It’s the season for watermelon! My in-laws brought over 5 huge watermelons for our family. We love watermelon, but we needed some other ways to use it up. We made watermelon juice, but unlike other fruit, watermelon is hard to keep – I mean, you can’t freeze it, so what can you do with it all?

Homemade Fruit Rolls

Let me start by saying this took me a long time to make!

I have tried to make quick and easy versions which just never turned out for me. This way of making them is fairly easy (especially if you have seedless watermelon), but you really do need to be home for a day to make this recipe.

Homemade Fruit Rolls

These homemade fruit rolls take a while to make, but they are the perfect little treat for school lunches!

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Ingredients

• Half a large watermelon (or whole small one)
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Peel and slice watermelon and put in a big pot on medium - high heat. Use a potato masher to make into mush - stirring regularly. (It will be very watery)
2. If you used watermelon that had seeds like I did, you will need to use a strainer now to strain out the seeds.
3. Add in the honey and lemon juice to the pot with the seedless juice and bring to a light boil - keep boiling and simmering until the mixture has more texture than water but is still runny. This will take about an hour to an hour and a half.
4. Preheat oven to 175 degrees.
5. Line 2 large baking sheets with wax paper (or parchment paper).
6. Slowly pour mixture onto the center of wax paper and use a spatula to bring it close to the sides but not right to the edge or it will make the bottom all sticky.
7. Do this for both pans and place in the oven each on their own rack close to the middle of the oven.
8. Keep them in the oven for 4-5 hours depending on how thick the fruit layer is. You will know it is done when it is no longer runny and is not too sticky in the middle.
9. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes and then roll the whole wax paper and cut.
10. Makes about 2 dozen depending on size of pan and thickness of roll.

I feel good about sending these fruit rolls to school with my daughters, or to work with my husband. They are delicious and I love that I know exactly what is in them.  I store them in a glass jar, but I can’t really say how long they stay good – they never last long enough in our house to find out.

Watermelon is obviously a fruit with a lot of liquid – you can use any fruit you like and make them thicker if desired.

Have you ever made homemade fruit rolls?

What are your favorite flavors?

If you are looking for other school snack ideas, try out our nut-free bars.

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