How to make your own dried cranberries at home. An easy recipe for sugar free dried cranberries with your favorite low carb sweetener. Make them in the oven or in a dehydrator.
This dried cranberries recipe has been on my blog since a gazillion years. Or, to be more precise, since November of 2012, which really amounts to the same thing. But it was combined with another post all about stocking your low carb pantry and I decided it needed its own stand alone post to make it easier to find.
I’ve been making these sugar free dried cranberries almost every year since. It’s not easy to find this popular snack without huge amounts of added sugar. Even ones that claim no added sugar use things like apple juice to sweeten them. So I started making my own dried cranberries at home with my own sweeteners and I’ve learned a lot of good tricks about how to do it right.
And there are so many delicious ways to use them, be sure to check out all of the keto recipes below!
Making Sugar Free Dried Cranberries at Home
Cranberries are pretty tart on their own – I’d almost go as far to say that they are unpalatable. So I’d suggest sweetening them with something but you can use any sweetener you like best. I usually use 1/2 cup confectioner’s Swerve but you can increase the sweetener if you like them sweeter. A powdered or liquid sweetener is going to work best because granular varieties will be gritty.
You can make unsweetened dried cranberries as well. Once they are added to other recipes, you won’t notice the tartness as much.
You can make this recipe in the oven or in a dehydrator. It works well both ways. For several years I made them in the oven at a low temperature. But my husband bought me a dehydrator a few years ago and I’ve also made them that way. The oven method is actually faster, as a dehydrator needs to run for 8 hours or so. But using an oven also uses significantly more energy. Your choice!
You don’t need to boil them or any such thing. I used to do that but I found that they got quite mushy and it was hard to separate out the individual cranberries. It was a reader who suggested chopping them in half, and I once I tried it, I realized it worked perfectly. Simply cut each berry in half so that the moisture can escape more easily. Don’t try to do whole berries, as the tough skin of cranberries means they won’t lose moisture fast enough.
Simply toss the halved cranberries with the sweetener and oil until they are all well coated. Don’t skip the oil or your dried cranberries will be tough and crispy. They get a little crispy as it is but the oil makes a huge difference.
Store the cranberries in an airtight container. If they are well dried out, you can keep them on the counter for a few weeks. If they still have some moisture to them, they are best kept in the fridge.
That’s it, friends. See how easy it is to make dried cranberries at home?
Where can you buy unsweetened dried cranberries?
Now if you’d prefer to buy unsweetened dried cranberries, there are actually a few brands out there. Back when I started making my own, there were none. Zero, Zip, Zilch. Nada! But I guess times have changed and the demand is there so a few companies make them now and you can get them on Amazon. That’s the only place I’ve seen them thus far.
I’ve purchased these ones from Shoreline Fruits before but they come in a huge 1 pound bag. I recommend sharing with a friend!
I haven’t tried these ones from Honestly Cranberry but some of my readers have ordered them and liked them.
How to use your sugar free dried cranberries
Now that you made a big batch of dried cranberries, you need keto recipes to use them. Not to worry, I have plenty of ideas for you…
Low Carb Cranberry Muffins – this recipe uses fresh cranberries but it’s really good with the dried ones too!
Cranberry Ginger Butter Cookies
Sugar Free Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz package fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener (more if you like them sweeter)
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut cranberries in half and toss in a bowl with sweetener and oil (this recipe has been changed from boiling the berries until they pop because cutting them is easier and not nearly as messy!).
- Spread on prepared baking pan and separate each individual berry as best you can.
- Place baking sheet in oven and let dry, 3 hours or longer.
- Remove, let cool and transfer to an airtight container. Store in refrigerator.
Notes
Laura Sagan says
If I don’t use any sugar syrup, do I still coat with oil before popping in the oven? Coat before or after cutting/smashing?
Carolyn says
cut them, and then coat them… otherwise they are dry like leather.
Angela Clifford says
Hi Carolyn
I have a Instant Vortex Pro with a dehydrator function. 4 hours at 120f but they didn’t come out right. When back to the oven method overnight.
Any suggestions of time and temperature I could try on my dehydrator?
Thank you!
Made the biscotti is was AMAZING!
Carolyn says
I use my dehydrator for these but it’s not a fancy one. I do the berry setting (can’t remember what temp that is but it’s pretty low) and let them dry out through the night.
Dana Grilikhes says
Fantastic!
Dorothy Larson says
I have them in the oven at 200. I did cut them in half, but there is still a lot of moisture after 3 hrs. Should I keep baking them? I just realized I used granular swerve. Hope it is ok.
Carolyn says
Yes, keep baking them until they are dry. The granular may make them a bit gritty but once baked into something, they should be fine.
Mary says
thank you so much! Can’t wait to mix up a batch!
Elaine says
I picked up some liquid Allulose today, do you think I could use this instead of the oil and Swerve?
Paulette F says
I’m late to the party, but I just had to send a review. This turned out great! I used the convection feature on my oven and was able to reduce the cooking time to just over two hours. I didn’t think cutting the cranberries was going to be so easy, but it was. Next time I’ll try another reviewer’s suggestion to smash them after thawing frozen ones. And there WILL be a next time. These are so delicious. I used them in a massaged kale salad recipe yesterday. Your website is the one I turn to for reliable recipes. No other website comes close. Thankyou for all the hard behind-the-scenes work that goes into it.
Lynne says
I tried this with the Whole Earth Allulose Baking Blend, and tried powdering it inmy Ninja blender. I checked them at 2.5 hours and found a lot of liquid on the baking sheet. I transferred then to a fresh sheet of parchment paper and they still were not completely dry at the 3 hour mark. I decided to let them air dry the rest of the way because I needed my oven for dinner. I’m looking forward to trying them in the Cranberry Pecan Biscotti!
Carolyn says
I think that’s probably the allulose, as it works very differently than Swerve.
txgrandma says
I finally got around to making these and they were a big success! I used allulose and a little concentrated stevia powder for the sweetener to avoid the grainy texture that erythritol seems to have after cooling off. They do shrink quite a bit and I found that they took about 8 hours at 200 degrees to reach the leathery stage. They taste great by themselves and I am looking forward to making them again, in a larger quantity. Thanks for sharing!
Amanda says
I came to the comments specifically to see if anyone has used allulose. Thanks for sharing this!
Rita says
Excellent recipe. I use frozen cranberries, thaw them, and “pop” them with the bottom of a jar or cup. Wasn’t messy, can do several at a time. It’s kind of therapeutic in a weird way 😁.
Cat says
Genius! I’m totally going to use this popping method!
Rebecca says
Made these in my dehydrator and they came out grainy. Should have read the comments first as I’m intending to use them primarily for salads. Would the boiling method prevent the graininess?
Lynnita says
I love these dried crans and use them in my biscottis, a must with my coffee. Would this recipe work with blueberries?
TY,
Lynnita
Corinne says
Made these last night – amazing. Like candy, without the simple sugars. Thank you!
Robin says
I have done this recipe cutting them in half. What happens if I leave them whole?