Homemade cherry pie filling recipe

Making your own homemade cherry pie filling is not only delicious, it is also a pretty easy recipe.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying cans of cherry pie filling in the grocery store, it is surprisingly easy to make it at home. It took me many cans of store bought pie filling before I started wondering why I had never made it myself. The fun thing is that if you make it yourself you can also adjust the flavor to your own preference.

​Even better; you can make this cherry pie filling with fresh cherries, canned cherries, rainier cherries, dark sweet cherries and yes, even cherries from the freezer.

What you need to make cherry pie filling

If you have your own cherry tree, this would be absolutely perfect for cherry season. You can use all the leftover cherries to make this homemade cherry filling. In this particular case I went with jarred cherries, as all the fresh ones were completely sold out in the stores. And using jarred cherries is even easier, as you don’t need a cherry pitter. That’s already done for you.

You’ll need:

• cherries – fresh, canned, jarred or frozen
• cherry juice – substitute with water if you’re using fresh cherries
• granulated sugar – you can also add brown sugar if you want
• cornstarch – the binding agent in this recipe
• lemon juice 

​And that’s all there is to it. When you’re using fresh cherries, having a cherry pitter handy is easiest but you can also use a sharp paring knife to remove the stones. Other than the cherry pitter you’ll need a saucepan and a container to add your homemade pie filling to once ready.

How to make the pie filling

When using canned cherries first drain them in a sieve or a colander. Make sure to preserve all the juice. The same goes for using frozen cherries. Make sure to let them defrost and keep the juice that comes out of the cherries. If you don’t have enough juice you can add a bit of water or orange juice to make up for the missing part.

Place all the cherries plus 150 ml (5 fluid ounce) in a saucepan. Turn on the heat to low and let it come to a boil. Make sure to stir gently regularly!

In another bowl you combine the sugar, cornstarch and the lemon juice with a little bit of the cherry juice as well. Stir this into a paste and when your cherry mixture in the pan is boiling add the cornstarch mix. The amount of sugar you use is optional. I’ve used 50 gram (1.5 to 2 ounces) but you can use more sugar if you want it really sweet. It also depends on the sweetness of your cherries. If you’re using sour cherries or tart cherries you might want a bit more sugar. Just test it and add more if you want.

You let it boil for approximately 5 to 10 minutes or until it is thick enough. You can test this by adding a little bit of the liquid on a plate. You can see and feel if it is ready with your fingers. Easiest is to let it cool slightly and then move a finger through the juice. If the stripe stays it is ready. If the two halves flow back together it is not done yet.

When your cherry pie filling is done pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it cool completely.

Fresh vs canned cherries

Now while this is totally delicious with fresh fruit, the end result with either fresh or canned is really the same. The only difference is that you might have to add a bit of water as you won’t have cherry juice like the canned stuff does. I love adding a bit of orange juice instead of the water for extra flavor.

Adding flavor

While this delicious pie filling is perfect on it’s own, you can add flavor to your own pie fillings. Think about adding some almond extract or vanilla extract for instance. Adding some extra lemon or lime zest is also a good option. It also depends on what you will be using it for. The flavor is much richer than canned pie fillings (or so I think) so keep in mind what you want to use it for.