Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Homemade cherry pie filling tastes infinitely better than store-bought! And best of all, it’s one of the easiest fruit desserts you can make.

While you can certainly use the pie filling to make a spectacular cherry pie, you can also top cheesecakes, pancakes, waffles, or crepes with it. And it’s fantastic when spooned over ice cream or layer it into yogurt parfaits for a treat!

Cherry Pie Filling

Pour the warm cherry filling into a store-bought or homemade pie crust and you’ll have dessert ready in no time. And speaking of pie crusts, you’ll need just four ingredients and ten minutes to make this fuss-free cheater pie crust!

It’s a tender, flaky crust made with oil and it works great when you just don’t feel like messing with traditional, sometimes fussy, pie doughs.

You don’t have to wait until springtime for fresh cherries. The ones from the freezer section work just fine and I use frozen cherries far more often than I use fresh cherries in my baking recipes.

Frozen cherries get double bonus points (in my kitchen) for already having the pits removed when you buy them. Just open the bag and pour the cherries into the saucepan. There’s no need to thaw them first.

How To Pit Cherries

If you do use fresh cherries, and whenever I have them at hand I certainly do, I have a cherry pitting tip for you. If you don’t want to buy a cherry pitter just for this one task, you can use a paperclip.

Unfold the paper clip just once and you will be able to slide the curved end into the cherry and pop out the pit. It really is super easy.

And if you’re feeling a little crafty, you can make a homemade cherry pitter from an old fork. We did this many years ago and it still works great!

How to Make Cherry Pie Filling

You will need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• cornstarch
• sugar
• fresh or frozen cherries
• water
• fresh lemon juice

Cherries and almonds pair beautifully together, so I often add a tiny bit of almond extract or a splash of amaretto to this recipe at the end. It’s entirely optional, but I do recommend you try it at least once.

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Combine the sugar and the cornstarch in a heavy, medium-sized saucepan. Whisk them together until there are no cornstarch lumps. Add the water, cherries, and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce turns clear and has thickened. Remove from heat and cool. Use as desired. The pie filling will keep nicely in the fridge for up to a week.

Cherry Pie Filling Desserts

Try layering the cherry sauce into a stack of banana split pancakes or spooning it over a slice of Nutella cheesecake pie.

Vanilla glazed cherry pie bars are an easy treat you can make with canned cherry pie filling or with a batch of homemade pie filling.

Rich chocolate cake filled with sweet juicy cherries and topped with fluffy whipped cream is a dream come true with this easy black forest cake recipe.

This no-bake cherry cheesecake is a classic dessert that everyone enjoys. It is perfect for summer picnics and potlucks. This cheesecake has a graham cracker crust over a creamy cheesecake layer with cherry pie filling over the top.