Freeze Dried Cranberries

1 Rating

Sweet-tart crunchy cranberry bites made for snacking on-the-go!

Prep Time1

Freeze Dry Time1 6

Total Time1 7

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cranberries, Freeze dried

Servings: quarts

Calories: 404kcal

Author: Becky

Pour cranberries into a food processor. Pulse until cranberries are chopped up.
In a large bowl, add cranberries, apple cider, and sugar. Mix throughly and let it sit for 30 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
Add silicone mats or parchment paper to freeze dryer trays. Divide equally among freeze dryer trays. Pour and spread in an even layer.
Transfer into the freezer to pre-freeze trays before drying. Alternatively, trays can be placed directly into the freeze dryer.
Follow instructions on freeze dryer and freeze dry completely.
After cranberries have dried, remove from the freeze dryer. Break in bite sizes pieces, and store in mylar bags with an oxygen absorber or mason jars that have been vacuum sealed to remove oxygen.

If you don't have a food processor to chop up cranberries, you can use a knife.
There is no heating of any ingredients in the recipe. This is done in an effort to preserve maximum nutrition. As a result of the cold ingredients, you may need to wait the full 30 minutes until the sugar fully dissolves in the apple cider and the flavors meld together.
Fresh cranberries can be substituted for frozen if needed.
Roughly chopped cranberries will have more of a tart bite. If you chop the cranberries a little bit smaller, the sweet and tart flavors will be more balanced.
These cranberries can be rehydrated if needed. To do this, add freeze dried cranberries to a bowl and add water a little bit at a time. Do not add so much water that it pools in the bottom of the bowl. Too much water will make the cranberries taste bland upon rehydration. When the proper amount of water is added it will still be sweet, a little tart, and delicious!
Orange juice can be substituted for apple cider