An apparatus and method for microwave vacuum-drying of organic materials, such as food products. The apparatus has a microwave vacuum chamber (20), a loading module (36) to load containers of the organic material into the vacuum chamber, a rotatable cylindrical cage in the vacuum chamber for rotating the containers, a piston for moving the rotating containers through the vacuum chamber, and means for unloading the containers of dehydrated material from the vacuum chamber. The apparatus may include an equilibration chamber (150) for cooling the dehydrated material under reduced pressure, and a transfer module (42) to transfer the containers from the vacuum chamber to the equilibration chamber. The apparatus has a microwave transparent window for transmission of radiation into the vacuum chamber, and a gas jet for blowing a stream of gas, such as air or nitrogen, into the vacuum chamber adjacent to the window.
