Watermelon Jerky
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Watermelon jerky is a real fruit snack that will have your taste buds singing! Learn how easy it is to make in a dehydrator and oven.
What made me want to make watermelon jerky?
I’ve been trying to show folks ways they can save money to combat rapidly rising grocery costs and one of those is, of course, buying food at today’s prices and preserving it. With that in mind, I’ve done a lot of dehydrating videos lately. I really feel the dehydrator is an often overlooked appliance that can save every household money and freezer space! I’ve shown you how to dehydrate frozen vegetables, make your own instant rice (for pennies a serving instead of $1 a serving), and even how to make shelf-stable ground beef.
And now, for a real fruit snack that will have your taste buds singing… dried watermelon jerky!
I didn’t realize how well received the videos about the dehydrator would be, how many emails I’d get asking for more, and how many of y’all would actually go out and buy a dehydrator! Links to the dehydrators I have are at the bottom of this post. I do feel like this is a wonderful investment and an easy way for every household to preserve food with the lowest maintenance possible.
Although I can-preserve foods (click here for my tutorial), dehydrating and making things like watermelon jerky takes far less hands-on time and allows me to preserve things I wouldn’t be able to with traditional canning methods.
Why would you want to dehydrate watermelon?
Well, sometimes we may have a bumper crop! Sometimes we may find a good deal and want to preserve it. Sometimes we may just want to taste what dried watermelon tastes like. I highly recommend any of the above, especially growing your own. This watermelon jerky recipe isn’t even really a recipe, it’s that easy to make. Just cut up your watermelon, place the strips in the dehydrator, and walk away to let it work its magic (like you would a crockpot meal).
It is so worth the wait. The watermelon is so sweet and tastes like a watermelon Jolly Rancher, only better! It is slightly chewy like an easy-to-chew taffy and all of that wonderful watermelon flavor is concentrated in a way that you’ve never tried before. Trust me, the real fruit flavor and texture of the dehydrated watermelon make this such an addictive snack… you’ll be making it again and again!
Recipe Ingredients
- Watermelon
How to Make Watermelon Jerky
To start you need to cut up your watermelon however you feel like cutting up your watermelon.
I slice mine in big wedges and then cut it apart from the watermelon rind.
Voila!
Then I slice that wedge into thinner slices.
The thinner the better.
Cut those up into smaller pieces still.
Lay them out on your dehydrator trays that have been lined with parchment paper or fruit leather sheets.
Load up your dehydrator.
Put the door on.
Set your temperature for fruit (about 135 degrees) and your timer for Ten Forevers.
I’m not kidding. That is how long this will take. Most likely 18 to 24 hours.
Then… ENJOY!
Storage
When stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place like your kitchen pantry, the dehydrated watermelon will last up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
Want to add some flavoring? For zesty jerky, brush the with lime juice before dehydrating. For spicy jerky, toss them in a dash of paprika.
Recipe FAQs
How do you make watermelon jerky in the oven?
You want to prep the watermelon as above and then arrange the watermelon slices on 2 wire racks on 2 baking sheets. Bake at 250 until almost dried (about 3 hours). Then lower the temperature to 200 and continue baking until the fruit is completely dried (3 to 4 hours). You’ll want to flip the slices every 2 hours and rotate the pans to ensure even cooking.
Can I get watermelon year-round?
Watermelon is not only available in the summer. It is a refreshing and nutritious fruit that can be available all year round! The US produces watermelon typically from April through November. If you are buying at other times it is likely imported.
How can I tell if a watermelon is good?
While we’re here, let me show you how you can tell if a watermelon is good. You want a bright yellow underbelly. That means that the watermelon was ripened in the field. It should also be very heavy (so you know it is fresh and juicy) and has a dull thud sound when you thump it.
But be nice. Watermelons don’t like to be thumped anymore than you do!
Check out these other recipes…
For Dehydrating
Using a Dehydrator to Make Shelf Stable Ground Beef
With Watermelon
Ingredients
- 1 watermelon
Instructions
- Cut watermelon and remove flesh from the rind. Cut the flesh into pieces as close to 1/4" thickness as you can. Remove seeds if possible.1 watermelon
- Place on lined dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 135 degrees for ten forevers (18-24 hours) or until watermelon jerky is sufficiently dry and breaks when you bend it.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
To see the Excalibur dehydrator I currently use, click here. For a complete collection of dehydrators offered by Amazon, click here.
Christy, as always you amaze me. I was wondering do you still get credit if we like a post or pin it? The boxes are no longer at the top of the post so I was just wondering.
Yes and thank you so much!! Liking and pinning my posts helps me tremendously!! Under the new design, you can use one of the buttons at the bottom of the post to share on facebook, pin, etc. or you can hover over any image and see a pin this button come up. I really appreciate it!
Where in the world does anyone find “watermelon,” this time of the year?
Sounds good… however not sure, with current weather where I can find this…
Blessings~
They will be plentiful soon!!
Christy, that took great courage to write and post.
AMEN and THANK YOU.
May God give us all the courage to so kindly and clearly speak the truth and the strength to live out these truths every day.
I love your Preserving series and am sharing it with lots of friends who also feel a personal responsibility to preserve to care for the future of our families.
Blessings upon blessings to you~
Thank you so much for sharing Julianne!! Blessings to you!
Wow! I love the new website design. Very Southern Chic.
I noticed an image in your instagram ticker requesting vacation ideas. Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA has great family vacation packages. There is a beach and miles of bicycle trails.
Also, there are several state parks in Georgia with lodges, cabins and Yurts. I don’t think the yurts are air conditioned…so that would be off my list, but I’m sure the kiddos would love it. http://gastateparks.org/
If you’re willing to drive a bit further…Tybee Island, GA is a quaint little seaside town outside of Savannah, GA with lots of darling cottages for rent. The hotels are a bit tired and worn because development is kept to a minimum. http://tybeecottages.com/site/18537/default.aspx
Oh my goodness, thank you for all the suggestions Candi!!
If it takes anything close to watermelon Jolly Ranchers, I’m in. Christy, loved your words! Nothing is sacred to our culture as a whole. It’s the opposite of what Jesus taught. Why are we failing to see that we are failing? I read awhile back that our county is the most heavily medicated (anti-depressants/anxiety, etc) in the world. Now I know there are some people who have real needs, so please no haters here! But something is wrong when we are one of the richest (6th) nations in the world, but the most medicated. We need sacred absolute truths! We need hope. We need a “formula” that works. And the only proven one I know is JOY = Jesus 1st, Others 2nd, Yourself last! Thank you again Christy for shining your light!
Oh my goodness, I LOVE your formula!!! Thank you for sharing that with me Kim!
Thanks for your words of encouragement and for the watermelon jerky recipe. We just purchased our dehydrator two days ago and it has been goimg nearly full time since being unpacked. Only stopped to clean and reload.
Up next? Watermelon jerky.
Thanks again!
Congratulations on your new purchase!!! You are going to love it and all the things you can do with, let me know how your watermelon jerky turns out!!
I have two excalabur dehydrators as I have two homes!
Absolutely love them and dry a lot of things but never watermelon ! Will try this soon! Yum! Hubby and I chop and slice all veggies and dehydrate and never have to stop and chop making soups and stews! Takes 5 minutes to throw in pressure cooker and set for 15 minutes! Never throw out veggie as I dry them all!
I can’t wait to hear what you think about it after you try it Barb!!
Hooray for planting! We just put in five baby fruit trees (please don’t die, trees!) in an effort to feed ourselves more and cut back our grocery bill a bit. Since most of our grocery basket every week is produce, I figure the little trees will pay for themselves in the first year when they start to bear fruit. You can bet my dehydrator will be humming then! Thanks for the watermelon lesson. I’ve wondered about drying one before but never gotten around to trying. I’ll go for it this summer when we start to get the big watermelons in the store.
Sending growing thoughts to your trees Erin!!!