Parsley Powder

How To Dehydrate Parsley + Parsley Powder

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I’ve been wanting to show you how to dehydrate parsley for a very long time. And while I’m at it I will show you how to make parsley powder. This herb is actually one of the easiest food items you can dehydrate.

I wish you could smell my house with my dehydrator drying this fresh parsley, oh my goodness. A little piece of heavenly scent in my home right now.

You know we can buy those small jars of parsley powder at our local grocery stores, but we really don’t know how long it’s been sitting on the shelf. I have a Costco container of parsley, and yes, I use it for soups, etc. But if you grow parsley, which is really easy, you can dry your own.

Today, I bought two different kinds of fresh parsley, Italian flat-leaf parsley, and curly-leaf parsley. I’m growing both, but they aren’t ready to harvest yet. In case you missed this post, 15 Tips for Buying Your First Dehydrator

How To Dehydrate Parsley/Plus Powder

How To Dehydrate Parsley

Kitchen Items Needed

How To Dehydrate Parsley

Step One

This bunch of parsley is called Curly-Leaf, which has a mild taste compared to the robust Italian Flat-leaf variety. I like both types so I’m dehydrating both to give me options when cooking. The first thing you do is cut off the stems as far up the branch as you can. The stems are too tough to dehydrate and use as an herb or powder.

Parsley

Step Two

This one is the Italian Flat-Leaf parsley, Like I said, it has a more robust flavor. Cut the stems off, so you can rinse both types of parsley with cool water. I use a stainless steel colander. It’s easy to rinse them if the stems are cut off.

How To Dehydrate Parsley

Step Three

The picture below is the Curly-Leaf Parsley, which I’m rinsing with cool water. You see the difference of the leaves, I hope. They truly are a curly leaf.

You will see this type of parsley being used with jello salads or serving with some fresh fruit at restaurants. I actually like the look of it and the fact that this one has a mild flavor of parsley.

Curly-Leaf Parsley

Step Four

I’m rinsing the Italian Flat-Leaf parsley here in a stainless steel colander. I wish you could smell my kitchen, it smells so good. The leaves are flat, as you can see.

Italian Flat-leaf

Step Five

If you have a clean towel, I recommend spreading the rinsed off parsley and letting it drain, or dry, a bit on it. After about an hour it will be ready to put in the dehydrator.

Dry the Parsley on a Towel

Step Six

I have an Excalibur Dehydrator and it states to set the temperature at 95 degrees. Please check your brand for the correct temperature. Shown below is the Curly-Leaf parsley.

Parsley on Racks

Step Seven

Below is the Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley ready to go into the dehydrator.

Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley

Step Eight

I cut off as many of the stems that were inside the leafy parts of both parsleys. You have to be really patient, I cut off as many as my patience could tolerate.

Cut the long Stems Off

Step Nine

The time it takes to fully dry will depend on the humidity of the room where you are drying it. These took about 2 hours in my kitchen today.

Racks in the Dehydrator

Step Ten

How To Condition Your Fruit or Vegetables

If you live where it is HUMID: “To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days.

Read More of My Articles  How To Dehydrate Cilantro

The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation.” https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pack_store.html

I live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.

Parsley

Step Eleven

Parsley Powder

We tried using the Magic Bullet, but ended up using my Vitamix Blender to make the powder smoother. It’s hard to believe that those 3 sprigs can powder down to about 1/4 cup. Please let the powder “settle down” a bit in the container before opening it or you will have powder all over you. Just want to give you the heads up.

Step Twelve

When you are ready to make the parsley powder, it must be totally dry. If you live where it is humid I would do it rather quickly because it may absorb moisture from the room.

I let mine “condition” before I make the powder. The color is a beautiful shade of green and it smells so good!

Parsley Powder

Clarification On How To Store:

I only use the FoodSaver with the accessory hose on my DEHYDRATED Fruits and Vegetables, NOT the powders. It will ruin your hose.

If you need fruit powder jars, these are very similar to mine: 16-Ounce Jars with Clamp

How To Dehydrate Parsley and Make Powder

How To Dehydrate Parsley and Powder
Prep Time
15 mins
Dehydrate
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs 15 mins
 
Course: Herbs
Cuisine: American
Author: Linda Loosli
Ingredients
  • 1-3 Sprigs Fresh Italian Flat-Leaf Parsley
  • 1-3 Sprigs Fresh Curly-Leaf Parsley
Instructions
  1. Decide which parsley you want, I like both Curly-Leaf Parsley, which has a mild taste compared to the robust Italian Flat-leaf Parsley variety. I like both types so I'm dehydrating both to give me options when cooking. The first thing you do is cut off the stems as far up the branch as you can. They are too tough to dehydrate and use as an herb or powder. After you cut the stems off, you can rinse both types of parsley with cool water. I use a stainless steel colander. It's easy to rinse if the stems are cut off. If you have a clean towel, I recommend spreading the rinsed off parsley and letting it drain and dry a bit. After an hour it will be ready to put in the dehydrator. My Excalibur Dehydrator states to set the temperature to 95 degrees F. Please check your brand's temperature. The time it takes to fully dry will depend on the humidity of the room where you are drying it.

Parsley Powder
  1. When you are ready to make the parsley powder, it must be totally dry. If you live where it is humid I would do it rather quickly because it may absorb moisture from the room. I let mine "condition" before I make powder. I tried using the Magic Bullet, but ended up using my Vitamix Blender to make the powder extra smooth. I use air-tight jars to store it.

Conditioning
  1. How To Condition Your Fruit or Vegetables

    If you live where it is HUMID: "To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for 7 to 10 days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture condensation." https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/pack_store.html

    I live in the DRY DESERT: I set my fruit and vegetables on my countertop for 5-7 days. Ten days is even better to make sure everything is dry before using your FoodSaver unit.

How can I use dehydrated parsley?

This one is pretty easy because so many of us use dried parsley in a container from the store. The only difference is that when you dehydrate your own, it is much fresher.

Read More of My Articles  Dehydrating Mushrooms

The next time you visit the baking section of your local grocery store, look at the various brands of parsley jars. You will see many different shades of green. The darker the green color, it’s most likely the freshest jar on the shelf.

How do I use parsley powder?

What I like about the powder is that I can sprinkle it over chicken or fish before baking. The bonus is you need very little because a little goes a long way. If you make your own salad dressings you can add some to the bottle for extra flavor and health benefits.

You can add it to your green juice in the morning for extra vitamins. Of course, any pasta dish is fabulous with parsley.

Can I dehydrate these in my oven?

Yes, you can. Set your oven to the lowest temperature available. Place a ball of foil to keep the oven door ajar. You will need to check them every 15 minutes or so because they will dry very fast.

Health Benefits of Parsley

Parsley contains several important nutrients, vitamins A, K, and C. It’s also a good source of the minerals iron, calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium. And it’s low-calorie and adds flavor to many recipes.

Final Word

Please let me know if you dehydrate parsley, I would love to hear how you use it. It’s all about teaching skills to our kids and grandkids. Dehydrating our bounty will save us money in the long run. Plus, we know what is in the jar, right? May God Bless this world, Linda

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11 Comments

  1. I live in a dry climate. Although I own several dehydrators, I just put my herbs on top on a large sheet cake pan lined with a grocery store paper bag. This helps absorb the moisture from washing it. I put the pans on either my kitchen counter or in the sunroom for about 5 days and the herbs are totally dry. It is just easier & simpler than using a dehydrator and no power cost.

  2. I, too, prefer to air dry my herbs. They can be so delicate & sensitive to forced heat. It helps that I live in a dry desert climate as well. Did you know that parsley tea taken daily is helpful for gout & other kidney & blood-related conditions? Of course the taste is not yummy!

    1. Hi Linda, oh my gosh, we can make tea but it is not yummy! I love it!! It sure sounds great if you have gout, kidney, or blood-related conditions. Great tip, Linda

  3. Even though I live in a fairly humid area, I dry my leafy herbs by hanging them. Perhaps that is old school but it is the way I have done it since I was a child helping my mother dry herbs.

    I have a small coffee grinder to grind herbs. It does a sufficient job for me. I only grind/powder the amount of herbs I want to use at the time so I don’t have the need for trying to store powdered herbs. It only takes a few seconds when I need powdered herbs for a recipe. I am more comfortable leaving my herbs “whole” until I need powdered as I already have them in storage jars. If I powder more herb than I need at the time, I store the excess powdered in ziplock snack bags and they go back into the storage jar.

    A couple of years ago, I made an herb drying board: I took a short length of board (I used 1X4), sanded it, painted it. Once it was dry, I added a wire across the top to hang it, command hooks to hang my herb bundles and chalk labels so I can label what herb is hanging right below it. Wish I could share a picture here but I will send a photo to Linda and perhaps she will then send it out to everyone.

    1. Hi Leanne, I am going to see if I can upload the picture to the post. I can’t in the comments but I can in the post. Give me ten minutes. It’s really a great idea, my friends, stay tuned. Linda

    1. Hi Nancy, oh y gosh, you will love it! I just dehydrated frozen vegetables and made some powder, it smells so good! I’m working like crazy to get all the dehydrated posts up! Linda

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