Simple Cherry Pie Filling – Simply Home Cooked

This Simple Cherry Pie Filling goes absolutely perfectly with a homemade crust. It’s sweet, tart, and full of juicy cherries that go great in pie, with ice cream, or cakes.

Table Of Contents

Recipe Details

What better way to use up those sweet plump summer cherries than making homemade Cherry Pie Filling? I think that there is just something so nostalgic about a homemade cherry pie.

• TASTE: Sweet cherries and buttery pie crust is simply a winning combination! You’ll love the mix of sweet and tart in this filling.
• TEXTURE: The Cherry Pie Filling is syrupy and thick with whole berries throughout. They’re super juicy.
• TIME: It only takes 20 minutes to make.
• EASE: This recipe is so easy and only takes a few steps. The hardest part is pitting the cherries, which you can do with a special cherry pitter.

What You’ll Need

Ingredient Notes

• Cherries- Sour cherries are preferred for cherry pie filling, but you can also use sweet ones like Bing and Rainer cherries.
• Sugar- This sweetens the filling.
• Cornstarch- This is used to help thicken the sugar and cherry juices to a nice syrupy consistency.
• Lemon juice- This adds a citrusy flavor that contrasts the sweetness of the fruit.
• Vanilla extract- For a light vanilla flavor.

Add-ins and Substitutions

• Substitute the cornstarch– Use arrowroot powder or tapioca starch if you prefer not to use cornstarch.
• Substitute other fruits- You can make this recipe with cut up strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, raspberries, or raspberries. Just adjust the sugar for each fruit.
• Use other extracts- You can experiment with other flavors like almond extract, lemon extract, or lime extract.
• Substitute frozen cherries- This can be done if they are thawed and drained of excess liquid. Keep in mind they may not hold their shape as well as fresh cherries.

How to Make Cherry Pie Filling

• Pit your cherries. You can do this by hand with a paring knife or use a cherry pitter to save time.
• Combine the ingredients. Then add the pitted cherries to a saucepan along with the cornstarch, sugar, water, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
• Boil and simmer the filling. Mix it all together and let it come to a boil. Then bring the heat down and let simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Pro Tip: I only do this with a cherry pitter. It is an absolute must in this recipe.

Recipe Tips

• Use a cherry pitter to remove the pits. To make this process faster, I highly suggest using a cherry pitter.
• Add extra sugar for sour cherries. If you are lucky enough to find tart sour cherries, you will need to add more sugar.
• Use fresh lemon juice- This just adds more flavor than concentrate, as well as great aroma. You can even add some lemon zest, too.

FAQs

Serving Suggestions

This homemade Cherry Pie Filling is sweet and thick with juicy cherries throughout. It tastes amazing with ice cream, pastries, cakes, and pies.

• Ice Cream: Bake this filling in a Homemade Pie Crust and serve it alongside some No Churn Vanilla Ice Cream, Easy Ube Ice Cream, or Honeydew Melon Sorbet.
• Pies/Cobblers: Pair it with other pies, such as this 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 a slice of New York Style Cheesecake, Cherry Jello Cake, Lemon Pound Cake (VIDEO), or Berry Chantilly Cake.

Make This Recipe in Advance

Make ahead: You can pit the cherries and store them in the fridge for a few days before making the filling.

Storing: The best way to store homemade pie filling like this is to place it into clean mason jars and place it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Make sure the lids are tightly screwed on to preserve the pie filling as best as you can.

Freeze: 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. 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.

More Tasty Pies and Cobblers!

Full Recipe Instructions