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If you've never tried dehydrated kiwi chips, you should. These vibrantly colored little discs taste like sweet-and-sour candy and are an extremely healthy snack. They're Paleo, Whole30 and AIP-compliant.
Dehydrated Kiwi Is A Healthy Snack!
Let's first talk about health…
They have more Vitamin C than an orange, more potassium than a banana, and 2 of these little fruits contain more fiber than a bowl of bran cereal.
Tell THAT to your naysayer friends/doctor next time they say there is no fiber on the Paleo diet!
They are also low on the glycemic index so they don't jack up your blood sugar as some other fruits can.
See more about kiwis on the California Kiwifruit Commission page
How does dried kiwi taste?
Moving on to taste…
I first heard about kiwi chips from Cara at Health, Home & Happiness and she called them “Nature's Sweet and Sour Candy”.
I believe to be a correct assessment of these.
Sweet yet tart, making your mouth curl up a bit – so good!
My kids gobble these up like they are a super special forbidden treat all while I just secretly smile, grateful that they aren't eating Skittles like I did by the pound as a kid.
What is the texture of these dried kiwi chips?
The dried kiwi chips come out slightly chewy, unless you leave them in for a really long time. Then they might be crispy.
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How to Make Dehydrated Kiwi Chips
The kiwi chips themselves are really easy to make.
Do I need a dehydrator?
Nope – while a dehydrator certainly makes the process a bit less hands-off, you can use either your oven for these or a dehydrator.
I use the Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator, but we also dehydrate a lot of food for hiking and backpacking.
The Drying Process
Basically all you have to do is either peel the kiwi – OR DON'T (see below) – and slice into thin rounds.
Then place on a baking sheet or dehydrator tray and either dehydrate at 135 F for 6-12 hours or bake at the lowest temp in the oven for about 4-6 hours.
Do I need to peel the kiwi?
Actually, no, you don't.
Some people get a bit turned off by the brown fuzz on the outside, but the skin is edible and you don't really taste it.
Lately, I haven't even bothered to peel mine, and none of us have had any issues eating it that way.
So to save even MORE time, simply just slice these guys up and throw into dehydration mode!
Storing the dried kiwi
You can just store the dehydrated kiwi chips in an airtight container at room temp for up to 6 months.
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If you find this recipe helpful, you may really enjoy the resources in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library! There's a “dump” freezer meal plan, a list of AIP-compliant breakfast toppings, and so much more. Plus, you'll get even more ideas sent to your inbox! Get the password here.
Dehydrated Kiwi Chips Recipe
If you make these dehydrated kiwi chips, I'd love to hear how they turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
Dehydrated Kiwi Chips
Ingredients
- Kiwis
Instructions
- Peel the kiwis. I use a spoon inserted directly under the skin and I then turn the kiwi, keeping the spoon towards the surface of the skin (see the video for a demonstration). You can alternatively use a paring knife to slice the skin off or a vegetable peeler.
- Slice the peeled kiwis into 1/4 inch (6 mm) slices.
- Place on a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 135°F (37°C) for 6-12 hours. If you do not have a dehydrator you can also place these on a cookie sheet in the oven at the lowest temperature, checking them after about 4 hours since an oven tends to be hotter. These should be slightly chewy when done.
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How do you store them? How long will they last?
Ah, I can’t believe I don’t have that info on here! I’ll update the post, but you can just store them in an airtight container at room temp for up to 6 months.
Has anyone ever made these in an air fryer? We just got one and the packaging lists all the different ways you can cook food in them and one of the ways listed is “dehydrate” so I’m wanting to try it out buttttttt not wanting to waste my kiwis if it goes south 😯
That’s a really interesting question! I had NO idea air fryers could do that. It must be a really low setting though since you don’t really want to cook them… Seriously, if I had any kiwis on hand I’d try it right now but alas I don’t (well, maybe not RIGHT now as I have potatoes in there, lol). If you try it let us know how it turns out!
I recently did seeds from delicata squash in the air fryer on low and they did great. Since it was not my own appliance l was not too sure of how to set the time so ended up doing 3 sets of 1 hr. Now, l have the kiwi but no air fryer but would l’d definitely try it. I absolutely am in Love with kiwi chips. Buy them in big packages at Trader Joe’s or local market but use the oven because l can get a big try in there.
Katrina, I was wondering the same thing this week. I’m deciding if I should return my dehydrator and just get an air fryer that also dehydrates. Let me know how it turns out!
Michele, would you happen to know if the oven will work fine as an alternative?
Yep! An oven definitely works. I’ve got instructions in the post for that but let me know if you have any questions!
Siiiick
I think the spoon trick works best with softer kiwis. The firmer/hard ones don’t peel so well with a spoon. I end up taking out big chunks of kiwi instead of staying close to the peel.
I had a multipack clamshell of kiwis, maybe 1 dozen+, in my fridge. I decided to dehydrate what was left (around 8-9). Keeping in mind that you said they’re a bit sour when done, I thought I’d try coating them in a bit of sugar (I know, not paleo). Well, the sugar drew moisture out, so they were sitting in puddles of sugar-water before I even put the tray in. I decided to leave them like that (I had them on parchment on the tray) and deal with it later. 5 hours later those ones were only half as dry as the ones without sugar. I moved all of the sugared ones to new parchment (actually just used the parchment from the other pieces, since I moved those off their parchment and directly onto the trays). We’ll see how they come out.
how did they turn out? A friend of mine mentioned you can keep the skins on the firm ones and we tried it the other day and they were good! Still a little disconcerting to see the fuzzy skin, but my kids didn’t care at all.
Are kiwis after drying crunchy or chewy?
Mine are still a bit chewy after drying several hours.
Thank you
Molly
They should be slightly chewy – they CAN be crunchy too, but I tend to leave them at the slightly chewy stage because that’s where we like them best.
I’ve got my 🥝 kiwi dehydrating as we speak… But thank you so much for the video on how to peel them with the spoon! That saves so much time. I eat them that way but I’ve never thought of peeling them hold like that to slice. 😉
You are so welcome! I love using the spoon to do that – definitely saves time. I hope you enjoy the chips!
This is so timely! I’m looking for a healthy alternative to gummy worms for my kiddo, ok actually for me 🙂 thanks Michele!
I would like to try however I only have a cold dehydrator room temperature only, I used for meat and it takes two days then oven for 1 hour at 170f will this work? How about other fruit also?
So I have to say I didn’t even know cold dehydrators existed! Thanks for informing me 🙂 I did a little research and it looks like yes, it should in fact work but it will take longer. Unfortunately I couldn’t seem to figure out how much longer. If you do try it, please let us know how long it takes so that someone else with this situation can know too! Thanks again!
These look beautiful—I’d love to try them! I wanted to let you know that I’m featuring this post tonight at the Create & Share Link Party (7:00 PM MST)! Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to see what you share with us this week 🙂
Wow, thanks Mandee! I feel honored!
These will be super to try with my new Excalibur Dehydrator. Your spoon peeling method is an awesome trick! Thanks for sharing!
The Excalibur Dehydrators are awesome! I love mine.
Michele, these look so delicious! I can’t wait to give them a try! Sharing this link via social media! Merry Christmas! 🙂
Thanks Kelly! Hope you enjoy them. Merry Christmas to you as well!