Drying herbs is an easy way to preserve them. But it’s also time-consuming. These quick methods of dehydrating herbs and drying herbs in an air fryer are much faster. Let's learn all about this fun how-to here!
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Can You Dry Herbs in an Air Fryer?
Yes! Drying herbs in an air fryer can be a wonderful and easy way to preserve plants from your herb garden for future use.
Dehydrating Herbs in an Air Fryer
Fresh herbs do not have a long shelf life, so drying and dehydrating can be a wonderful way to extend their shelf life and preserve them for future use. Sure you can use a dehydrator, your oven, sunlight or even the microwave or freezer to do so. However, using your air fryer is an excellent way to prepare dried herbs! But how do you go about it? Here is a little rundown on how to go about drying and dehydrating medicinal herbs in an air fryer.
What Herbs Could You Do This With?
Here are some of the herbs that you might want to consider drying/dehydrating in your air fryer!
Culinary herbs like:
- Basil
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Tarragon
- Mint
- Parsley
Medicinal herbs like:
As you can see, air frying herbs can be great for preparing your own spice blends for your favorite recipes, tea blends or other medicinal and culinary herb preparations.
Air Frying Herbs
Air frying herbs is an easy best option for drying and dehydrating herbs. It is a very simple process to use your air fryer for drying and dehydrating purposes. Depending on your air fryer, you may already have a built-in dehydrator function. But for people who haven’t got that function, you can still take advantage of this simple process to air fry your herbs.
How to Dry Herbs in an Air Fryer
Let’s talk about drying herbs.
- Firstly, you will need to set your air fryer temperature to 350F. Make sure that you wash the herbs that you will be using. Once you have washed them, pat them dry them with a paper towel or dish towel to remove as much excess moisture as possible, then prepare them for air drying. Remove any parts of the plants like stalks, stems, leaves, buds or skins that you do not want to preserve.
- Place the herbs in a single layer in the air fryer basket or tray. Place a metal rack over the herbs to prevent them from flying about. Alternatively, you can tie the herbs with twine before placing into the the air fryer basket.
- Air fry for 3-4 minutes, or until visibly dry. It really is as quick as that. Once they are done, remove them from your air fryer and place them in a large bowl or on a sheet of parchment paper to cool completely. Then store them whole or crushed in air tight containers of your choosing.
How to Dehydrate Herbs in an Air Fryer
Let’s talk about dehydrating herbs.
- Dehydrating herbs is a little different than drying them. Dehydrating is all about drying herbs at a low temperature. You will need to set the temperature of your air fryer to 130F.
- Just as you would with drying your herbs, make sure that they are clean and dry before placing them into your air fryer. Spread them evenly before covering them with a rack (or tie with twine).
- Then start your air fryer. It may take anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on the number of herbs and density of the plant material. Check the herbs every half an hour or so, by seeing if they crumble easily in your hands. If they do, then they are ready!
Dried Herbs Storage
Once the herbs are done with the drying or dehydrating process, you can store them whole or crushed (it's entirely up to you!). It all depends on how you plan on using them. However, make sure you always use an airtight container to keep them preserved for as long as possible. I like to use glass Mason jars or secure them in a paper bag.
Drying Herbs in an Air Fryer
Equipment
Materials
- fresh herbs culinary or medicinal
Instructions
Air Fryer Drying Method
- Wash the fresh herbs and pat dry.
- Place the clean herbs in a single layer in the air fryer basket or tray. Place a metal rack on top to prevent them from flying around or alternatively, tie them with twine before placing into the air fryer.
- Air fry at 350°F for 3-4 minutes or until visibly dry and the plant material crumbles easily in your hands.
- Carefully place the dried plants in a large bowl or on a sheet of parchment paper until cooled completely before storing.
Air Fryer Dehydrating Method
- Wash the fresh herbs and pat dry.
- Place the clean herbs in a single layer in the air fryer basket or tray. Place a metal rack on top to prevent them from flying around or alternatively, tie them with twine before placing into the air fryer.
- Air fry at 130°F for 1-3 hours, checking every half hour or so. It is ready when the plant material crumbles in your hands easily.
- Carefully place the dried plants in a large bowl or on a sheet of parchment paper until cooled completely before storing.
Notes
Why not give it a try yourself? I think you'll find this is an easy way to preserve that herb harvest or any fresh herbs you purchase from the grocery store or nursery.
Tara says
Drying them definitely is so much faster in the air fryer! Such a fantastic way to prevent the waste of leftover herbs during the summer.
Allyssa says
Highly recommended! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Will surely have this again! It's really easy to make and it tasted so delicious!
Claire says
when I read this post I had one of those "Why didn't I think of that" moments. I used to dry my herbs in a plate warming drawer but our new house doesn't have one and I have been so disappointed not to be able to store my bumper crop.
No longer!!!
the herbs dried out perfectly! Thank you
Shelby says
I love this idea! I've always used an oven which takes forever to me, this is a great way to keep the oven off this summer while still getting herbs ready for the fall, thank you!
Megs says
Thank you so much for all your tips. We have a huge garden of herbs and I am always looking for new ways to preserve.
Kim says
This was so helpful! The only thing that I was able to grow this spring was herbs and I had no idea how to dry them, so thank you!
Glenda says
So smart!!! This was the simplest that drying herbs has ever been for me. Thank you for all the tips and info!
Jo Misrack says
Tnks so much . How long do these herbs last when dried? This worked really well!
Kristen says
Wonderful! From my experience, dried herbs kept in a cool, dark, dry place can keep for a few years before beginning to lose some potency. If they still look and smell good, they are likely just fine! I hope this helps.