Strawberry Rhubarb Fruit Leather

Rhubarb growing in the garden.

DISCLOSURE: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, we will receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase. We will only recommend products that we actually use and love!

Rhubarb is always one of the first things to be ready to harvest in the spring.  It is vibrant red, and has a great sour tangy flavor that goes well with strawberries.  We make crisps and pies and rhubarb cake, and strawberry rhubarb jams that I adore, and make often. We freeze everything we can't eat fresh for the winter.  Rhubarb is really easy to freeze, you just wash, chop and freeze in a vacuum sealed bag.  This time of year as the new rhubarb crop is getting ready to be harvested I was looking for a way to use a lot of Rhubarb without using lots of sugar. 

Packaging rhubarb for the freezer.

Enter the idea for Strawberry Rhubarb fruit leather.  Fruit leather is a valuable lunch commodity at my house.  I was giving one of my daughters a hard time about the amount she was taking to school one day and she confessed that she was also sharing it with all her friends at lunch.  It goes really fast.  For this recipe you will also need a bunch of applesauce.  We make fruit leathers in all sorts of flavors.  Applesauce is a good stretcher.  It doesn't have a strong flavor, so you can blend it with less abundant and more expensive fruits to make a  less expensive snack.  We can our own applesauce in the fall, so this recipe takes advantage of the extra applesauce I have in my pantry too.  I have a big family and also a big dehydrator.  Even making this huge batch, the fruit leather was eaten before I thought to take any pictures of the finished product.    

Applesauce, frozen rhubarb, and strawberries ready to simmer.

---

One disclaimer about all of my recipes.  I rarely measure things precisely.  Fruit leather in particular is something I approximate.  Use what you have, sub out or add in other fruits that you like.  I do it all the time.
​

Strawberry Rhubarb Fruit Leather

This recipe fills a 9-tray Excalibur Dehydrator

4 quarts of unsweetened applesauce (16 cups)
6 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
6 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Put all of the ingredients in a large pot and simmer until the rhubarb is soft.  (Rhubarb is crunchy raw, but it cooks down quickly.) When the frozen fruit is softened or the raw rhubarb starts to fall apart, blend the contents with an immersion blender, or puree in a blender in batches.  Ladle the puree onto lined dehydrator sheets and place in dehydrator.  Turn dehydrator on to about 115-135 degrees and run until the fruit puree is not sticky to the touch and peels off the sheet easily.  Humidity will affect how much time this takes.  I usually run it 12 hours. 

Cut the sheets of fruit leather into strips and roll them up in parchment paper that is slightly longer and wider  than the fruit leather.  Twist the ends of the parchment to keep each roll rolled up. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.  I store the fruit leather rolls in my pantry for short term storage, or in an a freezer bag in the freezer where it can keep for months.  Sweet and tangy with a little hint of cinnamon this is a super delicious and added sugar free way to enjoy your rhubarb harvest!

Fruit puree on a dehydrator sheet.