I was a fruit snack fanatic as a child.
Every variety prompted a specialized approach as to how it was best enjoyed. Gushers required a small bite of the tiny capsules before sucking out the sticky juice. Fruit by the Foot served as a decent whip before inching your way to the end of the chewy rope. And cut-outs in classic Fruit Roll-Ups made for edible glasses when adhering the sticky sheet to one’s face. What parent wouldn’t love that level of creativity?
And while I’m past the days of racing down the supermarket snack aisle to find my favorite box, I’m definitely not past the get-stuck-in-your-molars chewy texture and the sweet fruit taste. Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups fill that craving, sans all the corn syrup. It takes just two ingredients—strawberries and sugar—for this DIY version. Reduce the amount of sugar based on how sweet your berries are, and don’t forget to get the kids (or kid-like adults) involved by using cookie cutters to stamp out their favorite shapes.
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups strawberries, halved
- 3/4 cup sugar
Instructions
- Combine strawberries and sugar in a blender and purée until smooth.
- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large saucepan.
- Bring the purée to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir it more frequently at the end until the mixture has reduced to 1 to 1¼ cups. It should be thick enough to fold over itself.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F and line a large baking sheet with nonstick liner, such as a Silpat.
- Pour the hot purée onto the liner and use an off-set spatula to spread it thinly (as evenly as possible) into a 15"x10" rectangle.
- Dry the purée in the oven until it feels slightly tacky but does not stick to your fingers, roughly 2 to 3 hours.
- Transfer the roll-ups (still on the Silpat) onto a cooling rack to completely dry, at least 3 hours (and up to 24).
- Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the fruit roll-ups and then peel off the paper and the roll-ups together. Roll them up in the parchment, or cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes.
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Recipe adapted from Gourmet.
Could stevia be used in this recipe? Trying to cut down on sugar for my health and the grandchildren as well.
Hi Judy! I’ve never tried that substitution so I can’t say with certainty what the results would be. However, I do have a mango version without any added sugar that you may be interested in: https://www.justataste.com/healthy-homemade-mango-fruit-roll-ups-recipe/
Do you know what a good alternative would be if you don’t have a Silpat?
Parchment paper should work!
Love this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Beth!
Hi, is the sugar necessary for your he texture and drying or used solely for sweetness? Would I be able to cut back on the amount of sugar or use none at all if strawberries are sweet enough? Thanks!
Definitely! You can cut back. Here’s my mango version without any added sugar: https://www.justataste.com/healthy-homemade-mango-fruit-roll-ups-recipe/
Can you do banana
Definitely, Debbie! You may just need to alter the baking time since bananas have a different moisture content than strawberries.
Hi,
I am currently making these and I am in the drying stage (on drying rack). I used lightly greased parchment paper because I don’t own a Silpat. As it sits now, it doesn’t appear that the fruit will separate from the parchment paper. Will it “loosen up” as it cools and drys?
It appears that many people have made these for their children but I made them for my husband. :) He will be heartbroken if they don’t turn out!
Thanks,
Kim
Hi Kim! Apologies I’m just now responding. I have never tried used lightly greased parchment paper with this recipe, so I’m not 100 percent positive, but I don’t think the oil would react well with the mixture.
Thanks for the answer, Kelly! I think I’ll have to wait till spring then.. sigh.. :-)
I just saw this recipe and am wondering if it would also work with cranberries, since now it’s the season. Do you have any thoughts?
Thanks for stopping by! I don’t think cranberries will work the exact same as strawberries since their moisture content is different. Cranberries may make the fruit roll-ups more tacky in texture.
Can you use frozen strawberries, defrosted, do you think?
Thanks for stopping by, Jill! I wouldn’t recommend using frozen strawberries, as their liquid content and sweetness will vary too much from the fresh variety. If you do end up trying it with frozen berries, please do let us know the results!
I am making these as we speak..
Not quite the same – I managed to score some 50% off strawberries and blueberries at the grocery store today, and I was wondering what to do with them before they went bad… your recipe was ideal
So I am making strawberry and blueberry rollups.
I have increased the quantities because I had 2 HUGE containers – one of strawbs, one of the blueberries. I estimated about 10 cups of fruit. So slightly more than double your recipe.
And then because we practice clean eating and I like to use as unrefined products as possible, I used honey in place of the sugar. I added slightly over a cup (it glopped over the sides) because I didn’t want it too sweet – I prefer tart fruit snacks to over sweetened ones)
They are now simmering and I will spread them on baking sheets to dry later on….
The blueberries sound like a great addition! I’m curious to hear how the roll-ups turn out with the honey substitution and if they’ll reach the taffy point (like with sugar). Please do share your results and thanks so much for stopping by!
Thank you! I’ve been looking for a recipe for any kind of gummy snacks (my kids would go through a box a day… An hour, likely… If I’d let them, of those little “fruit snacks”. I feel so guilty about the ingredients though! I love how simple this is with just the 2 natural ingredients! Looks like I’ll be investing in a silpat rather than a dehydrator now (yay!). :-)
I’m so glad, Cathy! I have to say that a Silpat (after my quarter-sheet tray) is my favorite kitchen gadget of all time. You’ll definitely get a lot of use out of it!
love these!
The ORIGINAL fruit roll up. Does it bring back memories?
http://www.joraycandy.com/
I tried a different websites version of this and it came out horrible. Yours in a lot similar and has more direction. I can’t wait to try your version.
What an awesome idea! Thank you so much for sharing this :)
I need to get me some of those silicon mats to make this. It looks a lot easier using those.
Beautiful!!! I really enjoy your blog, the recipes and the pictures are amazing.
These look awesome! My daughter loves these, and although I’ve found a natural brand at Target, they aren’t cheap. I’d love to make some for her. Do you know how long you can store them and how?
Hi Mindy,
You can keep the Fruit Roll-Ups rolled up in the parchment paper and inside an airtight container for up to one month. Enjoy!
Yum! We make fruit leathers at our house quite often, we just use apple juice instead of sugar. It turns out fabulous! 3 hours is so much quicker than in the dehydrator. I’ll have to give it a try when we’re rushed for time, it’s good to know it works!
These look awesome! We are so making these, thanks for sharing. We were looking at doing fruit leather but one recipe we saw said to bake it like forever! But 3 hrs for these is great. Awesome photo btw.
I agree with all the previous comments, but I see this as an occasional treat, or a rainy day fun project. It just seems nutritionally incorrect to produce a product that has 3/4c sugar in 1c of finished product.
150 sq. inches of this rollup contains 12T of sugar. So, if you cut it into 12 pieces approx 5″ x 2.5″ each will contain 1T of sugar……just sayin’………..
Thanks so much for your comment, Betty. This definitely is an occasional treat, and you can also decrease the amount of sugar based on how naturally sweet your strawberries are. When I made this recipe, my berries were particularly sweet, so I used less than the 3/4 cup of sugar. Enjoy!
This is such a cool idea. I definitely have to try!
This is genius! What a delicious idea! Looks so pretty!
This looks absolutely delicious, not to mention nostalgic, as I used to love eating fruit roll-ups as a child. I can only imagine how much better this homemade version is.
I have a memory of making this stuff when I was kid and when I asked my mom for the recipe, she had no idea what I was talking about. This should work just fine.
l iove Fruit Roll
thank you for recipe
These look beautiful, and I look forward to making them with my son. Thank you!
Absolutely! These would be so much fun to make with kids. Enjoy!