How to Dry Apples in the Microwave

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: December 22, 2020

Dried apples are a yummy and nutritious snack. If you don’t have a food dehydrator, and you’d rather not spend money on dried apples from the store, there is a quick and easy solution. Drying apples in the microwave in small batches takes just about 5 minutes of prep time and 5 minutes of cooking.

Ingredients

Apple
Cinnamon
Sugar

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Plating Your Apples

1
Wash and dry an apple. Run an apple under cool water to remove pesticides, dirt, and germs that apple may have picked up. Dry it completely with a clean towel.^{[1]
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- Any variety of apple will work. Some good choices include Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady.
2
Cut around the core of your apple. Steady the apple with your non-dominant hand. Position your paring knife just to the side of the stem, and cut straight down. Turn the apple 90 degrees, and again cut to the side of the core. Repeat this twice more until the core is removed.^{[2]
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- Another option is to use an apple-coring device, which can be purchased from a kitchen store or online.
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3
Cut the apple into slices. Steady each piece of apple with your non-dominant hand, and use your paring knife to slice it very thin. Thinner slices will make crispier dried apples. Try to make each slice 0.125 inches (0.32 cm) thick or less.
- This can also be done with a mandoline slicer.
4
Line a microwave-safe plate with parchment paper. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a clean glass or ceramic plate.
- Parchment paper is not the same as wax paper. Wax paper is not microwave safe.
5
Place the apple slices on the plate about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Position your apple slices on the plate so that they have a bit of breathing room.^{[3]
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- All of your slices will not fit on 1 plate. This will need to be done in batches.
6
Sprinkle your apples with cinnamon and sugar to create a sweet treat. Plain apple chips are a delicious snack, but you can make this more of a treat by sprinkling 1 teaspoon (4.9 ml) of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon (4.9 ml) of sugar on the apple slices before they are cooked.^{[4]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Cooking the Slices

1
Cook the apple slices in the microwave for 4.5 minutes. Position your plate of apple slices in the microwave and set the time for 4.5 minutes. Watch for the edges of the apple to curl.
- If the edges do not start to curl in 4.5 minutes, give them another 30 seconds.
2
Flip the slices and microwave them for another 30-60 seconds. Open the microwave and remove the plate. Flip each slice over. Be careful, because they will be hot. Return the plate to microwave, and cook them for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.^{[5]
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3
Transfer the apple slices to a cooling rack and let them stand for 10 minutes. Carefully move the apple slices to a cooling rack, or another plate. They will continue to crisp up a bit as they cool.^{[6]
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4
Repeat this process with the next batch. While your first batch of apple slices is cooling, line another plate with fresh parchment paper and microwave a second round of apple slices.^{[7]
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- Microwave-dried apples are best eaten right away.
- Pair these with nuts and other dried fruits, or snack on them alone.