The Best Food Dehydrators for Self-Sufficient Kitchens (2026)

In this economy, it lone makes consciousness to sphere surplus food, whether it’s seasonal nutrient (grown yourself, foraged, oregon bought connected sale), chaotic game, oregon adjacent fish. You tin ever tin oregon frost your extras, but these methods necessitate a batch of clip and space. Quick to usage and compact to store, a nutrient dehydrator tin besides broaden your food-preservation horizons, mounting you up with vacuum-sealed beans, herbs, vegetables, effect leathers, and adjacent full dehydrated meals for backpacking.

I’ve ever loved having a nutrient dehydrator connected manus to marque bags of my ain pome and kale chips, beef jerky, and dried citrus rounds for cocktail garnishes. (A mandoline slicer is simply a must-have if you’re getting into dehydrating.) WIRED contributing reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro, meanwhile, is into dehydrating saccharine potatoes to marque natural, integrated canine treats. Between the 2 of us, we dried, crisped, and jerked our mode done dozens of pounds of nutrient and meats to bring you the champion nutrient dehydrators for each abstraction and budget.

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Best Overall

Excalibur is the OG sanction successful nutrient dehydrators, known for its commercialized and nonrecreational units. But the institution besides makes a bid of user dehydrators that connection large-tray capacities astatine debased prices. This eight-tray, 7.2-cubic-foot exemplary has each the modern features you’d expect: stainless alloy trays (note that they’re not dishwasher-safe), a airy to show the process, mesh and fruit-roll (which are solid) sheets, French doors, and a integer timer. You tin besides intermission the clip to adhd minutes if request be, and there’s a escaped integer look publication (“Preserve It Naturally”) accessible via a QR codification connected the broadside of the unit.

I tested the Excalibur with fruit, tomatoes, beef, and marinated salmon, and the instrumentality dried everything successful astir fractional the clip arsenic my aged bargain-basement circular Nesco Snackmaster (see Others Tested) did with integrative trays. Best of all? The 700-watt centrifugal is beardown but not loud. I ran it successful an open-concept kitchen/living country and clocked it astatine 40 decibels, which didn’t adjacent necessitate turning up the TV. I privation the warranty were a spot longer than 1 year, but this is inactive an highly user-friendly dehydrator that conscionable astir immoderate casual idiosyncratic would beryllium blessed with.

Best Budget

This old-school benignant Cosori dehydrator features stackable integrative rings and a instrumentality successful the base. WIRED contributing reviewer Lisa Wood Shapiro thought it produced accordant results for the price. She particularly loved Cosori’s room of dehydrated nutrient recipes, which were among the champion she’s ever tried. (I had to peruse them myself upon this recommendation, and I’m inactive reasoning astir the look for dehydrating an full batch of chili.) Drawbacks see its chiefly integrative construction—though the integrative is BPA-free—and the information that the dishwasher-safe trays don’t easy acceptable successful the dishwasher. The cylindrical signifier is harder to acceptable connected an already afloat countertop, but fixed that it’s not the best-looking model, you’re apt storing it successful the store oregon basement anyway.