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One of the best homegrown vegetables that dehydrates beautifully is broccoli.  Dehydrating saves all the delicious flavor of the broccoli (my favorite vegetable) without having to use up precious freezer space and it rehydrates so easily in soups and casseroles.  I still freeze some broccoli to have as a side dish roasted, but for the bulk of it, I dehydrate it!  Dehydrated foods are so underrated and I think it’s because a lot of folks are unsure how to use it.  I can store several pounds of dehydrated broccoli, or any dehydrated vegetables really, in a glass jar or mylar bag and the entire preserving process is mostly just waiting on the dehydrator to do its thing!  You can use home grown, store bought, frozen, whatever broccoli you have.  I’ve actually snagged bags of frozen broccoli crowns for $0.25 per 1 pound bag and filled my dehydrator with it.  Home food preservation doesn’t always have to be only home grown food; take advantage of the sales!  You know, the sales the stores put on to get you in to spend more money… just be like me and go in and buy the cheap stuff and leave looking like you’re insane :D  Knowing how to properly dehydrate vegetables for long-term food storage is a great addition to your homestead food preservation knowledge arsenal.

To Blanch or Not To Blanch

It’s a good choice to blanch broccoli in my opinion.  Dehydrating raw vegetables tends to lend toward discoloration and browning and taking longer to dry.  The slight cooking during the 2 minute blanching time I give this broccoli helps “relax” the tissues so they release their moisture more easily, maintain a brighter green color, and just all around makes the end product better.  If you don’t want to do this step, you can absolutely skip it if you’re fine with it.  

Equipment You Might Want:

• Stock Pot
• Large Bowl
• Food Dehydrator
• Mesh Dehydrator Tray Liners
• Mason Jars
• Lids
• Jar Vacuum Sealer
• Mylar Bags & Oxygen Absorbers

Ingredients:

• Broccoli

Let’s go dry broccoli!

Step 1:  Prep broccoli

Start by cutting broccoli crowns into small pieces and sizes you prefer to eat.  Don’t leave them enormous, otherwise they’ll take a fortnight to dry and who wants to eat a whole dried broccoli crown.  That’s odd.  Then soak broccoli crowns in salt water for about 10 minutes to remove any worms and rinse well.

Bring 2-3 quarts of water to a boil in a stock pot.  

Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.

Working in small batches, blanch the broccoli for about 2 minutes, removing from the hot water with a slotted spoon, and plunging straight into the ice water to stop the cooking.  I only blanch fresh broccoli.  If I purchase frozen broccoli from the store, I put it directly into the dehydrator.

Remove the broccoli pieces from ice bath and allow to drain.

Step 2:  Dehydrate

I run my dehydrator with broccoli OUTSIDE on my porch on a table because broccoli smells fart-y when it’s drying.  Dehydrators are pretty light to carry and the model I use and have linked in the recipe card is super lightweight and easy to move around to where I need it.  So when I’m drying something a little stinky, outside she goes.  This goes for beef jerky, any cruciferous vegetables, onions, garlic, etc.  If you dry it inside, your soul will smell like the food you dried.

Layer broccoli pieces in a single layer on metal dehydrator trays preferable lined with mesh mats to prevent sticking.

Add trays to your dehydrator and set your dehydrator to 145 degrees F and set to dry for 8-12 hours, depending on how large your pieces are.  If you’re around, it helps to turn the pieces after about 3 hours to speed up the drying process.

OVEN METHOD:  If you don’t own a dehydrator, you can use your oven if it goes low enough.  Crack to door open and arrange the broccoli on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  The drying process can take up to twice as long as with a dehydrator, though, and your entire house will smell like roasted broccoli farts.  Plus, running an oven for 24 hours with the door cracked not only sucks up your electricity usage but also will heat the heck out of your kitchen.  If you leave the door closed you will not have good air circulation and the broccoli won’t dry well since enough moisture can’t escape easily.  They’re just not very efficient to use, so I don’t recommend it, but I’m always a work with what ya got girl, too! 

Step 3:  Testing for Doneness

The dried broccoli florets are done when they feel dry and there’s no evidence of excess moisture.  Properly dried broccoli will feel brittle and crisp and I just cannot help myself to not snack on them like they’re the most tasty chip right out of the dehydrator.  OH MY GOODNESS they’re so good.  Maybe I’m odd.  Wait.  I know I am.  But who could ask for a healthier snack.

Let the broccoli cool for a few minutes before packaging for storage.

My rule of thumb is, if I’ll use it in 1 year or less, I vacuum seal it in a mason jar and if it’s something I need to store for longer than that, I will fill a mylar bag with a meal’s worth portion and add a properly sized oxygen absorber (more info on long term food storage here!)

SHORT TERM STORAGE:  fill a glass jars with broccoli.  Wipe jar rim add a clean lid to the top.  If you are reusing an old lid that was canned with, be sure and line up the dents on the lid rubber with the lip of the jar.  Vacuum seal the lid on and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight for up to 1 year or a bit past is fine.  I use a quart jar and then just dump what I need and then re-seal the jar again for next time.

LONG TERM STORAGE:  fill a mylar bag sized with however many portions you prefer.  Add a proper amount of oxygen absorbers and seal the bag.  Store around 5-10 years this way.  I will store in quart sized bags usually and then if I don’t use the entire bag, I will vacuum seal the leftover in a mason jar and then use that later on.  When storing mylar, store the bags inside a mouse proof tote or metal trash can just for an extra layer of protection.  Mylar is waterproof but not tooth proof ;) 

Step 4:  Rehydrating

Dehydrated broccoli can be eaten as is, fresh outta the jar or bag or you can toss a handful or two into soups or stews or casseroles with a bit of extra liquid added and heated.  See my dehydrated broccoli and leftover rice casserole!  Dehydrated broccoli needs about 20-30 minutes of cook time to fully rehydrate and will sometimes maintain a little crunchy texture even after rehydrating which I loveeeeeee.

And there ya have it.  An easy way to preserve a bumper crop of broccoli at the time of year it’s booming out of your garden and you can’t eat another bite.  It’s a lovely, nutritious addition to your long-term storage food supply that is both delicious and fills bellies.  I hope this helps get you started in dehydrating your own food!  The dehydrating process renders fresh vegetables shelf stable for over a year depending on how you store them.

How to Dehydrate Broccoli and Store It Properly

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Dehydrating Time: 12 hours hours

Total Time: 12 hours hours 22 minutes minutes

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

• stock pot
• Large bowl
• food dehydrator
• Mesh Dehydrator Tray Liners
• Mason Jars
• Lids
• jar vacuum sealer
• mylar bags
• oxygen absorbers

Ingredients

• Broccoli

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Start by cutting broccoli crowns into small pieces and sizes you prefer to eat.
• Soak broccoli crowns in salt water for about 10 minutes to remove any worms and rinse well.
• Bring 2-3 quarts of water to a boil in a stock pot.  
• Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
• Working in small batches, blanch the broccoli for about 2 minutes, removing from the hot water with a slotted spoon, and plunging straight into the ice water to stop the cooking.
• Remove the broccoli pieces from ice bath and allow to drain.
• Layer broccoli pieces in a single layer on metal dehydrator trays preferable lined with mesh mats to prevent sticking.
• Add trays to your dehydrator and set your dehydrator to 145 degrees F and set to dry for 8-12 hours, depending on how large your pieces are.  If you're around, it helps to turn the pieces after about 3 hours to speed up the drying process.
• The dried broccoli florets are done when they feel dry and there's no evidence of excess moisture.  Properly dried broccoli will feel brittle and crisp.

Storage

• My rule of thumb is, if I'll use it in 1 year or less, I vacuum seal it in a mason jar and if it's something I need to store for longer than that, I will fill a mylar bag with a meal's worth portion and add a properly sized oxygen absorber.

Short Term Storage

• Fill a glass jars with broccoli.  Wipe jar rim add a clean lid to the top.  If you are reusing an old lid that was canned with, be sure and line up the dents on the lid rubber with the lip of the jar.  Vacuum seal the lid on and store in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight for up to 1 year or a bit past is fine.  I use a quart jar and then just dump what I need and then re-seal the jar again for next time.

Long Term Storage

• Fill a mylar bag sized with however many portions you prefer.  Add a proper amount of oxygen absorbers and seal the bag.  Store around 5-10 years this way.  I will store in quart sized bags usually and then if I don't use the entire bag, I will vacuum seal the leftover in a mason jar and then use that later on.  When storing mylar, store the bags inside a mouse proof tote or metal trash can just for an extra layer of protection.

Rehydrating

• Dehydrated broccoli can be eaten as is, fresh outta the jar or bag or you can toss a handful or two into soups or stews or casseroles with a bit of extra liquid added and heated.

Notes

I run my dehydrator with broccoli OUTSIDE on my porch on a table because broccoli smells fart-y when it’s drying.  Dehydrators are pretty light to carry and the model I use and have linked in the recipe card is super lightweight and easy to move around to where I need it.

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