You remember eating fruit rollups as a kid, right? I seriously loved them; the only problem was one was never enough so a box didn’t last long. For the longest time, I’ve been seeing homemade versions all over the place in the food blog world. Given my love for replicating store-bought treats at home, I’m not sure why it took me so long to attempt the fruit rollups. I went totally overboard buying raspberries recently (I can’t resist end-of-the season berries, even if there are already 4 pints of them in my fridge at home…), which gave me the push I needed to get in the kitchen and make it happen.
You guys aren’t even going to believe how easy it is to make this homemade fruit leather! I’m totally kicking myself for not having done it sooner. Forget the long ingredient list you’ll see on the box at the store – you need just three ingredients to make this recipe at home: raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar! As I noted below, the amount of sugar you use is entirely up to you too. I added the sugar little by little until I was happy with the level of sweetness. The ingredients are pureed in your food processor then spread into a thin layer on a baking sheet. You bake at a super low temperature in your oven to basically dehydrate the fruit – this process takes a few hours, but it’s worth the wait!
I made a small batch just to test the recipe and upon taking my first bite immediately wished I’d made at least double. The flavor and the texture were perfect, even better than I remember from the boxed version; I could have eaten all of the fruit rollups myself that first day! Instead, I packed them up and shared with my friend and her twins when I visited them yesterday. Her kids had never had fruit rollups before so I wasn’t sure how mine would go over, but they loved them! I can’t wait to make the recipe with other fruits and surprise them with more deliveries π
Homemade Raspberry Fruit Leather
{Note: the amount of sugar you use is up to you. If your berries are really sweet, or you want a less sweet result, feel free to decrease the quantity listed here.}
6 oz fresh raspberries (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Preheat oven to 170 F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
Add the raspberries, lemon juice, and sugar to the bowl of your food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Press the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds (this is optional, if you don’t mind seeds you can skip the straining).
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread in an even, thin layer (about 1/8-inch thick). Bake for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until you can touch the leather and it’s no longer wet and sticky. The baking time will vary slightly depending on the thickness of your leather – the thinner it is, the shorter the baking time.
Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and allow the fruit leather to cool. Use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter to cut into strips. Wrap with parchment paper and store in an airtight container.
I have never made it in the oven. Only the dehydrator. Gonna try this method! Looks delish!
I love the idea of homemade fruit roll ups!! I still buy them today, but never eat them because I know they are full of sugar, but these? These I can do!! They look so awesome!
Never realized it was so easy and so few ingredients!!! Could you use parchment in place of the silicone mat??
My inner kid is dancing up and down seeing these. I need to get over myself and make them considering how easy they are and all the fruit I have in my fridge. It was so nice of you to surprise your friend’s kids. These look absolutely delicious.
Oh my goodness, yum yum yum. Raspberries might be my favorite fruit. And raspberry fruit leather?! Can’t wait to try this!
I’ve never had these as a kid, but they look so so good that it’s making me want to try them right now! It’s such a shame that there aren’t any raspberries in my fridge :'(
Have a nice day! x
This looks so good!
I don’t have a silicone baking mat, though. Do you think it would be okay if I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper and baked it that way?
HOW MANY DEGREES IN THE OVEN?
I need to try making homemade fruit leather again. I’ve only made it once and it was really good!
This is so cool!! I LOVE the sound of this snack! Definitely trying this!
Well now I can cross-off yet another storebought treat that my future kids aren’t going to eat! Who knew making fruit leather was so easy?!
Do you think this would work with frozen fruit as well if I thaw it and drain away the excess moisture first?
Sounds so easy! I have a slew of peaches…thinking this might be a good way to use them up.
I had no idea this was so easy either- definitely going to try this out soon. I was a fruit roll up junkie when I was a kid . I remember snacking and reading that long roll of paper many days at lunch.
Oh wow! This looks really awesome! I don’t even rememeber seeing an ingredient list so small, excpet for on milk bottles haha.
I made these immediately after seeing the post yesterday – they are delicious! I didn’t have any lemons so I made them with just organic berries and sugar, and my kids love them. Yay for school snacks!
I have wanted to try this for a long time, I just haven’t done it! I am going to have to get my butt in gear and just do it!
I have yet to try making my own fruit leather either! I really need to change that with this recipe!
Oh my! I looooooove fruit roll ups…pretty sure I could inhale an entire roll in .5 seconds! I totally need to try these babies, I can’t even imagine how much better homemade ones are!
@Meredith, @Kate – I haven’t tried it with parchment, but I know many other bloggers who have and said it works great! You should be good to go π
@Rebecca – Yes, thawed frozen fruit should work too!
Wow talk about childhood flashbacks! I’d love to give this a try, I bet it tastes wonderful π
It looks so easy to make, and only a few ingredients. I love that it’s made in the oven instead of the dehydrator.
If you have other fruits roll ups recipe, please share π