Dehydrating Sweet Potatoes: Six Easy Steps for Drying Sweet Potatoes

Dehydrating sweet potatoes is a fun and easy way to pack away one of the most awesome tastes of summer so that they can be enjoyed year round. Packed with nutrients such as vitamin A, C and manganese, sweet potatoes are a tasty treat that can either be eaten as a sweet dehydrated treat or brought back to life and used in a number of tasty recipes.

Dehydrating Sweet Potatoes: Keeping it Simple

If you have never dehydrated anything before, let alone sweet potatoes – do not fear. While preparing for emergency food storage or for a wilderness trip might sound intimidating, the process is actually very simple – and with a bit of oomph and a little knowledge, you will soon be on your way to being the long-term food storage queen you always imagined yourself as being.

Step 1:

The first thing you will need to do is thoroughly wash your potatoes with either water or a special produce cleaner. Pat them dry as best as you can once you have finished.

Step 2:

Using a paring knife, peel the potatoes gently being careful to leave as much of the flesh intact as possible. Discard your peels you will not be needing them.

Step 3:

Before you begin dehydrating sweet potatoes, you will need to slice them. Depending on your preference slice them into either ¼” pieces or 1/8 “ pieces. They do not need to be perfectly uniform just do your best – just remember that the thinner your slices, the faster they will dry.

Step 4:

At this point, you will need to blanch your sweet potato slices. First, start a large pot of boiling water and wait for it to come to a boil. As your water boils, throw in a few handfuls of your potato slices. Allow them to sit in the water until they are tender enough to stab with a fork and their color turns bright. Pull them from the water and pat dry.

Step 5:

Place your slices on the tray of your electric dehydrator as evenly as possible so that they do not touch. Dehydrate at 125 degrees for 9-12 hours or until the slices are dry and brittle. Be sure to flip your slices a few times during this process, as it will aid in speeding up your drying time. Check the process of your dehydrating sweet potatoes periodically and remove any that have dried faster than the rest to avoid scorching.

Step 6:

Once your sweet potatoes have dried completely, remove them from the machine and store them in sealed mason jars or seal them in bags with a food sealer machine. Properly stored dehydrated sweet potatoes should last up to a year with no problems.

Additional Ideas

If you’re looking to add a bit of spunk to this recipe, a few twists are possible that will give your dehydrating sweet potatoes an extra punch of flavor as they bake.

Salt

If you are a lover of salty snacks, try turning your sweet potatoes into sweet potato chips by dusting your freshly blanched slices with salt before putting them in the dehydrators. The result will be a salty/sweet snack that your whole family will love.

Sugar and Honey

On the other end of the spectrum if you are looking to disguise this nutrient rich food into a candy like snack for your children, try using a pastry brush to put on a light coat of honey on your slices before dehydrating them. Still want more sweetness? Sprinkle a very light coating of sugar on top of the honey to create a snack so scrumptious it’ll be a struggle to leave enough for the kids to enjoy.

A super-easy and nutrient rich way to bring more veggies into your life, dehydrating sweet potatoes is a simple project that you will likely have perfected in no time. Similar items sell at specialty grocery stores for a lot more than what it costs to make them yourself – so go crazy. Share them with your family, put them in your emergency food pantry or put them in decorative jars and give them away to family members. The most important thing to remember is to enjoy them!

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