Homemade cherry pie filling! You can use fresh or frozen tart cherries.
This is exactly how Grandma taught me how to make pie filling, only sometimes she'd add a tablespoon of lemon juice if the cherries turned out too sweet. This is a great recipe to take advantage of all those beautiful Washington cherries.
Read MoreDO NOT ADD THE CORNSTARCH DIRECTLY TO THE COOKED CHERRIES IN JUICE!! I knew this didn't sound right. Luckily I had made a trial batch where I followed the recipe directly, and sure enough, that batch has lumps of cornstarch in it that will not dissolve. Make a slur with the cornstarch. Add a little cold water to the cornstarch in a separate cup or bowl mixing rapidly so it is just a white cornstarch liquid. No dry specs. No lumps. I stirred the slur into my second batch and it thickened PERFECTLY!! Hope this helps!
Read MoreThis is exactly how Grandma taught me how to make pie filling, only sometimes she'd add a tablespoon of lemon juice if the cherries turned out too sweet. This is a great recipe to take advantage of all those beautiful Washington cherries.
DO NOT ADD THE CORNSTARCH DIRECTLY TO THE COOKED CHERRIES IN JUICE!! I knew this didn't sound right. Luckily I had made a trial batch where I followed the recipe directly, and sure enough, that batch has lumps of cornstarch in it that will not dissolve. Make a slur with the cornstarch. Add a little cold water to the cornstarch in a separate cup or bowl mixing rapidly so it is just a white cornstarch liquid. No dry specs. No lumps. I stirred the slur into my second batch and it thickened PERFECTLY!! Hope this helps!
someone gave me cherries this weekend .... it is way to hot to be baking, so I decided to make the filling now and bake later. This filling is wonderful..... It tastes so good I wonder if I will even get a pie, what I don't just eat with a spoon may go over ice cream or on waffles!!! (and I doubled the recipe)
This was excellent! I cut it in half and used it with the Jenny's Black Forest Cake recipe. Not too sweet, but a perfect complement with chocolate cake! :-) Thanks. Update*** I used 1 1/2 cups cherries, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbs cornstarch. It was the perfect amount to fill a 2 layer black forest cake!
Great recipe, if you use Arrowroot you won't have the cornstarch flavor and Arrowroot keeps whatever sauce you are making clear while cornstarch makes in opaque or cloudy.
OMG! How can something so simple be so good?! No one wanted the cherries off the tree because they were so tart. So I got the lot of them. They made a FANTASTIC filling! I added a little cinnamon (maybe 1/2 tsp) and a few drops of almond extract. There may be no pie. Because I keep eating it by the spoonful!
This was delicious and very easy to make! The only revision I made was to add 1 Tblspoon lemon juice to make it a little more tart. I will definitely make it again.
I have a dwarf pie cherry tree and this was a perfect recipe to make a pie from sratch. Its easy after pitting all those berries and my pie was delicous. I did add about 2t. of lemon jucie, a capful of almond extract and 1/2 t. cinnamon. When I made my pie, I dotted the top with butter, than lattice pie crust-- a keeper!
Because I was concerned about the corn starch clumping, I made one small change, which was to simmer the cherries with the sugar to start, then mix the corn starch with just enough water to make a slurry. After about fifteen minutes of initial cook time, I added the starch and blended. It thickened immediately, and I let it simmer on low an additional three or four minutes, enough time to cook away the corn starch taste. Turned out very well, and I was extremely pleased with this recipe. The only caveat I have is not to overfill your pie shell, because this filling lifted my covered pie top and leaked out of the edges. A little goes a long way!
I made this from bing cherries as a tart filling and it was delicious!! I, too, used a little lemon juice as I would for fruit jams and preserves. I'm so glad I had enough filling left over to use as a jam spread on my toast and even over ice cream!
I will diffinately make this again, very good. I noticed one older review said it didn't thicken and it tasted like corn starch. She needed to cook it longer until nice and bubbly and the cornstarch turns clear. I did add 3-4 drops of almond flavoring. Cool filling if trying to use a lattice top, my pie crust strips became soft and wanted to fall apart.
Didn't turn out for me. I followed the directions exactly. The taste was okay but I could taste cornstarch even though it was mixed all the way. Never thickened up.
Great stuff. I used frozen cherries and they turned out perfect. This was a great cheesecake topper.
Excellent, saves me a lot of money considering I have a cherry tree in my yard-comes out a little sweet but the advice regarding lemon juice is perfect-plus it adds a little "kick" to it. Great!
Followed this recipe to the t and people raved about it!! I made a few for friends and got phone calls saying"Best cherry pie I have have had in my entire life". It set perfectly. Tasted great. I used frozen cherries.
Used this to mix together fresh cherries/blueberries for a cherry crisp recipe that called for filling. I didn't cook this on the stove, just added it to the pan. I reduced the sugar to 3/4 of a cup since the cherries were very ripe. Added lemon and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Thanks!
I made half a recipe to use on top of a Black Forest cake. I placed frozen cherries in a saucepan, sprinkled the sugar over, and let them sit until they juiced slightly. Then I added the cornstarch and cooked for a few minutes until thick. It came out perfect.
I made this to put over cheesecake. I may use a little less sugar next time, but this is really delicious.
This was really easy to make and tasted way better than the canned pie filling. It was prettier too.
I used the filling for my Black Forest cake, I halved the sugar and it was still very sweet, will use 1/4 cup sugar next time with 1/8 cup cornstarch. For cherry pie used 1 kg of frozen sour cherries, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup cornstarch and a dash of almond extract, fills pie shell perfectly with barely any seepage, baked at 400 degrees for 1 hour.
I like a little cinnamon in my cherry pie filling, too. I even put it in the canned fillings.
made this for the first time with the cherries from our trees in our backyard and it was awesome!! I did add just a touch of vanilla just because I like it in most of my pastry recipes. So easy and so much better than a can. I made turnovers and mini cherry pies in the little foil tart pans to give away to family n friends. I will make this again next cherry season and make enough and sooner(before everyone eats most of the cherries) to put up for pastries after the official cherry season.
I made this Cherry pie filling to place inside the "Cherry Crunch" recipe also listed here on Allrecipes. It turned out so good that words pale in comparison to the flavorful taste.
I should have tasted my cherries because they were already so sweet that 1 cup of sugar made it too sweet. Next time I will cut 1/4 cup out if the cherries are sweet.
Came out delicious! I squeezed a lemon slice into the fruit and added a touch of almond extract. My cook times were a bit longer than the recipe stated, but I'm guessing that the high altitude here in CO is the reason. As for the reviewer who had this not turn out: mine was also runny and had a strong corn starch flavor at the suggested cook time. I'm guessing yours might have needed a few more minutes, too.
This was a HUGE hit this Thanksgiving. It was the first pie to go! It's also my husband's favorite kind of pie and he said it was the best he ever had. This will definitely be my "go to". I used canned pitted cherries and they worked fine btw.
Excellent! So much better than canned will ever be. Thanks a lot. The pie was great.
I like to read the reviews before making a recipe. Based on a few other reviews, here's how I put my batch together. My cherries were frozen and when they thawed, I poured the juice into a measuring cup and mixed 2 T of corn starch with it (half of what the recipe calls for). After bringing the cherries to a simmer, I added 1/2 cup of sugar and the corn starch mixed with cherry juice. I let it warm up and thicken. I tasted the sauce to see if it needed more sugar, but it was sweet enough. I prefer to make things from scratch rather than buy store bought. Thank you for sharing this recipe. As long as I have cherries on hand, I will not buy canned again!
As another reviewer said, make a slurry with the cornstarch first. I did not add any water, but instead used the cherry juice from the bottom of the bowl of pitted fresh cherries. So, while cherries are heating on the stove, in a bowl combine cornstarch & cherry juice, whisk until smooth. Add a few drops of almond extract. Add sugar, whisk again. Pour into bubbling pot of cherries, stirring to combine. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened. Taste a cherry and sauce for desired seeetness/ tartness. If too sweet, add a tsp of lemon juice. If too tart, add a T of sugar. Repeat as necessary. Cool filling completely before assembling pie.
My ex had FINALLY, after 2 years, 5 months, and 17 days but I'm not bitter, found "that last moving box he swore was NOT in his basement," and, once I thoroughly cleaned the mouse nest out of my newly re-acquired Crock Pot, I was itchin' to actually cook. Inexplicably, I had ended up with a stockpile of canned tart cherries. Wanting to make a "3-ingredient dump cake" (haha, I said "dump") I saw on FB, I realized the cherries alone would simply not do, and so I found this recipe. I accidentally had cornstarch (for me, cooking is making toast, so I have no business being in possession of something as specific as cornstarch) and *unexpired* sugar (whaaaat?). The pie filling came out amazingly perfect. I even tried to pull my 9yo son away from Minecraft to show him how the cornstarch changed consistency with heat but he was busy building the solar system out of TNT and couldn't be bothered with science. I put the cherry pie filling into the butter-greased CP, mixed a stick of melted butter with yellow cake mix (also both miraculously unexpired - what whaaaat??), crumbled that on top of the cherry pie filling, cooked on high for 2 hours, and was happily sugared up for several days. Granted, it didn't come out as anything I'd want to photograph - but it was DELICIOUS. The cherry pie filling was *almost* too sweet, but most people wouldn't think that, as they would eat it as dessert after a meal, and not AS the meal itself, 3x/day, for 4 days.
I used this as a basis for how much sugar to add to my quart jar of canned cherries. I cut the sugar to 2/3 cup, and mixed the corn starch with water as most people do before stirring it into the pot. It was plenty sweet, and that is probably because some sugar was already in the liquid of the canning jar of cherries.
Easy to make, just what I was looking for to use all these Washington cherries.
Wonderful recipe! Simple and easy. I used black cherries that were sweet so I only used about 3/4C sugar, and a splash of lemon juice. Soooooo delicious! Thank you for sharing!!!
I can't buy cherry pie filling and wondered what I could do for the Best No-Bake Cheesecake. Now I have an idea. I suppose one could also put some sugar in it, if the cherries are too tart. It will be the cherry season in a few months and I will have a go.
Fantastically easy recipe and SO SO GOOD! Used frozen cherries, canned cherries..comes out perfect. My brother in law who is a cherry pie expert, LOVED LOVED LOVED the pie I made for him...definitely a keeper!
This is a good recipe. I made cherry turnovers. It was just the right amount of cornstarch. Also I did add lemon juice and almond extract. Lemon seems to bring out the flavor of fruit. I made a triple batch.
The best cherry pie filling ever!! Thank you so much, I too added a tsp. of lemon juice, but that's all i did!! Fantastic recipe!!
This was amazing! So simple and turned out perfect. Never made a homemade cherry pie before, and this was so yummy!
My cherries were tart, but the sauce was way too sweet. The second batch I made, I added the lemon juice (like recommended by others), and it didn't make a difference. Loved the thickness, but seemed overly sweet...will cut down on the sugar and cornstarch next time.
I used sour cherries and only used half the sugar. Glad I didn't add the whole amount, otherwise would have been way too sweet for my taste. Thank you for the recipe.
Wonderful cherry pie filling! I had never tried to do a cherry pie and refused to make it with canned filling. This one came out superb!!! I added about a tbsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice because my cherries were on the sweet side. Perfect amount of sweetness and tartness!!! It's a shame that cherries are not in season all year 'round!
I used 1 can of bing cherries which was about 1 3/4 cups so scaled down the other ingredients (be sure to use the cherries in juice, not pie filling kind). They are packed in juice so you can just add the sugar/cornstarch right away. Turned out great for my coffee cake filling!
Excellent! I used 3/4c. sugar, but I'm sure 1c. would've turned out just as yummy. Simple to cook ~ cutting and pitting the cherries took time, but wasn't annoying to do. Someone mentioned to add water to the cornstarch, which I did, then figured the cherry juice would act as the water, so I just added the cornstarch as is (after whisking with sugar). Thickened great.
I made a double batch and it turned out just fine. I did use clear Jel instead of cornstarch and added 2 T lemon juice. It is going into the freezer for later.
This was my first successful attempt at homemade cherry pie filling! I did use canned red tart cherries as I did not want to pit the fresh cherries that aren't at peak ripeness at the moment. I used the filling to make mini cherry pies. So good!
My husband never liked cherry pie until I made one using this filling. Wonderful recipe! Added a dash of cinnamon.
I did not know it was so easy to make pie filling. Ok a little putzy to pit cherries, but my three year old was helping me (mostly by eating the cherries) so good quality time together. I used this for a cherry rhubarb pie. I had about a cup of extra cherries so I threw them in there and put the extra filling in a bowl to heat up for popovers. Delish:)
So simple yet so delicious!! I made exactly as the recipe called and it was the perfect combo of sweet and tart.
I have been using this recipe for the last two years. I use the cherries from the tree in our yard, and it works perfectly! I have never had any problems with it, and my family and friends love the pies and pastries I make with it. Thank you!!
made this using Montmerency cherries I freeze every summer. I added 1 T fresh lemon juice and 1 tsp almond extract as well as a couple of shakes of pie spice (cinnamon, cloves, mace, ginger). II add the cornstarch , sugar and other ingredients to the juice and cook until it starts to thicken - then add cherries and turn off heat. The glaze is clear and thickens beautifully. I adjust sugar to taste. This recipe is SO EASY and ALWAYS PERFECT for pie filling or as a sauce or topping for cake, cheesecake etc. I initially made it just as written and it was delicious - just tweaked it to suit my families individual taste.
This recipe is great, but I made a small change. I used tapioca flour (starch) which eliminates the cornstarch taste since tapioca flour has no taste of its own, but works jut as good as cornstarch in equal amounts.
This was absolutely delicious! I used frozen cherries and a small touch of almond extract. It made the pie perfectly sweet, not too sweet! I will definitely make again!
Very good and very easy. We liked it better than canned. I used frozen cherries and part Splenda for the sugar.
Wow, so easy and so good. My wife and I grew the cherries, picked, and pitted them ourselves. Super yummy, and rewarding.
Great homemade pie filling. Used frozen cherries and it turned out great. Made the Holiday Cherry pie with it, for a potluck.
I suppose the main factor here is your cherries. I found this to be delicious and so simple!
I make this filling to go into a Black Forest Gateau which has become a tradition in our family for my husband's birthday. I use pitted fresh black cherries instead of tart red, reduce the sugar to around 3/4 cup, and it works incredibly well in the cake.
The recipe may work exactly as is, and if you don't precook it, however, it's a disaster if you precook and reduce the sugar or substitute tapioca for the cornstarch (which I avoid due to GMO risk). I cut the sugar to 3/4 c. and doubled the tapioca, but still had a completely runny pie. I'm not sure what happened. The filling was the perfect consistency when I precooked it and poured it into the pie crust. However, when it came out of the oven, it was watery. I've never had that happen using tapioca before, so I'm not sure what's happening.
It was a little soupy (made 3 batches at once), so I added a few more minutes to the simmering time and a teaspoon of pectin, which turned out great!
Made this recipe just as directions said. Easy and delicious! I held out a little sugar as some previous reviewers suggested. I added it back in though because it didn't taste overly sweet to me. Just the right amount of tartness with the full cup of sugar. My cherries were picked from my in-laws cherry tree and frozen, so maybe they were more tart than some. Delicious cherry filling recipe!
This was excellent. I made a double batch which made two pies and enough left over for tarts. Great for sour cherries from our tree. Added one tablespoon of lemon juice.
After 20 years of trying to make pie filling easily, consistently delicious every time when using our hand picked frozen sour cherries, we finally found this recipe! I add a pinch or two of salt because that was what I was taught to do, but it is wonderful even when I forget. Please keep in mind it only works if you thoroughly mix the cornstarch in with the sugar before adding it to the hot cherries, otherwise you will have lumps. The beauty of this recipe is the ease of defrosting the cherries on the stove and dumping and whisking in the dry ingredients including the cornstarch. Some members of our family like cherry pie filling thickened with flour, and it works just as well, substituting 1/2 cup of flour for the 1/4 cup of cornstarch. A dash of almond extract is lovely but not necessary, and sometimes I add more sugar if my cherries are particularly tart or it’s for my sister. Highly recommend!
This pie filling was really good. This is the first time I made pie filling and it was super easy and tastes great. I personally would add a little more sugar next time but other than that I will use this recipe if I ever make cherry filling
Used frozen sor cherries let thaw while the were juicing mixed sugar and cornstarch and added almond flavouring thickened up beautifully. Very tasty filling now going to make the pies for my bake sale.
If you're having a problem with the cornstarch, try adding it with the cherries before you turn on the stove. Adding cornstarch to hot liquids makes it clump together, if you do need to add it to something hot mix it with a little cold water first.
Great recipe with proper ratio of sugar:corn starch for those who like very sweet filling. I prefer less sweet, so used 1/2 C sugar and 1/8C corn starch as suggested by fellow reviewers.
Loved this, it's what I looked for. I made it and it was perfect, we also put this on ice cream.
This is so easy to make and turned out perfectly. I canned the pie filling and it will be ready for pies this winter.
The cherries never thickened! I tried again, and added more cornstarch, but all that ever came out was water and soggy cherries! it tasted okay, somewhat starchy, but it didn't really work out for me.
Mine never thickened... it tasted really sweet. Not terrible, just not really my favorite.
Fast and easy and GOOD!
Very simple delicious filling. I used organic frozen cherries and substituted just little bit of corn starch for potato starch which makes filling more thicker and adds more shine.
I made it and it turned out quite wonderful! However, instead of using tart cherries I used sweet dark ones since that's all my store had in the frozen section, and to make the mixture just a bit more sour I added some lime juice as I had no lemon juice on me. It took a bit longer than a few minutes for the sauce to thicken up, though. Still turned out absolutely wonderful!
I made this with pie cherries I'd had in the freezer for some time, turned out great!
