Dried Mulberries substitute

Best substitute

Chopped dried figs (Turkish or Smyrna white figs)

Use the same amount by weight, chopped to mulberry size as the dried mulberries you are replacing

Best for granola

Different texture

Chopped dried figs are the closest swap at 1:1 by weight, because they share the honeyed, low-acid sweetness and the tiny seedy crunch. Golden raisins (sultanas) are the easy pantry answer at 1:1, just chewier and denser. Chopped dried apple or dried pear works if you want the mildness without extra stickiness. The one thing to understand before you swap: dried mulberries are doing the job of a mild, non-tart sweetener and a light dry chew, so the usual reflex of reaching for dried cranberries is wrong here. Cranberries are sharply sour and will change a granola or an energy bar from mellow to tangy.

Other dried mulberries substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Golden raisins (sultanas)
Different texture
Use the same amount
Right size, right sweetness level and almost always in the cupboard, so this is the practical mid-recipe answer.
What changes
Best for
granola, trail mix, muffins and quick breads, couscous and rice pilaf, oatmeal
Denser and chewier, with a faint grape tang that mulberries do not have, and no seedy crunch at all. In a baked bar the result is a bit gummier in the tooth but nobody will think it is wrong.
3Chopped dried apple or dried pear
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Mild, gently sweet and genuinely low-moisture, which makes this the best answer when you were using mulberries specifically for lightness and dryness rather than for flavour.
What changes
Best for
granola, trail mix, muesli, snack mixes for lunchboxes
Flavour is plainer and slightly appley instead of honeyed, and there is no seed crunch. Use unsulphured rings and chop them small, since large pieces read as apple rather than disappearing into the mix.
4Chopped Medjool dates
Taste and texture differ
¾ cup chopped dates for every 1 cup dried mulberries
Works well anywhere the fruit is being blitzed or pressed together, and brings real caramel depth.
What changes
Best for
bliss balls and energy bars, smoothies, date-and-nut bars, baking
Considerably sweeter and much stickier, so use less and cut any added honey or maple syrup by a tablespoon. In a no-bake bar this is an upgrade because dates bind; in a loose granola it is a nuisance because they weld into lumps.
5Chopped dried apricots plus a little honey
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight, plus 1 teaspoon honey per cup
A reasonable stand-in when nothing mellower is available, with the honey used to dial down the tartness apricots bring.
What changes
Best for
granola, porridge, pilaf, cakes and tea loaves
Apricots are distinctly tangier and their flavour is loud, so a mix that tasted quietly honeyed will now taste of apricot. Use the paler Turkish apricots rather than the sharp orange California ones.
6Dried cranberries (only if you want tartness)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
The swap most lists recommend first, and the one you should reach for last, because it changes the character of the dish rather than filling the gap.
What changes
Best for
trail mix, granola where a tart note is welcome, grain salads
Sharply sour where mulberries are mellow, and most brands are sweetened with added sugar on top of that, so you get sour and sweet at once. Fine if you actively want a tangy berry; wrong if you were making something soft and honeyed.

What is Dried Mulberries?

Dried Mulberries is Dried mulberries, usually the pale tan white mulberry sold in Turkish and Persian shops as toot or dut kurusu, are small dried berries that taste honeyed and figgy rather than tart, with an unusually dry, light, faintly crunchy chew and tiny edible seeds.

Cooking tips

Dried mulberries are one of the sweetest dried fruits on the shelf and contain almost no acid, so when you swap in dates or figs, taste before adding the full amount of honey or maple syrup a recipe calls for. Bars in particular go cloying fast.
They rehydrate much faster than raisins. Ten minutes in warm water or hot tea is enough to plump them for a compote or a porridge, and twenty minutes turns them to mush.
Most bags contain little green stem ends. They are edible and normal, not a sign of poor quality, though you can pinch them off if you are serving the berries plain.
In the Turkish and Persian snack context, toot is eaten alongside walnuts, and the two flavours are the point. If that is what you are recreating, chopped dried figs with walnuts is a far better substitute than any single fruit on its own.
Because they are so dry, they stale into toughness rather than going mouldy. Keep them sealed, and if a bag has gone hard, five minutes in a warm oven or a brief soak brings them back.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave dried mulberries out?

In granola, muesli, trail mix or a topping, yes, with no adjustment needed beyond making up the bulk with extra nuts or oats. In a no-bake energy bar or a bliss ball, be more careful: the fruit is contributing both sweetness and some of the binding, so leaving it out with nothing in its place gives you a crumbly, undersweet mix. Add a couple of chopped dates or an extra tablespoon of honey instead.

Are dried white mulberries the same as the dark purple ones?

They are different species and they behave differently. The pale tan white mulberries are the ones normally sold dried, and they are sweet and mild with no sourness. Dried black or red mulberries are darker, tangier and more jam-like, closer in spirit to a dried blackcurrant. If a recipe just says dried mulberries and the photo shows pale beige berries, it means the white ones.

Can I use fresh mulberries instead of dried?

Not at 1:1. Fresh mulberries are mostly water and very fragile, so they will turn a granola soggy and bleed colour through a batter. If fresh is all you have, either dry them first or accept that you are making a different, wetter dish and reduce other liquid slightly.

Are dried mulberries and goji berries interchangeable?

Not really, even though they sit side by side in the same aisle. Goji berries are tart with a distinctly savoury, almost tomato-like edge, and they stay leathery. Swapping goji for mulberry makes a trail mix taste sharper and slightly odd in something sweet. Dried figs or sultanas are much safer.

Do I need to soak them before baking with them?

For cakes, muffins and tea breads a short soak helps, because dried mulberries are very low in moisture and will otherwise pull water out of the crumb around them. Ten minutes in warm water, tea or juice, then drained, is plenty. For granola, bars and anything raw, use them dry.

Related substitutes

More fruits substitutes

Dried Mulberries substitute

Other dried mulberries substitutes

2Golden raisins (sultanas)

3Chopped dried apple or dried pear

4Chopped Medjool dates

5Chopped dried apricots plus a little honey

6Dried cranberries (only if you want tartness)