The Best Food Dehydrators to Level Up Your Snack Game
I’ve been food dehydrator-curious for longer than I can remember. I knew some fellow mushroom foragers had these mysterious and bulky-looking appliances, but I never looked into owning one until I tried to dry sliced sweet potatoes in my gas oven. Not only did using my stove at its lowest setting for hours produce indoor air pollution, but I was unable to set my gas stove below 170 degrees Fahrenheit. My efforts produced burnt versions of the dried sweet potato slices sold as my dog’s overpriced treats. I also wanted to make beef jerky and dry flower petals, those glossy lemon and orange citrus rings for cocktails, potato chips, and fruit leather, and develop my own dehydrated meals for camping, since they are so expensive to buy.
I had been reluctant to buy a dehydrator because I live in a New York City apartment. I vet appliances on a basic formula of the amount of counter space the appliance would take up multiplied by how often I would use said appliance. Lack of counter space is why I don’t own an air fryer or bread machine. And so testing food dehydrators was a bit of a dream assignment and the perfect excuse to see if owning one was worth it. Spoiler alert: They are.
For more useful appliance advice, check out some of our other kitchen-related guides, including Best Kitchen Scales, Best Blenders, Best Air Fryers, and Best Espresso Machines.
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What to Know Before Buying
All dehydrators were tested with the same ingredients with similar results in drying times, mouthfeel, and taste. And all but the Sahara required at least 30 minutes of “smoke out” prior to the first use to rid the dehydrator of factory fumes. The manufacturer manuals suggested doing this in a well-ventilated space. I ended up using my deck for several of the models, as I didn’t want those fumes in the house.
I was most excited to make beef jerky in the dehydrators, but be aware that USDA safe food handling rules include cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit before dehydrating, a process to avoid foodborne illness. I used this method for my first foray into making beef jerky. And it’s that extra safety step that produced a less-than-appealing mouthfeel. While I’m not advocating that anyone skip that initial cooking step, this recipe from Brod & Taylor does the cooking in the brand’s dehydrators at 165 degrees Fahrenheit; most recipes I’ve looked at online or in the vast world of dehydrator TikTok skip the precooking step. The best beef jerky hack I learned was from a creator who bought presliced meat meant for Korean barbecue and dry-cured it with a rub. The very online world of dehydrator cooking has endless recipes and tips.
Manage your expectations: Consumer dehydrators cannot always produce the results achieved by commercial freeze-drying. Some of the end products of dehydrator “cooking” surprised me. Some fruits and veggies stayed pliable, while others were brittle, with a satisfying crunch. There is a bit of trial and error with slice size and timing. Each time I use the dehydrator, I get better at prep and timing.
Lastly, as you enter the crisp world of dehydration, know that ambient humidity and the amount of water in your food will impact drying times. In other words, what took eight hours in August in Maine might take less time in Brooklyn in September.
Food dehydrators took my cooking to a third dimension. In testing the five models reviewed here, I made beef jerky; dried apple, kiwi, strawberry, and banana slices; blueberry chia seed fruit leather; sweet potato chips; dehydrated green beans, peppers, and carrots; and bright pink dried rose petals. There is trial and error. The thing I noticed was that it’s best to err on the side of longer dehydrator times. I run the dehydrator overnight for 12 hours. I used the Awair Element, the PurpleAir Touch Indoor, and the QP Pro air quality monitors to see how the dehydrators impacted my indoor air. Unlike my gas oven, the food dehydrators did not impact my indoor air quality, even while making beef jerky.
