The $1.25 Dollar Tree Find I Never Leave the Store Without
This versatile (and fun) pantry item is a must-have for upgrading your favorite dishes. Sometimes I run to Dollar Tree just for this one thing.
As a food writer and recipe developer, I find myself peeking down the food aisles of every store I enter, looking for new, exciting gems to jazz up my cooking or affordable finds too good to pass up.
One of my happiest recent discoveries are the freeze-dried fruit packs at Dollar Tree. For just $1.25, you get a 0.6-ounce bag of intensely flavorful freeze-dried strawberries, apples, mixed fruit, peaches, or pears. Varieties differ depending on the location.
Why I Love Dollar Tree's Freeze-Dried Fruit
If you've bought freeze-dried fruit, you know it's hard to find and often incredibly expensive. This Dollar Tree discovery has been so worth it for my family that I will now make a trip to the store just to buy this one item—and scoop up multiple packs while I'm there!
Each little pouch is a treasure trove of bright, concentrated fruit flavor packed into crisp, airy morsels. The texture is incredibly satisfying—crispy at first, then melting into an intense fruity burst on your tongue.
They remind me of the Lucky Charms marshmallows I sometimes ate as a kid, but better (and better for you). The freeze-drying process captures and highlights the flavor of the fruit so well that a little goes a long way. That's why the mini bags are perfect for what we need.
How I Use Freeze-Dried Fruit
Freeze-dried fruit is more versatile than you might think.
My kids can't get enough of the strawberries I add to our family's strawberry almond granola. (The strawberries would work well instead of cherries in this cherry almond granola.)
It's fantastic crushed up and mixed into a cake frosting, sprinkled into homemade chocolate or yogurt bark, stirred into oatmeal, muffin batter, protein balls, or trail mix, or used to upgrade a simple bowl of yogurt or ice cream.
They make a great lunchbox addition or dessert just on their own. And the next time you're on a plane or long car ride, consider these for your snack pack. They are the treat of all treats!
Note that some varieties have added sugar, while others don't, and they also have a good amount of fiber. What's most important is that they taste like candy. Each morsel of fruit is fresh and bright and offers so much versatility and flavor. For $1.25, you really can't go wrong, especially with those strawberries!
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