Dried cranberries

One US cup of dried cranberries weighs between 114 and 160 grams, depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. That range is the answer; a single number would not be. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.

Also called sweetened dried cranberries, Craisins, Ocean Spray Craisins, unsweetened dried cranberries, dried cranberries (sweetened or unsweetened).

Two sources 40 percent apart, far outside the 5 percent sugar tolerance, so this entry publishes the range rather than a single figure. USDA FoodData Central FDC 171723 (Cranberries, dried, sweetened, SR Legacy) publishes 1 cup at 160 g, implying a density of 0.6763 g/mL, and specifies the record covers sweetened commercial dried cranberries. King Arthur's Ingredient Weight Chart lists 'Cranberries (dried)' at 1/2 cup = 57 g, extrapolating to 114 g per cup and 0.4818 g/mL, without specifying sweetened or unsweetened.

The 40 percent gap almost certainly reflects a real product-state difference rather than measurement error. Commercial dried cranberries sold under the Craisin name and by Ocean Spray, Sun-Maid, and generic supermarket brands are heavily sweetened during processing: raw cranberries are naturally tart (pH around 2.5) and nearly inedible on their own, so most commercial dried cranberries are infused with cane sugar syrup or apple juice concentrate before dehydration. The finished product typically contains 60 to 70 percent added sugar by weight, plus a light vegetable oil coating to prevent clumping. All of that adds mass to each dried piece, pushing sweetened dried cranberries into the 150 to 170 g per cup density range documented by USDA and by commercial nutrition labels. Retail Craisins nutrition labels consistently report approximately 40 g per 1/4 cup, matching USDA's figure exactly.

Unsweetened dried cranberries are a distinct commercial product, less common but available from natural-foods brands (Eden Foods, Nature's Way and similar). They contain no added sugar and no oil coating, so each piece is significantly lighter than the sweetened counterpart. Unsweetened dried cranberries typically pack in the 100 to 130 g per cup range, matching the King Arthur figure. It is likely that King Arthur's chart is measuring the unsweetened form, or averaging across multiple product types. Neither source explicitly documents its state assumption.

Readers converting a recipe that specifies 'dried cranberries' without further qualifier should use the USDA-end 160 g per cup figure if their product is Craisins or an equivalent sweetened commercial product, and the King Arthur-end 114 g per cup figure if their product is unsweetened natural dried cranberries. The difference in a recipe outcome will be significant. A cup of sweetened Craisins in a scone or muffin recipe provides approximately 40 to 50 grams of added sugar; a cup of unsweetened dried cranberries provides essentially none. The physical measurement gap here has real culinary and nutritional consequences beyond just weight conversion.

Product variants: sweetened dried cranberries dominate the US retail market and are the default meaning of 'dried cranberries' in typical American recipes. Ocean Spray Craisins (introduced 1989) is the dominant brand. Unsweetened dried cranberries are sold as a specialty product, sometimes labeled 'no sugar added' or 'natural.' Reduced-sugar dried cranberries sit between the two extremes at approximately 130 to 145 g per cup. Freeze-dried whole cranberries are a distinct product with much lower density (approximately 25 to 35 g per cup) because freeze-drying preserves nearly all of the fruit's internal air; they are used differently in baking (often ground into powders) and would earn a separate entry when a second authoritative source becomes available.

Dried cranberries are placed in the sugar category alongside raisins, currants, and other small berry-scale dried fruits. The category rule tracks physical packing behavior rather than chemistry: small firm particles that pack like granulated sugar sit in the sugar category. The 5 percent sugar tolerance applies here, and the 40 percent observed gap far exceeds it, hence the range publish.

No standards body publishes a bulk density for dried cranberries. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service publishes grade standards for fresh cranberries and cranberry sauce but not for dried cranberry density. Two authoritative sources with a very large gap reflecting sweetened-versus-unsweetened state ambiguity and no reconciling third source that documents both forms, so this entry is held at low confidence and range-published. A third independent source that clearly separates sweetened and unsweetened cup portions would enable splitting this entry into two separate high-confidence entries.