This Easy Cherry Pie Filling is a great match for a homemade pie crust. It has the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness from juicy cherries, ideal for pairing with pies, ice cream, or cakes.
Recipe Details
Making your own Cherry Pie Filling with delicious summer cherries is a fantastic way to enjoy a classic dessert that brings back memories.
- TASTE: The combination of sweet cherries and buttery pie crust is a sure winner. You’ll love the sweet and tart flavors in this filling.
- TEXTURE: This Cherry Pie Filling has a thick and syrupy consistency with whole juicy berries.
- TIME: It only takes 20 minutes to prepare.
- EASE: This recipe is simple and straightforward, with pitting the cherries being the only slightly challenging step.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Cherries: Sour cherries are recommended, but sweet varieties like Bing and Rainer cherries work well too.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness to the filling.
- Cornstarch: Helps thicken the cherry and sugar juices to create a syrupy consistency.
- Lemon juice: Provides a citrusy contrast to the fruit’s sweetness.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a delicate vanilla flavor.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Substitute the cornstarch: Arrowroot powder or tapioca starch can be used as alternatives.
- Substitute other fruits: Experiment with different fruits like strawberries, blueberries, peaches, or raspberries, adjusting the sugar accordingly.
- Use other extracts: Try flavors like almond, lemon, or lime extract for variation.
- Substitute frozen cherries: Thawed and drained frozen cherries can be used, but they may not maintain their shape as well as fresh ones.
How to Make Cherry Pie Filling
- Pit the cherries: Remove the pits either by hand or with a cherry pitter.
- Combine the ingredients: Mix the pitted cherries with cornstarch, sugar, water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in a saucepan.
- Boil and simmer: Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
Pro Tip: Using a cherry pitter will make pitting cherries much easier for this recipe.
Recipe Tips
- Use a cherry pitter to remove the pits. To speed up the process, consider using a cherry pitter.
- Add extra sugar for sour cherries. If you happen to come across tart sour cherries, you’ll need to increase the sugar amount.
- Opt for fresh lemon juice- Fresh lemon juice provides more flavor than concentrate and adds a lovely aroma. You can even include some lemon zest for an extra punch.
FAQs
Can I use canned cherries instead of fresh?
Yes, you can. Save some of the juice to substitute the water in the recipe for added flavor and thickness. Also, adjust the sugar levels when using canned cherries instead of fresh ones.
What is cherry pie filling made of?
A typical cherry pie filling consists of fresh cherries, sugar, cornstarch, and water. Lemon juice and vanilla extract are added for extra flavor. You can opt for either sour or sweet cherries.
Serving Suggestions
This homemade Cherry Pie Filling is deliciously sweet and packed with juicy cherries. It pairs wonderfully with various treats like ice cream, pastries, cakes, and pies.
- Ice Cream: Try baking this filling in a Homemade Pie Crust and serving it with No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream, Easy Ube Ice Cream, or Honeydew Melon Sorbet.
- Pies/Cobblers: Combine it with other pies such as Homemade Apple Pie, Perfect Peach Pie, Cherry Cobbler, or Chocolate Cream Pie.
- Pastries: Enjoy it with a Pear Tart, Peach Galette, Easy Raspberry Cheese Danish, or Peach Crisp.
- Cakes: Serve this filling with desserts like New York Style Cheesecake, Cherry Jello Cake, Lemon Pound Cake (VIDEO), or Berry Chantilly Cake.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: Pit the cherries in advance and store them in the fridge for a few days before preparing the filling.
Storing: For optimal storage, transfer the homemade pie filling to clean mason jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Ensure the lids are tightly sealed to maintain freshness.
Freeze: To freeze the pie filling, place it in a gallon-sized ziplock bag, remove air, and seal tightly before freezing for up to 4 months. For pie filling, freeze it in a pie pan until solid, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap for storage.
More Tasty Pies and Cobblers!
- Perfect Peach Pie
- Cherry Cobbler
- The image is about two delicious desserts: Chocolate Cream Pie and Strawberry Cobbler.Below the images, there is a section for the full recipe instructions. The first recipe listed is for “Simple Cherry Pie Filling” with a brief summary of how it pairs well with homemade pie dough, yogurt, or pancakes. The image displayed is of a cherry pie filling in a pie plate.- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (8 votes)
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– Course: Condiments
– Cuisine: AmericanDiet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 6 cups sweet cherries pitted
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4
- teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Using a cherry pitter pit 6 cups of sweet cherries into a bowl.
- Add the cherries to a large saucepan along with 3/4 cup water, 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup cornstarch, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Give everything a thorough mix and bring it to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 10 minutes with stirring frequently.
Notes
Yes, you can freeze cherry pie filling. There are 2 ways to do this…
- For pies: You can fill the bottom of a pie pan with the cherry pie filling and freeze it in the pan until solid. Then transfer the frozen pie-shaped filling onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and wrap it really well.
- For other uses: You can simply place the cooled pie filling into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Lay it flat and try to press all the air out before sealing it up. Freeze it for up to 4 months.
What to make with it?
- Cherry jello cake
- Top it over a New York cheesecake
- Make a homemade pie with the best pie crust
- Make it into a cherry cheese danish
Nutrition
Calories:
160
kcal
|
Carbohydrates:
41
g
|
Protein:
2
g
|
Fat:
1
g
|
– Saturated Fat: 1g
– Sodium: 1mg
– Potassium: 315mg
– Fiber: 3g
– Sugar: 33g
– Vitamin A: 91IU
– Vitamin C: 11mg
– Calcium: 18mg
– Iron: 1mg
