Best Food Dehydrators for Dried Fruit, Jerky, and Preserving Anything Else You Want

Considering the abundance of dried fruit and jerky at the grocery store, you might think the only people who need food dehydrators are hardcore homesteaders. But once you try drying food yourself it’s easy to get hooked. Instead of spending big bucks on that dried meat and fruit leather or throwing out bumper crops of produce because you don’t have the patience for canning, you can just slice, arrange, allow to dry, and keep from wasting money and food in the process.

At their most basic, food dehydrators are plug-in appliances that blow warm air on perforated trays of sliced fresh foods. This drying process evaporates moisture and dries food slowly to preserve flavor and nutrients and extend its shelf life for about as long as you could possibly want. There’s hardly any processing needed. Sure, meat for jerky needs to be marinated so it’s tender and flavorful, but otherwise there’s no need to drench anything in sugar or salty brine, just the occasional dunk in lemon juice to inhibit oxidizing, or a quick dip in boiling water to remove peels.

With so many people growing their own food, committed to eating clean, and working hard to eliminate food waste, there’s been an uptick in interest in food dehydrators. And that increased interest means an increase in models on the market. Some budget versions keep it simple while pricier options offer digital controls that allow you to set the time and temperature. We combed through the options to find a some top contenders and put them to the test. Were those extra features worth the price? Do these top-selling dehydrators get the job done with minimal effort? Read on to find out what we thought and for our pick for the best food dehydrators.

Once we started using this digital food dehydrator we didn’t want to stop. It dehydrated everything we threw at it efficiently and evenly. And the stainless-steel rectangular trays made arranging the items a cinch since we didn’t have to work around a center hole. This was especially nice when we were spreading fruit puree on the sheet to make fruit leather. It was super easy to get it spread in an even layer. We also loved being able to slide the trays in and out of the unit, like you do with an oven, rather than stacking them. And since they’re metal, they’re dishwasher safe, easy to clean, and don’t absorb stains or odors.

The glass doors allowed us to check the progress of our foods without having to turn anything off or unstack any trays. The fan was so quiet we could almost forget it was turned on. It also has temperature controls we could set in 1-degree increments from 95 degrees Fahrenheit (great for delicate items like herbs and flowers) to 165 degrees Fahrenheit (ideal for jerky). The timer could be set from 30 minutes to 48 hours and can jump in 30-degree increments by holding down the + or – button. It counts down during use, so you don’t have to guess how much longer it will take.

Once we experienced the convenience of automatic shut off at a specified time, we didn’t want to go without. Sure, you should always check your items to make sure they’re fully dry, since the humidity of the room and the moisture level of the food can affect drying times, but the timer gave us the flexibility to not have to babysit our food for fear of overdoing it.

Two drawbacks: First, the unit isn’t expandable; it can fit a maximum of six drying trays. Second, the unit itself can’t be taken apart or compacted for storage. But it’s sleek and attractive, with handles on the side so it’s easy to maneuver. If we had the space, we’d happily leave it on the countertop.

If you don’t have the budget or counter space for our top pick, this bare-bones model won’t do you wrong. The Presto Dehydro used to have a fan at the bottom, but this new model has been redesigned to put the fan at the top for better circulation. We found it dehydrated food just as well as our other top picks for a fraction of the price. But that low price means it doesn’t come with any bells and whistles. There’s no timer and only one temperature setting — 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Just plug the unit in and it starts to go. The higher temperature means food dries a bit faster, so you must check it earlier than recipes specify. It comes with four plastic trays and is expandable up to eight. Accessories like fruit roll sheets and nonstick mesh screens cost a little extra. One thing we like is that if you stack the trays upside down, the unit becomes several inches shorter, so it requires less storage space.

The name says it all: Gardenmaster. If you grow your own fruits and vegetables, you know how overwhelming bumper crops can be, but the Nesco Gardenmaster food dehydrator has your back. It’s massive — expandable up to 30 trays, and each tray offers 1 square foot of space, enough for several batches of whatever you're making at once. (Take that, crazy-prolific zucchini plant!) This unit comes with eight plastic trays, plus mesh screens and fruit leather mats for each. It offers 1000 watts of power, a top-mounted fan, and temperature controls from 95 degrees Fahrenheit to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it wasn’t exactly quiet, the fan noise wasn’t bothersome (and on a unit this big, noise is to be expected). The Nesco dried all our items perfectly, even the trays we put at the bottom.

Even, efficient drying: The most important feature we looked for in a food dehydrator was its ability to efficiently and evenly dry the foods (that’s why you got it right?). Models that took longer than necessary, or left foods on one area of a tray moist while the other was bone dry, dropped to the bottom of our list. The fans and heating element needed to be powerful enough to get the job done right, but not overdo it—otherwise we’d just use an oven.

Noise level: Since dehydrators have to run for hours on end, no one wants a unit that sounds like a jet engine. The quieter, the better.

User friendly: We valued models that were clear and intuitive to use, with no need to study the instruction book to figure out how to turn it on or stack the trays every time. That being said, we appreciated those that offered tips and recipes in their instruction booklets, rather than leaving us to the whims of Google. Any extra bells and whistles should make the experience better, like space saving designs, glass doors, temperature controls and timers.

Capacity: Since items being dehydrated need to be spread out and thinly sliced, it’s easy to fill up the trays very quickly. We gave bonus points to models that are flexible enough to accommodate more trays when necessary, and that have trays designed with enough surface area to fit a lot of items.

We dried sliced Fuji apples dipped in a solution of lemon juice and water, plum tomatoes halved lengthwise, pureed strawberries for fruit leather, and jerky.

We made note of how easy or difficult it was to load the items on the trays, how much capacity the trays held, how loud the units were, whether there were temperature controls or timers, how evenly the items were dried, if drying took longer than usual, and how easy the trays and unit were to clean afterward.

Nesco Snackmaster Pro ($78)
The Snackmaster Pro food dehydrator and a great option if you’re looking for an affordable model with temperature controls. It’s like a smaller version of the big daddy Gardenmaster. It even comes with an identical instruction book. Like the Gardenmaster, it has a temperature range from 95 degrees Fahrenheit  and up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s expandable up to 12 trays and comes with five already, plus two fruit leather sheets and two mesh screens for tiny items. It didn’t snag our top spot because, despite all that (and the fact that it’s a smidge quieter) it doesn’t become more compact with storage, and costs about $30 more than our budget pick even though it performed the same. Still, if you want adjustable temperature control for under $100 this is the one to get.

Brod & Taylor Folding Dehydrator ($325)
We love how this unit folds down almost flat for storage. It even comes with handy storage cases for the trays and the unit. It also features metal racks, glass doors so you can view the progress, temperature control and a two-stage timer. Set a high temp for the beginning stage of dehydration when most of the moisture is evaporating, then have it automatically lower for the final drying stage to keep the items from getting overheated. There were just a few strikes against it. First, we found that items weren’t as evenly dried as we liked. For example, we had to let our fruit leather dry an extra hour longer than other units, and even the parts in the middle were still a bit soft. Also, it emitted a noise like a distant leaf blower — a high-pitched whirring sound just loud enough to not ever let you tune it out. And finally, setting it up and dismantling for storage definitely takes getting used to. It’s just enough of a hassle that we could see it making us reluctant to use it.

Once you start using a food dehydrator, it might become one of your favorite kitchen appliances — especially if you love snacking on fruit leather, jerky, and dried fruit or veggies. It’s far cheaper to make these items yourself, and they take very little effort to prepare.

Those who want a simple appliance for their snack obsessions will have plenty of success with the plug-and-go Presto Dehydro. It’s cheap, expandable, and it can be stored in a space efficient way. Even though it operates without an adjustable thermostat, it works for just about anything you want to dehydrate. But if you have room to splurge a little, go for the Cosori, so you can set it and forget it since it turns off on its own. In our opinion, that convenience alone is well worth the extra cost.