The Best Food Dehydrators, Tested by Our Experts

How We Tested

We tested 22 food dehydrators side by side in our Lab to see how well they would dry herbs and make fruit leather. Our testers noted how long each item took to dehydrate in each machine, whether or not the items dehydrated fully, how evenly the foods dehydrated from the top to the bottom of each machine, how easy it was to peel each item off the tray, and how easy each dehydrator was to use and clean. Our Lab testers even did a noise test, where they played a specific song on their phone, set it in a specific spot next to the dehydrator, played it at a specific volume level, and rated how well they could hear it over the machine.

We also sent several dehydrators to the homes of our at-home testers for them to evaluate. Our home testers tested the machines on jerky, fruit and veggie chips, herbs, citrus zest, and more.

Other Options We Tested

• Hamilton Beach Digital Food Dehydrator: Our Lab and at-home testers found this machine to be very easy to use and easy to clean, but it got low scores for performance. It took 7 hours to get herbs just mostly dry and 5 hours to get just the bottom tray of fruit leather dry, and there was a great deal of unevenness in the dryness levels between trays. Notably, the machine was not able to come to the temperature required to make fruit leather, which ended up cracking.
• Presto Dehydro Electric Food Dehydrator: While this machine is also dishwasher safe and very easy to use, our Lab testers noticed dramatic temperature fluctuation and some cracking in the fruit leather they made in it. The fruit leather also didn't come off its tray easily, which made cleaning more difficult. The herbs took 6 hours to get (not fully) dry, and the fruit leather took 4 hours, which was about average among the machines we tested. Our at-home tester didn't like that this dehydrator lacked temperature control.
• NutriChef Food Dehydrator Machine: Our Lab testers found it difficult to figure out how to set this machine to the temperatures they wanted since it only has low, medium, and high settings. The test results all showed a lot of unevenness, and the machine was never able to come to the temperature required to make fruit leather (which yielded uneven, not-done results). There also wasn't a fruit leather tray included, although the manual gave instructions for making it. Herbs started to dry only after 6.5 hours and turned out very uneven and not fully dry. In addition, the trays are not dishwasher safe and have lots of crevices to clean by hand. For all these reasons, this machine was not among our favorites.

What to Look for When Buying a Food Dehydrator

Style

Dehydrators either have horizontal or vertical airflow. In horizontal airflow models, the heating element and fan are positioned on the side or back of the dehydrators. Vertical airflow models have the heating element and fan positioned at the bottom or top of the dehydrator.

According to Elizabeth L. Andress, PhD, professor emerita and extension food safety specialist at the University of Georgia, the advantages of a horizontal flow model are "reduced flavor mixture so several different foods can be dried at one time, all trays receive equal heat exposure, and juices or liquids do not drip down into the heating element."

Vertical airflow models tend to be tougher to clean since bottom-oriented heating elements are more exposed to drips and bits of food. Mesh tray liners can help prevent pieces of food from falling to the bottom of your dehydrators.

Capacity

Dehydrating isn’t a fast process, so a larger-capacity machine can save you time if you have a lot of food to dry—though they also take up more space. Smaller units, on the other hand, work well for small batches and kitchens.

Number of Trays

When dehydrating a batch of food, you want to make sure your machine dries it all evenly. To ensure consistency, look for a model with more trays so you can space out your food as much as possible. Overlapping pieces of food or crowding the trays with too much food will result in inconsistent results.

Some dehydrators can fit only a handful of drying trays, while others allow you to stack up to 20 or more.

Temperature Range

Some dehydrators operate at a single temperature, while others have an adjustable temperature dial. Adjustable temperatures typically range from 80 F up to 160 to 180 F.

Being able to control the temperature may be desirable if you plan to dehydrate several different types of food and want more precision over the process. However, if you're just getting started dehydrating your own snacks or only plan to dehydrate one or two types of food, a set temperature model makes the process even easier.

Andress says, "Dehydrators are efficiently designed to dry foods fast at 140 F, the most commonly recommended temperature. You don’t want too high of a temperature for dehydrating because the outside of food pieces cannot dry too much before moisture is pulled out of the interior of pieces."

Timers and Auto-Shutoffs

"Often the completed drying time may occur during the night and a timer could turn the dehydrator off and prevent scorching," says Andress. Depending on what you're making and how often, you may want to pick a dehydrator with an auto-shutoff function.

Jerky

Because meat is more prone to spoiling than vegetables, not all food dehydrators are capable of drying it safely. If jerky-making is high on your list of priorities, it’s wise to make sure the machine you buy has a temperature range appropriate for drying meat.

FAQs

How does a food dehydrator work?

Food dehydrators contain a heating element that produces low levels of heat and a fan that keeps the warm air circulating. Pieces of food are placed on drying racks which are perforated to allow the warm air to circulate 360 degrees around each piece of food.

The heat in a dehydrator typically doesn't exceed 145 F, which is just warm enough to evaporate moisture from foods without cooking or burning. The exact temperature to use and the length of drying time depend on which type of food you're drying. Consult a recipe book and/or the instruction manual included with your dehydrator as a starting guide.

How should I slice my food before dehydrating?

A number of factors, such as uneven slicing, variations in fruit or vegetable size, or different amounts of moisture, can affect drying time even in the controlled environment of an electric dehydrator. To ensure the best results, take the time to prep foods so that they're similar in size and thickness. Thinner, smaller pieces will dehydrate more quickly due to a larger amount of surface area being exposed. A mandoline slicer can help create thinly and evenly cut fruits and vegetables.

How long does dehydrated food last?

The National Center for Home Food Preservation recommends that dried foods can be stored on average for four months to one year. The exact storage period depends on a few factors, including how much moisture remains in the finished product and the method of storage.

Dried fruits and fruit leathers are chewy because they still retain some moisture. They should be stored on the shorter end of the scale because this moisture can be breeding grounds for bacterial growth.

In general, dried foods stored at lower temperatures will last longer than those stored at room temperature or in warmer climates. You can store dried jerky and snacks in the refrigerator or freezer to extend their shelf life. Vacuum sealing will also help dried foods last longer.

How do you store dehydrated food?

Dehydrated foods that you'll be eating right away should be stored in airtight containers. To store dried foods for longer periods of time, plastic freezer bags, vacuum-sealed bags, or glass jars are the best options.

When packing dried foods for long-term storage, it's recommended to put only as much food as you will use at once or is needed for a given recipe in each package. Storing more than you can use at once in one package will decrease the shelf-life since opening and closing a package several times increases exposure to oxygen which promotes spoilage.

Can you dehydrate food in the oven?

Yes, a standard oven or toaster oven can be used to dehydrate foods if it can go down to the proper temperature range for dehydration. However, if you're not comfortable leaving an oven on to run over the course of several hours or overnight, this method may not be the best option.

Some ovens and toaster ovens may have a dehydrating preset. If yours doesn't have this, you can still dry foods by setting the oven to the lowest possible temperature. Place foods on parchment-lined baking sheets in the oven, prop the oven door open slightly to help moisture escape and evaporate, and be sure to check your food periodically.

Why Trust The Spruce Eats?

Cookbook author Donna Currie covers kitchen tools and appliances for The Spruce Eats. In addition to food dehydrators, she's written roundups on the best air fryers, food steamers, and Instant Pots (among many more) for the site.

This roundup was updated by Katya Weiss-Andersson, a writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience as a professional chef, including in raw food restaurants where food dehydration was king, and Katrina Munichiello, a writer and editor who specializes in the tea and food industries.