How to Make Dehydrated Orange Slices in the Oven

Ingredients

• Oranges - Navel oranges, cara cara oranges and blood oranges all have different colors on the inside and make for a nice color variety in your slices. 
• Any other citrus fruits you want! Limes, lemons, and grapefruit all work well. 

What Kind of Oranges Should I Use?

You can use any kind of orange you prefer or have available, though your choice should depend on how you’re planning to use your dehydrated oranges. 

If you’re going to eat the dried orange slices or use them in teas, then pick your favorite orange to eat. 

If you’re going to use them as decoration, choose based on the internal color of the orange. Navel oranges will dry a lighter orange, cara cara oranges will turn a bold orange color and blood oranges will dry into a maroon color. 

Tools for Drying Citrus

• Mandoline Slicer - The absolute easiest way to get even, thin slices.
• Cookie Sheet or Sheet Pan - Whether or not the pan has sides doesn't matter here.
• Parchment Paper - I always use parchment to keep my slices from sticking or browning while they dry.
• Wire Cooling Rack - This lets the hot oven air circulate all around the slices while they bake.

How to Make Oven Dried Orange Slices

Heat oven to 200 degrees f. 

Using a mandoline slicer or very sharp knife, slice oranges into very thin slices - ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. 

Lay orange slices in a single layer on the parchment paper.  

Place in the oven and bake for 3 hours, flipping slices every 30-60 minutes. 

Once slices are dry to the touch (they should not feel wet, damp or sticky), remove from the oven. 

Allow slices to cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container. 

Dehydrated orange slices will stay edible for up to 1 year, and look good in decor for much longer than that. 

Tips for Drying Orange Slices

• Slices will continue to dry and crisp as they cool after you remove them from the oven. 
• Use fresh oranges. They should feel very firm and not at all squishy. 
• Test what slice thickness works best on your mandoline before slicing up an entire orange. You want the slices to be thin, but not falling apart or torn. For my mandoline, that’s the “medium slices” setting.
• While the slices are in the oven, you can flip them anywhere from every 30 minutes to every 1 hour, but to get them to dry evenly you do need to flip them during the drying process. Don’t just toss them in the oven and walk away for 3 hours. 
• If your citrus slices aren’t dry after 3 hours in the oven, continue to bake them - checking and flipping every 30 minutes - until they’re done. Remove individual slices as they feel dry, and only continue baking the slices that are still moist. 

How to store Dehydrated Orange Slices

Once your citrus slices have cooled to room temperature, store them in an airtight container (like a glass jar or mason jars) or zip top bag in a cool, dry place like your pantry or cupboard. Do NOT store them in the freezer or refrigerator where they could rehydrate from the moisture and spoil quickly. 

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