Orange Fruit Leather Recipe

Last Updated on March 3, 2022 by Anne-Marie

Making this homemade orange fruit leather recipe is easier than you think! Can be made in an oven or a dehydrator.

Orange Fruit Leather rolls in parchment and tied with string.

Why this recipe works

Would you like to learn how to make an homemade fruit leather recipe? It’s easier than you think!

When I was coming up with my fruit leather recipe, I kept in mind parents trying to pack their child’s lunch with healthy snacks and worried about food allergies and less than wholesome ingredients.

So, I’d thought I’d help out by making a easy sugar free fruit leather made with my favorite clementine oranges.

I also wanted to create an easy homemade fruit leather recipe, so that kids and parents (or a grandparent or babysitter) could make these together as a fun cooking activity.

I hope you have as much fun making (and eating) the fruit leather as I did.

This easy Orange Fruit Leather recipe also makes a great homemade gift for teachers, friends or relatives, too!

Orange Fruit Leather rollups, oranges, and spices on a wooden cutting board.

Flavoring the orange fruit leather

When you know how to make fruit leather, you know what’s exactly what’s in it! This homemade fruit leather is basically citrus, spices, and a natural sweetener.

My Orange Fruit Leather recipe was influenced by some Indian candies brought home one day. I could taste that there was ginger and orange in it, but I couldn’t figure what was the other spice.

I was going through my spice cabinet one day when I found it – cardamom! I knew the combination with a bit of lemon would be a wonderful addition to this recipe for homemade fruit leather.

I sweetened the orange fruit leather with monk fruit powdered sweetener, which is a natural, no calorie sweetener. I love cooking with monk fruit sweetener since it works just as well as sugar and leaves no bitter aftertaste.

Even though clementine oranges are naturally sweet, I knew that adding the lemon, cardamom and ginger could make the orange fruit leather a bit bitter.

But if you don’t want to use the powdered monk fruit, you can use honey or another sweetener.

I also use powdered monk fruit in my Strawberry Fruit Leather Dehydrator Recipe.

Rolls of Orange Fruit Leather tied in kitchen twine on a wooden cutting board.

Do you need a fruit leather dehydrator?

I’m sure you’re thinking that you’ll need a fruit leather dehydrator to make fruit leather recipes. Yes, you can make them in the oven. But I feel using a dehydrator is easier for two reasons:

1) a fruit leather dehydrator uses less energy and 2) the fruit leather recipe takes 6 to 8 hours and you may need the oven for something else like making dinner!

A basic dehydrator costs around $40-70 and once you have one, you’ll find uses for it, believe me.

I have a Nesco American Harvest Food Dehydrator and have used it for over 10 years for fruit leather, beef jerky, and drying fruit and mushrooms. I’ve bought extra trays and fruit leather trays for my dehydrator.

However, with a little planning – like those nights you’re using your Instant Pot or slow cooker – using your oven is fine for orange fruit leather recipes.

I also found that if you go the oven route, having silicone baking sheets for your baking pans is a must! I feel that fruit leather could stick to parchment paper or wax paper.

How long should you bake homemade fruit leather?

The trick to making the sugar free orange fruit leather recipe is figuring out how long to cook it. If you’re baking it in your oven, it depends on how low you can set it. (My oven goes down to 170 degrees F.)

However, my fruit leather dehydrator goes lower (165 to 115 degrees F). Since it has a fan, the fruit leather is dehydrated in a much smaller enclosed space.

So my advice is to check your hydrated fruit leather at the five hour mark. If the top is sticky, come back in an hour. If it’s not sticky, see if you can peel it off all the way.

If the center of the orange fruit leather is still sticking to the mat/tray, put it back in the oven/dehydrator and check back in 30 minutes.

Closeup of Orange Fruit Leather rollups and oranges on a wooden cutting board with spices and orange slices in the background.

Timing will depend on so many variables such as the moisture of the clementine oranges, the weather and humidity in your home, how well your equipment is working, etc. So I can’t give you hard and fast rules for times.

However, if you do overcook your fruit leather, it’s still edible so don’t throw it out! Break it up and turn it into orange fruit leather chips.

I sprinkled and dipped them in yogurt – so delicious! I may “accidentally” make orange fruit leather chips again!

Making fruit leather rolls

If you want to get fancy, you can make fruit leather rolls.

However, if you’re using a fruit leather hydrator, the round trays make it hard to cut the orange fruit leather into fruit leather rolls.

So, while the orange fruit leather is still warm, place it on a sheet of parchment paper. Then roll up the fruit leather tightly.

Then using clean kitchen shears, cut the roll into four pieces. Tie each one with kitchen twine.

The orange fruit leather rolls won’t be perfect. Instead, they’ll look like old fashioned “foot roll up candy” that are just right for placing in lunch boxes.

Store homemade fruit leather in baggies or airtight containers.

More easy homemade gifts

Add fruit rolls as part of the Best Candy & Gifts for Gluten-Free Easter Baskets!

Here are more easy homemade gifts you can made as teacher or holiday gifts:

Easy Fudge Recipe

Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Bark Candy 

Easy Microwave Brittle 

Easy Homemade Dog Treats

Candied Pecans Recipe 

DIY Coffee Scrub

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Yield: 8 ROLLS

Orange Fruit Leather Recipe

Closeup of Orange Fruit Leather rollups and oranges on a wooden cutting board with spices and orange slices in the background.

Want to learn how to make fruit leather? This homemade fruit leather recipe is easier than you think!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups peeled and segmented clementines
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons monk fruit powdered sweetener
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

  1. If using an oven, set it to the lowest setting (probably 170 degrees F).
  2. Place all ingredients in a high-performance blender or food processor. Blend on high until fruit is frothy, about 20-30 seconds.
  3. Pour liquid into a medium saucepan. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the blender or food processor bowl with a spatula to get everything into the saucepan!
  4. Bring liquid to a boil over medium-high heat. Keep liquid boiling over medium heat. Stir frequently with a whisk. Cook for 10 minutes until the liquid has thickened into a puree. (It should be like runny applesauce.)
  5. If using a dehydrator, pour it into 1 or 2 trays. Bake for 8 hours or so until the puree is no longer sticky and you can peel it off the trays without it sticking.
  6. When it’s still warm, peel it off and wrap the fruit leather in parchment paper, if desired.
  7. If using an oven, place a silicone baking mat on an 11 x 17 baking pan. Pour orange puree on silicone baking mat and spread evenly with an offset icing spatula. Leave a half-inch of room around all sides.
  8. Bake for 8 hours or so until the puree is no longer sticky and you can peel it off the silicon mat without it sticking.
  9. When it’s still warm, peel it off and wrap the fruit leather in parchment paper, if desired.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 roll

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 58Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 18mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g

Nutritional information is automatically calculated per the ingredients list. Serving size may not be accurate. Please double-check with your preferred nutritional app for the most accurate information.

Originally published February 2016. Updated with new pictures and information.

6 thoughts on “Orange Fruit Leather Recipe

  1. Nick

    I don’t think you specified what temperature to use for the citrus cardamon fruit leather recipe using a dehydrator. You mentioned 170F for the oven, so do we use the max setting, 165F, and cook for 8 hours using a dehydrator?
    Kindly,
    -N

    Reply
  2. Lisa

    Excellent - 5 starsExcellent - 5 starsExcellent - 5 starsExcellent - 5 starsExcellent - 5 stars
    I made this yesterday and it came out perfectly. I only used half of a tablespoon of ginger though. It certainly has some heat to it for sure!

    Reply
    1. Anne-Marie Nichols Post author

      I’m sure you could. However, I don’t know if dextrose is a “one-to-one” equivalent to monk fruit sweetener. It may be sweeter, so try starting off with a smaller amount, doing a taste test before you cook up the orange fruit leather, and see if that’s enough sweetener for you.

      Reply
  3. Handful

    I was gifted two CASES of fresh oranges. I’m cooking down a double batch of this to try. Thanks.

    Reply

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