How to Dehydrate Sweet Potatoes

Preparing Your Sweet Potato

Wash the sweet potato. Brush the outside with a vegetable scrubber to remove dirt. Run the sweet potato under running water, brushing off dirt and other particles with your hands. Pat it dry with a clean towel. Leave the skin on for additional nutrients. For this reason, buy pesticide-free sweet potatoes if possible.

Slice the sweet potato. Prepare a sharp knife or mandolin. Use the mandolin on the thinnest setting, or slice the sweet potato into rounds that are one-sixteenth to one-eighth inch (0.16 to 0.3cm) thick. A mandolin is ideal, because it will ensure all the rounds are the same thickness, which means they’ll dehydrate at the same rate. To use a mandolin, press the top of the sweet potato to the mandolin slicer and move in a downward motion, slicing the sweet potato rounds until you reach the end of your potato. Use the vegetable holder to ensure you don’t cut your hands on the sharp mandolin.

Soak the sweet potato rounds. Fill a large bowl full of fresh, room temperature water. Soak the sweet potato slices for one to two hours. The starch in the sweet potato will prevent moisture from escaping, but soaking will help remove some of the starch, leading to crispier sweet potato chips. You can change the water halfway through the soaking process, but this step is not necessary.

Dry the sweet potato rounds. When they are finished soaking, remove the sweet potato rounds from the water and place them on a clean towel or paper towel. Pat them completely dry before dehydrating.

Add oil. Transfer the sweet potato rounds to a large plate. Brush them with olive oil or melted coconut oil. Alternatively, place the sweet potato rounds into a bowl, drizzle with oil, and toss to coat. Oil is not necessary to dehydrate sweet potatoes, but it will result in crispier chips.

Season the sweet potato rounds. You can make your sweet potato chips sweet or savory, and add any seasonings you desire. You can try: Himalayan or sea salt Black pepper or cayenne pepper Cinnamon Rosemary or thyme Onion powder or smoked paprika

Dehydrating Sweet Potatoes in a Dehydrator

Lay out the sweet potato rounds on the dehydrator trays. Make sure they are only one layer thick, and that the sweet potato pieces aren’t sitting on top of each other. They won’t dehydrate evenly if they are overlapping.

Prepare the dehydrator. Replace the dehydrator trays one at a time, stacking them on top of one another. Turn on your dehydrator. For a quicker dehydrating method, set your dehydrator to 145 F (63 C). For raw sweet potato chips, set the dehydrator to 115 F (46 C).

Dehydrate your chips. For the quicker method, dehydrate for about 12 hours, or until the desire crispiness is achieved. For the slower, raw method, dehydrate for 20 to 24 hours. When there are only a few hours left in your estimated dehydrating time, check on your sweet potato chips every hour or so to ensure you don’t overcook them.

Cool and store. When your dehydrating time is up and your sweet potato chips are crunchy enough for your liking, let them cool on the trays. When they reach room temperature, put them in an airtight resealable bag, mason jar, or other container. Properly stored dehydrated food, especially without oil, can last for about a year.

Dehydrating Sweet Potatoes in an Oven

Preheat your oven to its lowest setting. The ideal temperature for raw dehydration is 115 F (46 C) and below. You can also dehydrate sweet potato at 145 F (63 C). If your oven doesn’t go that low, you will have to keep a closer eye on the chips and adjust the dehydrating time.

Place a cooling rack into a baking tray. This can be used as a makeshift dehydrator that will allow air to circulate underneath the sweet potato pieces. Spread the sweet potato rounds out in a single layer on the cooling rack.

Dehydrate the chips. Place the tray in the oven with the door ajar. Check on the chips every hour or so if your oven is hotter than 145 F (63 C). When they have reached the desired crispiness, remove them from the oven, cool, and store. For an oven that goes as low as 115 F (46 C), dehydrate for 20 to 24 hours. For an oven that’s 145 F (63 C), dehydrate for about 12 hours. For an oven that doesn’t go lower than 175 F (79 C) or so, dehydrate for three to four hours. If they still need longer, continue dehydrating, but check on them every 15 minutes.

Finished.