Or would that make it runnier?
You could certainly try it but honestly, I haven’t tried it so I can’t attest to the results 🙂 But if you try it will parchment and honey, I’d love to hear your results!