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This is a How-To for Fruit Leather. I can’t call something with just 2 ingredients a recipe. It’s so easy. Funny enough, this was actually the result of a blunder.
My mom cuts her gazillions of plums in half and dries them in the sun to make prunes. She starts off by baking them on low heat for a short time. That short time turned into a long time, which “ruined” a huge batch of plums. Mom decided to try something new. I know it’s not an original concept but she really did discover how to make fruit leather by mistake. It was a hit, especially with the kiddos! We re-created it again with our own plums.
Update: this year we made apricot fruit leather and it was amazing and we documented the process along with a sunshine drying method here.
Ingredients for Plumb Fruit Leather:
7 lb plums (around 5 quarts bowl)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
How to Make Plum Fruit Leather Rolls:
1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Wash, cut in half and pit the plums.
2. Lay halved plums out on rimmed cookie sheets with cut side up and place in the oven for 20 min. If plums are smaller in size, set a timer for 15 min and check every 5 minutes to avoid burning the plums.
3. After 20 minutes, remove plums from the oven and let them cool.
4. Using blade attachment in the food processor, blend plums until smooth and pour finished mixture into a large bowl.
5. Add 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar to blended plums and stir well. Add more sugar to taste if needed.
6. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper covering the walls of the baking sheet as well. Pour the purée into the lined baking sheets to about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. We filled 3 baking dishes that fit on 2 levels in the oven together.
7. Let dry in the oven for as long as it takes for the purée to dry out and form fruit leather, about 6-8 hours, more or less depending on the thickness of your fruit leather.
There are several ways to dry this out:
(1). If your oven has a low heat setting at 140˚ F: Heat the oven to low 140°F. Place the baking sheets with purée in the oven on the two racks placed as much in the center as possible.
(2) Our oven preheats to 170˚ F so we kept the oven door slightly open by putting a wooden spoon in the door. If you have a convection setting available, use it to speed up the process.
(3) If you don’t want to prop the oven door open and your lowest setting is 170˚ F, preheat to 170˚ F, then turn the oven off and leave the door closed completely and reheat it after an hour; repeat as necessary until it dries out.
(4) My mom let it dry in the sun for 2 days. You may also use a food dehydrator.
Keep in mind, the goal is for the fruit leather to dry out, not cook. The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky and has a smooth surface.
8. When the fruit leather is ready, you can use a pizza cutter to cut fruit leather into srips. To store it, roll it in its parchment paper, put it in an airtight container or ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
Have you tried fruit leather with any other fruit?
How to Make Plum Fruit Leather
Ingredients
- 7 lb plums, around 5 quarts bowl
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Wash, cut in half and pit the plums. Lay halved plums out on rimmed cookie sheets with cut side up and place in the oven for 20 min. Check every 5 minutes to avoid burning the plums.
- After 20 minutes, remove plums from the oven and let them cool. Using blade attachment in the food processor, blend plums until smooth and pour finished mixture into a large bowl.
- Add 3/4 cup sugar to blended plums and stir well. Add more sugar to taste if needed. Than line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper covering the walls of the baking sheet as well. Pour the purée in to about an 1/8" to 1/4" thickness.
- Let dry in the oven for as long as it takes for the purée to dry out and form fruit leather, about 6-8 hours, more or less depending on the thickness of your fruit leather.
There are several ways to dry this out:
- Heat the oven to low 140°F. Place the baking sheets with purée in the oven on the two racks placed as much in the center as possible.
- If the lowest setting on the oven is 170°F, than preheat to 170°. Turn the oven off and leave the door closed completely and reheat it after an hour; repeat as necessary until it dries out. The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky and has a smooth surface.
Note: Please don’t use wax paper, it sticks to the fruit leather.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
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Made this last year for the kids lunch boxes. It was requested again this year as we try to figure out what to do with 150lbs of plums from our tree!
I simmer our plums instead of roasting. Applesauce is nice mixed in for a little sweetness as well.
I have a silicone liner for my baking pan which works well instead of parchment paper.
Came out delicious. However, outer parts were done before the center and I didn’t want the outsides to burn so I cut the outer part off and put the centers back in the oven for more “cooking”. Super tasty!
Can I use honey instead of sugar? If so, would it be the same amount?
Hi Carrie, it would take a little longer to dry. Without testing it, I couldn’t say exactly how long. Add it to taste.
This was absolutely delish! Thank you Natasha! This was my first time making it and it’s better than store bought! Can I make with other fruits?
I’m so glad you loved it, Tamara! Yes, it would work with other stone fruits and probably even berries but your sugar to fruit ratio may be different and I’d recommend adding it to taste. Also, some fruits are juicier than others so it may take longer to dehydrate them.
I have made this recipe on and off for years depending on how much fruit I get. I used my dehydrator with silicone sheets. Works great!! I ran out of shelfs in the dehydrator so used sheet pan with parchment paper in the over (not wax paper) I should of known better as I have had problems before using parchment paper The parchment paper and fruit leather became one. And I did not over dry it. I would use silicone sheets in a sheet pan next time peels off SO easy.
Natasha, I just wanted to comment and say thank you very much for this excellent recipe. I have made it for the last three years in a row and had excellent success. I have used greengage plums and usually dry them in the sun under a screen. Once they are the right texture I roll them up on the parchment paper and freeze them in food saver bags. They usually last up to 10 months with no change in flavour or quality. I’m expecting a bumper crop (50lbs+) this year and I’m looking forward to making this recipe again.
Thank you.
You are so welcome, Rae-Ann. I’m happy to read your good comments and feedback. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review for this recipe! Glad you have always used and loved it.
How long does this fruit leather last? And what’s the best way to store it? Many thanks from New Zealand Bianca
Hello Bianca, we have them in food saver bags and we haven’t tested the limits on them yet but it’s been a month or so and they are still great :). I haven’t tried freezing them but from what I’ve read, it’s ok to refrigerate or freeze fruit leather. You can check out the part in the recipe too where I mention how to store it.
HELP! I followed the recipe and used parchment paper. It looks awesome but it is stuck to the parchment paper. Where did I go wrong? Any idea how to save it? I would hate for 4 sheet pans of it to go to waste.
Hi Kevin, make sure to use parchment paper and not wax paper. Wax paper sticks badly. Also, if it is overly dry it can stick also. Place a sheet of lightly damp paper towel over the fruit later to soften it up a little and it will be easier to remove.
I followed your proportions but used a different method. Washed whole plums and put in large pot with 1/4 cup water. Brought close to a boil and let simmer until plums fell apart — about 20 mins? Added sugar and cooked about 5 more minutes.
Cool, strain, remove pits with hands and puree.
Followed your directions for drying.
Wonderful!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Sara!
OhNO! I have never roasted my plums beforehand so thought I’d try this recipe. Noooo…don’t. Natasha, Love, are you sure that 400 degree oven is what you meant?? I roasted for a little over 10 min. My plums completely melted (I took a picture but can’t figure out how to attach it). Juice completely dried and stuck to the pans and the plum flesh turned to mush….consistency of apple sauce.
Hi Susan, did you possibly put them on convection mode which would cause them to bake faster and oversoften? It could also be a difference in type of plums or if overly soft plums are put into the oven. It should be all ok at the end even if they are over baked a little since they are pureed afterwards.
180 degrees is what the common recipe says.
Can you tell me if you can do a lesser amount of fruit or is it possible to use canned or frozen fruit????
Hi Kim, frozen plum are fine to use in this recipe
Hi from Germany! I was wondering if you have ever tried adding spices to the plum mixture. Like the beautifully spiced thick plum jam.
Thanks!
I haven’t tried. Which spice blend and proportions do you use?
Question…what does the halving the plums and baking in the oven first do, versus just blending them up and then drying them out? How does that extra step work better? Is there less liquid that way?
Ooooops!! I’m noticing others had the same quesiton-sorry!! Nevermind.
What is the reason for cooking the plums before blending?
Hi Abby, it is an important step, otherwise the texture and color of the fruit leather isn’t quite right. I’ve tried both ways and pre-baking produces much better results
can I make plum leather out of plum juice boiled down and pureed. this was made with a waterbase
Hi Shannon, I honestly haven’t tried that so I’m not sure if there will be enough “pulp” to form a good fruit leather. If anyone else can share insights on this, please chime in 🙂
Love that you don’t have to keep the oven on the whole 7 or so hours! Does it matter if you have a gas or electric?
Hi Amie, we have only tested this in an electric oven. If you have a gas oven with a fan and it is a “convection oven”, it may bake faster since the circulating air will help dry it out faster.