Nuwave’s dehydrating setup follows a similar pattern to Breville’s, but with an important difference worth understanding before you buy: it’s not a built-in oven mode, it’s a separate accessory kit — the Nuwave Dehydrator Kit — that attaches to their existing infrared countertop ovens, primarily the Nuwave Oven Elite. You’re buying an add-on for an oven you may already own, not a standalone appliance.
Pros
- Affordable way to add dehydrating to a Nuwave oven you already own
- 4 stacking trays fit neatly inside the existing oven dome
- Built-in safety adapter prevents the oven from exceeding 200°F, reducing risk of overheating food
- Infrared heating technology distributes heat differently than standard convection, which some owners find effective for jerky specifically
Cons
- Requires an existing Nuwave Oven Elite — not a standalone purchase
- 4-tray capacity is modest compared to dedicated dehydrators
- Dome-style design means less predictable airflow than a horizontal-airflow dedicated unit
- Manual tray rotation and alternating is recommended for even results, adding a hands-on step most dedicated dehydrators don’t require
In This Article
How the Nuwave Dehydrator Kit Works
The kit includes four specially designed trays that stack inside the Nuwave Oven Elite’s dome, along with a specialty adaptor that attaches to the oven’s power head. That adaptor does double duty: it holds the tray stack in position and activates a safety switch that caps the oven’s temperature at 200°F specifically during dehydrating — well above what any dehydrating recipe actually calls for, but a meaningful safeguard against accidentally running a cycle too hot.
Unlike a standard convection dehydrator, the Nuwave Oven relies on infrared heating combined with convection, distributed through what Nuwave calls triple-layer cooking technology. In practice, this means heat comes from multiple directions within the dome rather than a single rear-mounted fan pushing air horizontally, which is the design used in higher-end dedicated units like the Excalibur 10-Tray.
Dehydrating Performance
For fruits, vegetables, and jerky in modest quantities, the kit performs reasonably well — owners commonly report solid results drying apples, carrots, and thin meat slices, generally in the same 6–10 hour range you’d expect from any dehydrator at similar temperatures. Where it shows its limits is consistency across the full 4-tray stack: because the airflow isn’t horizontal, trays closer to the heat source can finish noticeably faster than trays farther away, similar to the tray-rotation issue common on stackable, vertical-airflow dehydrators generally (see my dehydrator machine buying guide for that comparison in more depth).
Nuwave’s own guidance recommends alternating tray positions partway through a cycle for more even results — don’t skip this step, since it meaningfully affects consistency with this dome-style design.
The 200°F Safety Cap
The specialty adaptor’s safety switch, which prevents the oven from exceeding 200°F while the dehydrator kit is attached, is a genuinely useful feature for anyone new to dehydrating. It removes the risk of accidentally running a batch too hot, which can cause case hardening — where the exterior dries and seals before the interior has lost enough moisture. That said, 200°F is still meaningfully above the 95–165°F range most dehydrating actually calls for, so the cap is more of a hard backstop than a precision control.
Tips for Better Results
- Keep the dome cracked slightly open during dehydrating to let moisture escape, per Nuwave’s own guidance — a step not needed on enclosed, vented dedicated dehydrators.
- Alternate tray positions periodically rather than setting and forgetting, given the less uniform airflow of the dome design.
- Use non-stick spray or a liner for foods prone to sticking, since the trays don’t have the same non-stick coating found on some dedicated dehydrator trays — see my dehydrator sheets guide for liner options.
Nuwave vs. a Dedicated Dehydrator
If you already own a Nuwave Oven Elite, the dehydrator kit is a low-cost way to add dehydrating capability without buying a second appliance, and it’s reasonable for occasional, small-batch use. If you don’t already own the oven, or you’re planning to dehydrate regularly, it makes more sense to buy a dedicated unit outright — a compact option like the LEM 5-Tray Digital Dehydrator will offer more consistent airflow at a similar tray count, without needing to manage tray rotation as closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The Nuwave Dehydrator Kit is an accessory designed to work with the Nuwave Oven Elite specifically — it isn’t a standalone dehydrator on its own.
Nuwave recommends alternating tray positions partway through a cycle for even results, since the dome-style heating doesn’t distribute air as uniformly as a horizontal-airflow dedicated dehydrator.
Yes, in modest quantities. The kit’s 4-tray capacity limits batch size, and the 200°F safety cap covers jerky’s temperature needs comfortably, though results are less consistent across trays than on a dedicated horizontal-airflow unit.
Bottom Line
The Nuwave Dehydrator Kit makes the most sense as a low-cost add-on for people who already own a Nuwave Oven Elite and want to try dehydrating without a separate appliance purchase. The 200°F safety cap is a thoughtful touch for beginners, but the dome-style airflow means more manual tray management than a dedicated dehydrator requires. If you don’t already own the oven, a compact dedicated unit is the more straightforward buy.
