Parsley is a great, prolific herb to grow in the garden. If you have a lot of parsley in your garden, dehydrate some to season your soups, stews, and casseroles all winter long! Learn how to dry parsley using 3 different drying methods to find your new favorite technique.
Prep Time:10 minutesmins
Drying Time:2 hourshrs
Equipment
Food dehydrator
Sheet pan or baking sheet for oven-drying
Parchment paper for oven-drying
Wooden spoon for oven-drying
Twine or rubber band for air drying
Brown paper bag (optional) for air drying
airtight container glass jar(s)
Ingredients
1-2bunchesfresh parsleyany quantity you'd like to dry
Instructions
Oven Method
Preheat the oven to the lowest possible heat setting (usually 170 F).
Arrange the parsley leaves in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan.
Place the tray in the oven and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the parsley to dry for approximately 1 hour, then flip the leaves over and continue drying for another 1 hour or until the leaves are completely dry. When ready, the leaves will crumble in your hand.
Remove the tray from the oven and let the parsley cool to room temperature before transferring the leaves into the jar. For crushed parsley, roll the sides of the parchment paper and press down with the heel of your palm to break the full leaves into small pieces. Funnel into your mason jar and seal.
Dehydrator Method
Compared to the oven method, you'll notice that dehydrating parsley takes longer, but your dried herbs will have a darker color. Oven drying tends to fade the green color (and potentially the flavor), but it's the fastest method.
Arrange a single layer of parsley on your dehydrator tray.
Dehydrate at 95 - 105 F for 6-8 hours or until fully dried and crumbly.
Crumble into smaller pieces then transfer the crushed dried parsley into your storage containers. (I like to crush my dried herbs in parchment paper similar to the method described above.)
Air Drying Parsley
This is my preferred method because it looks cool and is so easy. You can really just hang up the bundles and let them dry!
Bind your bunch of parsley together with kitchen twine or a rubber band.
Hang the bunch from a hook in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. Feel free to place the herbs in a paper bag to prevent any dander, pet hair, etc. from getting on the herbs.
Let the herbs dry for 2-3 weeks or until completely dry.
Bring the herbs down then crush and transfer to your storage container.