Nesco Food Dehydrator

The Nesco food dehydrator company has been making food dehydrators for over thirty years, and according to them, their patented food dehydrators feature technology that "dries your food faster and evenly." And it's true!

NESCO food dehydrator, running

I've had my dehydrator since 2010... and love it! I like being able to stack as many trays as needed... more on that in the FAQ section below.

Shown in the image are 5 trays, but the starter model comes with 4 trays. A while back I purchased extra.

TOP Frequently Asked Questions:

Nesco food dehydrator beef jerky?

Yes, you can make beef jerky with a Nesco dehydrator. That "beef jerky" link takes you to our "How to Dehydrate Meat" overview page, and at the bottom is a recipe for yes, you guessed it... Beef Jerky!

Nesco food dehydrator trays?

The neat thing about Nesco dehydrators is that you can stack as many trays as you need. The minimum is FOUR - for proper air circulation. And maximum? It varies from 7 to 20. TWENTY? Wow.

Can you imagine what would happen if the dog's tail knocked over that tower of trays? Just sayin'. I would have to put it on the floor for 20 trays to be able to reach the top (I'm a shortie!)...

Nesco food dehydrator recipes?

Check out my 20 Taste-Tested Easy Recipes with Dehydrated Food. Available as an eBook or paperback. Don't forget, your Nesco food dehydrator owners manual will have Jerky recipes and suchlike in it.

Nesco DEHYDRATORS at Amazon

NESCO FD-80A Square Shaped Food Dehydrator, For Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, White11%
NESCO FD-80A Square Shaped Food Dehydrator, For Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, White
$89.99

Nesco FD-80A Food + Jerky Dehydrator

This is a square-shaped food dehydrator, perfect for snacks, fruit, and beef jerky. White with a top black tray edge, with a white lid.

  • 700 watts of drying power
  • Expandable to 8 trays
  • 15.25 x 10.25 x 15.63 inches (LxWxH)
  • Temperature range: 95°F - 160°F
  • Comes with: 1 Clean-A-Screen, 1 Recipe Instruction Book, 1 Jerky Seasoning & Cure Sample
Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator with Jerky Gun Kit for Great Snacks and Jerky, 5 Trays, Gray
Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator with Jerky Gun Kit for Great Snacks and Jerky, 5 Trays, Gray

Nesco FD-61WHC Snackmaster Encore Food Dehydrator

This round Nesco Snackmaster comes with a jerky gun kit and 5 trays. It has a very light grey body with a darker grey lid.

  • 500 watts of drying power
  • Expandable to 12 trays
  • 13.5 x 13.5 x 9.25 inches (LxWxH)
  • Temperature range: 95°F - 160°F
  • Comes with: 1 Jerky Gun with 3 tip attachments, 2 Fruit Roll Sheets, 2 Clean-A-Screens, 5 Jerky Seasoning & Cure Samples, Recipe & Instruction book
Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator for Great Jerky and Snacks, 4 Trays, 13.5" X 9.75", white and grey16%
Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator for Great Jerky and Snacks, 4 Trays, 13.5" X 9.75", white and grey
$79.99

Nesco FD-60 Snackmaster Express Food Dehydrator

This is the new version of mine as it has an updated lid. It's a light grey body with a darker grey lid.

  • 500 watts of drying power
  • Expandable to 12 trays
  • 13.5 x 13.5 x 9.25 inches (LxWxH)
  • Temperature range: 95°F - 155°F
  • Comes with: 1 Fruit Roll Sheet, 2 Original-Flavor Jerky Spice & Cure Packets

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no price increase to you. Read disclosure here.





Even Drying ~ From Top to Bottom

According to Nesco, you get even-drying from top to bottom because of their Converge-A-Flow® air-flow design. This is supposed to eliminate the tray rotation, but I still rotate the trays, anyway.

They also have a Snackmaster Square Dehydrator and Jerky Maker as mentioned in the "Nesco Dehydrators at Amazon" area further up the page.

Check out this FD-75A model over on Amazon.

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no price increase to you. Read disclosure here.

NESCO temperature selector on its lid

Easy-To-Use Temperature Selector

The Nesco food dehydrator models have a temperature selector on the lid and are easy to read and use. But they're NOT digital.

The dehydrator fan is located on the top inside the lid,

There isn't an on/off switch on this Nesco food dehydrator - you just have to plug the dehydrator in and unplug it when you're done. More on that below.

Buy a Lamp "Timer-switch"

24-Hour Plug-In Mechanical Timer - Grounded

BN-LINK 24 Hour Plug-in Mechanical Timer Grounded for Aquarium, Grow Light, Hydroponics, Indoor Lighting, Home Appliances, ETL Listed 125VAC, 60 Hz, 1875W, 15A, 1/2HP (1 Pack)
BN-LINK 24 Hour Plug-in Mechanical Timer Grounded for Aquarium, Grow Light, Hydroponics, Indoor Lighting, Home Appliances, ETL Listed 125VAC, 60 Hz, 1875W, 15A, 1/2HP (1 Pack)

You can buy a 'timer-switch' from hardware stores if you want to have the luxury of the Nesco food dehydrator turning off, say after ten hours, if you know you won't be home to shut it off.

A neat feature of a Nesco food dehydrator is that you can stack as many trays as you want, within reason!

NOTE: You MUST have a minimum of four trays in use; see additional comments coming up.

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no price increase to you. Read disclosure here.

I feel good about being able to use as many dehydrator trays as needed. Sometimes I'll have just four trays going, and some days seven!

Nesco Dehydrator - 4-tray starter model, showing green beans being dehydrated

Nesco Food Dehydrator: Features Stackable Trays; Fan is in the Lid

I began with the Nesco four-tray model and purchased additional trays as mentioned earlier.

The additional trays come in sets of two - at a very reasonable price.

I was pleased that the new Nesco food dehydrator trays color-matched perfectly with the old(er) trays for a seamless stacking experience!

I also have solid fruit roll sheets too, more on these coming up!

Use a Minimum of 4 Trays!

NOTE: Nesco states you must use a minimum of four trays, whether you've got food on all four trays or not, for the fan to create even drying.

The only time I ever need to run the dehydrator with less than four trays is when I make fruit roll-ups—I only have two Fruit Roll Sheets that came with the dehydrator so only two trays are actually being used! To have the minimum of four trays, I insert an empty tray at the top and bottom. (One below and one above my fruit roll trays).

Keep on scrolling to read more about screens to keep your Nesco food dehydrator clean!


NESCO Clean-a-Screen and Fruit Roll sheets

Nesco Clean-a-Screen and Fruit Rolls Sheets

So for now, when only using TWO trays for the roll-ups until you have purchased more fruit roll sheets to make the stack of trays add up to four, add an empty tray (without Clean-a-Screens, more on those coming up) in-between the fruit roll trays and one more on top, so that you have the 'four tray minimum' for drying.

The Nesco food dehydrator company also sell "Clean-a-Screens" which are circular plastic mesh flexible screens. They have little half-round cutouts for your fingers for easy removal of the sheets—and that's great!

They fit neatly into the dehydrator trays and this keeps small foods from falling through to the trays below (as foods shrink when they dry out!) Plus it really helps in the tray clean-up department (as intended)!

Nesco ACCESSORIES at Amazon

NESCO LSS-2-6 Round Clear Plastic 13 1/2" Fruit Roll Sheets, Food Dehydrators, White
NESCO LSS-2-6 Round Clear Plastic 13 1/2" Fruit Roll Sheets, Food Dehydrators, White

Nesco Solid Fruit Roll Sheets

Nesco LSS-2-6 Round clear plastic 13-1/2" diameter Fruit Roll Sheets, white.

  • 2 pk of solid fruit roll sheets
  • 1.6 sq feet drying area
  • Dry capacity up to 3 cups of pureed fruit per sheet
  • Check the red Amazon link to see which Nesco models these Fruit Roll Sheets fit
NESCO LM-2-6 Round Plastic Mesh 13 1/2" Clean-A-Screens, for Dehydrators, (Pack of 2)33%
NESCO LM-2-6 Round Plastic Mesh 13 1/2" Clean-A-Screens, for Dehydrators, (Pack of 2)
$11.99 ($6.00 / Count)

Nesco Mesh Sheets

Nesco LM-2-6 Round plastic mesh 13-1/2" diameter Clean-A-Screens, white.

  • 2 pk of mesh sheets
  • 1.6 sq feet drying area
  • Check the red Amazon link to see which Nesco models these Clean-A-Screens fit
NESCO WT-2SG Round Speckled Plastic 13 1/2" Add-A-Trays, 20 Series and 30 Series Food Dehydrators7%
NESCO WT-2SG Round Speckled Plastic 13 1/2" Add-A-Trays, 20 Series and 30 Series Food Dehydrators
$23.00 ($23.00 / Count)

Nesco Trays

Nesco WT-2SG Round Speckled Plastic 13-1/2" diameter Add-A-Tray.

  • 2 pk of speckled round trays
  • 1.6 sq feet drying area
  • Fits 20 Series and 30 Series Food Dehydrators
  • Check the red Amazon link to see all the Nesco models these Add-A-Trays fit

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases with no price increase to you. Read disclosure here.

Use Screens - Sticky Foods Clean Off Much Easier!

Also, any sticky fruits/foods clean off really easily from these dehydrator screens—which is their intended purpose. I just soak mine in the sink, then gently scrub away any stubborn particles, but honestly, it's rare that I have to put that much elbow grease into cleaning them.

My 4-tray model came complete with two Fruit Roll Sheets as mentioned above, and these are like the Clean-a-Screens because they fit neatly into the trays, but these are solid so that the tray's contents CAN'T spill or seep through! Important when pouring puréed fruits to make the fruit roll-ups!

The Nesco dehydrator company also offers cookbooks and Jerky Gun Kits.

NOTE: Some of you have written in saying that you've been using plastic wrap instead of the Nesco Fruit Roll sheets—word of caution here! Make SURE you DO NOT cover the center hole in the trays—if you do, you won't get GOOD air circulation and you'll mess with the motor and thermostat's ability to hold a constant temperature.

I'd err on the safe side and get more Fruit Roll Sheets - and they're quite affordable and are easier to use than messin' around with cling wrap...

Do You Already Own a Nesco Dehydrator?

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What Other NESCO Dehydrator Fans Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

4 tray model 
Best Dehydrator on the market. I dry mangoes and the Nesco - does it perfectly. I liked it so much I have 2 now. I have tried other machines and they …

nesco fd 75A 
I love my dehydrator and been drying everything my family will eat. I bought new trays and screens recently from Amazon but they were a little too big. …

Nesco Professional 
Fantastic kitchen appliance. It works great on fruit meat and whatever you want to dry. Fast quiet and efficient. I recommend spraying the trays for easier …

Ancient - But Still Works! 
I have a model so old that they do not make it anymore, and I have no idea of the model. I think it was a early version of the Snackmaster but I cannot …

FD-75A 
Love my dehydrator. I have my favorite fruits of course. One being Granny Smith apple rings. I have noticed I eat more fruit and have less wasted …

FD-60 
I bought my Nesco American Harvest Dehydrator & Jerky Maker today, after using my old Mr. Coffee model for about a week or so. I felt I needed a second …

NESCO FD61P 500 Watt Dehydrator 
Best dehydrator I have ever owned. I never have to rotate trays. I have dried jalapeno peppers, okra, potatoes and onions at the same time without flavors …

FD*35 
used it twice and now it started up and worked for about 10 minutes stopped working and won't start back up...

Nesco with seven trays 
I have the seven tray Nesco and I bought some of those non-stick sheets, they are very handy and have little finger cut-outs on the edges so you can lift …

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Before you go, don't forget to pick up your free eBook called "How to Grow and Dehydrate Herbs" here!