This is the easiest and BEST double cherry pie filling recipe that uses a combination of both sour cherries and sweet dark cherries. It’s incredibly straightforward and takes less than 10 minutes to make. The best part? You can use frozen or fresh cherries to make this pie filling. I get a lot of requests for this cherry pie filling recipe and once you’ve made it, it’ll be really hard to go back to the canned stuff.
What’s in Homemade Cherry Pie Filling?
For this homemade cherry pie filling recipe, I’ve used tart sour cherries and sweet dark cherries, pure cane sugar, a little fresh lime juice, a few drops of pure almond extract, and a pinch of cinnamon. And I can tell you this recipe produces an intense natural cherry flavor.
Plus, it’s very lightly cooked which helps maintain the bursting real cherry flavor in this homemade pie filling. Use this pie filling to top or fill all your favorite desserts like cherry cheese pie, no-bake cheesecakes, classic vanilla bean cheesecake, or to make the best homemade copycat of Marie Callender’s famous sweet cherry crumb-crunch pie.
Why We Love this Homemade Cherry Pie Filling
- It takes 10 minutes to make (really)
- It’s so easy even your kiddos can make it
- You can use frozen or fresh cherries
- You can make ahead and freeze this cherry pie filling
- There are no preservatives and it doesn’t taste like a tin can
- Better than any cherry pie filling you can buy at the store (really)
- Using 2 types of cherries beautifully balances the flavor (tart cherries & sweet cherries)
- Using a bit of fresh lime juice, almond extract, and a pinch of cinnamon somehow makes make the cherry flavor even more intense
Should You Use Fresh or Frozen Cherries to Make Cherry Pie Filling?
Not everyone has access to fresh cherries where they live, so for this recipe, as you’ll see by the photos, I’ve used a combination of frozen unsweetened sour cherries and frozen dark sweet cherries. Using frozen cherries has its benefits because there’s no need to wash or pit them before you get started. But you will need to make sure you buy cherries without added sugar.
The combination of sweet cherries and sour cherries in this recipe creates a well-balanced tart and sweet cherry pie filling (with excellent flavor). If you want an all-sour cherry pie filling hop over here for that recipe (it’s my favorite). And definitely feel free to use fresh cherries when they’re in season. I’ve used both and they produce the same results.
Homemade Tart and Sweet Double Cherry Pie Filling Ingredients
With just a few ingredients you can have homemade cherry pie filling that’s so much better than store-bought and you know exactly what’s in it.
- 12 1/2 ounces (or about 3 cups) sour cherries, fresh or frozen (350g)
- 7 ounces (about 1 cup) dark sweet cherries (200g)
- 3/4 cup pure cane sugar (or granulated sugar) (165g)
- 1 teaspoon lime juice, freshly squeezed (6g)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch (16g)
- 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract (approximately 3 drops)
- 1 pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)
How To Make Sweet Cherry Pie Filling — From Scratch
This cherry pie filling takes (literally) just a few minutes to prepare. And because the cherries cook for such a minimal amount of time, they maintain an intense cherry flavor that we think you’re going to love.
- Cook the cherries. Add cherries, lime juice, sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon to a saucepot and cook over medium heat just until sugar is dissolved and the cherries release some of their juice (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and pour off approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup cherry juice mixture and place it into a small prep bowl.
- Prepare the cornstarch slurry. Add cornstarch to the small bowl with the cherry juice mixture and use a fork to mash and stir the cornstarch until no visible lumps or flecks of cornstarch remain, set aside.
- Combine the cherry mixture and cornstarch slurry. Next, return the pot with cherries back to medium-high heat. Just BEFORE the cherry mixture starts to boil, add the slurry whisking constantly as the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (just a couple of minutes). Remove from heat, add almond extract, and all the mixture cool.
- Cool and use (or store) the filling. Place the hot filling into glass canning jars and let cool to room temperature before using. Once it’s room temperature, you can put a lid on it and place it into the refrigerator or freezer, Enjoy!
How to Make a Cornstarch Slurry for Homemade Pie Filling
If you’ve ever wondered how to make sure the cornstarch slurry remains lump-free when adding it to homemade pie filling follow the tips below:
- Always add cornstarch to a cool or cold liquid and stir until the mixture is completely smooth without lumps or cornstarch streaks of any kind. See the photos below of a well-incorporated cornstarch slurry.
- Always remember that a cool or cold slurry added into a hot liquid = no lumps. This is why I have you remove the cherry-sugar-lime juice mixture from the heat after cooking for just 2 minutes. At this point, the cherries will have released enough juice to allow you to make a very cherry slurry (no water needs to be added!) and the cooking berry mixture is not yet hot at this point. So, when you add the cool/cold slurry to an almost boiling cherry-sugar mixture later on, it incorporates seamlessly.
A Tale of Two Cherry Pie Fillings — What Kind of Cherries Should You Use to Make Homemade Cherry Pie Filling?
If you’ve seen my Numero Uno Sour Cherry Pie Filling post, then you know I like to use a cherry pie filling made with only sour cherries for lots of recipes. I have two standard homemade cherry pie filling recipes on the blog because sometimes a sweeter (less tart) cherry flavor works well (as is the case in the Marie Callender’s copycat cherry crumb crunch pie recipe). While other times a really punchy sour cherry flavor is exactly what’s needed. Below, you’ll find a few of our favorite ways to use either one of these delicious homemade cherry pie fillings.
- Sweet Cherry Crumb-Crunch Pie w/Scratch Made Cherry Pie Filling + Streusel topping
- Crispy and Flaky Southern Fried Cherry Pies (Best Ever)
- Easy Classic Cheesecake w/Biscoff Cookie Crust (+Mini’s)
- Lucky Lunar New Year Fried Cherry Pie “Wontons”
Cherry tips & tricks and FAQ’s
- It’s believed that the sweet cherry originated in the area between the Black and Caspian Seas in Asia Minor around 70 B.C. The Romans introduced them to Britain in the first century A.D.
- Marostica, Italy in the province of Vicenza, (Veneto) is a medieval town in the hills where you’ll find the Ciliegia di Marostica, or “Marostica cherry”. This cherry was the first to be awarded a Typical Geographical Indication in 2001. There are two main varieties of cherries grown here: sweet (or “duracine”) and sour (“lustine tenerine”). Since 2006 the Cherry of Marosica has been protected and promoted by a consortium.
- Tart cherries are very juicy and pleasantly acidic which makes them perfect for baking, making beverages and condiments and preserves, etc.
- Dark sweet cherries are perfect for use in combination with tart cherries or eating raw, using in cocktails and juices, and for making marinades, etc.
- Some of the top cherry-producing countries in the world— Turkey, USA, Iran & Italy, but lots of other countries are known for their high-quality cherries.
- Tart cherries are classified into two main groups, amarelle and morello.
- the amarelle variety has only red skin, but not red flesh
- the morello variety has both red skin and red flesh
Access to Cherries Around the World
In Italy, we have access to the geographically protected (IGP) tart and dark sweet Amarena Italian Marostica cherries. In China, I could find the special Wenchuan area highland sour cherry which has been given its own “preserved agricultural geography” status by the government (similar to the honor given to the Italian Marostica cherries by the Italian government). Growing up in Arkansas, we had a single sour cherry tree in our back yard. And nowadays you can frozen cherries in just about any grocery store which make this recipe for homemade cherry pie filling as easy as ever.
Let’s get started!
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Tart & Sweet Double Cherry Pie Filling (From Scratch)
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/2 Cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This tart and sweet cherry pie filling is just slightly sweeter with a little less “punch” than my homemade Numero Uno Sour Cherry Pie Filling and it’s so delicious. And the best part — it takes less than 10 minutes to make (really) and you can use frozen or fresh cherries. After making this recipe you can say goodbye to canned and jarred cherry pie filling forever.
Ingredients
- 12 1/2 ounces (or about 3 cups) sour cherries, fresh or frozen (350g)
- 7 ounces (about 1 cup) dark sweet cherries (200g)
- 3/4 cup pure cane sugar (or granulated sugar) (165g)
- 1 teaspoon lime juice, freshly squeezed (6g)
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch (16g)
- 1/8 teaspoon pure almond extract (approximately 3 drops)
- 1 pinch of cinnamon (optional but recommended)
Instructions
- Cook the cherries. Add cherries, lime juice, sugar, and a pinch of cinnamon to a saucepot and cook over medium heat just until sugar is dissolved and the cherries release some of their juice (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat and pour off approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup cherry juice mixture and place it into a small prep bowl.
- Prepare the cornstarch slurry. Add cornstarch to the small bowl with the cherry juice mixture and use a fork to mash and stir the cornstarch until no visible lumps or flecks of cornstarch remain, set aside.
- Combine the cherry mixture and cornstarch slurry. Next, return the pot with cherries back to medium-high heat. Just BEFORE the cherry mixture starts to boil, add the slurry whisking constantly as the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (just a couple of minutes). Remove from heat, add almond extract, and all the mixture cool.
- Cool and use (or store) the filling. Place the hot filling into glass canning jars and let cool to room temperature before using. Once it’s room temperature, you can put a lid on it and place it into the refrigerator or freezer, Enjoy!
Notes
- How to make sure the cornstarch slurry remains lump-free even after adding to the cherry mixture. Always remember that a cool or cold slurry being added into a hot liquid = no lumps. This is why I have you remove the cherry mixture from the heat after cooking for just 2 minutes. At this point, the cherries will have released enough juice to allow you to make a very cherry slurry (no water needs to be added!) and the mixture is not hot at this point. So, when you add the cool/cold slurry to an almost boiling cherry-sugar mixture, it incorporates seamlessly.
- Taste the cherry mixture as it’s cooking and feel free to increase the sugar or lime juice to suit your taste. Sugar can be increased by 1/4-1/2 cup or more if you prefer a sweeter pie filling, or if your cherries are really tart.
- Substitute lemon juice for lime juice if you prefer.
- Add more almond extract if you prefer a stronger almond, or “cherry” flavor, or use Luxardo cherry liqueur, or Kirsch if you have it on hand.
- Substitute other fruits for the cherries (especially stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, apricots, and blueberries).
- If you are looking to can (preserve) the pie filling, then you’ll need to omit the cornstarch and use ClearJel and follow the instructions provided in the main post.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
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