How To Make Homemade Dehydrated Liver Capsules

I started making homemade dehydrated liver capsules during my last pregnancy. Whether you’re supporting a baby or just want to nourish your body with one of the most nutrient-dense foods there is, liver is a perfect supplement, providing a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin B, folate, magnesium, choline, iron, and a whole host of other vitamins and minerals!

Unfortunately, while the nutritional benefits of liver are practically unmatched, the taste of beef liver (and every type of liver, for that matter!) isn’t necessarily the most appealing to most people. 

Enter liver capsules! 

While you can buy liver capsules, making your own capsules is a convenient way to get a high quality supplement, often at a fraction of the price. Plus, you can totally avoid having to experience liver flavor every day! And when you make your own, you know exactly what goes into them.

Making your own liver pills is not difficult, and I found that it’s about 1/3 of the price of buying liver capsules! All you need is fresh liver (or frozen), a dehydrator, a high-powered blender, and some gelatin capsules (along with a few other basic kitchen tools).

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Please note: I am not a certified medical practitioner. None of the information in this blog post is medical advice. Be sure to talk with your doctor or healthcare professional if you have questions about making changes to your diet or healthcare routine. 

Why Eat Liver?

If you’re considering making your own homemade liver capsules, you probably already know about the benefits of this true superfood. But just in case you need more encouragement, here are a few more reasons to add liver to your daily routine.

• Promotes a healthy nervous system due to its high levels of B12. (Did you know that irrational anger is one of the first signs of a B12 deficiency?)
• Supports higher energy levels and prevents fatigue, due to the heme iron and other essential nutrients it contains.
• Improves skin health, supporting issues like acne, which are often caused by hormonal imbalances. Liver is full of retinol, glycine, and copper, which nourish the skin and improve collagen levels.
• Supports the immune system. Taking liver regularly is a great way to boost your immune health and help your body defend itself from sickness.
• Combats iron deficiency. Liver is an amazing way to combat low iron and anemia, which is especially common in pregnancy and postpartum.
• Gram for gram, liver has more nutrients than any other food! The benefits of been liver are truly unmatched!  

Liver and other organ meats are also one of the best ways to support your body and your baby during pregnancy. They’re an incredibly rich source of folate and choline, two essential nutrients in pregnancy for preventing neural tube defects. 

But nearly anyone can benefit from the nutrients that liver offers!

More Ways to Eat Liver

I’ve tried a handful of ways to make and eat liver. While there are some people that truly enjoy the strong flavor of liver, I’ve found that sneaking it in to ground beef meals like tacos and chili honestly just ruins the flavor of the meal. But adding it to your ground meats is worth a try – maybe you will like it! 

Our favorite way to eat beef or chicken liver is to make liver pate. When you make it right with plenty of butter and salt, it’s not too bad, especially on a piece of warm sourdough bread.

Tip: Chicken liver is milder than beef liver, so if you want to eat it rather than put it in capsule form, you might try starting with chicken!

There are plenty more ways to prepare liver. However, I found that experiencing the smell and taste plus having to actually prepare it every time made it too hard to be consistent with taking liver. And it’s such a nutritious food, it’s worth finding a way to eat it regularly! 

Making liver capsules is a simple way to ensure that it’s always available and easy to consume daily.

Note: Dehydrating liver still causes a strong liver smell. BUT you only have to experience it once for a whole batch of liver. If you don’t want to have to deal with the smell, you can also plug your dehydrator in in a garage, outbuilding, basement, or even outside.

Cost Breakdown for Making Your Own Liver Supplements

I found that making my own beef liver supplements came out to about 1/3 of the price of buying them. However, there are a few variables that go into this, such as:

• What supplements you’re used to buying
• How much fresh liver costs in your area
• How much electricity costs (and what type of dehydrator you have)

We were purchasing grass fed beef liver capsules from Wholesome Wellness (through Amazon), which is a great option if you’d prefer to buy your capsules. 

In our area, we’ve found a few farms who sell raw liver for about $2 per pound. It’s amazing that even though it’s one of the most nutrient dense foods out there, liver is generally not expensive! While traditional cultures knew the value of eating the whole animal, most people nowadays don’t care for liver, tongue, or heart (all amazing sources of nutrition!). Because of this, many butchers and farmers sell it very inexpensively.

After some calculations, I found that a serving of the capsules we were buying cost about $0.72, while my homemade capsules cost about $0.21 per serving. I did not factor the cost of electricity into this. I really have no way to calculate this, but we have not really noticed our dehydrator affecting the cost of our electricity, even during months when we use it multiple times per week. 

In terms of servings, it’s generally recommended to consume about 3-4 oz of liver per week. 

How to Make Homemade Dehydrated Liver Capsules

Making DIY liver capsules doesn’t take much time (at least as far as the hands-on part goes). You’ll just need a few supplies to get started.

Supplies You’ll Need

• Fresh liver. Beef liver, chicken liver, or deer liver will work! I generally make about 16 oz of liver per batch, which lasts for a few weeks.
• Colander, for rinsing your liver.
• Sharp knife, for slicing your liver pieces.
• Cutting board
• Food dehydrator and dehydrator trays. I’ve seen people use dehydrator sheets, but I have not had a need for this since I just cut my raw liver into thin slices.
• High-powered blender. We use a Ninja.
• Gelatin capsules. I recommend using a large size, like 000, so you don’t have to fill so many pills. I also found that buying these in bulk was significantly cheaper per capsule.
• (Optional) capsule machine. I have never used one of these and really don’t find it that hard to fill them by hand. 
• Airtight container, for storing your capsules.

Dehydrated Liver Capsules Recipe

Although it takes quite a few hours for the liver to finish dehydrating, the rest of the process is actually quite simple and quick! Here’s how to do it:

1. Start by rinsing your liver in a colander. You can also use frozen liver. Just defrost it and then rinse!
   
2. Next, remove any silver skin by slicing it off carefully with a sharp knife.
3. Then, slice your liver into thin strips. I try to slice them about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick. The thinner you go, the more quickly they’ll dehydrate.
   
4. Lay them flat on your dehydrator trays.
   
5. Dehydrate at 160°F to 165°F until the pieces pass the “snap test”. They should snap or crack when you break them in half. I find that this takes about 24 hours. Tip: Dehydrating liver is a bit of stinky process! If you’re able, consider plugging your dehydrator in in a garage, basement, or even outside. 
   
6. When the pieces crack easily, the dehydration process is finished. Remove your slices of liver and stick them in a high-powered blender, like a Ninja.
7. Blend well. They should turn into a fine powder. Wait a few seconds before removing the lid. This will allow the powder to settle and puff into your face! You’ll be glad you waited! 
8. Next, use the powder to fill your capsules, or use a capsule maker if you have one. I’ve never used a capsule maker – I don’t find it very difficult to fill them by hand. This would be a great project to keep your hands busy if you’re watching tv. 
   
9. If you don’t have time make all your liver powder into capsules right away (I never do!), just store the powder in an airtight jar until you can get to it. 
10. Store powder or pills in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.

Note: 1 pound of liver fills about 120 size 000 capsules.

Where to Buy Liver

I have found that the best way to get liver is to look for a local farmer that sells beef. My experience has been that the liver is one of the least expensive parts of the animal, since not a lot of people are interested in it. (Which is wild, since it’s such a superfood! But we’ll take it!) If you don’t know how to find farmers near you, your local farmers market is generally a great place to connect, even if they don’t have liver with them on-site.

A local butcher can also be a great option. Butchers sometimes just throw away parts like the liver since there’s generally not much interest. If you ask, they may give it to you very inexpensively.

Azure Standard sometimes has frozen liver available as well. 

If you don’t want to make your own liver, you can also purchase pre-made capsules through Azure or Amazon. Here is our favorite brand of liver capsules from Amazon.

FAQs About Dehydrating Liver

How long does it take to dehydrate liver?

It depends on how thinly you cut your pieces. I cut mine about 1/4″ – 1/2″ thick, and it generally takes about 24 hours for them to pass the “snap test”.

Do I need dehydrator sheets to dehydrate liver?

Nope. You can just cut them into thin strips and put them on regular dehydrator trays.

What if I don’t have a Ninja blender?

You may be able to use a food processor or coffee grinder. You just need to be able to grind it into a fine powder. Buying large capsules may also help. I like to use size 000.

How long does dehydrated liver last?

When stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, dehydrated liver will last for at least a month. 

How much liver should you eat per week?

Most doctors recommend eating one serving of liver per week, or about 3-6 ounces.

If you’re pregnant and curious about eating liver, Sally Fallon and Lily Nichols are both wonderful resources.