How to Dehydrate Basil
Learn how to dehydrate basil fresh from the garden and make it last longer with this step-by-step guide on dehydrating basil. Follow these easy instructions and have delicious, dried basil all year long!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 bunches fresh basil (dry as much or as little basil as you like)
- 1 bowl cold water
Instructions
Preparing basil for dehydrating
- Pick or buy fresh basil.
- Wash the basil under cold water until the water runs clear of debris.
- Dry the basil by patting it dry with lint free cotton or linen dish towels. Or use a salad spinner to spin all the water off the herb.
How to dehydrate basil
- Strip large basil leaves from the stems and arrange on mesh lined dehydrator trays. Repeat until you run out of basil. Small leaved basil can be left on the thin stems when dehydrating.
- Place the trays on the dehydrator base and place the lid on.
- Turn the temperature on the dehydrator to 95 °F
- Dry the basil for any where from 2 hours to 12 hours or longer. Check the basil every couple of hours. If the basil leaves are stacked on top of each other flip them each time you check them so they dry evenly.
- Once all of the leaves have evenly dried turn the dehydrator off and allow the leaves to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.
- Once the dried basil has cooled to room temperature crush the dried leaves. You can rub the leaves between your hands to crush them or use a mortar and pestle.
- Store the crushed basil in an airtight container in a cool dark cabinet away from direct sunlight and heat.
Recipe Expert Tips
- Drying times: Smaller varieties of basil will dry quickly in just a couple of hours compared to larger basil varieties that can take up to 12 hours to dry if you have packed the trays thickly. Check smaller varieties more frequently.
- Small basil varieties: Varieties of basil like lemon basil grow smaller and thinner leaves. The smaller varieties will take much less time to dry than the larger varieties.
- Checking the drying herbs: Always check the herbs you are drying every couple of hours to see how fast it is drying.
- Size does matter: Large thicker basil varieties can take from 8 to12 hours to dry at 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Dehydrators without a temperature control: Read the booklet that came with your dehydrator to see what temperature it runs on. These dehydrators run at a higher temperature. Some as high as 165F. degrees.
- What variety of basil to dry: All varieties of basil dry very well. Larger varieties are best because you will be able to have a larger amount of dried basil for cooking.
- Prepping basil before dehydrating: The only prep you need to do is wash the stems and leaves well, pat dry and strip the leaves from the stems.
- Drying times: Drying times will vary. The variety of basil used, the amount and the temperature will all play a roll in the dehydrating time.
- Storing dried basil properly: Always store dried herbs in an airtight container in a dark cabinet out of direct sunlight.
Nutrition
Serving: 1teaspoonCalories: 0.2kcalCarbohydrates: 0.02gProtein: 0.02gFat: 0.004gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.003gSodium: 0.1mgPotassium: 2mgFiber: 0.01gSugar: 0.002gVitamin A: 35IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.02mg
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