These easy Superfood Fruit Leathers are made with 100% fresh fruit, a bit of hidden veggies and a boost of superfood powders. Chewy, sweet and packed with nutrients, these homemade ‘fruit roll ups’ make a healthy and fun snack for school, work or just at home!

I have to admit that I have a love hate relationship with my dehydrator. It’s big and clunky and usually sits in my closet for long periods of time. Every now and then I remember all the great things it can do like drying fresh fruit into delicious snacks or turning end of summer herbs into dried spices or making thin crispy flax seed crackers… and I fall back in love with it.

This time I decided to make fruit leathers with superfood powders, because nutrient dense treats are especially important during these crazy times… and making them is incredibly easy. Just blend fresh fruit with a spoonful of superfood powder. I made 5 different flavours with 5 different superfoods because once the dehydrator is out, lets make good use of it 🙂

Place the fruit and superfood powder into the blend and blend smooth.

Spread the mixture on to a lined dehydrator tray.

Once all of your fruit purees are made, place your trays in the dehydrator and let it do its thing for at least 6 hours before checking on it. When they’re dry to the touch let them cool to room temperature before removing. Cut them into squares, line with parchment paper, roll and tie.

Cut the dried fruit leather and line with parchment paper. Roll up and tie with butchers twine.

What Are Superfoods?

Superfoods are usually plant based foods that are rich in antioxidants, vitamins or minerals and sometimes all three! There is no standard criteria or approved list of superfoods. Whether they’re an exoxtic berry or kale grown in your own backyard, they are foods that are just really good for you! It’s as simple as that!

I love adding superfood powders to smoothies, raw energy balls and non-baked snacks. I tend not to cook with high heat when using them so any volatile nutrients aren’t destroyed. These powders are not meant to replace healthy foods in your diet, but more like a supplement, for an extra boost. When purchasing, make sure to get ones that are high quality with no added fillers. We just want the good stuff.

Here is a list of the superfood powders I used for these fruit leathers (there are also many other ones that can be used!)

Lacuma – contains calcium, potassium, fibre. Sweet citrus flavour. Can be used as a natural sweetner.
Camu Camu – extremely high in vitamin C and also has iron, calcium and potassium. Mild and slightly bitter flavour.
Baobab – high in vitamin vitamin C, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium. Sweet citrus flavour. (If you haven’t heard of this before google ‘baobab tree’ – they’re pretty cool.)
Moringa – high in iron, calcium, also contains potassium, phosphorus and vitamin C. Earthy, bitter flavour. Mixes well with green smoothies or matcha.
Acai – high in antioxidants and omega fatty acids 3,6,9. Mild neutral flavour.

Tips For Making Fruit Leathers

Line your trays with teflon sheets or a silpat. Parchment paper scrunches up when wet and the leathers won’t turn out as even and smooth.
When spreading the fruit puree onto the trays make the edges a bit thicker than the middle since the edges tend to dry faster.
Use fresh fruit rather than frozen whenever possible. It tends to have more flavour and natural sweetness so no added sweetner is needed.
Adding half a banana gives a smoother, thicker and chewier texture (although the banana flavour tends to dominate).
Fruits that contain a lot of water will take longer to dry and tend to dry into thinner leathers. Adding banana can help with this (see previous point).
Make sure that the leathers are completely dry and not sticky at all before turning off. Mine took 8 hours.
Let them cool to room temp before peeling off the sheets.
If you don’t have a dehydrator they can be done in the oven at the lowest temperature on a lined baking sheet.

Packed with fresh fruit, a few hidden veggies and superfood powders, these homemade fruit leathers are a fun and healthy portable snack that both kids and adults will love! I wish you and your loved ones the best of health this fall season and happy eating always! 🙂

Ingredients

Strawberry

3 cups chopped strawberries
2 teaspoons lucuma powder

peach

4 ripe peaches, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons camu camu powder

Pineapple mango

2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons baobab powder

pear ginger spinach

4 ripe pears, roughly chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, diced
small handful spinach
1/2 teaspoon moringa powder

blueberry

1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 banana
1 teaspoon acai powder

Instructions

For each flavour place all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour each mixture onto a teflon lined dehydrator tray in the shape of a sqaure. Smooth it out with a spatula making the edges a bit thicker than the inside (the edges tend to dry faster than the middle). If you can see the underneath of the tray through the mixture it is too thin (it will dry as thin as paper or possibly a hole).
Once all the mixtures are placed onto the dehydrator sheets, turn it on to 145F. Check the fruit after 6 hours. Fruits that contain a lot of water may take up to 8-9 hours to dry completely. When done they should be dry to the touch without any stickiness.
Let them cool to room temperature before removing them from the sheets (if they're warm they’ll stick). Cut each one into four squares. Cut sheets of parchment paper to the same size, place on one side and roll up. Tie each one with butchers twine and store in a sealed container in a cool dry place. If it is humid store them in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before eating. They can last for up to two weeks when stored correctly. Enjoy!

Notes

*If you’re using organic fruit you can keep the skins on.

*Adding about 1/3 of a banana helps to give a thicker and chewier texture. Fruits with a lot of water content tend to dry a lot thinner.

*I recommend only using fresh fruit and not frozen, as the flavour of fresh is much better.

*The superfood powders can be interchanged with any of the fruit mixtures. You can also try adding any other superfoods powders of choice.

*If you don’t have a dehydrator these can also be done in the oven. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat. Parchment paper can be used but it tends to curl up as it dries. Turn the oven to the lowest temperature and check on them in 3-4 hours. They will be done much faster in the oven, make sure that they don’t get too dry.

*The yeild will vary depending on how thick they are poured and how small they are cut when dry.

Superfood Fruit Leathers

What Are Superfoods?

Tips For Making Fruit Leathers