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 (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
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I am so addicted to these! Made my first batch Monday. They are soooo good. I hit up the store for the “after the holidays” sale and bought 15 bags…. I’ll be doing a LOT of cutting this week. I used half swerve and half bocha sweet and they came out perfect. The only thing I did different when using the oven was that I left the oven door slightly open like when I make jerky.
After 3 1/2 hours in 200 oven, my cranberries are still very wet. I’m putting them back in for another hour. Should I expect them to have a consistency similar to commercial dried cranberries?
If you used allulose, they may seem wet for a while but will become less so as they sit. Give them maybe another 30 min, then take them out and let them air dry.
I live in the UK and have an Aga and left my cranberries in the warming oven (very low heat) for 17 hours. I woke up at 4am and ran downstairs to remove them (silly me). They are now dry and crunchy but still (sort of) edible. Do you have any suggestions on how I can save them? I’d like to bake them into a Keto loaf cake with pecans for a friend. I did use 1 cup of them in my mincemeat and I have to say it’s the best mincemeat I’ve ever had and I live in the UK, the home of mince pies! But giving them a tad bit of moisture for a cake is what I’m now hoping for…. thank you!
Sit them in a few tablespoons of water to soften them! I did the same thing once…
Would this work with just liquid allulose? My first batch came out way grainy, even though I followed the directions with the only sub being coconut oil. Most of the sugar just fell off. I ordered liquid allulose for the pantry and I’m wondering if this would help? Or combine the allulose with the other sugar?
I had one person try it and there was too much liquid. It took a long time for the berries to dry out.
I made mine today but they came out dark like raisins, I don’t have Swerve, but LaKanto confectioners sweetener and used that along with allulose. It’s possible I may have used too much allulose although I measured for 1/3 cup. I put them in the fridge in a glass container and will taste them tomorrow. Thank you for a lovely recipe and any issues with my dried cranberries is my own. I will try again when I have purchased Swerve,
You over-baked them if they became that dark. They’re still tasty, though!
My cranberries came out a reddish/tan color instead of the vibrant red yours are. What did I do wrong?
Just used swerve powdered sugar with the avocado oil and they came out perfect. Cooked 3 hours and 30 minutes in my oven at 200 degrees. So happy to have found this recipe.
I made these this morning and they are fabulous! There might be some left for Thanksgiving! ????
Hi Carolyn,
Can I use liquid Stevia as a sweetener instead? Thank you.
I am doubtful that they will end up sweet enough but you’re welcome to experiment.
I made these yesterday as directed and dried them in my convection oven for three hours at 250. They are perfect. At first I thought cutting each one was a bit of a pain but the delicious results were worth it. As I cut the berries I tossed them into the sweet mixture and they began to juice and dissolved the mixture into a sweet opaque juice, perfect and not too juicy. Defiantly a keeper!
It is a bit of pain! But it works.
How much weight does the dried end up being? I want to compare the price per oz of doing this vs buying some at Walmart!
No idea, I didn’t weigh it.
I don’t have avocado oil. Would coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil work?
Is their a substitute I could use for Allulose?
Please read the blog post! 🙂
Holy Canoli! The best flavor ever!
Hi Carolyn!! I used the liquid allulose version as that’s what I had on had for that sweetener and I am not sure if there should be this much liquid like substance left. I used the oven method and wound up keeping them in for 3+ hours. Now, I did use a silpat instead of parchment paper so I wonder if that’s my issue. Not complaining as they will be inhaled just more of wondering if anyone else experienced left over sugary liquid.
Thank you so much for all your hard work on creating such delicious recipes !
Okay, very good to know. I thought the liquid version might actually be BETTER than the powdered. But I guess not. The silicone mat may also be contributing…
That’s what I’m thinking too. I’m going to try making them using parchment paper and the powder allulose. Also another thing I forgot to mention was that it seemed to take longer than 3 hours to dehydrate. I forgot the exact amount of time but it was longer . Probably also due to the amount of liquid from the liquid allulose. They are still delicious!
And as always, thank you soooooo much for sharing your creativity and genius recipes! You are a true legend !
Ugh I should’ve proofed my comment before I posted . I meant to say I wonder if the 3+ hour time it took to dehydrate was also due to the liquid allulose
Can these be stored in an air tight container in the pantry like I do for the store bought cranberries?
Hi, I do list storage instructions in the blog and in the recipe! 🙂
I made them last night and they are still sticky after baking them 4hrs. Should they get your fingers red when you pick them up? I took off the pan and wiped the parchment. Should I bake some more? I made them once before and overdid and they were crunchy. Is that how they should be?
No, they shouldn’t do that. Can you tell me what sweetener you used?
Hon, you are the bomb.com with the fire and the Holy Ghost. These recipes!!!! I feel like eating and living.
I’m wondering if my convection oven might hurry up the process?? I love being able to do it myself whenever possible. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Don’t try to hurry them up. I did that once and they over-browned and shriveled too much, and became like raisins rather than dried cranberries.
I made these last week. The taste is good, but all my sugar seems to have crystallized and is falling off the cranberries. How could I prevent this in the future?
Hi Christine… please read this updated post as I discuss that very issue.