Best Dehydrators for Long-Term Food Storage

Everyone needs a food storage plan for emergencies, and one of the main battles when storing food is shelf life. There are a few ways to improve the shelf life of food in your pantry, but one of the easiest methods is dehydrating food. You can buy dehydrated food, but you can easily get it done at home too. That’s where a food dehydrator helps, and the best dehydrator for prepping your food storage will get it done efficiently. There are several options to consider when it comes to dehydrators for prepping long-term food storage: features, noise, size, versatility, etc.

This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best dehydrators, tested each of them, and now the results are in: the overall best, a budget option, and an upgrade option. If you need a dehydrator that will help you stock your prepper pantry, one of our picks will help fill it.

---

Contents (Jump to a Section)

• Best Dehydrator
• Best for Beginners
• Best for High Capacity
• Comparison Table
• The Dehydrators We Compared
• What to Look For
  • Value: Cost vs. Benefit
  • Capacity
  • Noise Level
  • Size & Weight
  • Versatility
• How to Use a Dehydrator
• Who Needs a Dehydrator?
• Sources & References
• Conclusion

Our latest update of the best dehydrators adds more pictures and corrects pricing. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Disclosure»

---

Cosori has the power and capacity while being one of the quieter dehydrators in our roundup. It also doesn’t look bad on the countertop if you plan to leave it out and use it often with its stainless steel exterior.

Specifications

• Trays: 6
• Capacity: 6.5 sqft
• Power Draw: 600W
• Temperature Range: 95°-165° F (35°-74° C)
• Noise Level: 48 dB
• Size: 17.9″ x 13.5″ x 12.2″
• Weight: 20.5 pounds

The temperature range is great for a wide range of dehydrated foods, including jerky and fruit. The quiet fan and brushless motor make it less noticeable when you leave it running overnight or for days. The six trays give you plenty of capacity and make the unit easy to clean since they are dishwasher safe.

With solid quality and a price that doesn’t break the bank, the Cosori Premium 6-Tray Food Dehydrator edged out the competition.

---

Dehydrating doesn’t have to be hard or expensive, thanks to the Cosori Pioneer models. This specific model is expandable with stacking trays, making it ideal to scale however you like with your budget.

Specifications

• Trays: 5
• Capacity: 4.7 sqft
• Power Draw: 350W
• Temperature Range: 90°-160° F (32°-71° C)
• Noise Level: 47 dB
• Size: 12.2″ x 12.2″ x 9.0″
• Weight: 4.9 pounds

This unit doesn’t use much power and stores compactly for its capacity level. You can raise the trays for more clearance, and buy extra trays to expand the unit up to 7 trays tall. It has an intuitive display and control panel, with only four buttons to mess with, making it one of the easiest dehydrators to use.

This unit is about as inexpensive as you want to get with dehydrators. It has plastic trays, which aren’t ideal but are expected in the budget price range. The max temperature and fan volume aren’t very high, so it’s not the fastest dehydrator that you’ll find.

Pick up a Cosori Pioneer 5-Tray Dehydrator to add dehydration to your food storage capabilities without breaking the budget.

---

If you are serious about dehydrating, then you will need a serious piece of equipment to keep up. This 16-tray dehydrator fits the bill with solid quality to boot. Power through filling your pantry with 1200 watts of drying power, but a low 48dB noise level.

Specifications

• Trays: 16
• Capacity: 9.8 sqft
• Power Draw: 1200W
• Temperature Range: 95°-176° F (35°-80° C)
• Noise Level: 48 dB
• Size: 20.5″ x 14.5″ x 13.5″
• Weight: 32.5 pounds

This Magic Mill dehydrator ups the capacity, but does it with two independent drying chambers. This allows you to dry smaller amounts of different food batches at the same time, making it ideal for frequent use.

Each side has completely separate controls so that you can dehydrate fruit on one side and jerky on the other, or stagger the chambers so that your prep time doesn’t interfere with how often you run the dehydrator.

If you are looking for the best of the best, pick up a Magic Mill DualZone Food Dehydrator.

---

Comparison Table

Dehydrator	Recommendation	Price*	Capacity	Wattage	Noise Level	Weight
Cosori Premium 6	Best Overall	$140	6.5 ft²	600W	48 dB	20.5 lbs
Cosori Pioneer 5	Best for Beginners	$50	4.7 ft²	350W	47 dB	4.9 lbs
Magic Mill DualZone	Best for High Capacity	$250	9.8 ft²	1200W	48 dB	32.5 lbs
Elite Gourmet EFD319		$40	1.8 ft²	350W	48 dB	5.4 lbs
Nesco FD-79 Snackmaster		$86	2.9 ft²	600W	55 dB	8.0 lbs
Cuisinart DHR-20P1		$100	3.8 ft²	620W	50 dB	9.2 lbs
Cosori Premium 5		$120	3.1 ft²	480W	48 dB	10.8 lbs
Magic Mill Pro 7		$150	5.1 ft²	600W	48 dB	18.5 lbs
Magic Mill Pro 10		$200	7.3 ft²	600W	48 dB	22.1 lbs
Cosori Premium 10		$300	16.2 ft²	1000W	60 dB	35.8 lbs
Excalibur Select 10		$330	16.0 ft²	800W	61 dB	24.6 lbs

---

The Dehydrators We Compared

Our research narrowed the field down to several dehydrators that we reviewed: Nesco, Excalibur, Colzer, Cosori, Cuisinart, Magic Mill, and more.

You can see our full list of review criteria below in the What to Look For section, with an explanation for each.

We focused on small home appliance electric dehydrators. We excluded industrial and non-electric dehydrators, like solar dehydrators, due to practicality and our goal of using a dehydrator for long-term food storage. Solar dehydrators may work well during emergencies where there isn’t power available, but our focus in this review was on pre-disaster dehydration.

We’re always looking for new and better equipment, so if you have a dehydrator that you swear by, let us know in the comments. We review most of our tested equipment annually, so we can always try to pick one up for the next roundup and see if it makes the cut, and we can see if it will beat out our top picks.

---

What to Look For

The best dehydrators for prepping long-term food storage have several important features to look for:

1. Value
2. Capacity
3. Noise Level
4. Size & Weight
5. Versatility

When you get the right blend of these, you can find a reliable dehydrator that will pull the most moisture out of food. Below, we break down what each of these features means for the dehydrators that set themselves apart.

Value: Cost vs. Benefit

The amount of money you spend on something like a dehydrator shouldn’t blow out your entire budget. Don’t go overspending or overspend. Budget according to your risk and your needs rather than just spending lavishly.

On the flip side, you don’t want to go too cheap or just plain get the wrong thing. If the dehydrator doesn’t get enough water out of the food, it’s not going to do you much good for long-term food storage.

You never want to spend too much money on one resource, especially something like dehydrators. It’s better to diversify your preparedness equipment to make sure you are covered for a wide range of scenarios. There is a sweet spot where you get high value with not too high a price, which is where our top pick sits.

Capacity

More trays let you process more food, but the size of the trays matters as well. I calculated the total capacity in square feet for each model and verified a couple of models where the total drying area was provided by the manufacturer.

The more drying area you have, the quicker you can process food because you can process more at once.

Noise Level

You don’t want your dehydrator to sound like a plane getting ready to take off unless you’re in an industrial setting. With dehydrators, even small changes in decibels are noticeable.

Because dehydrators run for long periods, the noise level will matter to you more than you might think. 60 dB is a normal conversation level, so you will want to have your dehydrator well below that.

Size & Weight

Depending on the size and weight of your dehydrator, you may need to set it up in a ‘permanent’ spot. Because they run for long periods, you will be stuck working around them, so you don’t want it too big if you don’t have the space to accommodate one.

Versatility

There are plenty of accessories that can come with a dehydrator. These range from actually being able to expand a dehydrator to include more racks, to just including recipes and guides for drying different types of foods. Most of these add versatility or make the dehydrator easier to use.

Having an integrated digital timer can help with drying projects, and a see-through window in the door of a dehydrator can help you monitor the food as it dries. Mats often come with dehydrators as they are necessary for certain types of food.

A wide temperature range can help you dehydrate a wider variety of foods. Dehydrators don’t get as hot as conventional ovens- they are meant to run at a lower temperature for a long time.

---

How to Use a Dehydrator

Here are the basic steps for using a food dehydrator, although they vary by model and what you are specifically drying:

1. Wash and chop the fruit, vegetables, or meat into thin slices.
2. Preheat the dehydrator to the appropriate temperature. Different types of food require different temperatures, so be sure to consult a recipe or a chart to determine the right temperature for your food.
3. Place the food in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. Make sure that the pieces are not touching each other, as this can lead to uneven drying.
4. Stack the trays in the dehydrator and close the lid.
5. Let the food dehydrate for the recommended amount of time. This can range from a few hours for the fruit to a full day for meats.
6. Check the food every few hours to ensure that it is drying evenly. If the food is drying too quickly on the outside but not fast enough on the inside, you may need to rotate the trays or adjust the temperature.
7. When the food is fully dehydrated, remove it from the dehydrator and let it cool. Store the dehydrated food in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

You can also use a vacuum sealer to store your dehydrated foods to ensure that the water content stays low.

Darci gives some great beginning food dehydration tips:

7 BEGINNER TIPS FOR FOOD DEHYDRATING | What I Wish I Knew Before I Started Dehydrating

---

Who Needs a Dehydrator?

A dehydrator is not necessary in most survival kits, but it does have a place in getting all of these kits ready. Dehydrating food can drastically increase shelf life as well as give you more food variety.

We think you should consider having one in your home as part of your prepper pantry equipment:

• Prepper Pantry List

Once you have used a dehydrator, you’ll see how easy they are. I was skeptical that it would be worth the investment (both time and money), but a dehydrator is a great addition if you are working on your prepper pantry.

---

Sources & References

All of our experience and the testing we do to determine the best dehydrator is useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our hands-on testing and practical prepping experience:

Faith, N., et al. (1998). Viability of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground and formed beef jerky prepared at levels of 5 and 20% fat and dried at 52, 57, 63, or 68°C in a home-style dehydrator. International Journal of Food Microbiology. Volume 41. Issue 3. Pages 213 – 221. (Source)

Bowser, T., et al. (2011). Improvement of Efficiency and Environmental Impact of a Low-Cost Food Dehydrator. Open Food Science Journal. Volume 5. Pages 37 – 41. (Source)

Garg, H., et al. (1984). Design and development of a simple solar dehydrator for crop drying. Energy Conversion and Management. Volume 24. Issue 3. Pages 229 – 235. (Source)

---

Conclusion

Being able to dehydrate your food teaches you a valuable skill and lets you address weaknesses in your long-term food storage plan. A good dehydrator is a common tool preppers use to increase their pantry’s shelf life.

Here are a few related articles our readers have also found helpful:

• Best Freeze Dryers | Comparisons & Calculator
• The Best Food to Dehydrate for Long Term Survival Storage
• Survival Food List | Pantry Stockpile Plan and Checklist

See more of our expert-written guides, resources, and reviews in your search results – add TruePrepper as a preferred source.

---

Prepping Your Way

No judgement and no imperatives. Prepare the way you want to with the trusted source millions of modern preppers have relied on.

Our newsletter fires out every Monday where you can expect:

• Practical prepping guides and tips
• Thorough survival gear reviews
• Noticeably absent spam and popups
• < 0.4% of people unsubscribe

Thanks for subscribing, supporting our cause, and improving your own resilience.

---

• Instagram
• Facebook
• TikTok
• X Twitter
• YouTube
• Pinterest