Watermelon candy is a delicious natural candy recipe with incredible concentrated flavor! Brightly vibrant with surprising flavor, these are the hit of summer!
recipe originally published October 26, 2011
Watermelon Candy
Watermelons always make me think of Grandpa Z. We shared a mutual love of watermelon, and I have many memories of enjoying it with him. I have photos of Grandpa Z sitting on the kitchen floor, holding our dachshund Hansel, with a huge watermelon in front of him.
We called grandpas mom - my great grandma - Watermelon Grandma. We had watermelon eating contests - to see who could "clean" their piece the fastest. We looked for the largest watermelons always, and often used the dachshund as a reference measure.
Dehydrator Recipe
I have been wanting to dehydrate watermelon for years. I tried it in the oven once, it really didn't work. Now that I have my dehydrator, I picked up a watermelon, and I made my first natural candy!
This tastes amazing - natural watermelon flavor intensified! Chewy and pliable like it should be, it is easy to bite and mmm, too easy to eat the entire tray (uh oh - I'm sensing a theme).
Do you share the love of watermelon? What should I dehydrate next (wrings hands)?
Did you make this recipe?
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Watermelon Candy
A delicious natural “candy” with incredible concentrated flavor! Brightly vibrant with surprising flavor, these are the hit of summer!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ fresh watermelon
Instructions
- Carefully cut rind from watermelon.
- Slice watermelon into uniform strips, about 6 inches long, almost 2 inches wide, ½ inch thick.
- Arrange in single layer on dehydrator sheets.
- Set dehydrator to 125 °F.
- Place dehydrator sheets inside dehydrator, close and set timer for 6-8 hours. Check after several hours.
Notes
vegan, gluten free, whole foods, dehydrator recipe
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
5 stripsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 21Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g
nutrition calculations results vary by calculator, are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace medical advice or treatment.
about Kristina:
Kristina is spabettie! She found cooking at an early age, and created spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. Kristina turned her culinary training into sharing vibrant vegan food! Read more...
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Sarah says
OMG. In the words of Paula Deen "make yo' tongue fly outta yo' mouth and smack yo' brains out.” Dang, those look amazing. I wish I had a dehydrator so I could make those right now. E would be all over these.
spabettie says
haa haa - good one, Sarah. Good ol' Paula. 😀 I'll have to make you & E some of these sometime... most likely next summer... 😉
Nichole says
that's it. I don't care if they are more expensive over here. i want a dehydrator. and watermelon. You are so creative. Tell Basil I'm jealous.
spabettie says
aw! people should be jealous OF Basil. and his life of supreme pup luxury... 😀
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Jay and I go CRAZY over watermelon during the summer! I can't get enough of the stuff! This looks so good. Dang I need a dehydrator!
spabettie says
I know, I do too - LOVE watermelon! (and love that it reminds me of Grandpa Z - one of my all time favorite people). the dehydrated watermelon is TOO good. 😀
Curt says
I'll bet those are delicious. i love watermelon.
spabettie says
Curt they are SO delicious! 😀
Dawn says
I've been wanting a dehydrator, but haven't jumped in yet. This might be just the push I need. YUM!
spabettie says
I wanted one for so long... and THIS was one of the things I have always wanted to do with it!! 😀
Sarah says
These look amazing! The color is really vibrant!
lindsay says
the fact that you qupte talladega nights just made my day. Now if only i didn't let me my sis in law borrow my dehydrator. rats!
spabettie says
haaa - glad you liked it. another hilarious movie we quote from a lot around here... Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey! or... I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo T-Shirt because it says I want to be formal, but I'm here to party. I love Cal. 😉 I need to watch that movie again now.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
I would've never thought you could even dehydrate watermelon! It just seems like it's so "watery" (<--duh) that I assumed it would dehydrate to nothing. Those fruit strips look so good. I'm weird about fruity flavored things when it's not the actual fruit in it's pure form. Orange, apple flavored things...yuck. Actual oranges & apples though...yum. Watermelon is one of the few flavors I can do outside of the real fruit. Although, this is kinda of the real fruit. I'm rambling...
spabettie says
love when I inspire the rambling... 😉 I know what you mean, I think? that the "flavored" things taste nothing like the real thing. that's my beef, anyway. I think I cut the watermelon thick enough that there was something substantial there at the end - I was SO excited they turned out how I imagined all this time!! 😀
Lisa Fine says
So. Cool. I love watermelon, and can imagine how delicious it would taste in strips like that.
You should try making different kinds of fruit rolls, maybe with some unusual flavors, like using basil or chili or things like that. 🙂
spabettie says
LISA!! you are SO going to love what I have in my dehydrator right now then!! 😉 basil basil basil... 😉
Maryea @ Happy Healthy Mama says
Yes I love watermelon! I so wish I could taste those strips--they look so good!
spabettie says
I wish you could too - concentrated watermelon flavor, just as I imagined they would be!! 😀