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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I’m making these today. I used coconut oil and for the sugar I’m trying real Maple sugar. Between the oil & syrup and over crowding the cranberries I had to remove the parchment paper and put them back on a new sheet of parchment paper. And put way less on the cookie sheet. Hope this works. ovens been on 180 F for 4 hrs and on 200 F for the last 1.5 hrs. stay tune:)
Donna
Keep in mind that maple sugar is really sugar… so it’s going to bake and cook very differently than my keto sweeteners. Should work in the end, though!
Yum! I would personally not use as much oil next time, but I also left these in for several hours (probably 5) and some of them are CRISPY! I love it! I’ve put off making my own dried cranberries for years. Not any more.
All I can say is WOW! I made a double recipe & due to the time it took to slice the cranberries, I started to doubt my decision to double. So extremly happy I did. These are amazing! I can’t wait to use them in another one of Carolyn’s recipes & hopefully there will be some leftover. Living a ketogenic lifestyle I have not found anything with this texture to enjoy. Dried fruit was a favorite of mine before keto. These cranberries are absolutely delicious 😋.
Great recipe! I love cranberries and can’t bear to buy/use the sugared, canola-oiled ones. Thank you so much for this!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just bought a bag of cranberries and was looking for a way to dry them. I love cranberry scones and haven’t had any in over 3 years. I’ll be using your scone recipe to make them too.
I always have success with your recipes!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Can you use all Swerve sweetener for this recipe?
Please read the blog post! I go into that at length.
Delicious! Easy to make great shelf life in fridge fantastic in baked goods and as a salad topper or granola or just on their own as a quick snack. Love!!!
I have been making this recipe for many years, thank you! I buy bags of cranberries when available and make multiple double batches of dried cranberries . Because I don’t eat raisins due to the sugar content, I find dried cranberries a good substitute in everything that I would use the raisins. Very versatile.
Love the dried sugar free cranberries update & suggestions. Last year I dehydrated in oven, working well. I will try half Allulose this year. Thank you.
Thanks so much!
Brought my crans home from Longbeach, Wa. Already finished a gallon for the year ( if I can keep everyone from snacking on them). Best ever.
These are absolutely better than anything store bought!! Carolyn you are always spot on with your recipes. I use these cranberries in coleslaw, keto baked oatmeal, homemade keto trail mix and baking. LOVE LOVE LOVE them
Haven’t made these yet – as it’s 98* outside and I don’t want to turn on the oven and don’t have a dehydrator, how about using an air fryer? Any ideas on how this could be done? I’m sure these would be a 5, no doubt!
Sorry, I haven’t tried that so I can’t advise.
If your air fryer can be turned down to 125, give it a try. Do a small batch. If it doesn’t work, but in freezer until weather is cooler.
Would it work if I use frozen cranberries for drying? I can’t find fresh cranberries in my store in
July. They said they’ll have them in the fall. Boo! Who doesn’t want to eat cranberries all year!
They often release more juice but it does work in the end.
I use frozen berries. Be sure to cut when frozen before they get mushy. I put on paper towels and let defrost to get extra moisture out. Then 5.5 hours in oven. Totally worth the wait!
Good insights into drying cranberries, particularly how to minimize crunchiness. Great flavor!
hello Carolyn
I am in Canada and can’t find allulose ( it’s not approved to be sold here ) would be okay if I just use eritritol and monk fruit blend sweetener ?
You can use all erythritol-based sweeteners but it will re-crystallize.
I buy bocha sweet on Amazon and have you used that in the past and works great
I added some beautiful cranberries in the salad yesterday, and my husband said, please, don’t put cranberries in my salad again. I was crestfallen because I thought it was too acid and too bitter. But cranberries are something special to North America, I would like to be able to enjoy them while I am living here!
I searched on how to dry cranberries in the oven, and found your recipe. I was lucky!
I don’t have to be on a KETO diet, I just used white sugar, olive oil, and followed your instruction. It was perfect. Not too sweet, but completely free of the bitterness of the raw cranberries. My husband, this time, liked them in kale salad (with roasted almond slivers and goat cheese), too. Thank you very much for sharing your recipe.
Totally fine! Glad it works with sugar too.