How to Freeze Dry Raspberries

Freeze-dried raspberries are a fun, healthy snack that’s easy to make in a home freeze dryer.  While expensive when bought in stores, home-freeze drying is a smart and affordable option!

Freeze-drying is one of the tastiest ways to preserve seasonal fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.

You don’t have to add any extra sugar, and they maintain both their shape and flavor. 

Freeze-dried raspberries are perfect for eating as a quick crunchy snack, and they’re also wonderful in baked goods too.

For anyone unfamiliar or new to freeze-drying, I recommend you pause to read my beginner’s guide to freeze-drying at home, which walks you through the basic process of using a home freeze dryer.

What’s the Difference Between Freeze Dried Raspberries and Dehydrated Raspberries?

Freeze-dried raspberries are quite different from dehydrated raspberries. The flavor and texture are quite different, and the shelf-life is much longer.

When dehydrating fruit, heat is used to preserve the item, decreasing the aroma and flavor of the dried food. Fruit shrinks, becomes chewier, and can even take on a bit of a cooked flavor. Even when rehydrated, dehydrated fruit doesn’t come back to anything like it was before, with the texture and size forever being altered.

I have nothing against dehydrating, at all! Dehydrated raspberries are still fantastic, and great when all you have is a dehydrator, but freeze-dried raspberries are a thing unto themselves.

Freeze-drying is almost magical — it practically stops time, freezing your fruit and maintaining its shape, texture, aroma and flavor. The process cools them rather than heating them, so there’s no cooked flavor. Not to mention more nutrients are preserved as well.

When freeze-dried raspberries are rehydrated, all you need to do is add a little water and the fruit rehydrates back to the same size and form it was before entering your freeze dryer. You can use them just like fresh again, topping desserts, tasty treats and breakfast items. 

Best Raspberries to Freeze Dry

The state your raspberries are in when they are picked will largely determine the quality of your end product. If you select under-ripe berries that are sour, or overripe berries that are borderline bad, freeze-drying won’t improve the flavor. 

You should choose the kind of raspberries you’d select for eating in your morning cereal: sweet, ripe berries. If you grow your own raspberries, you know these different varieties will possess nuances in flavor. Some are sweeter and more aromatic (such as Fall Gold raspberries), others are sharper and more winelike (such as the Royalty variety). 

If you decide to purchase raspberries for freeze-drying, try to do so from a farmers market or other local supplier rather than a standard grocery store. Local raspberries will be fresher and likely contain fewer preservatives than those shipped from far-off locations.

Test your raspberries before freeze-drying. This is the best way to determine the final flavors that there is!

Freeze Dried Raspberries Yield

A pound of raspberries is roughly equal to 4 cups of fresh fruit. Raspberries won’t change in size when freeze-dried, (only in weight) so you will have roughly the same amount when finished. 

One cup of whole fresh raspberries will yield 1 cup of freeze-dried fruit — the only change will be the weight. While a single cup of fresh berries weighs around 2.5 ounces, the freeze-dried berries will weigh somewhere closer to .5 ounces. When turned into a powder, this single cup turns into ¼ cup or 2-½ tablespoons of raspberry powder, according to The Purposeful Pantry.

Your particular yield will depend on the size of your machine and how tightly you decide to pack your trays. Fruit should be packed in a single layer for best results, but some overlapping won’t be a problem.

My freeze dryer is large, but it’s an older model. It’s rated for 15 to 20 pounds of food per batch using 5 drying trays. (The new large models are bigger and have 6 trays). On mine, I can dry 3 to 4 pounds of food per tray when tightly packed.

Personally, I’ve found just 2 to 3 pounds per tray to be more optimal. This lighter load ensures the fruit dries more evenly and the drying time is shorter (not to mention the food looks nicer when it’s not so tightly packed).

Every freeze-drying machine will be rated for a particular amount of food, but here are some average yields for each machine size:

• Small Freeze Dryer: Processes 6 to 10 pounds of food per batch, across 4 trays (434 square inches of drying space).
• Medium Freeze Dryer: Processes 10 to 15 pounds of food per batch, across 5 trays (675 square inches of drying space).
• Large Freeze Dryer: Processes 18 to 27 pounds of food per batch, across 6 trays (1107 square inches of drying space).
• Extra Large Freeze Dryer: Processes 40 to 50 pounds of food per batch, across 7 trays (2257 square inches of drying space).

Supplies Needed

To freeze dry raspberries at home, you will need:

• Fresh or frozen Raspberries (pre-frozen raspberries will work fine).
• Home Freeze Dryer – The size and type of freeze dryer you will need depends on the size of your family and expected yield, but I recommend opting for the larger models. They tend to be more efficient and cost less to run.
• Silicone Tray Liners (or Parchment Paper) – Berries tend to stick to trays so liners will make clean up much easier if you line your trays before freeze-drying. (Berries will also look prettier if you don’t need to scrape them off.)
• Colander and Towels – Fruit should be washed before freeze-drying and then dried. Use a colander and towels so that wet fruit doesn’t extend your drying time.
• Mason Jars (Or Airtight Storage Containers) – Mason jars and other airtight containers are perfect for short-term storage (as when planning on using food within a year or two). For longer storage, you will want to pack it in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers.
• Vacuum Sealer (Optional) – A vacuum sealer will give your food a longer shelf life, allowing you to seal food in mason jars with minimal air.
• Label Tape and a Pen – These may seem unnecessary, but labeling and dating preserved food is important, (especially if storing your food in mylar bags where you can’t see what’s inside). Always label and date everything!

Preparing Raspberries for Freeze Drying

Preparing raspberries for freeze-drying is quick and easy. Most don’t slice the berries (although you can if you wish to), but simply wash them and let them dry. They can then be placed on trays and freeze-dried whole.

Whole raspberries look particularly pretty in mason jars, but if you’d like smaller pieces for using in baking or whatnot, you can dice the fruit. 

If your end goal is to make raspberry powder, you can always freeze dry trays of raspberry puree. You’ll be able to freeze-dry more fruit this way, but the process will be messier.

Personally, I prefer to freeze-dry raspberries whole. (If you freeze-dry puree, powder will be your only option.) You can always make raspberry powder later by pulverizing whole berries in a blender or food processor. 

How to Freeze Dry Raspberries

After preparing your raspberries, it’s time to freeze-dry them. 

The freeze-drying process is very simple. Switch on your freeze dryer and let the machine pre-chill for a minimum of 30 minutes. Some machines will also prompt you to add details including if berries are pre-frozen or not or the form of the food item (liquid or nonliquid). Newer models will sense this automatically.

While you wait, line your freeze dryer trays with silicone liners or parchment paper, then arrange raspberries on the trays. 

You can freeze-dry fresh fruit, but if you’d like a faster processing time, you can also pre-freeze raspberries. This can be done by freezing the fruit directly on the trays or simply in bags. Pre-frozen fruit batches will finish faster than room temperature fruit. 

Pre-freezing fruit is simple if you have a large deep freezer or something similar. You can purchase tray lids that allow you to stack trays in your freezer and keep everything tidy. This isn’t as easy with a regular home freezer. 

In that case, you’ll need to pre-freeze the fruit in bags. This will likely result in pieces sticking and can be a bit of a pain, so I do recommend pre-freezing on trays if at all possible for you.

Once your freeze dryer is pre-chilled, slip your trays in and press “continue.” The machine will take over from here. 

How Long Does it Take to Freeze Dry Raspberries

It will usually take about 24 to 26 hours to freeze dry raspberries, but a few factors can shorten or lengthen this time. Some of these factors include:

• Pre-Freezing: If you pre-freeze your berries, this cuts down the time (since your machine won’t have to do this for you).
• Piece Size: Larger berries will take longer to dry than smaller berries and whole berries will take longer than diced berries.
• Moisture in the Fruit: lower moisture fruits will take less time than higher moisture fruits. (Keep in mind, homegrown and heirloom fruit tends to have more moisture than commercial fruit, which is firmer.)

How to Tell if Freeze Dried Raspberries Are Done

Fully freeze-dried raspberries should be completely dry and crispy. Break a few large raspberries open and check the insides. They should not be spongy, soft or moist. 

Fruit should feel firm inside. If your raspberries aren’t fully dried, extend your time on the drying cycle by a few more hours.

Reconstituting Freeze Dried Raspberries

I like to use freeze-dried raspberries as they are, snacking on them or tossing them into yogurt, granola and smoothies. Many also toss freeze-dried berries as they are into baked goods like cookies and muffins, although you can rehydrate them first if you’d like to.

To rehydrate freeze-dried raspberries, cover the fruit with some water and let it soak for 20 to 30 minutes. Once reconstituted, be sure to drain off excess liquid and then use as you would fresh raspberries!

How Do Freeze Dried Raspberries Taste?

Will those gorgeous raspberry gems taste as beautiful as they look? That depends on the quality of the raspberries when you freeze-dried them. Freeze-drying won’t alter the flavor of foods, it just, well, “freezes” it at the stage it was. 

If your raspberries were fragrant, sweet and tart right before you popped them in the freeze dryer, that is how they’ll taste once they’re finished. Freeze-drying can even help concentrate flavors as food is no longer diluted by all that water content. 

For the best quality freeze-dried raspberries, select the freshest, most flavorful raspberries you have available to you! This will ensure the best end product.

How to Store Freeze Dried Raspberries

Planning on eating those delicious raspberries right away? Any berries you plan on using relatively soon can be stored in mason jars (with tight-fitting lids) or other airtight containers for easy access. 

For long-term storage of freeze-dried fruits, these beautiful berries should be stored in mylar pouches with oxygen absorbers.

How Long Do Freeze Dried Raspberries Last?

Freeze-dried raspberries and other freeze-dried fruits can last up to 30 years when properly stored. To do so, you will need to pack berries in mylar pouches with oxygen absorbers.

If kept on the pantry shelf in a mason jar or other airtight container, they’ll keep their quality for 1 to 2 years when sealed. Once opened, they begin to absorb water from ambient humidity. The more they are opened, the sooner they may spoil.

Freeze Drying Tutorials

Freeze Dried Raspberries are a delicious addition to your pantry!

If you’re exploring freeze-drying fruits, check out Freeze Dried Strawberries, Freeze Dried Mango, or Freeze Dried Watermelon & Other Melons. For savory options, try Freeze Dried Onions or Freeze Dried Peppers (Hot or Sweet).

Beginners can start with my Home Freeze Drying Guide for helpful tips.