Oven Dried Green Onions from the Garden

I woke up this morning and realized that there was no possible way I was going to use up all of my green onions before they went to seed. It wasn't for lack of trying, I promise. I made soups, veggie pasta dishes, ramen, I topped potatoes, pork, eggs, you name it, I green onioned it. 

Since there is only so much I can do with a green onion, I decided it was time to dry them for storage. It's a super easy process and ensures that, even during the off season, you always have access to the fruits (or in this case, onions) of your labor.

Gathered From The Garden

When gathering vegetables and herbs from the garden to process, I typically get a variety. The drying process takes a few hours and I try to get those most out of my oven's "on" time as possible. Today, I grabbed the tops of my basil plants to dry as well. (Check back for basil instructions)

Whenever you bring vegetables or herbs in from the garden, make sure to wash them. You may not use any pesticides or artificial fertilizer, but the food has still been outside and has absolutely been crawled on by all the friendly neighborhood spiders and things. Wash the veggies. 

For green onions, trim off the roots and tear away any dying or very dirty areas. No one wants to bite into a bit of dirt. 

Wash and Dry Onions

Clear Away Any Debris

Cut Into Small Pieces and Place on Parchment Paper

Chop up the green onions into small pieces. For the white bulbs, I make those pretty thin and the greens are usually larger. I try to think about how I would actually use them in a dish if they were fresh. I personally like seeing the large pieces on green onion. If that isn't your cup of tea, make them smaller. Remember how I said this was easy? Yeah. It is.

Cut into Pieces

Place the cut pieces on a piece of parchment paper in a single layer. This prevents them from sticking and helps absorb more moisture. Moisture is the enemy of dried herbs and vegetables. It makes them rot inside their container. In case you weren't sure, you can't cook with rotted food. In this case, dry is good.

Spread Onions Out In A Single Layer on Parchment Paper

Place in the Oven on the Lowest Temperature Setting

You want to dry these out with a very low temperature for a long period of time. You DO NOT want to cook them. For me, my oven only gets down to 170F. Since 170F is a bit high, I prop the oven door open a bit with a balled up piece of foil. That helps get the temperature down some. My green onions end up taking about 3 hours to dry. For some, their ovens get down lower than that. They would need to dry for about 4 hours. Check them every so often to make sure you don't end up with green onions that are so crispy they end up as dust. 

Dried Green Onion Storage

As the end of the process, place the cooled onions in air tight containers. I use small mason jars. They should keep for up to 1 year. There are ways to extend that shelf life like adding oxygen absorbers, but I don't go that route because they don't usually last the year anyway.

Place In An Air Tight Container

There you have it folks. Few things are simpler than dehydrating your own vegetables and herbs. The only thing you need is a low oven and time. It's one of the oldest, if not the oldest, method of preservation and it still works today. Dry is easy and lets you reduce your waste by keeping your food longer. Use these onions within a year, and enjoy. Let me know in the comments how you use dried green onions!