3 Industry Uses for Freeze-Dried Fruit

by Fierce Fruit July 10, 2025

A dessert made with chocolate bars and freeze-dried strawberries

If you’re curious about how to use freeze-dried fruit in your recipes, you’re in the right place! We’re happy to share some of the most common uses so you can start creating culinary magic like a pro.

Freeze-dried fruit is quite versatile. Some people add it as-is to infuse recipes with bold, fruity flavor. Others rehydrate it and use it as a convenient substitute for fresh fruit. You can even munch on it plain—it’s a popular snack among astronauts in space, due to its shelf stability, compact size, and nutritional value.

We’re proud to be partnered with a diverse range of customers who source their freeze-dried fruit from us. If you were to ask ten of them how to use freeze-dried fruit, you’d probably get ten different answers! Here are some of the most common industry uses.

1. Baking

Slices of cakes with freeze-dried raspberries

Freeze-dried fruit is an irreplaceable ingredient for many commercial bakeries. Because all of the moisture has been removed, it’s possible to add fruit flavors to baked goods without adding additional liquid. And, because the flavor is so potent, you can really bring recipes to life in a way that’s simply not possible with fresh fruit.

In a baking setting, some of the most popular freeze-dried fruit uses include infusing it into doughs and batters, flavoring icings and frostings, making fruit syrups, and adding speckles of color to cookies, cheesecakes, and pies.

2. Frozen Treats

A person making ice cream with freeze-dried strawberries

Learning how to use freeze-dried fruit in ice creams, popsicles, gelatos, and other frozen treats is a breeze. Add chunks or powders to your base before churning, and then taste the magic! Another approach is to mix powdered fruit into your whipped cream prior to folding it into the base. Skip the artificial flavors and give your customers what they crave—real fruit!

Besides enhancing the flavor, freeze-dried fruit stabilizes ice creams and other frozen desserts. They naturally absorb moisture, which helps to prevent ice crystals from forming, slow melting, and extend the shelf life.

3. Brewing

Two men in a brewery admiring glasses of beer

Freeze-dried fruit is used by both major breweries and independent homebrewing operations for making craft beers and kombucha. If you’re wondering how to use freeze-dried fruit in beverages, it’s as easy as food. Just drop it in during the fermentation process. Not only will the freeze-dried fruit infuse your brews with complex flavors, but it’ll also boost their gravity by adding natural sugar without any additional liquid.

Shop 100% Natural Freeze-Dried Fruit

There are so many other uses we haven’t covered, but hopefully, these ideas give you some food (and drinks) for thought! Now that you know the basics, why not give our ready-to-use freeze-dried fruits a try?

We have chunks (chopped fruits), pieces (whole fruits), and powder—everything you need to learn how to use freeze-dried fruit and start reaping the benefits. Order your new go-to secret ingredients today!