Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
Homemade cherry pie filling, or most other fruit fillings are positively quick and so easy to make. Don’t be afraid, just follow these simple directions for perfect results.
Originally published August 20th, 2013.
Do you know how easy it is to make your own homemade cherry pie filling? Or apple, peach, blueberry or rhubarb pie filling, for that matter? Well, I’m going to show you how super easy it is!
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If “life is like a bowl of cherries”, does it mean that there are endless things you can do with your life, just like those cherries?
Does it mean some cherries are sweet, and some are sour, and that somehow equates to the good and bad in our lives? Instead of pondering life’s analogies, I’d rather do something with that bowl of cherries.
Why substituting ingredients sometimes doesn’t work.
I spied some Balaton Cherries (a type of sour cherry) at the grocery store the other day. They looked so good and I wanted to make boozy cherries like Nonna used to make in Italy. However, when I got home and tried to push them tightly into jars, I realized they were much too big to make Nonna’s alcohol soaked fruit. There was too much sugar in the jars due to all the space between the large cherries.
You may also enjoy this Cherry Cheese Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe
Apparently, according to my cousin Gianfranco, I need to use tiny sour cherries (amarena). The problem is that I don’t even know if I can find them here in the US. I bought one type of small sour cherry a few years ago, but haven’t seen them since. (Sigh.)
Those boozy cherries are one of my favorite things in life! I did keep one jar to try, but I don’t think it will meet my standards of tasting like Nonna’s original. Sometimes, there can be no substitutions in a recipe, and this is a case in point.
So, onto Plan B: homemade cherry pie filling with fresh cherries is infinitely better than its canned counterpart, so that’s what I did, and you can too.
You may also enjoy this strawberry rhubarb pie filling recipe.
How do you make homemade cherry pie filling?
It’s so easy, and this method works for making most fruit fillings. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.
- Just put the fruit and sugar in a pot.
- Next, add corn starch (see the printable recipe below for instructions on how to add the corn starch so it won’t be lumpy).
- Lastly, stir until it comes to a boil and you’re done! It’s that simple.
Use the filling as you desire, but remember that sweeter fruit will need less sugar (peach, eg.) and more sour fruit will need more sugar (rhubarb, eg.).
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
(or Apple, Peach, Blueberry or Rhubarb)
recipe by Christina Conte FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Place the cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat.
Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the cornstarch (see printable recipe for directions so you don’t get a lumpy sauce) to the cherries and mix well.
Continue to stir with a wooden spoon just until it comes to a boil and is slightly thickened and glossy. Remove from heat.
Ta dah! You now have homemade cherry pie filling! Remember, you can use these directions for other fruit, too. Just adjust the sugar to fruit ratio depending on how sweet or sour the fruit is (taste it to see if it needs more sugar). Here’s my recipe for a super quick, homemade pie crust.
How do you make a cherry pie or crumble?
This filling perfect for pies, crumbles, crisps, and cobblers. It’s amazing topping for cheesecake, blintzes, pancakes, or ice-cream. The thickened fruit is also a delicious filling for crepes, turnovers and in Black Forest Cake–the list goes on and on.
If you’d like to make a cherry pie (or other fruit pie), make this easy crust Pie Pastry in Under One Minute, then fill it with your pie filling. Bake as per my apple pie recipe.
Maybe you’d like to make a fruit crumble instead, as it’s quite a bit easier than rolling out pastry. If so, here’s another super simple recipe for the topping. I made a cherry crumble with my cherry pie filling. Just pour the cherry filling into an 8×8 pan and top with my super-simple, homemade crumble. See the finished crumble photo at the very bottom of this post.
Homemade Cherry Pie Filling (or Apple, Peach, Rhubarb...)
The best and easiest fruit filling recipe, ever!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (1 1/2 lbs) pitted sour cherries (you can use sweet, but cut down the sugar)
- 1 cup (8 oz) sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 heaped teaspoons corn starch (water to mix)
Instructions
- Place the cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat.
- Stir to dissolve the sugar. Meanwhile, mix the corn starch in a small bowl with just enough water to form a smooth mixture, then add to the cherries and mix well. Add the mixture before the cherries come to a boil, or it will be lumpy.
- Continue to stir the cherries and sauce, just until it comes to a boil and is slightly thickened and glossy. Remove from heat. Use as desired.
Notes
Perfect for pies, crumbles, crisps, and cobblers; amazing topping for cheesecake, blintzes, pancakes, or ice-cream; a delicious filling for crepes, turnovers and in Black Forest Cake--the list goes on and on.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 4 ozAmount Per Serving: Calories: 52Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
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We bought a bag of fresh cherries but unfortunately they don’t taste good. They are pretty flavorless and the flavor they do have is poor. I’ve never had a bad batch before and I hate to waste them. Can I still use them to bake with or should I toss them?
Hi Deanna, I think they’d be okay to bake with. I cannot remember which fruit I had this issue with (it could actually have been cherries), but I was delighted with the results after using them in a bake. I hate to throw food away, so I would probably try the crumble, which is super easy and only requires three ingredients (and the cherries.) Let me know if you give it a try.
I wish you would share your Nonna’s recipe for drunken cherries. I’m getting ready to make this pie filling with a little almond extract with the cinnamon!
Thanks
Linda
I tried making it last year and it just didn’t taste like hers, Linda. I can’t share until I get it right. Happy that you’re using the pie filling recipe! Enjoy!
Hello,
May I ask how many inch of pie will this filling fills?
Thank you
Hi Coco, an 8 or 9 inch pie dish is fine. :)
I have made this before and used frozen cherries. I accidently bought a huge bag of the dark sweet frozen cherries and had no idea what to do with them. I made the most delicious pie with them and everyone loved it – NO ONE even guessed that the cherries started out frozen. I did defrost them and tried draining them a bit, BUT i saved the cherry juice in case I needed it to make the filling a bit wetter. So good. Thank you Christina :)
That’s great to hear, Anne! Yes, frozen fruit and veg are the next best after fresh! So glad everyone loved the pie!
I just made the cherry pie filling and it is yummy. This is my first time making pie filling/crumble from scratch. I was wondering if I had to cool down the filling before I put the oatmeal crumble on top to bake? Thank you so much! I will definitely try out some more recipes. There is nothing but time now:)
Dear Christina,
So, during this strange and wild time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I had to remove 2 gluten free pie shells from my freezer to make room for more essential foodstuffs. (What could be more essential than pie, right? I know … but these are unprecedented times, as they say.) Then I got a wild hare idea to make a pie with some of the frozen fruit I have (no fresh cherries available just yet). I found your recipe here, and had to modify, because all I had were 2 bags of sweet dark cherries, and there were no frozen tart cherries at my local grocery store. I added some sliced frozen peaches (because I had them, and, why not?), cut the sugar (raw turbinado) to 1/3 of what your recipe calls for, and added a bit more lemon juice (fresh), then tasted before filling the pie to make sure the sweetness seemed balanced. Also added about 1 tsp. of cassava flour and a little less corn starch to see how that would work. The filling was a little runny when the pie was still warm, but a good consistency when it cooled. The pie filling is absolutely delicious, and were the crust not a bit too salty, I would say the entire pie is an unqualified delectable success. Thank you for this easy to prepare and wonderful recipe!
Oh you’re a doll, Gabrielle! I gave you inspiration, but sounds like you’ve created your own pie! Yes, I’m sure if you had a homemade crust with a touch of sugar (vs salt) it would have been even more delicious! Thanks for the lovely review and enjoy your pie! Stay safe!
I just made this except with cranberries and I used white flour instead of cornstarch (I didnt have any). The filling turned out tasty! My 2 year old kept saying it was yummy! I’m making a pie with it so I’m hoping it turns out great!
Oh good! Do try to pick up some cornstarch though as the raw flour isn’t as good as using cornstarch, so you’ll enjoy it even more next time! :)
Christina, is it possible to use canned/jarred sour cherries? It’s December and fresh aren’t available, but I make my brother a cherry pie every Christmas. You can bet when cherry picking season comes around, I will be heading out to the Antelope Valley to pick them myself!
Yes, Suzi that will work, just adjust the amount of cornstarch to suit the cherries (if it’s too runny, make another mixture and add more). I love cherry pie and haven’t had one in ages!