How to Make the Best, Simple Cherry Pie Filling

Learn how to make the best cherry pie filling in no time at all. For a delightful and delicious dessert, use canned or fresh cherries.

**Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe!**

I got the original recipe from my lovely friend, Katelynd. You can read all about out friendship in my last post for pie crust or click HERE.

Watch the shorts video here:

Plano, Idaho

**You can skip the next few sections to get to the pie instructions and recipe. Scroll down till you see the cake again :)**

Homemade cherry pie and Plano, Idaho go hand-in-hand in my mind.

I just wanted to share some pictures and memories with you.

We lived in the middle of Idaho farmland at the time. Our neighbor/landlord had a Ferris wheel in his yard that his grandfather had built and we got to ride it!

We were watching “The Sandlot” a lot at the time and at the peak of the Ferris wheel, 3-year-old Noah yelled out a curse-word-quote in his excitement.

That was the end of the movie for several years.

We weren’t really winter sports people so we spent many months just cozy at home while the snow piled up outside.

Summertime Was Magical

Floating down the canal next to our house.

Watching lightening storms get closer and closer in the evening from the back deck.

Cleaning dirt off the windowsills after crazy dust storms.

Long quiet walks through peaceful farmland.

Hanging a swing from the willow tree.

Once Nathan caught a large, fat garter snake and it gave birth to 22 baby snakes in our poorly enclosed tank.

Baby snakes turned up randomly slithering across the carpet several times over the next few days. I literally had nightmares about snakes wriggling out of the walls!

We only lived there for about a year and a half before moving on for Nathan’s master’s program, but we made a lot of great memories.

Picking Cherries

Our neighbors across the road were a retired farming couple who grew an impressive garden next to their house in the spring and summer.

They invited us over several times to pick carrots, potatoes, peas, cherries and all kinds of other things.

I talked in my last post about picking cherries at their house and Katelynd sent me these awesome pictures!

We picked so many cherries that I still had several bags of pie filling when we moved to North Carolina. It was a sweet treasure.

Thanks for letting me reminisce.

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Make Easy Cherry Pie Filling

Now let’s get down to business!

*This recipe uses tart/sour cherries. If you want to use a different kind, you might want to add some lemon juice when you add the cornstarch to give it a little more flavor. Just use one teaspoon at a time until you like the taste.

If you have fresh tart/sour cherries, you want to use 4 cups of them. Make sure you get all the pits out!

We don’t have sweet neighbors who let us pick their produce anymore and it’s winter. So, I make cherry pie filling using three cans of tart cherries instead.

Dump the cherries, juice and all, into a large sauce pan.

Add one cup of granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

The almond extract gives the cherry flavor a little boost but a little goes a long way.

Stir and bring that to a boil.

If you’re using fresh cherries, boil them until the fruit is softened.

Adding Cornstarch to Your Cherry Pie Filling

The more cornstarch you add, the thicker it will be. It thickens as it cools as well.

If you’re using fresh cherries, you might need a little less cornstarch because you might not have as much liquid as you get from using the cans of cherries.

I’m hedging a lot because you just have to experiment to get the perfect consistency you’re looking for.

The nice things is the taste is amazing, no matter what.

Here are the measurements that worked for me using the canned cherries:

-2 tablespoons cornstarch- sauce consistency

-4 tablespoons cornstarch- canned pie filling consistency

-6 tablespoons cornstarch- sliceable pie filling for pies

In a separate bowl, whisk together equal parts water and cornstarch to make a slurry.

You want to do it separately because it cooks very quickly when it hits the hot cherry juice and it’ll make lumps before you can stir it in.

Once the fruit is boiling, add your slurry mixture and stir.

Cook for a minute or two to see how it thickens up and to see if you need to add a little more cornstarch slurry.

Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, to cook out the cornstarch flavor.

And you’re done!

What Can I Use Cherry Pie Filling For?

We mostly use it for birthdays. There’s a tradition in my family, going way back into my childhood, of having angel food cake with chocolate frosting and cherry pie filling.

That’s what you see pictured all of the post.

I just made it from a box and melted canned frosting over the top. But I did make the whipped cream from scratch so I get points for that!

It’s easy and would make a beautiful, delicious Valentine’s Day dessert!

You can also enjoy cherry pie filling on:

-pancakes

-ice cream

-yogurt parfait

-fruit crumble (check out my peach crumble recipe and swap the peaches for cherry pie filling)

-on cupcakes

-in a cake filling

–thumbprint cookies (I have a post for that too)

How to Make a Cherry Pie

If you’re really feelin’ the pie vibes, I got you.

Start by making a batch of my pie crust. You can find the printable recipe at the bottom of the post HERE.

You can also watch the video:

Pour the thick filling into your prepared pie crust. Don’t over-fill it! You want the filling to be about 1/2 an inch from the top.

Then roll out the other half of the dough and place on top.

Or cut it into strips and weave together over the top. It’s ok if it’s all wonky. Rustic pies are still beautiful and delicious!

Crimp the edges together with a fork.

Cut some venting slits in the top if you’re not going the strips route.

You can brush on some egg wash at this point or sprinkle with chunky sugar.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and bake the pie for 20 minutes.

Place a foil ring around the edge of the pie to prevent the crust from burning.

Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F. and bake for another 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Let cool and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Delicious!

Don’t forget to pin it!

Print the recipe for later!