Dehydrating is one of the best ways to preserve food for the long term. It requires less energy than canning or freezing, and if stored properly, dehydrated foods will last for many years.
Since the vegetables need to be rehydrated before eating, a soup is a perfect way to use dehydrated veggies. Here’s how to dehydrate 5 vegetables that are perfect for winter soups and stews.
Drying food can save a lot of money and it’s my preferred method to preserve those extra garden veggies. I also like to buy extra fruits and vegetables when they are on sale at the grocery store and dehydrate the surplus. You can avoid all of the preservatives that go into canned food at the grocery.
Dehydrated foods take up much less space and have a very long shelf life compared to regular canning. Dehydrated vegetables are actually more flavorful than the original. I love making vegetable soup from dehydrated veggies.
Vegetables should be blanched before drying. This prevents discoloration and food-borne illnesses. To blanch veggies, first wash them then boil for 3 minutes.
Remove them from heat and dunk into ice water. This slows down the enzyme process. Onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs do not need blanching.
How do you know when a vegetable is dehydrated? It should be brittle with only 10% moisture. Store dried vegetables in air-tight containers to prevent food from absorbing the moisture in the air.
Storing them in a dark place retains the vitamin content of the food. I like to use oxygen packs in sealed mason jars to store my dried food. Dried foods — when kept dry — remain edible virtually forever.
Why dehydrate vs. canning or freezing?
- It costs little to nothing to dehydrate
- The food is more flavorful
- It’s easier
- It takes less time
- It stores for a longer period of time
- It takes up less space
There are dozens and dozens of different foods to dehydrate. Here we are going to cover the 5 best dehydrated vegetables for winter soups.
By having these on hand, along with herbs, you can make a wide variety of winter soups.
Onions
Peel and slice the onions into rings ⅛ inch think. Place onions onto dehydrator trays. Arrange them in a single layer and allow for air circulation. Dehydrate for 12 hours. If your dehydrator has a thermostat, set it to 145 degrees until onions are brittle.
Green Peppers
Remove seeds and membranes, then cut into thin strips or cubes. Place peppers onto trays and set the dehydrator to 140ºF. Dehydrate for 4–10 hours to become completely dry. Check every couple of hours.
Carrots
Peel the carrots. Cut off the carrot tops. Slice the carrots into half-inch rounds.
Fill the dehydrator trays with the carrot rounds. Try to leave a little bit of space between the carrot round, so that air can flow through.
Turn it on to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Dry them for 6 to 12 hours.
Check them at six hours and then every two hours after that. They should be dry, leathery, and brittle when they are dehydrated.
If you’d like a bit more guidance, as well as options for other techniques, I wrote a detailed guide to dehydrating carrots.
Potatoes
Brush the outside with a vegetable scrubber to remove dirt. Slice the potato into rounds that are one-sixteenth to one-eighth inch thick. Lay out the potato rounds on the dehydrator trays.
Make sure they are only one layer thick, and they aren’t overlapping. Set your dehydrator to 145 F. Dehydrate for about 12 hours, or until crisp.
Green Beans
Gently wash fresh green beans. Trim off the ends. Blanch in a small amount of boiling water for about 3 minutes.
Arrange the green beans on your dehydrator trays, making sure the beans don’t overlap. Set the temperature between 125°F and 135°F (or per your food dehydrator’s instructions). Dry them for 6-8 hours.
Green beans will feel tough and brittle when dried.
Food Preservation Techniques
Looking for more ways to preserve the harvest?
- 100+ Dehydrator Recipes
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- Beginners Guide to Lacto-Fermentation
- How to Preserve a Whole Pig Without Refrigeration
Geni
Potatoes have to be steamed until cooked before dehydrating them so they don’t discolor when dehydrated.
Pam Gould
can you cook them in a pressure cooker instead? Thanks in advance .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ
whocares
Blanch them in boiling water for 6-8 minutes. No need for pressure cooker or steaming.
Susan
Celery and green onions and mushrooms do well. I also dehydrate cabbage.
Ashley Adamant
Good to know!
J J Savalle
Dehydrated veggies are so handy to add to a soup or stew. Besides those above, we also do mushrooms and corn. Last year we had an abundance of broccoli from the garden, so after blanching, we dehydrated that too. Was a little bulkier but worked just as good and was a great addition to various dishes.
Arlene
Do you blanch cabbage before dehydration?
Administrator
Since cabbage is eaten raw, it is not necessary to blanch it before dehydrating. Blanching will however stop the enzymatic process which degrades food while it is sitting on the shelf so it is definitely beneficial.
Debbi
I don’t like the texture of dried green beans. But found that if they are blanched, then frozen, they are WAY BETTER texture. Not tough at all.
Administrator
Thanks so much for sharing.
Debbi
And dried after freezing
Gilles Montezin
Hi Ashley ! This is very interesting and helpful for a lot of reasons , thanks for sharing it !Did you know that drying mushroom in the sun can increase tremendously their content of vitamin D? Here is a link to Dr Berg’s video where he mentions it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeYR1C7NMUI
I wonder if sun drying does the same to other veggies, now,hummmm
Best Gilles
Administrator
We’re glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for sharing.
Mary
I don’t have a dehydrator is there a way I can either do this in the oven or in the sun?
Administrator
If your oven temperature goes low enough, you can definitely do it in the oven. Lots of people also dehydrate using the sun, but it does take longer and it’s more difficult to control the environment and keep pests away.
Steph
Can you please explain how to store the vegetables once they are dehydrated? Thank you so much!
Administrator
If they are fully dehydrated you can store them in a mason jar. You just want to be sure that there isn’t any moisture left or it will mold.
Emilia
Im not sure what type of ads you enabled on your website / blog, but there is an Amazon pop up that interrupts reading. This may actually drive people away from your site. It’s a super annoying ad that takes over every time I try to read your posts. Just an FYI.
Administrator
I’m sorry that’s happening. We use Mediavine but it shouldn’t interrupt your reading. What browser are you using?
Diana
In the beginning, you mentioned about blanching first. Is this for all veggies or just the ones that you listed blanching in the description? Thank you!!
Moderator
You need to blanch all vegetables except for the ones listed in the post that say they do not need to be blanched.