Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling comes together in just a few minutes. Try a spoonful with your morning yogurt or spooned over a stack of fresh, crispy waffles for a delicious treat!
It’s that time of year when I started counting down the days until spring.
I know it’s only January. I don’t care, I am ready for warm weather and to not have to spend 11 hours bundling Elle every time we have to leave the house.
Moms with young kids, I know you feel me.
Even though I have months to wait until spring is here, luckily I can pretend it is nice outside by taking a stroll through the freezer section of the grocery store and grabbing bags of frozen strawberries, blueberries and cherries.
Cherries are one of Elle’s and my favorite fruits. Which can be evidenced by no less than 5 stained tanks and tiny red finger smudges on our light switch plates during the summer.
What I can I say, the girl can get down with some cherries.
I’m one of those people that actually enjoys pitting cherries and a cherry pitter is one of the only unitaskers that I can actually get behind.
Well, they say you can pit olives with the tool too, but I am not much of an olive person unless they’re stuffed with some type of cheese.
I kind of think a pitter is necessary if you love to bake with fresh cherries. If you’ve ever tried to pit a cherry with a straw, you feel me.
Just be sure to wear an apron and not your favorite Madewell T because splattered cherry juice is no joke.
During the summer, Elle and I can often be found pitting as many as 5 pounds of cherries at a time. Some are for eating, some are for freezing, and the rest are for batches of homemade cherry pie filling.
HOMEMADE CHERRY PIE FILLING
I’ve been making my own cherry pie filling for years. In fact, I first shared this recipe back in 2011 – the post and photos have just gotten a few upgrades since then.
This cherry pie filling is super simple and only requires a handful of ingredients. And if you’re not into pitting cherries or fresh cherries aren’t in season, you can totally use frozen, pitted cherries from the market with great results.
Making Homemade Cherry Pie Filling only takes about 20 minutes to make. That’s probably less time than it would take you to run to the store and buy a can of pie filling!
And, since you made your filling from scratch, you can definitely get away with using a store-bought pie crust if you want, ‘kay? Just sayin’.
HOW TO USE HOMEMADE CHERRY PIE FILLING
Obviously this Homemade Cherry Pie Filling is great for pies. It’ll fill a 9-inch pie pan, so all you have to do is decide what kind of crust you’d like to use!
In addition to pie, it makes a killer cherry crisp, but it’s also amazing for topping yogurt parfaits, waffles, pancakes, ice cream – well, you get the idea.
Not to mention anything and everything cheesecake related: my Nana’s Cherry Cheesecake, Cherry Cheesecake Cookies, Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes, and Mini Cherry Almond Cheesecakes.
What can I say, cherries and cheesecake go together even better than peas and carrots.
If you want to make a big batch and store it long-term, you’re in luck – my Homemade Cherry Pie Filling freezes beautifully for pies on request.
The stuff is delicious and I’m pretty certain you’re going to be making it any time you find fresh or frozen cherries at the store!
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling comes together in just a few minutes. Try a spoonful with your morning yogurt or spooned over a stack of fresh, crispy waffles for a delicious treat!
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 cups fresh pitted cherries, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine cherries, water, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.
- If using, stir in almond extract. Cool slightly before using as a topping.
Notes
- If using sour cherries, you will need to adjust the amount of sugar. I’d recommend starting about ¾ cup and working your way up if more sweetness is needed.
- Refrigerate leftover fresh cherry pie filling in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- This recipe freezes beautifully.
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Hello, I plan to make this recipe this weekend and freeze it. In your notes you said to adjust sugar for sour (tart) cherries. In a comment above you said to use sweet cherries only. So my question,,,,, can I make this recipe, adjust the sugar and freeze using tart cherries?
Hello! I make this recipe with sweet cherries, but you could certainly make it with sour cherries if you add more sugar. I can’t say how much you would need, though. If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Happy baking!
Jamie
Jamie! Can you tell me where you got these adorable glass jars you store this nectar of the gods in? Please and thank you!
Hello! These are Weck jars. They’re great for all sorts of uses! Happy baking.
Jamie
We are Keto, but I love this recipe and will try to convert the sugar & thickener. Awesome recipes!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Mary Anne! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
I use cherry juice instead of water and tapioca starch in place of corn starch. Much better taste in my opinion. If you don’t have cherry juice just put some cherries on the food processor and use the liquid.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Tracie! Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your feedback!
-Jamie
Could you use an immersion blender on this before chilling? want to use as a donut filling? and possibly use frozen cherries?
Thank you
Hello! I have not tried this myself but would love to hear how it turns out if you try it. Happy baking!
Jamie
I plan to freeze this pie filling. Do you know if it will need to be defrosted before I bake it in a pie crust?
Hello! Yes, you will likely need to thaw it to spread it into the pie crust. Hope this helps! Happy baking.
Jamie
I’ve never made my own cherry pie filling before that had bought tart cherries by mistake and didn’t want to snack on them so decided to use them for this recipe. 1 I also used Truvia blend instead of sugar I used what you suggested in the recipe, the equivalent of 2/3 cup of sugar is one third cup of this blend . I did have some almond extract so added it mistakenly along with it cherries and the other ingredients so hope that doesn’t change things too much I will use this to put in my store-bought pie crust.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Nonnie! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Happy Baking!
-Jamie
Pie newbie here! Your recipe sounds delicious, and easy! Do the store bought crusts need to be baked before adding the filling? I’m going to make this in tart shells, and freeze it after. Any tips for freezing a baked pie? Thank you so much.
Hello! If you’re making a cherry pie, you do not need to pre-bake the crust. I have not frozen a baked pie, but would love to hear how it turns out if you try it. Happy baking!
Jamie