Pair this cherry pie filling with my homemade pie crust or use it to top homemade brownies or fill crepes for a delicious dessert! And be sure to also check out our blueberry pie filling next! I’ll admit that for years I would buy cans of premade cherry pie filling from the store whenever a recipe called for it. They just seem so easy and convenient! But I was always disappointed with the gel to fruit ratio, which was often way off for my tastes. And frankly, the flavor just doesn’t come close to comparing with homemade cherry pie filling. Once I started making my own cherry pie filling, I’ve never looked back. When cherries are fresh and in season, I like to use them. But this filling is almost just as good with frozen, bottled, or canned cherries too! I felt like I had to test this recipe with every variety of cherries I could get my hands on to see if there was one I liked best, but since they are all delicious I’m sharing my tips for how to adjust the recipe depending on which cherries you have access too. You can make this recipe with almost any cherries available. The principle adjustment is to the amount of sugar used and when to add the cherries. Tart or sour cherries, which you typically only find bottled or canned, require more sugar than sweet cherries, which are almost always what you will find fresh at the farmer’s market or frozen at the grocery store.

Tart Cherry Pie Filling ingredients

Pitted Tart Cherries Granulated Sugar Cornstarch Salt Cherry Juice Lemon Juice Vanilla Extract Almond Extract Food Coloring (affiliate link)

Making cherry pie filling with fresh or frozen cherries

The hardest part of making cherry pie filling with fresh cherries is getting the pits out. It’s the worst. Unless you have a handy dandy cherry pitter that is. I grabbed mine at target, but you can find them at any kitchen store or online as well. If you are using frozen cherries, let them at least partially thaw and drain off the liquid so they don’t turn the filling into a soupy mess.

  1. Toss all of the pitted cherries in large pot and add the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir to redistribute the cornstarch and sugar, then add the water and lemon juice.
  2. Heat the cherries over medium heat until they start to boil, stirring frequently. Once bubbling, continue to cook and stir often until the cherries have released their juices and softened and the liquid has thickened and turned opaque.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, almond extract, and red food coloring (affiliate link), if you want to use it.
  4. Let the filling cool completely, then transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Making cherry pie filling with bottled or canned cherries

The main difference using bottled or canned cherries are already softened and don’t need to simmer as long as fresh cherries do. Also, rather than using water to create the gel part of the filling, I like to reserve some of the liquid and use that instead. My favorite brand of bottled cherries are the dark Morello cherries from Trader Joe’s, but the Oregon fruit brand also makes good canned tart cherries that you can find at any grocery store.

  1. Start by whisking the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a large pot. Add the reserved liquid or water and lemon juice, then heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture starts to simmer.
  2. Continue to cook, stirring often until the liquid thickens and turns clear instead of cloudy. Stir in the cherries, then remove from the heat.
  3. Add the vanilla, almond extract, and red food coloring (affiliate link), if using. Cool completely, then transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

What to do if your cherry pie filling is too thick or too thin

Because the amount of liquid going into your cherry pie filling can vary based on the type of cherries you are using, you might find that you want to thicken or thin out the filling to get it to the consistency you like best. This is particularly true with frozen cherries, in my experience. If you find that it is too thick, simple add a little additional liquid, a couple tablespoons at a time. Stir this into the filling well before adding more. If the mixture isn’t thick enough, mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, then drizzle this into your filling a teaspoon or so at a time, continue to cook until the filling has thickened to your liking.

What to Make with Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

In cherry pie or cherry crisp As a cake filling, particularly in Black Forest Cake Over angel food cake, cheesecake, brownies, chocolate lava cakes With puff pastry for easy cherry turnovers With crescent roll dough and cream cheese to make an easy braided pastry Swirled into your favorite ice cream base As an ice cream topping

More Cherry Recipes

Cherry Brownies Cherry Winks The Best Cherry Pineapple Jello Salad Cherry Crisp Cherry Crisp Cake

Cherry Pie Bars

Best Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe

Black Cherry Ice Cream

Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.

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