You’ve used your air fryer to bake, roast, broil, grill, and, of course, air fry. But have you ever wondered if you can dehydrate food in your air cooker?
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Why Dehydrate Your Food?
Dehydration has been used for millennia to preserve vegetables, fruits, and meats. Before harnessing electricity, our ancestors left grapes, figs, sliced tomatoes, peppers, fish, strips of meat, and other items out in the sun to dry. Meat items were often rubbed with salt to aid the drying and preservation process.
Dehydration is still an efficient method of preserving the bounty of your garden. Dried foods can last for months. They also represent a range of tasty treats. If you enjoy beef jerky, raisins, or banana chips, you’ve enjoyed dehydrated foods.
Today, dedicated food dehydrators are available from many appliance companies. But, can you save counter space and let your air fryer double as a dehydrator?
How Does a Food Dehydrator Work?
Typical food dehydrators consist of stacking racks on which thin layers of food are placed. Warm air is then circulated around the food for up to 48 hours. Bacteria and fungi are removed along with the moisture. As long as the items are dried completely and not exposed to moisture, the growth of these organisms will remain inhibited.
Dehydrating Foods With an Air Fryer
Yes, you can use many air fryer models to create delicious dehydrated snacks! Here’s how.
Prepping Your Food
Thinly slice the food item, and apply desired seasonings. There is no need to add oil to your food. Place the slices in a single layer in the frying basket. If your air fryer has multiple racks, you can place an additional single layer on each rack.
Air Fryers with Dehydrator Combo in One
Did you know? Some air fryers are equipped with a dehydration option. Simply select the dehydration preset button, and the temperature and time will be set automatically.
Gowise Air Fryer Oven
At 12.7 quarts, this is one of the largest air fryers on the market.
Features
Three rack levels allow you to process more food for dehydration in a single cooking cycle. With a temperature range that begins at 120 degrees Fahrenheit, this oven is gentle enough to dehydrate even the most fragile veggies. It comes with a multitude of accessories, including a rotisserie tong, rod, skewer, cage, and steak cage, as well as an oven rack, drip pan, mesh basket, and two trays. Fifteen presets make cooking (or dehydrating) a breeze.
Size and Appearance
This oven is available in black, white, and red exteriors with a red digital display. It has a footprint of 11.5 by 12 inches and is 14 inches in height. It weighs 23.4 pounds.
- Family-sized & space saver: 12.7 quarts of cooking space makes this air fryer one of the largest on the market, while still being compact enough to fit easily on your countertop. 3 rack levels allow you to prepare family-sized quantities, or control how fast and how crispy your food cooks.
- Built-in rotisserie: Prepare whole roasts, tenderloins, racks of Kababs, and even a whole chicken. Get crispy, tender meats, perfectly blackened fish, and expertly roasted vegetables with the GoWISE air fryer oven's built-in rotisserie - It's fast, easy, and you'll love it.
- Includes 10 accessories: Comes with 10 accessories – everything you’ll need to make a homemade meal with ease. Accessories include a rotisserie tong, rotisserie rod, oven rack, drip pan, skewer rotisserie, rotisserie cage, rotisserie steak cage, shallow mesh basket, and two mesh trays.
- Easy-to-use: Easy to read, simple to use control display with 15 presets takes the guesswork out of cooking times and temperatures. Cook for convenience or to impress without ever having to turn on the range. And when you’re done, the stainless-steel interior and remove-able, non-stick drip pan makes for easy clean-up.
- 50 recipes to get you started: Your purchase includes a recipe book specifically made for the GoWISE USA Air fryer oven. Get started today with 50 step-by-step recipes to explore all that your new kitchen gadget has to offer. Get more tips, tricks and recipes through our influencers on social media and our GoWISE community.
Breville the Smart Oven
This countertop convection oven doubles as both an air fryer and a dehydrator.
Features
Dehydration is one of this appliance’s thirteen cooking functions. The Breville Oven’s convection fan has two speed settings. The temperature sensing technology and Element IQ independent heating elements allow the oven to make precise temperature adjustments. The interior oven is one cubic foot and can handle up to four trays of food for dehydration in a single cooking cycle. The oven fits most 9 by 13-inch trays.
Size and Appearance
The Breville Smart Oven has a metallic exterior, with a digital LCD display and manual control knobs to the right of the oven door. It has dimensions of 25.8 by 18.5 by 16.7 inches and weighs a whopping 40 pounds.
- The Breville the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro with Element iQ System is a versatile countertop oven air fryer combo allowing you to roast, air fry and dehydrate; Use super convection to reduce cooking time by up to 30% and choose from 13 cooking functions; Includes an interior oven light
- Introducing Breville+: Open a world of instant mastery with 1000+ guided recipes, live and on-demand classes, cook guides and more. Featuring recipes from leading food content experts, all tested and tuned exclusively for your Breville appliance
- ELEMENT iQ SYSTEM: Using 6 independent quartz elements, smart algorithms steer power to where and when it's needed to create the ideal cooking environment; Sensing and digital PID temperature control eliminates cold spots for precise and even cooking
- AIR FRY & DEHYDRATE SETTINGS: Air fry French fries and other family favorites; Higher temperatures combined with super convection (maximized air flow) deliver crispy golden air fried foods; Dehydrate a wide range of food, up to 4 trays of goodness at once
- SUPER CONVECTION TECHNOLOGY: 2 speed convection fan (super & regular) offers greater cooking control; Super convection provides a greater volume of hot air to ensure fast and even heat distribution perfect for air frying, dehydration and roasting
Ninja Foodi
Technically a pressure cooker rather than an air fryer, this appliance has a crisping lid and an optional accessory is available to turn it into a food dehydrator.
Features
The Ninja Foodie comes in a number of sizes, including 6.5 and 8-quart models. The dehydrator rack is an accessory that must be purchased separately. It includes five stainless steel dehydrating racks.
Size and Appearance
This appliance comes in black or grey. The larger model is 14 inches tall and has a footprint of 14.2 by 16.8 inches. It weighs 31 pounds.
- The Ninja Foodi—The pressure cooker that crisps. Pressure cooker, air fryer, tender crisper
- Tender crisp technology allows you to quickly cook ingredients, then the crisping lid gives your meals a crispy, golden finish
- Pressure cook up to 70% faster versus traditional cooking methods. Air fry with up to 75% less fat than traditional frying methods. Versus slow-cooked, braised, or low-simmer recipes; Tested against hand-cut, deep-fried french fries
- 6.5 quart ceramic-coated pot: Nonstick, PTFE/PFOA-free, and easy to clean. Enough capacity to cook a roast for your family
- 4-quart cook & crisp basket: Large-capacity, ceramic-coated, PTFE/PFOA-free basket holds up to a 5-pounds chicken or 3 pounds of french fries to feed your whole family. Nonstick for easy cleanup
Instant Vortex Plus
This 10-quart appliance includes a “Dehydrate” Preset Smart Program.
Features
You can dehydrate, reheat, bake, broil, roast, or air fry with this handy mid-sized option. A rotate preset also allows you to cook items weighing up to 4 pounds rotisserie style. Accessories include a rotisserie basket and tool, spit, forks, two cooking trays, and a drip pan.
Size and Appearance
This stylish black and chrome appliance is sure to complement the color scheme of your Instant Pot. This air fryer weighs 16.6 pounds and has a footprint of about 14 inches. It is nearly 15 inches in height.
Dehydrating Foods With a Standard Air Fryer
Dehydration of fruits and vegetables is also possible with a standard air fryer, though the process differs from standard dehydration.
To dehydrate fruits or vegetables, select the lowest temperature setting that your air fryer affords. Keep in mind that your air fryer’s lowest temperature setting may still be too hot to dehydrate your food items without burning them. This may range from 150 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the model.
Set the timer for 15 minutes. The first time you dehydrate a given type of food, check it at least every five minutes to determine the exact time needed.
Dehydrating meats is not recommended for standard air fryers, as the timer limits are generally too brief to maintain food safety.
Should You Buy a Dedicated Dehydrator?
Our kitchen experts agree that if you plan on doing a lot of food dehydrating, a dedicated dehydrator is well worth the investment.
Purchasing a dehydrator in addition to your standard air fryer is generally cheaper than springing for one of the combination models listed above. Dedicated dehydrators are also more efficient that attempting dehydration with a standard air fryer in which dehydration is not a preset option.
The drawback of purchasing a dedicated dehydrator is the countertop or storage space necessary for housing the additional appliance. Dehydrators generally have a large footprint greater than 12 inches.
If you decide that dehydrating is for you, we recommend the following options.
COSORI Food Dehydrator
An economical and space-saving dehydrator.
Features
This versatile dehydrator has a touch control LED display, temperature settings from 95 to 165 F, and a timer ranging from 30 minutes to 48 hours. It is BPA-free, dishwasher safe, and has an automatic shutoff for safety.
Size and Appearance
This dehydrator is cheerfully white in color, and when filled with colorful fruits it is sure to brighten your kitchen decor. It has a footprint of approximately 12 by 14 inches and is 14 inches in height. It weighs just over 9 pounds.
- 𝗕𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝟳 𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗦: With 6 stainless steel trays providing 6.5 ft² of drying space, this dehydrator is 27% larger than standard 7-tray models, allowing you to dry more food at once
- 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗟 & 𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧: Equipped with a 600 W motor, rear-mounted drying fan, and upgraded airflow technology for faster, more even drying without manual intervention
- 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥 𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗘𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: Features an advanced brushless motor with noise levels below 48 dB, letting you dehydrate your food quietly — even overnight
- 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗗: Comes with 6 dishwasher-safe trays, 1 mesh screen, 1 fruit roll sheet, 1 user manual, and a 50-recipe cookbook. Explore additional accessories by searching for 'COSORI Dehydrator Accessories', or 'C267-2MS', 'C267-2FR', 'C267-2ST'
- 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗟: Set the timer for up to 48 hours and choose your desired drying temperature between 95 °F–165 °F accurately down to the degree using the digital control panel
Excalibur Electric Food Dehydrator
This dehydrator is available in multiple sizes to meet your drying needs.
Features
The adjustable thermostat ranges from 105 F for delicate herbs to 165 F for meats and jerky. A fan provides air circulation. The 4-tray model offers 4 square feet of drying space, or you can upgrade to the 9-tray model, which offers 15 square feet of drying space.
Size and Appearance
The economic 4-tray dehydrator has a footprint of 13 by 16 inches, and it is only 6.5 inches in height. It weighs 8 pounds.
- Compact: Equipped with 4 Excalibur dehydrator trays, this food dehydrator boasts 4 square feet of drying space
- Accurate Temperature Control: Features an adjustable thermostat with a range of 95 to 165 degrees F – low enough for fruits and vegetables but high enough for dehydrating meat
- Low & Slow for Immune Boost: The perfect dehydrator for food and jerky, dried fruit leather, fruit roll-up puree, pet treats, homemade yogurt, veggies, nuts, and even bread, it cooks food at 115-118 degrees max, which preserves nutrients and enzymes
- Efficient & User Friendly: This meat and fruit dehydrator dehydrates food faster, retains more nutrients, and helps food look and taste better without tray rotation thanks to patented Excalibur Hyperwave technology and horizontal Parallex drying
- Includes: Digital download Guide to Dehydration, so you can quickly and easily learn how to dehydrate all types of foods; Made in the USA with USA and globally sourced materials
Has anyone used the Cuisinart air fryer as a dehydrator? It has a warm setting.
I use my Cuisinart air fryer to dehydrate meats every few days. My dog has many allergies. I bought an 8 oz. of crunchy chicken strips for $14.00. I can’t spend $28.00 a pound on my food! I bought some chicken breasts on sale for$.99 a pound, sliced them very thinly, set air fryer temp between warm and 250° (I’m guessing around 175°)for 1 hour. Like magic! I get great treats for my my high maintenance friend, Zach. He loves them. Also made beef and chicken livers, turkey gizzards (I pound them flat) and veggies such as carrots and zucchini. It’s great fun experimenting with different foods!
This information saved me from buying a dehydrator.What we’re the others approximate times and hear? Thank you