Watermelon Fruit Leather
Easy homemade watermelon fruit leather. Just two ingredients! A great snack or addition to school lunches.
Growing up I pretty much devoured boxes of fruit roll-ups, as Iโm sure many kids did back then. They were hard to resist. The strawberry variety were my favorite. A classic. I do recall rainbow ones and the occasional surprise packages where you didnโt know what the flavor was until you opened it and bit in. Fun for kids, but Iโm not sure Iโd be so entertained by mystery food these days.
If you asked me 10 years ago if Iโd ever make my own fruit leather, I might have laughed. Iโm in the kitchen so much more now. Plus, having kidsโฆ that definitely changes my view on things. Within the past few years Iโve shared several homemade fruit leather optionsโฆ all equally tasty! I love how you can control the sweetness and know whatโs in it! No special equipment is needed either!
One day at the grocery store, the watermelons were practically screaming at me to buy them. You know the moment you see something and thatโs all you think about until you pick it up and put it in your shopping cart? That. They were necessary. I knew immediately what I had to make (besides watermelon sherbet, of course)โฆ homemade watermelon fruit leather! Becauseโฆ why not?! Itโs easy and I knew the entire family would love it!
Easy two ingredient watermelon fruit leather (aka fruit roll-ups), perfect for lunches or snacking! A must make for watermelon fans!
And donโt forget to make some delicious watermelon sherbet with some of the leftover watermelon juice!
Watermelon Fruit Leather
Ingredients
- 8 C watermelon, cubed
- 2/3 C granulated sugar
Instructions
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Line two baking sheets with silicone baking sheets. Preheat oven to 170Fยฐ.
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Puree watermelon, draining through cheese cloth, set over a mesh strainer. Drain almost all of the liquid, reserving for another use.
-
Combine watermelon solids with sugar, discarding any seeds. Blend again if needed to ensure a smooth mixture.
-
Divide watermelon mixture between pans, spreading into an even layer, roughly 1/8-inch thick. Bake for 3 hours or until no longer wet, but still slightly tacky. Rotate pans 180ยฐ and swap levels each hour until they are done.
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Transfer fruit leather to a cutting board, cut into desired sizes. Store on parchment paper in an airtight container.
Notes
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AMAZING! I consumed so much fruit leather and fruit rollups as kids. Looking back, I cannot believe my mom let us eat that stuff!
Thanks Bri! :)
Perfection! Iโve made many fruit leathers but never watermelon. Looks yummy!
Have a marvelous week Rachel!
Thanks Melanie!
I cannot WAIT to try this Rachel! Itโs so simple.
Thanks so much Sally! :)
Fruit leather was the premium currency for โswappingโ at the lunch table when I was a kid. Somehow I think it might work at the office too ;-)
It could totally work at the office too haha
This is awesome!! Thanks for the recipe. Canโt wait to try it.
Thanks Rebecca!
Do you have a suggestion on how big to cut the pieces? 8 cups could vary greatly, depending on the size and shape of the pieces. Thanks!
Iโd recommend trying to cut it down to 1-2โณ pieces for easier measuring and processing. Enjoy!
I canโt believe how easy these are to make! My boys would love them!
Itโs SO easy! Theyโd definitely love it :)
Rachel, how does everything amazing on Pinterest lead me here??? Canโt wait to try these. We always have so much watermelon coming from our garden that we donโt always know what to do with it. Now I know I can make this and your watermelon sherbet.
Aww, thanks Maria! Youโre too sweet!
Rachel this is genius, love it and pinned! I want to reach through the screen and grab some! :)
Thanks so much Averie!
Oh lovely!! I love watermelon!!!
Iโm guilty of doing that now!!! Probably wonโt after I bake this though!
Thanks Anne! :)
I used to be addicted to fruit leather โฆ this looks like the perfect recipe to become obsessed all over again. Yum!
Itโs super easy to become addicted to (and totally worth it) :)
When you strain the watermelon do you push the juice out or just let it sit there for awhile?
You will squeeze enough out, but not all, to make 2 cups of solid watermelon. Reserve the liquid for another use.
Oh yum! Iโve made so many types of fruit leather before and thought about watermelon, but since it has so much juice, I wasnโt sure if the actual fibers would extracted enough to make the leather โ now I know it can! As always, your photos are beautiful!
Thanks Amanda! If you love watermelon, then youโll definitely love this fruit leather! :)
I love that these only have 2 ingredients! I have got to try these!
Thanks Stephanie! Enjoy! :)
Seriously the coolest idea ever. I never even thought to use watermelon in fruit leather. I love the little specks in them as if theyโre seeds but obviously theyโre not, haha..I really need to make fruit leather sometime :( I still havenโt gotten around to it. Boo
I love this so very much!! Fruit leather is the best- Watermelon?! You are blowing my mind!!
Yes please. I have been meaning to make some fruit leather, I just couldnโt pick a flavor. This is perfect
Wow, Rachel! This looks simply amazing! My kids will flip for these leathers. LOVE IT! Pinned!
Iโm not that familiar with making fruit leather, yet. Will this work without the added sugar?
I have not personally tried it that way. All recipes Iโve seen have used some form of a sweetener.
This looks so good and your photographs are beautiful, thanks Rachel. I just picked up a watermelon yesterday โ lucky me! :)
Thanks Kevin! Enjoy!! :)
iโve never heard of fruit leather
beforeโฆ what do you do with it at the end? Just eat it?
Yes, you eat it. Itโs dried pureed fruit that can be cut into desired sizes.
How do you store the fruit leather? And how long does it stay fresh?
I stored mine in a standard plastic container. Typically homemade fruit leather will keep for up to a month at room temperature, or longer frozen. However, I have not personally tried freezing fruit leather and mine has also never lasted long (the family devours it). Enjoy!
Since watermelon is naturally sweet already, do we really need to add sugar? I am trying to watch my calories.
Youโre welcome to try without, but I canโt promise what the result will be like.
Would honey work, instead of sugar? Has anyone tried this?
I have not personally tried using honey. However, I know other recipes do exist using it. Keep in mind when you use honey instead of granulated sugar, you need to reduce the amount. Typically it would be 1 cup honey for every 1 1/4 cup sugar, so in this case Iโd recommend trying 1/2 cup honey or a tad less. Hope that helps! :)
Before I go buy my watermelons, I had a question. So one watermelon produces 2 cups of watermelonโฆ does that mean I need 4 watermelons to make this? That seems highโฆ anyone know?
You need 8 cups of watermelon fruit, prior to blending and straining. 2 small seedless watermelons were used for this recipe.
Hey! I cant wait to try this! but was wondering can I strain the watermelon w/o the cheese clothe?
Youโre certainly welcome to try straining without the cheesecloth, but itโs recommended for best results.
Recipe looks great, excited to try. But here in Canada 170 F converts to 76.6 C and my oven doesnโt quite work like that. The lowest I can bring it down too is 170 C is that too hot still for this recipe? As I do not want the sugar to burn.
Also because Iโm diabetic granulated sugar is not the best, would a substitute of splenda, Truvia baking blend work as well?? If so, what would u recommend for a measurement?
170C (or 338ยฐF) would be far too hot for this recipe. You want it to be a low temperature so itโs gradually dehydrating the food, not cooking it. If you have access to a food dehydrator, Iโd recommend trying that instead, if your oven does not go low enough. I donโt have conversions for you for alternative sweeteners, since Iโve never used them. You could simply add a little bit and keep tasting the puree until youโre satisfied with the flavor/sweetness level.
Iโm from Canada too. Although we use Celsius for outside temperature, our oven temperatures are actually in Farenheit just like Americans, so your oven should do just fine.
Hi Rachel!
My girls and are making this now. Iโve never made fruit leather or used cheesecloth. Should I purรฉe it first or strain it through the cheesecloth first?
Thanks!!!
Puree the watermelon and then drain through cheesecloth, set over a mesh strainer, as instructed in the instructions. Good luck and enjoy!
What a great recipe! Thank you :)
How long does the fruit leather last once itโs baked?
It can last several months or longer stored properly, but I doubt youโd have to worry about long term storage! :)
What is Nutritional Value of Watermelon Fruit Leathers?
I donโt offer that information. However, there are free online calculators you can use to find that information.
Sounds good but itโs a lot of sugar. Iโm wondering if you couldnโt halve the sugar and replace it with some good quality unflavored gelatin and get the same results?
Gelatin shouldnโt be used in fruit leather. Itโs also not a good sugar replacement. If youโre looking to reduce the amount of sugar, do just that, reduce it a bit to whatever amount youโre comfortable with. How much you need will depend on the sweetness of your fruit and how sweet you want your fruit leather to be. Good luck!
Could I use honey or something natural? I donโt want my kids eating that much sugar.
For best results, granulated sugar should be used. You can reduce the amount of sugar, but this will be at the expense of the final flavor.
Hi I just found your recipe for watermelon fruit leather perfect since I canโt upon 4 watermelons this past weekend. I have everything but the silicone baking mat. Do you know if it would be OK to bake on parchment paper? Thanks and going to try your watermelon sorbet also yum!
Some have had great success using parchment paper, while others havenโt had the best of luck. Silicone baking mats would definitely be your best bet.
Can this be put in a dehydrator?
Absolutely! Enjoy :)
I just received 3 watermelons from a food drive. They didnโt have the turnout expected so I racked up!. Watermelon is my favorite fruit! I was wondering how to use some of it up instead of using it all to make watermelon slushies. Iโll give this a go this week! Sounds and looks delicious! The apple cinnamon too! I received two bags of apples from the food drive tooโฆapples are starting to spoil. I usually make homemade applesauce or an apple phyllo dough strudel, Iโll try the apple cinnamon version also! Iโm new to your blog. Will start following you. Canโt wait to see what other goodies you create! I see how much your followers love what you do based on their commentary. Works for me too!
So glad you found me! Enjoy the fruit leather! If youโre looking for other fun watermelon recipes, I also have a watermelon sherbet recipe. :)
Could I use Splenda in this recipe? My husband is a diabetic!
I havenโt personally tried using Splenda instead, but it is typically a safe substitute in most baking recipes.