Strawberry Chia Fruit Leather
Strawberry Chia fruit leather is sweet, chewy, and SO yummy. The chia seeds give it the most amazing texture you won’t ever go back to regular fruit leather!
Is Fruit Leather Healthy?
Not all fruit leather is created equally. Which means that if you are buying fruit leather from the store, you should read the ingredients before you buy it if you are concerned about what it is in it. And if you are making it at home, then you should definitely find a recipe that only includes ingredients you want your kids to eat.
A lot of commercial fruit leathers add sugar, corn syrup, artificial colors, artificial flavors and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, to preserve the shelf-life and texture of the finished product.
Homemade fruit leather is typically just pureed fruit and some recipes add lemon juice and a bit of sweetener. This recipe for Strawberry Chia Fruit Leather is just strawberries and chia seeds. If your strawberries aren’t very sweet, you might want to add just a bit of honey. My kids like it more tart and so I don’t add any sweetener, but it is totally up to your taste preferences!
So to answer the question, Is Fruit Leather Healthy, the answer is yes if you make it yourself! It can be a great way to get kids to eat fruit and enjoy it in a form that has a different texture and flavor.
Chia Seeds in Fruit Leather
White chia seeds, which are more beige than white, blend into baked goods, oatmeal, and fruit leather a lot more seamlessly than the regular black ones. The subtle color means that you might have less issues with little eaters trying to pick them out. Look for them at your local natural food store or on amazon.
My kids actually really love chia seeds and so I typically just use the black variety because they are a lot easier to find. The chia seeds give this fruit leather an amazing texture and make it thicker and more pliable.
How to Make Fruit Leather
Making fruit leather at home isn’t hard, but it can be a little tricky to master the method. Here are a few tips to help guarantee success:
- Spread the fruit puree evenly, and don’t let it thin out at the edges since they tend to bake faster. You can even spread it slightly thicker at the edges to help ensure even baking.
- The mixture will dry from the edges inward, so if you notice that there’s a two inch strip that’s done around the perimeter but the interior is still tacky to the touch, remove your pan from the oven and simply cut it off the edges with kitchen shears. Let them rest on a wire rack while the rest of the fruit leather finishes baking.
- You can tell that the fruit leather is done when it’s completely set and dry and it peels off easily from the silicone mat. It will also look darker in color.
- If you happen to over-bake the edges, simply place those strips into a zip top plastic bag and let sit overnight at room temperature. In the morning, it should be softened up!
How Long Does Fruit Leather Last?
The recommendation is that if you dry your fruit leather completely, you can store it in an airtight container up to 1 month. In my experience, my fruit leather has stayed good for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze your fruit leather up to 1 year! When you want to eat it, just let it thaw on the counter. When I make fruit leather, it usually doesn’t stay around longer than a week because my kids eat it so fast!
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Strawberry Chia Fruit Leather
Ingredients
- 5 cup strawberries
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or silicone mat.
- Wash and dry the strawberries. Remove the stems and roughly chop. Place into a blender and puree until smooth. Add the chia seeds and pulse to combine.
- Pour the mixture onto the mat and use a spatula to spread evenly to about 1/4-inch thick. Make sure that the mixture does not get thinner at the edges since they will cook faster than the interior. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your baking sheet and silpat.
- Bake for 3-4 hours or until the mixture has dried completely. (Check it starting at 3 hours.) When done, cut with scissors into strips and store in a zip top plastic bag or an airtight container.
- Store up to 1 month.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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The idea of making fruit leather at home has always been really intimidating to me… but you make it look easy, Amy! And DELISH. #musttry
I’d like to try this as it does look good. Would this be suitable for the dehydrator?
Perfect healthy snack!
I am unable to put this in my recipe box. Many of the recipes are that way. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Amy- we don’t have all the blog posts written in the format for the recipe box. We enter each ingredient so it can be added to you shopping list and calculate the nutrition data. If you come across a blog post we haven’t entered yet, you can always let us know, and we’ll get it entered, starting with this one!
It’s ready Amy! You can add it to your recipe box now~
Hi, could I use other berries? My brother just dropped off 5kg of mulberries and I need to use them up. Thanks
Takes forever to bake (and babysit at end to make sure it doesn’t overcook) but my 2.5yo loves this treat!
LOVE this! I used to make homemade “fruit roll-ups” with my mom as a kid. I’m so excited about this recipe that I plan to include a link to it in my upcoming strawberries post.
What size baking sheet do you use for this recipe?
I use a half sheet pan- 18×13″.
Could frozen strawberries be used?
We haven’t tried this- although I imagine it would work! It might take longer to dry out because frozen berries tend to have a higher moisture content. Let us know how it turns out!
Can you use frozen defrosted strawberries?
We haven’t attempted this with frozen strawberries yet- you’ll have a lot more liquid. Let us know if you try it and how they turn out!
Could I use parchment paper instead of a silicone sheet?
Yep!