The moment I spy fresh cranberries in the stores, I start stocking up. Every year, without fail. I toss bags into my freezer so I can make favorites like Keto Cranberry Orange Bread long after the holidays are over. And I am obsessed with making these sugar-free dried cranberries – they’re tart and chewy, and perfectly sweetened with no added sugar.
I started making my own dried cranberries with alternative sweeteners many years ago. Back when I started keto, there simply wasn’t a good store-bought option – and there still isn’t. It’s not easy to find this popular snack without huge amounts of added sugar.
It’s surprisingly easy to dry cranberries at home. After a few experiments, I landed on a version that turns out beautifully every time. Bright in color, plump and sweet, and perfect for adding to your favorite Keto Christmas Cookies. I make multiple batches every fall, because they store well for months!
What readers are saying…
“The cranberries are awesome! Now I have a new craveable, so chewy with a few crispy ones. Will add to my snack mix.” — Tracey
Why you’ll love these homemade dried cranberries
- Easy to make: Just four ingredients and no complicated steps or special equipment.
- No added sugar: Most dried cranberries have copious amounts of sugar, but these are tart and sweet without the sugar crash.
- Keto-friendly: Only 3.2 grams net carbs per serving!
- Perfect for baking: Just like the sugary kind, these dried cranberries are great in baked goods. I love adding them to keto shortbread cookies!
- Better for you: The same great flavor, naturally sweetened, and free from other additives and preservatives.
- Freezer-friendly: You can store them in the freezer to last you all year long.
Ingredient Notes
- Fresh cranberries: I recommend fresh cranberries when possible. Frozen cranberries tend to release a lot more juice as they dry so it takes a lot longer to get them dried out properly.
- Sweetener: You have a lot of choice for sweetening the berries, but I recommend using powdered sweeteners where possible. I found that a combination of erythritol and allulose works really well. See more information in the Tips for Success section.
- Avocado oil: Don’t skip the oil or your dried cranberries will be tough and crispy! You can also use avocado oil, coconut oil, or any other neutral tasting oil.
How to Make Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
- Cut the cranberries in half: This allows them to release moisture much faster than whole berries.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Toss the berries in a bowl with the oil and sweeteners.
- Spread out: Spread the berries on a parchment lined baking pan.
- Dehydrate: Place in a 200ºF oven for 3 hours or longer, until dried to your liking.
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.
Tips for Success:
Cutting the berries: This is the most time-consuming step of the recipe, but I think it’s an important one. 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. Just turn on some music and groove while you chop them up!
Keep a close eye on them! Every oven and every dehydrator is different so check them frequently. The 3 hour cooking time is simply a guideline, not a hard and fast rule.
Sweetener Options: You can use almost any sweetener to make dried cranberries, but I like the combination of half erythritol and half allulose for that perfect plump texture. Erythritol sweeteners on their own will re-crystallize and become gritty. But allulose on its own will make the berries brown a lot more. The two sweeteners together help offset each other.
You can use xylitol if you don’t have access to allulose. Using a powdered sweetener will help with any grittiness.
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!
Sugar Free Dried Cranberries
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (340.2 g) fresh cranberries
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Confectioners
- 1/3 cup (66.67 g) allulose, powdered version
- 2 tbsp 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.
Notes
Nutrition
This is a common misconception because commercial dried cranberries usually have a lot of added sugar. Fresh cranberries are extremely low carb and have only 12 grams of carbs and 4 grams of natural sugars per 1 cup.
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.
Traditional dried cranberries are made with sugar and have over 30 grams of carbs per serving. However, these keto dried cranberries have 5.2g of carbs and 2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.2g net carbs for a 3 tablespoon serving.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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What temperature did you use when you baked in the oven? How long did you bake the cranberries? What other sweetners can be used? Will the taste change if canola oil is used?
200F is fine and you bake them until they are dry. It’s several hours at least. I made this recipe with Swerve and avocado oil, you will need to experiment if you want substitutes.
Hi Carolyn. Going to make these tomorrow, but you say “prepared pan” does this mean parchment or just spread on a plain cookie sheet? Made your “Everything but the Bagel” scones yesterday…terrific toasted this morning! Thanks always.
See step 1 in the instructions!
Thanks Carolyn! These are now a tradition to make each fall, I love them! I add them to a fall nut mixture with walnuts, pepitas and dried coconut! Also good in scones and keto granola!
I was wondering if you ever stir them once or twice during the baking time?
Sounds delicious. I guess you could stir them although I am not sure it helps much.
Is there another oil that could be used instead of avocado oil? What about melted refined coconut oil? That is basically all I use.
Sure, that works great.
Thank you so much for your recipe!!! I made a half bag to test it. I haven’t eaten any yet, but I am relieved this recipe doesn’t calling for boiling water and using xanathan gum in a blender, like another website. I burned my hand then! Almost had an explosion in my Ninja blender
i baked these for 3 hours then let them sit in the oven with the door propped open I might cut back on the Swerve next time So much was left over
Excellent!
I made these todsy in my dehydrator & they are so yummy! Could you tell me why the confectioners swerve crystallized on them? Followed all directions..
Hi Lisa…. it always does. That’s really the nature of eryrthritol. But when they are added to recipes, it goes away again.
Could I make these without any sweetener at all if I just want very tart cranberries? Does the sugar change the way the cranberries dehydrate?
It should be fine.
Hi, quick question. How do you know if they are dry? I have some in the oven now but they still look a little wet. Thanks for your yummy recipes!
They simply feel dry to the touch, despite having oil on them.
I have made these a few times with the old recipe. I’m looking forward to using the new tips and tricks. Have you tried making these with BochaSweet?
I haven’t yet. Since it’s pretty granular, it might be hard to get it to dissolve when you mix it in. Not sure!
BochaSweet works great. Either use powdered or run the granular through a coffee grinder to make your own, very tasty with Bocha.
I’m trying these for the second time tonite. The first time, I mistakenly mixed the oil and sweetener in the bowl first-
then added the berries. What a goopy mess trying to get it evenly on the cut cranberries! :()
So, this time, I put the cranberries in the bowl first, added the oil and stirred it till all the berries were coated, then added the confectioner Swerve. MUCH better and evenly coated. Hope this helps anyone!
Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks Lisa, that reallt helped me. I did the same as you and mixed the oil & sweetener first and it just didn’t seem right. Thankfully I hadn’t mixed with the berries yet, so did as you suggested and seems perfect. In the oven now on dehydrate setting. Will review when they are done. I think this tip should be added to the recipe as it wasn’t very clear. Excited to try them!
Now to look for a recipe with the sweetener and oil combined!
These taste great but I think I cooked for a bit too long. Is there a way to soften them up a little?
Sure, add a little warm water (tbsp or two) and let them soak.
Or soak the cranberries in orange juice for about 15 minutes to soften.
Thanks once again! I’ve already used these in several recipes.
Glad to hear it!
Colossal waste of sweetener, at least when made in a dehydrator. Perhaps it is better in the oven. So much flakes off. Unlikely to make again. Erythritol is too costly for this.
Did you powder your sugar❓ That might help.
1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener (more if you like them sweeter)
The same thing happened to me using threw dehydrator. I used powdered swerve and followed your directions. The swerve flaked and didn’t stick to the berries as they shrank. Any tips?
They will still be sweet, enough actually does get in there.
Quick question, why do they need to be stored in the refrigerator if they are dried?
Depends on how much moisture is left. If you get them really dry, they are fine in the jar for a few weeks.
Thank-you! They’re delicious and getting baked into bread tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!
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.
Do you thing I could run the whole cranberry thru the food processor w a slicing blade vs slicing them in half?
I really don’t know, I haven’t ever tried that.
That is what I do. Works very well.
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.
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!!
Let us know how this works please. I use mine in store bought supper slaw with pumpkin seeds.
Note for people on WW Freestyle: 1 point per serving.
Thank you so much! Want to try this.