It’s a Strawberry Festival here! And guess what? You’re invited.
Recently, I got on a dried strawberry kick and couldn’t stop myself from eating them. Seriously! I was putting these awesome “Strawberry Chips” (as my youngest calls them) in and on everything.
First, it started with creating an absolutely scrumptious Dairy-Free Strawberry Frosting that basically you’ll want to spread on everything!
Of course, my Chocolate Lovers Cupcakes are a great place to start, unless you’re on the Whole30 – sorry, you’ll have to wait! But don’t be sad, because I’ve got lots of other delicious ideas that don’t involve cupcakes …
So why my fascination with these freeze-dried strawberries? Well, my friends at Honeyville were kind enough to send me a sample of their freeze-dried strawberries so I could create that yummy strawberry frosting. And since then, I’ve gone a little overboard coming up with even more tasty ways to enjoy them … as you’ll soon discover …
Although you can purchase freeze-dried strawberries from quality retailers like Honeyville, for most recipes, you can substitute with dehydrated strawberries instead. I’ve found that the best flavor comes from strawberries that are fully ripened. So if your fresh berries are beginning to get overripe, why not make a batch of delicious dried berries that can be used to add a sweet burst of flavor to your favorite recipes.
To help, I’m sharing 15 fabulous ways to use freeze-dried (or home dehydrated) strawberries. Of course, I’d love to hear your favorite tips for using dried strawberries too!
15 Fabulous Ways to Enjoy Dried Strawberries
1. Whip up a delightful Dairy-Free Strawberry Frosting!
2. Pile them on your favorite Grain-Free Granola!
3. Create amazing mock-KIND bars with a burst of strawberry flavor!
4. Blend them in with your favorite Fruit–n-Veggie Smoothies
for an extra punch of flavor!5. Mix them into your favorite Grain-Free Breakfast Porridge!
6. Whip up a luscious Dairy-Free Strawberry Mouse!
7. Dunk this scrumptious White Chocolate Strawberry Pistachio Biscotti
in your coffee!8. Crush them up and use them to coat these
awesome Raw Almond Butter Truffles!9. Or crush them up and use them as sprinkles
on Homemade Grain-Free Donuts!10. Chop them up to make amazing Vanilla-Strawberry Macaroons!
11. Use them to make Strawberry Milk that’s actually good for you!
(Simply grind 1/4 cup dried strawberries in a blender, add
1 cup of milk and 1-2 tsp of raw honey. Blend until frothy!)12. Take s’mores to an all-new level with these
Homemade Strawberry Marshmallows!13. Use them to make easy
3-Ingredient Strawberry White Chocolate Candies for your sweetie!14, Add them to Trail Mix for an extra burst of sweetness!
15. Add fine-ground dried strawberry powder to Dairy-Free Icing
and use it to top your favorite cookies and desserts!
Bonus recipe … My creative friend Michele from Thriving on Paleo created the most luscious Fruit Tinted Lip Balm using dried strawberries and raspberries. If you’re a DIY’r then be sure to pop over to Paleo Parents check it out!
Have you tried dried strawberries? If so, what are your favorite ways to enjoy them?
These look great, Kelly! I’ll have to try some recipes with dried strawberries. Thanks for including my smoothies in the roundup! 🙂
You are so welcome, sweet friend! 🙂
Kelly,
These recipes look fantastic! We still have several gallon bags of strawberries in our freezer that we picked last year. Do you think we could dehydrate frozen berries?
Hi, Charity. That is a good question and to be honest, I really don’t know because I have never tried it. My suspicion though would be that you could do it, but it may take longer because the fruit will be very soggy/mushy, which happens as a result of the fruit being frozen and then thawed out. 🙂 So many juices are released from strawberries during the thawing process. So that would be my main concern about it. But again, I haven’t tried and I can’t seem to find an answer via google. 🙂
Hey beautiful lady- THANK YOU for sharing my strawberry marshmallows post! Freeze dried strawberries are one of the best secrets to strawberry flavoring! Great post!!
Thanks, sweet friend! It’s a joy to share your awesome recipe! Hope we can get together soon! Hugs, Kelly
So smart, love the strawberry milk idea!
Thanks so much, sweet friend! 🙂 You are such a blessing! 🙂
This is a post that speaks straight to my heart <3 I LOVE strawberries and can't wait to give some of these YUMMY recipes a try., especially the Chocolate Lovers Cupcakes 🙂
Thanks, sweet friend! I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you on IG! Thanks for being such an encourager! 🙂
Strawberries are one of my favorite dried fruits and they don’t get nearly enough attention! I love this fabulous recipe roundup! You’re making me crave all the strawberry treats and I’m thinking I need to make strawberry chips asap!
Thanks, sweet friend! I feel exactly the same – dried strawberries are such an incredible source of flavor and still retain lots of healthy nutrients. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to leave a kind note! 🙂
I would love to try to make these but I have a question… Every time I try to dry fruit it is amazing for about an hour… crispy and yummy… then after that they start getting soft and no longer like chips so my kids do not eat it anymore. Is there some tip to keep them from losing their snap? Also I live in a humid area.. so I know that is part of the problem!!
Hi, Corina. If you store your dried fruit in the freezer, it will retain it’s snap. 🙂 This is a great solution for high humidity climates and since the fruit is thoroughly dried you can eat it (or grind it) straight from the freezer, no need to thaw. I hope this helps!
I’ve never tried dried strawberries before! All of this looks amazing – now I definitely want to try!
Thanks so much, Tina! I appreciate you popping over to say hi, sweet friend! Hope you enjoy these ideas for using dried strawberries! 🙂
What a fantastic idea for a roundup! Makes me want to run out and buy some right now!
Thanks so much, Rachel! I hope you enjoy using them. 🙂 Appreciate you stopping by to leave a kind note!
freeze dried is not the same thing as dehydrated.
Hi, friend. You are absolutely correct! Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind note. I updated the post to better clarify that you can substitute dehydrated strawberries in place of freeze-dried for these recipes. 🙂 Blessings, Kelly