Dried Pineapple (or dehydrated pineapple) is so good, it could be mistaken for candy. The naturally sweet and tart flavor of pineapple makes it a favorite fruit to many. For this reason, it makes a great choice for a dehydrated snack that the entire family will fall in love with.

How to dehydrate pineapple

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A Little Bit of Information on Dehydrated Pineapple

I like to use a dehydrator (my Excalibur is older than I am!) when making this recipe instead of an oven. Since it takes a while to dehydrate fruit, it’s kind of a pain to have the oven on for that many hours, which is why I love using a dehydrator instead. Working with a dehydrator is not as complicated as you might think, even though it can seem intimidating at first.

It’s time to kick those fears of working with a dehydrator and dried pineapple is just the thing to start with. I know using canned pineapple doesn’t seem like the smart thing here, since it’s something that is already shelf safe for a number of years but, I often find canned pineapple on sale for $1 a can and I love to stock up. I like to use the tidbits for trail mix and the rings for a snack all on their own.

excalibur dehydrator with fruit on the trays

How Do You Make Dehydrated Pineapple?

Drying pineapple is really simple. Simply open the can of pineapple and lay the separate rings (or tidbits, whatever you choose) out on your dehydrator sheets (don’t stack the pineapple rings on top of each other). Set your dehydrator to 135 degrees (check your dehydrator’s settings to make sure) and wait. This is the hardest part for me because it smells so good, I can barely keep my hands off of it.

Generally my full dehydrator (a great starter model!) will take up to 17 hours to be completely dry (around 10 hours for tidbits). I know this seems like forever when your whole house is filled with a deliciously sweet smell. I promise it’s worth the wait though as your cupboards are emptied out of cans and you gain space but still have delicious food that is easy to take anywhere. It’s light, keeps sticky hands at bay, and works as a sweet snack that goes great in trail mix.

Canned vs. Fresh Pineapple

Dried Pineapple Rings

The one downfall to using canned pineapple is that it takes a little extra time because it is filled with moisture. Fresh pineapple, although juicy, doesn’t have as much moisture as canned pineapple which means it will dry a touch quicker. The downfall to fresh pineapple is the fact that you have to cut it yourself. There are pineapple cutters that make it easy to cut a pineapple into slices like you find in a can. Of course, as long as you cut it about as thick as you might find in a can, it doesn’t matter if it’s rings or not. Just be sure to not make it too thick since that will increase your drying time.

Dried Pineapple has become a favorite snack in our house. Not only is it easy to take along in the car as a quick snack but, there’s no sticky fingers to have to deal with. This in itself makes it worth the drying time. Enjoy!