How to Dry Flower Petals in the Oven

Edible dried flower petals make an absolutely gorgeous cake decoration or garnish for savory foods, and they're so easy to make in the oven! All you need is some edible flowers, parchment paper, and a baking sheet.

Square white bowl filled with dried pink and blue edible flower petals, with text overlay reading "How to Make Dried Flower Petals in the Oven."

I've started gardening for the first time this year, and I'm having SO much fun learning and experimenting. And since I've always loved using edible flowers in cake decorating and as garnishes (it's such an easy way to make a dish look fancy!), I decided to grow a lot of edible flowers in my yard.

Dahlias and dahlia petals on a white wooden surface, ready to dry to make edible dried flower petals.

I've planted about 50 dahlias just because I'm completely enamored with the flower, and was absolutely delighted to learn that all dahlias are edible! The petals look absolutely stunning in a salad, and they're lovely fresh on a cake, but I decided to experiment with drying the petals to see if I could save some of this beauty beyond the summer blooming season.

Dahlia petals on a parchment lined baking sheet, ready to dry in the oven. The centers of the dahlias are on the table in the background.

How to Dry Edible Flower Petals in the Oven:

The technique couldn't be easier. Clean the flower petals to be sure you don't have any bugs or pesticides. I grew these, so I knew I didn't have any unwanted chemicals. Then set them out in an even, single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at the lowest setting your oven has (using the convection fan if you have that function). On my oven, that was 140 degrees Fahrenheit, or 60 degrees Centigrade.

A fresh dahlia and dried dahlia petals on a parchment lined baking sheet.

I checked my petals every 10 minutes. These dahlia petals took 40 minutes to completely dry out.

A cornflower and cornflower petals on a parchment lined baking sheet ready to dry to make edible dried flower petals.

I also dried some cornflower petals. I just love that vibrant blue!

Dried cornflower petals on parchment paper.

The cornflower petals were quite a bit smaller than the dahlia petals, and only took 20 minutes to dry nicely. I'm definitely glad I dried the two kinds of petals separately.

small white bowl of dried edible flower petals in pinks and blues, on a white wooden surface. A dahlia and two cornflowers rest beside the bowl.

They look absolutely stunning when mixed together after drying, though!

I knew I only wanted to use edible flowers so I could use these for garnishes and cake decorations, but you could use this technique with any kind of flower to make gorgeous, natural, biodegradable wedding confetti.

Slice of lemon drizzle cake decorated with dried flower petals, on a yellow and white striped plate with a fork next to the cake. You can just see the sliced loaf of lemon drizzle cake in the background.

Don't my dried flower petals look gorgeous on this slice of lemon drizzle cake [1]? What a simple way to elevate a humble dessert.

Slice of lemon drizzle cake decorated with homemade dried edible flower petals, on a yellow and white striped plate, on top of a floral print napkin.

I can't wait to roll a log of goat cheese in these flower petals the next time I put together a cheese board!

Other DIY Cake Decorations You Might Like:

[2]

[3]