Cranberries turn into rock-hard pellets when simply dehydrated from raw. If you want a chewy raisin-like result, they must first be cooked in sugar syrup .. or a sugar-alcohol based syrup .. plus other additives to retain a softer chewable texture when dehydrated. Stevia or splenda won't work, at least not when used alone. (Be aware that some so-called "sugar free" dried cranberries out there are actually sweetened with concentrated fruit juice syrup .. very high in carbs!)

A few clever low-carb bloggers have done a lot of experimenting and come up with recipes for home-made lowcarb dried cranberries with decent results that are way less expensive than commercial ones.


https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/dried-cranberries/ .. This recipe calls for first cutting raw cranberries in half, then mixing with powdered erythritol (Swerve) and a little oil before dehydrating in the oven. Instructions for using a dehydrator in the comments.



https://lowcarbyum.com/sugar-free-dried-cranberries/ .. In this recipe, whole cranberries are first cooked in a small amount of water plus powdered sweetener or stevia .. then dehydrated. No oil is used. The author suggests only partially dehydrating if you want chewy raisin texture, otherwise fully dehydrate until hard and crisp (need to be rehydrated before use). More tips in the comments.


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