Best Overall
Magic Mill Food Dehydrator Machine
- The internal temperature stayed consistent throughout our tests.
The internal temperature stayed consistent throughout our tests.
- There's no power button.
There's no power button.
After testing 18 models, we found this Magic Mill model to be the best food dehydrator. The device reached the desired temperature after 40 minutes and stayed consistent the entire time. As a result, the ingredients dried evenly without any cracking, no matter whether we placed them on a high, middle, or lower tray. The fruit leather also peeled off quite easily—there’s a designated fruit leather tray that does its job quite well.
Many of the food dehydrators we tested were substantial appliances, so know that this machine will take up a moderate amount of room on your counter. However, it’s super quiet, so we feel like this advantage balances out its large size. The front door is easy to open, and it will stay open to slide the trays in and out or adjust the contents on the trays. The display and temperature controls are easy to use, so if you’re new to dehydrating food, you’ll get up to speed rather quickly—even though we found herbs dried slowly.
We liked that the door is clear, so you’re able to check in on your ingredients during the dehydration process. What’s even better? The trays are dishwasher-safe for easy cleanup. Just keep in mind, the appliance doesn't have a power button, so you'll want to unplug it after each use.
Product Details: Dimensions: 19x15x13.5 inches | Number of Trays: Seven | Temperature Range: Maximum of 165°F | Dishwasher Safe: Yes
Best Budget
Elite Gourmet Food Dehydrator
- It has a compact footprint.
It has a compact footprint.
- It doesn’t allow for precise temperature control.
It doesn’t allow for precise temperature control.
If you’re brand new to dehydration or know that you won’t be drying ingredients very often, you might be daunted by the price tag on some of these models. That’s why we love this effective and budget-friendly appliances from Elite Gourmet.
There aren’t a lot of controls to fiddle with on the five-tray dehydrator, which makes it even easier for first-timers to get acclimated. However, the single knob with temperature ranges doesn’t allow for more precise temperature control, so it might be frustrating for more veteran users.
While the device never came to full temperature and the bottom trays dried quicker than the top and middle levels, we still found that everything came out well. Overall, we love that this model has a compact footprint—which is not something you can always say about food dehydrators. Still, despite its smaller size, we felt the capacity was as big or even roomier than the other models we tested.
Product Details: Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.5 x 11.4 inches | Number of Trays: Five | Temperature Range: 95ºF to 158ºF | Dishwasher Safe: Yes
Best for Jerky
Cosori Stainless Steel Dehydrator
- It came to temperature quickly.
It came to temperature quickly.
- The glass window is challenging to open.
The glass window is challenging to open.
If you’re a jerky fan, you’re in for a treat with this Cosori food dehydrator. We found that the device came to temperature fairly quickly and stayed there. We were impressed with how evenly it dried ingredients, no matter where it was stacked. There was no cracking, and the fruit leather peeled off easily.
While it does hold lots of jerky and other ingredients, this medium-sized dehydrator won’t take up your entire counter while in use. We liked how easily the side door opens and closes, making it super simple to load and remove trays. In fact, we preferred using the side door.
The front has a convenient glass window to keep an eye on your ingredients, but we did find it a challenge to pop it open—we would have loved a handle rather than just an indentation for your fingers. The digital controls made it easy to adjust time and temperature, so overall, it’s great for all of your meat jerky recipes.
Product Details: Dimensions: 13.5x12.2x17.8 inches | Number of Trays: Six | Temperature Range: 95° to 165°F | Dishwasher Safe: Top rack; remove trays before dry cycle
Best Compact
Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator
- It has a built-in handle, which makes it easy to transport and open.
It has a built-in handle, which makes it easy to transport and open.
- There’s no timer.
There’s no timer.
If the sheer size of some of these food dehydrators gives you pause, check this Nesco model out. The machine is not only compact, but it’s easy to set up, too—just plug in and you’re ready to go. It has a round design, which makes it stand out from the other square and rectangular models on our list. We liked that the convenient handle on the top made it easy to open the dehydrator, though we found the round design made loading in the trays a bit trickier.
This food dehydrator is simple to use, which is normally a good thing, but we would have preferred more precise temperature control as opposed to the dial with preset temperature ranges. There’s no timer, so you’ll need to remember to set your watch, smartphone, or tablet when you’re dehydrating batches of ingredients. As a result, we found that the ingredients dried a bit unevenly, so you might have some trial and error your first couple of uses.
Product Details: Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 10 inches | Number of Trays: 12 | Temperature Range: 95°F to 160°F | Dishwasher Safe: Top rack; remove before drying cycle
Best Large Capacity
Gourmia Premium Electric Food Dehydrator Machine
- Despite its larger capacity, its footprint is similar to other dehydrators we tested.
Despite its larger capacity, its footprint is similar to other dehydrators we tested.
- You might have to extend the drying time on certain recipes.
You might have to extend the drying time on certain recipes.
If you are a champion meal prepper who fills a fridge with meals for weeks or you want beef jerky to feed the whole crew on your next camping trip, we recommend the Gourmia dehydrator. Although this device is large and rather tall—it holds a whopping nine trays, after all—it has a streamlined design so it doesn’t take up as much room as you might think on your countertop.
The top, middle, and bottom rows dried rather evenly. However, we found we needed to extend the drying time on some ingredients. We were also a bit disappointed to see that fruit leather was hard to peel off the tray, but we think with some experimentation this could be solved for future batches. The digital display is easy to access right on top, and we liked that we had full control over the time and temperature.
Product Details: Dimensions: 17.75x16x13.5 inches | Number of Trays: Nine | Temperature Range: 95˚F to 158˚F | Dishwasher Safe: No