How to Dehydrate Sweet Potatoes

Step 1

Decide which style of dried sweet potatoes you prefer -pureed, slided/diced or shredded.For pureed, sliced or diced version, bake sweet potatoes before dehydrating. For shredded version, shred raw sweet potatoes and blanch before dehydrating.

Step 2

Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F(180°C). Wash and trim any blemishes from sweet potatoes. Pierce each sweet potato 3-5 times with fork or knife. Place on baking tray and bake for 35-45 minutes until tender throughout. Remove from oven, let cool and peel. Use for leather, pieces or slices as shown below.

Step 3

Mash or puree sweet potato in blender, food processor or with potato masher until smooth. Add a little water if needed. You can also add sweetener or seasoning if you'd like, but do not add oil, butter or other fats.

Step 4

Spread thinly (1/8-1/4 inch) and evenly on lined dehydrator tray.

Step 5

Dehydrate at 135°F (58°C) until uniformly colored, dry and leathery throughout, approximately 6-8 hours. To test for doneness, press the leather with flat fingers. If your hand leaves an indentation, it is not ready. If the leather feels moist or sticky, it is not ready. Look for color variations, wet spots may be lighter or darker in color. Try pulling it off the liner, if bits stick to the sheet, it is not done. Return to dehydrator until all parts are uniformly dry and the leather pulls off the sheet cleanly and easily. If eating like a fruit roll up, dry to this leathery stage. If using in recipes or to re-hydrate as mashed sweet potatoes, dry even longer until it is brittle and easily breaks into small pieces.

Step 6

Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F(180°C). Wash and trim any blemishes from sweet potatoes. Pierce each sweet potato 3-5 times with fork or knife. Place on baking tray and bake for 35-45 minutes until tender throughout. Remove from oven, let cool and peel. Use for leather, pieces or slices as shown below.

Step 7

Cut baked sweet potatoes into consistent sized slices about 1/8-1/4 inch thick or into 1/4-1/2 inch dices. Lay out evenly on mesh dehydrator trays. Place any bits and pieces on a separate dehydrator tray as they will likely dry quicker.

Step 8

Dehydrate sliced or diced pieces at 125°F (52°C) until brittle or very tough and leathery throughout. Split in half to ensure inside is thoroughly dry with no soft or damp spots. The photo below shows the outside completely dry while the inside is still soft and damp. Dehydrating time will vary, slices will take 8-10 hours and diced will take 10-12 hours.

Step 9

Blanch: Peel raw sweet potatoes and use the coarse side of a box grater or a coarse shredding blade of a food processor to shred. Place shreds in cold water to rinse off some of the starch and prevent discoloring. Bring large pot of water to full boil, remove shredded sweet potatoes from cold water and add to boiling water. Return to full rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from hot water and immediately put into ice water. Once cooled, drain well. Place on mesh dehydrator tray spread out as best as possible, some overlapping is okay.

Step 10

Dehydrated shredded pieces at 125°F (52°C) until tough, about 6-8 hours.

Step 11

Store in airtight containers in a cool, dry, dark place. Use within one year for best quality, although they will be safe for much longer. Vacuum seal if storing for over a year.