How to Make Freeze Dried Bananas

10 pounds
24 hr 20 min

How to make freeze dried bananas at home. Freeze dried bananas make a delicious healthy snack or you can add water to them to reconstitute to make mashed bananas to make banana bread or other recipes.

I used a Harvest Right freeze dryer to dry my bananas. Freeze drying removes almost all of the water from food, so it's shelf stable for up to 25 years! It removes more water and keeps more nutritional value than dehydrating.

Freeze drying and dehydrating are not the same thing. Dehydrating uses low heat to evaporate the water. Freeze drying freezes the food and then uses a vacuum to remove water. You can learn more about dehydrating vs freeze drying here.

We eat the banana chips as a snack. There's no added sugar or even a preservative. You can also add banana powder to smoothies and other recipes for more nutrition.

How to Make Freeze Dried Bananas
Recipe details
  • 10  pounds
  • Prep time: 20 Minutes Cook time: 24 Hours Total time: 24 hr 20 min
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Ingredients

  • 10 pounds bananas
  • Freeze dryer
Instructions

Peel the bananas and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices. You can also cut the banana in half and lay it on the tray.
Add up to 2.5 pounds of bananas to each tray for a medium freezer dryer. I like to prefreeze my trays before loading them into the freeze dryer. This is optional, but it saves times.
Place the trays in your freeze dryer and shut the door. Start the machine and press frozen or not frozen, depending on if you prefroze the bananas. Then let the machine do its thing. I like to add 2 hours extra drying time.
When the machine is done, you can remove the trays and package the bananas in mylar. If you do not remove them right away, the machine will keep them cold. Press warm trays to warm the trays and bananas so they do not absorb extra moisture while you are packing them.
Tips
  • Store bananas in mylar bags for up to 25 years.
Cari @ Homesteading in Ohio
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Comments
  • Shirley Hearn Shirley Hearn on Jul 23, 2022

    I would love to be able to freeze dry veggies and fruits but the freezer dryer machines cost more than $2000 and that's not in my budget. I wonder if there are freeze dryers that cost much less.

  • Susie Susie on Jul 31, 2022

    At the price of the freeze dry machines, I doubt the average household would save enough $$$ to validate the price of the machine. But it's the thought that counts!!

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