How to Dry Green Onions

Dry green onions with clean cloths.

Green onions have tender, green shoots with small, white bulbs. While many people prefer to use them fresh, others like to dry them so they can keep them on hand to use as needed. After removing green onions from the garden or purchasing them from the store, they require cleaning and dehydrating before storing. Storing green onions before drying them completely could lead to softening and rotting. When properly dried, however, green onions can be stored in your pantry with other dried herbs and spices.

Things You'll Need

• Paring knife
• Paper towels
• Cloth
• Dehydrator
• Zip lock bag or storage container

Instructions

1. Rinse your green onions under running water in the sink. Remove dirt from the onions with your fingers.

2. Cut the roots from the onion with a paring knife. Dice the onions.

3. Place two paper towels on the countertop and lay the onions on top. After five minutes, replace the paper towels with new ones. Fold the paper towels over the onions and squeeze gently, pushing any water from the green shoots.

4. Place the onions in a single layer on the trays in the dehydrator. Dehydrate the onions at 145 degrees for two hours. Lower the temperature to 135 degrees for the next six hours.

5. Place the onions in a zip lock bag or a storage container with a sealed top after dehydrating. Push out as much air as possible before sealing.

Tips & Warnings

• Open windows or set the dehydrator on an outside table during dehydration, as the onion smell becomes quite strong.

• If you do not own a dehydrator, you may opt to freeze the green onions instead, as attempting to dehydrate the onions in the oven is rarely successful.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Onion
• Back Packing Chef: Dehydrating Vegetables