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Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries

4.7 stars, average of 81 ratings
By Martina Slajerova, updated December 5 20207
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Homemade Sugar-Free Dried CranberriesPin itFollow us 148.4k

Making dried cranberries at home has never been easier! Many holiday inspired recipes call for raisins or cranberry raisins ("craisins") so I thought it was time to share my sugar-free dried cranberry recipe.

These low-carb dried cranberries are based on our Cranberry Keto Granola. The original recipe calls for baked cranberries but I decided to dehydrate them instead so they last for longer. I first baked them to quickly release the juices and then reduced the temperature to slowly dehydrate them for 3 to 4 hours. If you use a dehydrator, you'll need to dehydrate the cranberries for 7 to 9 hours.

Make sure you don't skip the oil because that's what will keep these keto dried cranberries nice and moist. Instead of coconut oil you can use any neutral tasting oil such as macadamia, avocado or even ghee.

I drizzled the coconut oil over the chopped cranberries just before sprinkling them with Allulose. You could use other low-carb sweeteners like Erythritol or Swerve but Allulose is by far the best option. There will be no cooling aftertaste, and it caramelises just like sugar.

Using frozen cranberries? You can skip the baking and go straight to the dehydrating. The reason I'm baking the cranberries at a higher temperature for the first 15 minutes is to release the juices. You won't have to do that with frozen cranberries.

These homemade sugar-free dried cranberries are sweet and sour, perfect for holiday inspired recipes, or simply for nibbling with nuts and seeds. Best of all, dried cranberries can be used just like raisins!

I'm thinking keto mince pies (you could use our super simple 2-ingredient keto dough), rum & raisin keto ice-cream, or maybe even a keto Panettone? Oh wait for these guys, they're in the works!

Homemade Sugar-Free Dried CranberriesPin itFollow us 148.4k

Hands-on Overall

Serving size 3 tbsp, 21 g/ 0.8 oz

Allergy information for Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Nightshade free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free
✔  Beef free
Pescatarian
Vegetarian
Vegan

Nutritional values (per serving, 3 tbsp, 21 g/ 0.8 oz)

Net carbs4.4 grams
Protein0.2 grams
Fat2.1 grams
Calories42 kcal
Calories from carbs 47%, protein 2%, fat 51%
Total carbs6.1 gramsFiber1.7 gramsSugars2 gramsSaturated fat1.7 gramsSodium1 mg(0% RDA)Magnesium3 mg(1% RDA)Potassium37 mg(2% EMR)

Ingredients (makes about 2 1/2 cups)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 150 °C/ 300 °F (fan assisted), or 170 °C/ 340 °F (conventional). Halve the cranberries. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
  2. Place the cranberries in a mixing bowl. Melt the coconut oil in a microwave or place in a small saucepan and melt on the stove (or use melted ghee or avocado oil). Pour the coconut oil over the cranberries and use a spoon to combine. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
  3. Place the cranberries in a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the low-carb sweetener all over the cranberries (you can use Allulose, Erythritol or Swerve). Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
  4. Remove from the oven and mix with a spatula. Reduce the temperature to 70 °C/ 160 °F (fan assisted), or 90 °C/ 200 °F (conventional). Return back in the oven. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
  5. Dehydrate for 3 to 4 hours. Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
  6. Place the cranberries in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks. The cranberries can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries
  7. Just before serving remove from the fridge and keep at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes. Homemade Sugar-Free Dried Cranberries

Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, 3 tbsp, 21 g/ 0.8 oz)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Cranberries, fresh
3.9 g0.2 g0.1 g21 kcal
Coconut oil, extra virgin
0 g0 g2.1 g19 kcal
Allulose, natural low-carb sweetener
0.6 g0 g0 g2 kcal
Total per serving, 3 tbsp, 21 g/ 0.8 oz
4.4 g0.2 g2.1 g42 kcal

Homemade Sugar-Free Dried CranberriesPin itFollow us 148.4k

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

More posts by Martina Slajerova
Martina Slajerova

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Comments (7)

I was so excited when I found your recipe, as I needed this for 2 Christmas cakes! 😊 Unfortunately, my cranberries carbonised (burned to a crisp!!) twice. The 1st time, after 1 hour at 90 ºC (my oven doesn't have a fan; probably they burned before that, but since the recipe said 3-4 h and I had work to do, I set the timer after 1 hour...).
The 2nd time, they had burned after 30 minutes at 70 ºC! Some were "OK-ish", but most were burned.
I also used frozen cranberries (even frozen are impossible to get by where I live!) straight from the bag, without thawing (I baked them at 150 ºC for 10 - 15 minutes first, as you suggested).
I used granulated erythritol, as I don't have allulose and can't get it easily (I'm in Europe).
I must say after 10-15 minutes baking at 150 ºC, the cranberries looked like "soup" (there was a lot of liquid on the oven tray, even if there was no liquid when I put the berries on it). I tried to soak some of the liquid with paper towels, but I thought this is dissolved erythritol and a bit of coconut oil, so I can't remove all that liquid anyway...
What would you advise me to do, if I find another bag of frozen cranberries today or before Christmas?
Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

I'm so sorry to hear that Lys, that must have been do disappointing! I think the only explanation is that there's something wrong with your oven. I can't imagine how the cranberries could burn at such a low temperature and only after an hour. That sounds like the temperature was two-three times higher. Have you tried using your oven to make other recipes? Is it a new oven?
The instructions are tested on a fan assisted oven but the conversion will work for non fan (conventional) oven in which case you always need to add 20 C/F. You could use the lowest oven setting and keep an eye on them, check every hour.
Frozen berries may release more juices than fresh cranberries. The initial baking will make them very moist, that's fine, that liquid will evaporate - I would not pat dry it as the liquid will add flavour. I then mix them and place back to dehydrate. I hope this helps!

Hello Martina, thanks so much for your reply and all your very useful tips! 😊
It looks like you were right: I managed to dry the berries on my 3rd attempt, right before I got your reply! What I did was set the temperature to 50 ºC (the lowest my oven goes), place a thermometer inside the oven and leave the door a bit open. Then I would check every now and then the temperature, to make sure it stayed between 38-48 ºC (this is what I read for dehydrating foods): If it went above 50, I turned off the oven and when it went too low, I turned it back on. So finally it worked! And the berries are delicious ;) Thank you!
(btw, I regularly bake with my oven, so I guess it’s about this particular case)
I didn’t find any cranberries, btw, so I did this with lingonberry, which apparently can be replaced and is very similar. However, these berries are so small that I wasn’t going to cut them in half, obviously, so I read about a method regarding pouring boiling water on the berries, waiting for 10 minutes, draining them, then I patted them dry very carefully with paper towels and added the coconut oil and erythritol, mixed with a spoon, and onto an oven tray lined with parchment paper over paper towels. I pricked some of the berries with a toothpick (just very fast), but I think between the water, the patting dry, etc., there was no problem and no need to do a clean job at all ;)
Thank you for sharing this, I finally ate dried fruit after 2 years! Never thought that would be possible ;) I used them on a Christmas treat, still have those 2 cakes to make.

Thank you Lys, I'm glad it worked! ❤ I haven't tried lingonberries but they do look very similar. Thanks you for the tips on how to prepare these berries, I didn't realise they were so small. I hope those cakes were a success too 😉

This homemade sugar-free dried cranberry is really easy to make and it is one of the best recipes to make dried cranberries. Thanks a lot for this amazing recipe!

Hi
If doing from frozen how long would you recommend in the oven?
Thanks
Lorraine

Hi Lorraine, if you're using frozen cranberries, you have 2 options:
1) Let them defrost at room temperature before dehydrating (step 4).
2) Or bake for 10-15 minutes at 150 C before dropping the temperature (as per the recipe here).