Cherry Pie Filling

This cherry pie filling recipe is made with fresh sweet cherries that are simmered with a little sugar for a thick and rich filling. Use your pie filling for baked goods, breakfast pastries, as an ice cream topping or in a parfait.

You can use cherry pie filling in so many different ways! Aside from the classic cherry pie, I use my homemade filling to make cream cheese danishes and cherry bars which are both always a hit.

There’s nothing better than a fresh cherry pie! Canned pie filling has its uses, but homemade cherry pie filling has a much better taste than the store bought kind. This dessert recipe will take your homemade pies over the top, and everyone will be coming back for seconds.

Cherry Pie Filling Ingredients

To make this recipe, you will need cherries, water, lemon juice, granulated sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract.

How Do You Make Cherry Pie Filling?

Cherry pie filling with fresh sweet cherries is surprisingly easy to make. All you have to do is pit some cherries and place them in a pot with water, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch. Bring that mixture to a boil and then let it simmer for 8-10 minutes while stirring occasionally. When the filling has finished simmering, pour in a little vanilla extract and stir everything together. Cool the filling and serve it as a topping or use it in a pie.

How To Pit Cherries

The easiest way to pit cherries with a cherry pitter. That’s what I use. Most cherry pitters cost less than $10 and are very easy to use. With many cherry pitters, you just place the cherry in the pitter and squeeze until the pit pops out.

If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you can push a skewer or a chopstick through a cherry to remove the seed.

Tips For Cherry Pie Filling

• Be careful not to overcook your pie filling – the cherries should mostly be intact, as they will continue to soften when they bake inside a pie.
• To make a pie, pour this filling into a homemade or store bought pie crust. Add a top crust, and seal the edges. Brush with egg wash and add a sprinkle of coarse sugar if desired. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees F for 40-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
• Don’t feel like making a pie? Try making cherry tarts, or use the filling on pancakes, waffles or in cobblers. It’s also great in a small bowl with yogurt or a scoop of vanilla ice ream.
• This recipe is primarily for sweet cherries such as Rainier or Bing, but will also work for sour cherries.
• If you prefer the tartness of sour cherries, increase the sugar by 1/4 cup, or you can add even more than that if you prefer a sweeter filling.
• You can make this recipe with fresh or frozen cherries. If you’re using frozen cherries, you’ll want to add 1 additional tablespoon of cornstarch, as frozen cherries will release more liquid than fresh cherries.

Flavor Variations

This recipe is great as-is, but you can add other flavors to make it your own.

• Fruit: You can substitute half of the cherries with another type of fruit. Some great options include apples, blueberries, strawberries, peaches or blackberries.
• Flavorings: Amp up the flavor with some lemon zest, almond extract or a pinch of cinnamon.

Homemade pie filling is leaps and bounds above canned pie filling. When you see how easy it is to make this recipe, you will want to pour it over every dessert.

More Great Cherry Recipes

Chocolate Covered Cherries

22 mins

Cherry Muffins

24 mins

Cherry Smoothie

6 mins

Cherry Limeade

6 mins

Cherry Cheesecake Dip

6 mins