Easy Air Fryer Dried Orange Garland For Christmas
December really snuck up on us this year, didn’t it?! If you are looking for the perfect home decor accent to really give your home a cozy, vintage vibe, a classic garland made from dried oranges is an easy and inexpensive way to go! I’ve experimented with a few different methods to make dehydrated orange slices and my air fryer orange garland method is by far the easiest! In this post, I’ll break down how to create your own air fryer orange garland with just a few inexpensive materials!
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A Very Vintage Holiday Season
If you know me, adding vintage accents to my home is my favorite way to give a newer build house the feel of cozy nostalgia that everyone is aiming for! There are so many ways to easily add vintage nostalgia to your Christmas decor. Antique ornaments, lanterns, wrapping paper, and even antique gifts are a few ideas to help transform your home into a vintage winter wonderland
BTW: If you want some vintage-inspired winter art, check out my FREE downloads!
This year, I also didn’t want to do the MOST for holiday decorations. Christmas can really sneak up on you and it sure did this year! PLUS, we have travel plans in December and I already feel behind… I wanted to add a few quick vintage decor items together without spending a fortune…
Creating this easy garland out of dry orange slices was a great way to add some cozy, vintage charm to my fireplace mantle and Christmas tree.
The absolute BEST thing about this garland is it cost under $10… For almost 9 feet of garland!
Materials:
This tutorial is SO cheap. I plan to keep making these each year. These fruit garlands don’t keep well, so understand that you only get one year use out of them 🙂
- 5-10 fresh oranges (I used navel oranges. Blood oranges are really pretty too! )
- Thick embroidery thread, dental floss or fishing line
- Embroidery needle
- Sharp knife
- Instapot or air fryer with a dehydrate setting. (Linked mine, it has the dehydration setting).
* Alternatively you can make these in the oven. In that case, you’ll need a baking sheet or two and some parchment paper. I’ll include directions at the end of this post.
How to Make an Orange Slice Garland:
Creating a simple garland out of fresh fruit can be done in just 3 easy steps. Here I’ll break down exactly how you can get this look to elevate your Christmas decorations:
Step 1:
Slice oranges with a sharp knife. Try to keep the slices even. I prefer thin slices. They go a longer way, dehydrate faster, and look better. The oranges shrink significantly in the Instapot so you need a lot more oranges than you think. I sliced about 5 oranges and got roughly 9 feet of garland. The amount of garland this makes also depends on how closely you string the oranges. I wanted mine strung pretty close together but not overlapping.
Step 2:
Next, place your oranges into your Instapot or air fryer. The pot of my Instapot isn’t incredibly large so I kind of crowded the oranges together. Some of them overlapped. They still dried flat and even! Set your Instapot to the dehydrator setting, and adjust the temperature to 190 degrees (the highest mine goes). Set the timer for 2-3 hours. Depending on how crowded the pot is, it may only take about an hour. I really crowded my air fryer basket so it took about two hours.
Periodically check the oranges to see the color. I don’t like a super dark orange shade, so I pulled mine out when they were JUST dry!
Step 3:
Once the oranges have dried to a color that you like, remove them from the air fryer.
The last step is to thread the dried orange slices onto some thick string. I used upholstery thread and an embroidery needle.
I didn’t double up the thread for this garland like I did for my cranberry garland. A single strand of thread worked fine! Instead of making one giant, 9 ft garland, I did three 3 ft segments that are easier to manage/handle.
You can thread the oranges tightly or space them out a bit. I left about a half inch between each slice for my garland.
How to Style an Air Fryer Orange Garland:
Dried oranges can be used to add cozy nostalgia in so many different areas around the home. Garlands look breathtaking on a mantle, strung on the Christmas tree, tucked into a Christmas wreath, or turned into simple tree ornaments with a bit of ribbon twine.
The possibilities are endless for this easy and affordable DIY!
Can I Make an Orange Slice Garland without an Air Fryer?
Yes! There are several methods to create this beautiful orange garland that will bring a bright pop of color to your holiday decor. I also attempted baking my oranges in the oven to compare with my air-fried oranges. Baking oranges in the oven definitely gets the job done, BUT I noticed that my oranges didn’t really bake evenly. (See the picture below).
For best results, use the Ninja Foodi, an Instapot or air fryer that has a dehydrator setting. It works super fast and dries the fruit incredibly evenly.
If you want to bake your garland, set your oven to 250 degrees. Place orange slices on a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake for 5-6 hours or until the color you want!
Can I Make a Garland From Any Type of Citrus Fruit?
You can totally experiment with other types of citrus fruits if you want to make a multi-color fruit garland! I’ve seen this garland made with dehydrated limes and lemons as well as a combo of different orange types! Blood oranges will give you a really rich, deep color while navel oranges give you the classic browned center. You can also add cranberries, cinnamon sticks, bits of orange peel, and herbs to your citrus garland. The possibilities are endless!
What’s your fave nostalgic Christmas decor?! Let me know below!
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