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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Just wondering if we can use a monk fruit/allulose honey or maple syrup as the sweetener? Has anyone tried this yet?
Liquid alluose may introduce too much liquid…
Hi Carolyn, I freeze them dried/sweetened rather than freezing the cranberries whole and fresh. I find that they’re a bit harder to halve after they’ve been frozen and since they freeze so well using this recipe I figure I’m ahead of the game to make more than my usual double batch! I like to use them in curried chicken salad – mmm. Thanks for another great recipe.
I am doing the happy dance since my frozen cranberries dried perfectly and are delicious ! I did initially try to pop them with the bottom of a glass as one reader commented after defrosting and then ended up slicing it in half which worked better. Drying time was a bit longer but so worth it. Will make a double batch next time for sure! Many thanks Carolyn for all you do 💜
great news…I really had a taste for some cranberry recipes this summer and was sad that I couldn’t make them…I am making a few batches with fresh cranberries to dry but will throw a few bags of cranberries in the freezer for “emergency cranberry ” times to come !
There’s tons of liquid on the pan. I baked them for maybe four hours and let dry overnight in the oven. any suggestions? bake more?
actually, not TONS but enough that they’re not dry. the pan where I didn’t separate as good is worse.
What sweetener did you use?
After almost 5 hours my (fresh) cranberries were not red and were still not dry. I tasted a few and they were pretty bitter. I followed the recipe exactly. The berries were more of a dark brown color, not red. Any suggestions?
I just purchased an Instant pot air fryer that has a dehydration option. would I use the instructions you gave for the oven method? thank you I would appreciate your help with this!
I really don’t know, you’d need to read the instructions on your machine.
Should you measure the cranberries before or after you cut them? Thank you in advance.
The cranberries are listed by weight. So they will be the same weight before and after cutting. But usually when you see a recipe that says something like “2 cups cranberries, chopped”, that means chop them after measuring out 2 cups. If it’s written like “2 cups chopped cranberries” you chop them BEFORE measuring. Hope that helps!
Caroline,have you ever canned using swerve sweetener or Allulose? I used to make mincemeat and can it for pies and tarts.
I have canned her Sugar Fee Cranberry sauce using an instapot and had no troubles. It had both Swerve and BocaSweet brown in it. I have canned blueberries (blue goo) using Surkin gold, Swerve and a bunch of spices with no issues either.
Do you have to use all that sweetener or can you half that down? I actually don’t like the super sweetness of store-bought cranberries but would like a little bit of it. Imagine it kind of like the sour gummies just with sweet-tart combination of cranberries.
You’re free to cut it down BUT… these are FAR less sweet than regular dried cranberries as it is.
I made this last year. I put them in the frig & forget they were there until a few months ago while cleaning it out.
I can swear to you, these are incredibly sweet-tart yummyness! I’ve used them in muffins, cookies & granola.
I’m about to make another batch.
The cranberries are awesome! Now I have a new craveable, so chewy with a few crispy ones. Will add to my snack mix.
I used frozen w/coconut oil, so of course it made the sweeteners lumpy so microwaved enough to smooth it out. Took 5-6 hrs. Thank you!
can I use frozen cranberries? there are no fresh now and how do I adjust the recipe
They do give off more liquid, just be aware of that. It does work but they can take longer to dry out properly.
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.