How to dry orange slices for Christmas (+ decorating ideas)

Learn how to make dried oranges for Christmas decoration that is eco-friendly and biodegradable not to mention smells amazing. There are some edible uses for them too. 

Jump to:

• What you need
• Instructions
• Uses
• Edible uses
• Storage

Every year I theme my Christmas wrapping.

To me, nothing makes my Christmas-loving heart more joyful than the sight a whole lot of matching presents under the tree.

Ok so there’s the joy of my kids on Christmas morning but you already know that’s high on my priority list, matching presents are my own personal thing.

This year, I learned how to dry orange slices and used them to decorate the presents for an eco-friendly, biodegradable decoration.

I’m doing my best to create as little waste as possible at Christmas and that includes with the wrapping.

It was a given that I’d use brown paper (check out my ideas for Christmas wrapping with brown paper for more inspiration) but I wasn’t too sure what I’d add until a week or so ago but the almost-past-their-best oranges lurking in my fruit drawer inspired me. 

I added a sprig of rosemary from my giant rosemary bush out the front of our house (one of the only things that has survived well in this insanely hot and dry weather) and tied the package with cotton garden twine I picked up from Bunnings.

For the card, I printed some of my Christmas watercolour paintings and cut them up into gift tags.

You can now purchase the digital copy of these tags from The Natural Life Academy shop.

Dried orange and citrus are such a fun and easy project for the holidays. 

The dried oranges were pretty ridiculously easy to make but just took a little while in the oven.

What you need

To make dehydrated orange slices you will need:

• oranges
• a sharp knife
• an oven with oven racks or a dehydrator
• wire rack

What type of oranges work best for dried oranges

You can use any type of fresh oranges you can get your hands on. Navel oranges are probably the most common. 

Also choose depending on the size you'd like your finished product to be.

There are two different ways you can make dried oranges. You can use a baking rack in the oven or complete the drying process using the dehydrator method. 

Here's how to do both ways: 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 120C fan-forced.

2. Slice oranges to about 2cm thick rounds using a sharp serrated knife. 

3. Place the orange slices on an oven rack in a single layer and bake for 2-3h or until completely dried. You can use a tray lined with parchment paper but you'll need to flip the orange slices half way through & make sure they're dried on both sides. The drying time will vary depending on how thickly you slice them & the liquid content of your fruit so make sure you do the snap test. 

This part is really important – if they’re not completely dry they’ll stain your paper!

4. Take the wire rack out of the oven and allow the oranges to cool completely.

5. Store in an airtight container until you're going to use them.

* TIP: don't throw out the ends that don't have a pretty round of fruit in them. Slice them up and dry them too to add to tea or grind up with sugar for a flavoured sugar to add to the rim of holiday drinks. 

How to make dried oranges in the food dehydrator

1. Slice the oranges to about 2mm thick rounds.

2. Place the sliced fruit on the dehydrator trays in a single layer. 

3. Dehydrate at 160F (the highest temp for your dehydrator) for 7-9 hours or until completely dried. 

This part is really important – if they’re not completely dry with no excess moisture they’ll stain your paper if you're using them on wrapping or they'll go mouldy.

4. Let them cool.

5. Store in an airtight container until you're going to use them.

Can you dehydrate orange slices in an air fryer?

My first thought would be no because it wouldn't fit much in it but if you just want to do an orange or two, you can absolutely dehydrate oranges in the air fryer.

Just line the basket with parchment paper & pre-heat to 180C.

Lay in a single layer and dry for about 60-90 minutes flipping every 30 mins. You may need to pat-dry the slices with paper towel before drying if they're really juicy.

Can you dehydrate orange slices in the microwave?

I personally haven't tried this method but apparently you can dry orange slices in the microwave. Here's how.

Does this work with other fruits

You can do this with any sort of fruit you like.

Other citrus fruits also work well as Christmas decoration. 

A combination of lemon, lime & orange looks very festive. 

Blood oranges look really cool too if you can get it in the holiday season.

Apples cut horizontally so they have a star in the middle are also pretty but they will brown.

Why did my dried oranges darken

Citrus fruits will darken as they dry out. If they are starting to turn too dark though, your oven may be too hot. Turn it down a little.

Uses

Decorative

Decorating gifts with dehydrated oranges is a great way to use them but they can also be used in lots of other decorative ways. 

It's so lovely to add natural elements to holiday decor and a fun way to add a festive touch without breaking the bank. 

Orange garland

One of the easiest ways to use them decoratively is to make a dried citrus garland by threading dry oranges or citrus slices onto a piece of twine. 

When I made mine, I alternated with wooden beads. 

Orange and cinnamon garland/decorations

Another idea for a Christmas garland is to alternate orange ornaments with cinnamon sticks. 

These can be used as long hanging garlands or make Christmas decorations for the Christmas tree by threading just two onto twine leaving a loop at the top. 

In the pic above, a small star cookie cutter was used to cut some orange peel. It was then dehydrated with the slices.

Star anise looks lovely with citrus slices too. 

Christmas wreaths

Use a wire coat hangar (or buy a wire round) and affix the dried fruit using twine or a hot glue gun. 

Add a little greenery too if you like. 

Potpuri

Place citrus slices, cinnamon sicks, whole star anise and cloves in bowls for homemade potpuri & to give your house a delicious Christmas scent. 

Candles

This one I haven't tested but I've seen people put dried fruit in candles and it looks so festive. Here's how to make your own candles. 

Edible uses

Here are a few ideas to use your dried orange or dried citrus in an edible way:

• Package a selection up in a glass jar or food-safe bag as holiday gifts.
• Use to top the rim of glasses as cocktail garnish.

• Dip in melted chocolate and leave to dry for a delicious treat.
• Add to a homemade tea mix - you might need to bread them up a bit. 
• Stick to a naked cake for a beautiful decoration or use to top cupcakes.

Storage

If dried completely, orange slices can last for up to two years. For best results, if you have one, use a vacuum sealer to package the dried fruit for longer-term storage.