Are Dried Cranberries High in Sugar? Are Any Sugar-Free?

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Are Dried Cranberries high in sugar? Dried cranberries. Or as they are often referred to as – craisins (must admit that was a new one to me)! You know the things we sprinkle onto our oatmeal or granola or just eat by the handful when we want something sweet that isn’t candy. We all know that most dried cranberries contain added sugar (because let’s face it cranberries are bitter) – but exactly how much? Are dried cranberries high in sugar? And are any dried cranberries sugar-free? In this post, I will be answering these questions for you. To do that I have selected nine different dried cranberry brands and collated the total sugar content data. Some of these dried cranberries are also unsweetened and/or naturally sweetened – to present you with some lower-sugar dried cranberry options.

So, let’s dig in – are dried cranberries high in sugar? And are any dried cranberries sugar-free?

Are Dried Cranberries High in Sugar?

As a general rule, sweetened dried cranberries are high in sugar. There tends to be 28g-29g of total sugar in a 40g serving of sweetened dried cranberries. However, unsweetened, reduced sugar and apple-sweetened dried cranberries are available.

If 28g-29g of sugar for a serving of dried cranberries is too much sugar for you, then there are three alternative options available to you:

• Option 1: Choose dried cranberries naturally sweetened with apple juice. However, note that the total sugar content will still be 23g-28g per 40g serving.

• Option 2: Choose reduced sugar dried cranberries. These dried cranberries still contain sugar, but it is around half the amount (i.e., around 12g of total sugar).

• Option 3: Choose unsweetened dried cranberries. They will contain 6g-7g of total sugar per 40g serving. The con – they may be too bitter for you – taste-wise.

I will be presenting you with the best-reduced sugar, unsweetened, and apple-sweetened dried cranberries below.

1. Ocean Spray Dried Cranberries – 29g of Total Sugar

First up are craisins from Ocean Spray – the brand of all brands when it comes to cranberries. Ocean Spray has already made an appearance in the post I wrote on cranberry sauce (Is Cranberry Sauce High in Sugar), sugar-free cranberry juice (The Sugar-Free Cranberry Juices You Need To Know About), and the sugar content of cranberry juice (Is Cranberry Juice High in Sugar?). Ocean Spray even has a trademark over the word “craisins” which is what they call their dried cranberries due to their similar appearance to raisins.

Oceans Spray’s dried cranberries are the highest-sugar cranberries on this list. There are 29g of total sugar per 40g serving, 26g of which are added sugar.

2. Good And Gather Dried Cranberries – 28g of Total Sugar

These dried cranberries from Good And Gather (you know Target’s own brand) have the same sugar content as Ocean Spray’s above. There are 28g of total sugar per 4g serving and a whopping 27g of these sugar are added! Like most dried cranberries, the sweetener used is plain old sugar.

3. Great Value Sweetened Dried Cranberries – 28g of Total Sugar

Walmart’s dried cranberries also contain 28g of total sugar per 40g serving. I am starting to notice a trend here. I think it’s safe to assume at this point that most sweetened dried cranberries contain around 28g of total sugar per 40g serving.

Lower Sugar and Naturally Sweetened Dried Cranberry Options

Okay, let’s now move on to some lower-sugar dried cranberry options as well as some naturally sweetened dried cranberry options.

4. Amrita Apple Sweetened Dried Cranberries – 28g of Total Sugar

If cranberries sweetened with plain old white sugar doesn’t sound like your kind of thing, then how about dried cranberries sweetened with apple juice? Yes, that’s right – apple juice-sweetened dried cranberries.

These dried cranberries from Amrita are sweetened with apple juice – how cool is that?

These dried cranberries contain 20g of total sugar in a 28g serving – pro-rated to the same serving size as the above brands (to make the comparison fair) there are 28g of total sugar.

This means these dried cranberries aren’t lower in total sugar than most sweetened dried cranberries, but they are sweetened with a sweetener with apple juice which some people are more comfortable with than sugar.

5. Patience Fruit & Co Apple Sweetened Cranberries – 23g of Total Sugar

Next up is apple-sweetened dried cranberry beans that are lower in total sugar than most dried cranberries. Yes, that’s right Patience Fruit & Co dried cranberries are sweetened with apple juice concentrate and contain 23g of total sugar per 40g serving.

Apple sweetened and a little lower in sugar – win.

Patience Fruit & Co’s apple-sweetened dried cranberries would actually be my main apple-sweetened cranberry recommendation due to the lower sugar content.

You can try them for yourself on Amazon here.

6. Ocean Spray Reduced Sugar Craisins – 12g of Total Sugar

If your main priority is a dried cranberry that has a lower total sugar content (but you still want them to taste sweet) then how about trying reduced-sugar dried cranberries? Ocean Spray has a reduced sugar version of their craisins, and the cool thing is that they contain less than 50% of the sugar content – 12g of total sugar per serving to be precise.

These craisins are sweetened with both sugar and sucralose (hence the lower sugar content). If you are looking for a reduced sugar dried cranberry, then Ocean Spray Reduced Sugar is your best option – you can find them on Amazon here.

7. My Berry Organics Unsweetened Dried Cranberries – 7g of Total Sugar

If you truly want dried cranberries that are just as low as possible in sugar content, then unsweetened dried cranberries are the best option for you. For example, My Berry Organics Unsweetened Dried Cranberries do not contain any sugar or sweeteners and contain 7g of total sugar per 40g serving.

Be warned though – unsweetened dried cranberries are not for the faint-hearted. They can taste quite bitter, especially if you are used to the taste of sweetened dried cranberries.

8. Honestly Unsweetened Dried Cranberries- 7g of Total Sugar

Honestly, unsweetened dried cranberries also contain 7g of total sugar, when prorated to a 40g serving size. This 7g of total sugar is naturally occurring from the natural sugar in cranberries.

Based on this it looks like unsweetened dried cranberries do contain around 7g of total sugar per 40g serving.

9. Cherry Bay Orchards Unsweetened Dried Cranberries – 6g of Total Sugar

My number 1 recommendation for an unsweetened dried cranberry is Cherry Bay Orchards. This is because their dried cranberries contain just 6g of total sugar per 40g serving.

You can try these very low-sugar dried cranberries for yourself from Amazon here. Just be aware that unsweetened dried cranberries do have a different texture (and of course taste) to the sweetened dried cranberries most people are used to – some people liken the texture of unsweetened dried cranberries to that of freeze-dried berries. Just something to be aware of.

Sugar In Craisins F&Q

Do Craisins Have More Sugar Than Raisins?

Sweetened craisins/dried cranberries tend to contain more total and added sugar than raisins. Sweetened craisins tend to contain 28g of total sugar per 40g serving, most of which is added sugar. Raisins in comparison tend to contain 21g-27g of total sugar and 0g of added sugar per 40g serving.

Reduced sugar and unsweetened dried cranberries tend to contain less total sugar than raisins. Reduced sugar dried cranberries tend to contain 12g of total sugar per 40g serving and unsweetened dried cranberries tend to contain 6g-7g of total sugar per 40g serving.

Why Do All Dried Cranberries Have Sugar?

Many dried cranberry brands contain added sugar – this is to counterbalance the naturally bitter taste of cranberries. Some brands such as Honestly, Cherry Bay Orchards, and My Berry Organics make unsweetened dried cranberries.

Can You Get Dried Cranberries Without Added Sugar?

Honestly, Cherry Bay Orchards and My Berry Organics are all brands that make dried cranberries that do not contain added sugar.

Are Craisins High In Sugar?

Sweetened craisins are high in sugar – as a general rule, there are 28g of total sugar in a 40g serving of sweetened craisins.

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Are Dried Cranberries High in Sugar? Are Any Sugar-Free? – The Final Bite

Are dried cranberries high in sugar? Are any sugar-free? What have we learned from the above? Well, when it comes to dried cranberries if you want to limit your sugar intake your best option really is unsweetened dried cranberries. The difference can amount to as much as 23g of sugar when comparing unsweetened and sweetened dried cranberries. If the bitter taste of unsweetened cranberries is just too much for you the middle ground would be to pick some naturally sweetened cranberries. These are sweetened with apple juice and contain around 23 to 28 grams of sugar.

And Remember…