How To Dehydrate Citrus Slices

January 31, 2023

10

super easy

32 slices

How to dry any citrus fruits, without a dehydrator, for bright citrus wheels!

Have you ever wondered how to make those beautiful dehydrated citrus wheels, but you don’t have an expensive dehydrator? Lucky for you, all you need is an oven or convection toaster and some citrus! Keep reading to learn how to dehydrate citrus and some of my favorite ways to use these gorgeous dehydrated citrus slices.

Recently, I’ve been working with a lot of citrus because it’s something that has always brought me a bit of comfort. Growing up, I ate oranges every day after school, and it’s something that has never failed to make me happy and offer a moment to reflect and pause. This recipe is perfect for doing just that, since all you’re doing is waiting on the slices to dehydrate in the oven. The slices take about 3–6 hours to completely dehydrate.

Can I dehydrate any citrus?

Yes! From my experience dehydrating grapefruits, lemons, limes and oranges are all perfect for dehydrating. While I have not personally dehydrated any pomelo citrus, I do know people consume dried pomelo rinds for fiber and other health benefits. So, I assume they would work as well!

How to dehydrate citrus in the oven.

Choose the right temperature.

Every oven is different, and they don’t always work as well as they once did due to general wear and tear. For my oven, 225 degrees Fahrenheit is a good place to begin dehydrating. If you can set your oven to 170 degrees, it will work almost exactly like a dehydrator but will take upwards of 6–8 hours to completely dry out your fruit.

Line a baking sheet or silicone mat. Be sure to line your baking tray with parchment paper, or your citrus wheels will stick to the tray. You can use a little bit of oil if you do not have parchment paper, but I typically do not recommend this.

Thinly slice citrus fruits.

The key to a perfectly dehydrated citrus wheel is to slice your fruit thinly. I slice mine between ¼-⅛ inch thick. The thinner they are sliced, the quicker they bake. The dehydration time for this recipe is based on 1/4- to 1/8-inch thick pieces.

Bake for 3+ hours.

Add your citrus slices to a parchment lined baking sheet and place it in the oven. Bake the citrus slices for 3-6 hours. After the 3 hour mark, I checked in on my slices and flipped them over. I also removed the few super thin slices that finished quickly. The smaller the fruit, the quicker it will dehydrate. Another type is to group lemons and limes together, as well as oranges and grapefruit, so you can remove entire trays as they may finish at different times.

It took 5 hours for my lemons and blood oranges to finish but almost 6 hours for my oranges to completely dehydrate.

How can I use my dehydrated citrus slices?

Garnish cakes and pastries.
Add dried citrus to tea blends for a pop of color and bright flavor
Garnish mocktails, cocktails, and sodas with these bright color wheels
Use in holiday wreaths for a lovely scent and appearance.

How should I store my dehydrated citrus?

Once the slices are completely cool and there is no moisture remaining, store them in an airtight container or sealed bag. Refrigerate or store in a cool, dry place at home.

Thanks for reading, and I hope this recipe brings you as much joy as it did for me.

Reviews

Ingredients:

Adjust Servings

	1 lemon
	2 blood orange
	1 navel orange

Nutritional Information

Servings 1g

Calories 6 kcal

Carbohydrates 1.5g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 1.1g

Protein .1g

Directions

1.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. A silicone baking mat would work as well.

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2.

Slice the citrus fruit into ¼-⅛ inch thick slices. It is not necessary to remove any seeds, the peel or pith.

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3.

Place citrus on a parchment lined baking tray and make sure they are not overlapping. Lemons and Limes tend to dehydrate faster than oranges and grapefruit so be sure to check every hour after the 3 hour mark.

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4.

After 2-3 hours flip your fruit so the slide on the parchment is now exposed.

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5.

Your citrus is finished when there is no moisture left and even brittle when handled. Let cool completely before storing in air-tight containers. These slices can last for a long time as long as all of the moisture is completely removed.

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6.

Garnish your drinks, cakes, household decorations and more with these dehydrated citrus slices.

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Notes

It’s important to clean your fruits and I like to use organic fruits when dehydrating citrus but if that’s not an option you can place your fruits in a bowl and rinse them with boiling water a couple times to get some of the wax off of it. I like to scrub it off with a little brush or unused sponge.