It’s easy to make your own dried cranberries with no added sugar! Make them in the oven or a dehydrator, and use them in your favorite keto treats.
This tutorial on how to dry cranberries 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.
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.
So I started making my own dried cranberries with alternative sweeteners. Turns out that it’s remarkably easy! I make several batches every fall and use them in all sorts of delicious recipes, like Keto Christmas Cookies.
You’ve got to try this!
Cranberries are extremely tart on their own. I’d almost go as far to say that they are unpalatable, which is why you rarely see unsweetened dried cranberries.
But you can use almost any sweetener to make them keto friendly. I like to use a combination of Swerve Confectioners and allulose, as I find this gives the best flavor while reducing any grittiness.
I discovered that the berries turn out much better if you also use a little oil. Otherwise, they tend to become crisp as they dry out, rather than soft and chewy.
You can dry cranberries in the oven or in a dehydrator, and it works well both ways. The oven method is quite a bit faster, as a dehydrator needs to run for at least 8 hours. But using an oven also uses more energy, so it’s up to you!
Ingredients you need
- Fresh cranberries: Choose cranberries that aren’t damaged or old as this affects the quality of your dried cranberries. Frozen cranberries tend to release a lot more juice as they dry, so it takes longer to dry them out properly.
- Sweetener: You have a lot of choice for sweetening the berries, but I do recommend using powdered sweeteners where possible. I found that a combination of erythritol and allulose works really well. Some of my readers also use BochaSweet. See more information in the Expert Tips section.
- Avocado oil: 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. You can also use extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, or any other neutral tasting oil.
Step-by-step directions
1. Cut the cranberries in half and toss in a bowl with sweeteners and oil.
2. Spread on a parchment-lined baking pan and separate each individual berry as best you can.
3. Place the baking sheet in a 200ºF oven and let dry, 3 hours or longer. Let them cool completely on the pan. Then transfer to an airtight container.
4. Store in the refrigerator for several months.
Dehydrator method: Prepare the berries as directed and spread out in a dehydrator. Set the dehydrator to 125ºF and 8 to 12 hours, or until the berries are dry to your liking.
Expert tips and FAQ
Sweetener Options: You can use almost any sweetener to make dried cranberries, but I recommend half Swerve Confectioners and half allulose for a few reasons. Erythritol sweeteners tend to crystallize during baking, and using some allulose helps offset this.
But allulose alone tends to make the berries brown too quickly. I tried this last year and ended up with something more like raisins than cranberries! Use powdered allulose for this recipe.
Cutting the berries: Whole cranberries have a firm exterior that doesn’t break down easily during baking. So cutting the berries in half allows them to dry out more quickly. This does take a little time but while save you time in the long run.
Keep your eyes on them! Every oven and every dehydrator is different so check them frequently.
This sugar free dried cranberry recipe has 5.2g of carbs and 2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.2g net carbs for a 3 tablespoon serving.
Store the dried 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. You can also freeze them for up one year.
How to use them
Now that you made a big batch of sugar free dried cranberries, you need keto recipes to use them. Not to worry, I have plenty of ideas for you!
How to Dry Cranberries
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- ⅓ cup Swerve Confectioners
- ⅓ cup allulose powdered version
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral tasting oi.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºF and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cut the cranberries in half and toss in a bowl with the sweeteners and oil. Spread on the prepared baking pan and separate each individual berry as best you can.
- Place in the oven and let dry 3 hours or longer. Let cool on the pan.
- Transfer to an airtight container. Store in refrigerator.
SG says
Quick question, why do they need to be stored in the refrigerator if they are dried?
Carolyn says
Depends on how much moisture is left. If you get them really dry, they are fine in the jar for a few weeks.
SG says
Thank-you! They’re delicious and getting baked into bread tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!
June says
I’ve dried 5 bags so far it’s hard to find cranberries when it’s not the holiday season ina small town. Love being able to have sugar free cranberries. Made myself a rack and now able to cut the berries quickly and not stain my hands. Made a cranberry cobbler and cranberry muffins. Both very good. Going for scones next.
angie russell says
Do you thing I could run the whole cranberry thru the food processor w a slicing blade vs slicing them in half?
Carolyn says
I really don’t know, I haven’t ever tried that.
Julia says
That is what I do. Works very well.
Anita says
I used my food processor with the S blade. 4-5 pulses did a 12 ounces of berries easily. With arthritic hands, cutting each one was difficult.
LeanneKen says
I know exactly what you mean I saw that it is better to cut each in half and my mind screamed not with these hands! So I’m glad the food processor would work because I thought for most recipes I’d rather have a smaller pieces then a large chunk of a cranberry anyway. I’m thrilled to find this recipe because this year our parents gave us money to buy something for our home that we could use and finally we came up with the best idea a dehydrator! I’ve never had one and I’m sooo thrilled to use it for soooo many things! We agreed to leave it under the tree until Christmas, so I said to hubby I already know the very first thing I want to dehydrate!! And he said oh ya? What? I said cranberries, he said you can do that? I said yes and the very best thing is they will be sugarfree! He’s pretty happy about that because so far I haven’t been able to find any unsweetened cranberries and even with the ones that I found that said no sugar added instead they had soaked them in apple juice to sweeten them and so despite the no sugar added the sugar content in the nutrition label seems to me to be every bit as high as if they had added regular sugar. To me those are not unsweetemed cranberries. So excited to try them in biscotti!! That will be the first recipe that I plan to use them in besides my homemade sugarfree white chocolate, after seeing my homemade white chocolate and adding tangerine oil to it the addition of unsweetened cranberries will turn it into a delicious Christmas bark!! Can’t wait!!
Claire Brazeau says
Let us know how this works please. I use mine in store bought supper slaw with pumpkin seeds.
Gail says
Note for people on WW Freestyle: 1 point per serving.
Thank you so much! Want to try this.
Nancy says
Thank you! In the oven now. Then on to your fantastic recipes!
MJ says
At what temperature do you set the dehydrator when drying for 8 hours?
Kate says
I have found that after mixing the whole berries with the sweetener and oil, if you take them out of the oven after 10 or 15 minutes, they are soft enough to break open with a fork or back of a spoon. Then just put them back in the oven to finish. Takes literally about one minute to do a whole bag. Beats cutting each berry in half and you end up with whole berries like the commercial ones.
Carolyn says
That’s a great tip, thanks.
Erica B says
Hi Carolyn, looking forward to making these as soon as I pick up some cranberries. So, cutting the berries in half is necessary because the intact berry skin doesn’t allow moisture to escape, right? Have you considered leaving the berries whole and piercing with a fork or scoring with a knife? Any thoughts on how it might work? Would almost certainly take longer in the oven, I’m sure. I wonder if it would make them a bit less dry? Thanks for your input.
Carolyn says
You could probably do that but they will take a lot longer to dry out properly.
Erica B says
I made a batch of these last week, and I did end up poking each cranberry with a fork. After an hour or two in the oven, I flattened them slightly to speed up the process. They did take significantly longer in the oven, but I liked the whole cranberries. They turned out great! Mostly dry, but still soft and chewy. The oil helped keep them moist, and the sweetener clung to the berries and dissolved nicely. They’re not as sweet as sugar-sweetened cranberries, but good nonetheless. They’re nice as a snack, and go so well in Carolyn’s fantastic leftover turkey salad. I plan to make more. Thanks, Carolyn!
Carolyn says
Good to know!
A. S. K. says
I like your idea of poking them instead of slicing them. I think I’m getting impatient in my old age but I definitely will make them. I have a wonderful dehydrator built into my oven that are use all the time for drying herbs from my herb garden but I’ve never tried anything like this. Should be a fun experiment!
Cheryl says
what a great way to use up the extra cranberries i have!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
These look perfect!! A must try!!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
I love that this is sugar-free! I will definitely try this!
Sabrina says
What a great seasonal snack! I love when my kids grab for healthy snacks and this looks right up their alley!
Sarah G says
Just yesterday I was thinking I wanted to make these again! I had made your recipe for these dried cranberries when you originally posted it. I had wanted to add them to my baking for Thanksgiving but they were so delicious I ate them all! I will try more self-control this time around.
Thanks!
Claire Brazeau says
Just double the recipe then you can eat some too‼️
Carolyn Kelly says
Is it possible to prepare this using a slow cooker?
Carolyn says
No, there is much too much moisture in a slow cooker.
Annette Mahoney says
How long and what temp for a dehydrator
Carolyn says
Depends on your dehydrator. Mine was on a fruit setting (135 I think?) and it took 6 to 8 hours.
Annette Mahoney says
THANK YOU
Lynn Kirouac says
When using a dehydrator when do you add the avocado oil and sweetener, before or after?
Carolyn says
Before!
Lynn Kirouac says
Doesn’t the oil and sweetener make an awful mess of the dehydrator trays?
Christy Tonn Westbrook says
What about the bags of frozen cranberries I have left from last Christmas? Can I use those?
Carolyn says
Absolutely! Thaw and chop!
VERA SEVERTSON says
I just read a handy tip! Take your frozen cranberries and pound them with the flat side of a meat tenderizer to break up the berries so you don’t have to cut them! Another person said she dresses them whole; let’s them bake for 30 minutes, then smashes them with a spatula!
Toni says
I buy so many bags of dried cranberries all year long. I never imagined being able to make them myself AND with a lower sugar content. Definitely will be saving and using this!
Pam Walker says
Thanks for this great idea! I’ve got a lot of cranberries on hand and I was looking for ways to use them. Do you think these would freeze well?
Carolyn says
Yes they should freeze just fine!
Dorothy says
Previously you said to use a neutral oil like grape seed now it’s avocado. Why the change up?
Carolyn says
Because I’ve learned that grapeseed is highly processed. Avocado oil is also very neutral in flavor. You can use what you like here.
Paula says
I recently heard that too, that Grape Seed Oil is highly processed yet it was touted as being so healthy for you for years. I had being duped!!
Erica B says
I agree with Carolyn, avocado oil is neutral and clean-tasting. Highly recommended! Excepting what’s used in restaurant food, we’ve pretty much eliminated industrially refined seed oils (grape seed, canola, soybean, etc) from our diet. It only took a couple months of avoidance to notice and develop a disdain for the overcooked, rancid flavor of commodity oils.
Paul Stevens says
For your European readers, I recommend these Latvian unsweetened whole organic dried cranberries: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Dried-Cranberries-Whole-2-05lb/dp/B00A571GCE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1541947094&sr=8-4-fkmr0&keywords=organic+dried+unsweetened+cranberries
They are not really tart either but being a bit pricey, I’m going to give your method a try whilst fresh cranberries are available in UK shops in the run up to Christmas.
Carolyn says
Thanks!