Sharing an easy recipe on how to make a homemade cherry pie filling with fresh cherries from the Northwest.
Apparently, cherry pie filling doesn’t have to come from a can. Until this summer my cherry desserts required a can opener.
But with a box full of cherries, compliments of Northwest Cherries I decided it was time to step up my game and figure out how to make homemade cherry pie filling.
HOW TO MAKE CHERRY PIE FILLING
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients for this pie filling include water, sugar, cornstarch and pitted cherries.
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons corn starch
- 2-3 pounds of pitted cherries
Making a cherry pie was a big deal for me. I was surprised at how fulfilling I felt making this recipe.
INSTRUCTIONS
In full disclosure, there is some work on the front end of this recipe. When I finished pitting the cherries, my cutting board looked like a scene from Dexter. After you have your pitted cherries follow the instructions below.
COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS IN A LARGE SAUCEPAN.
BRING TO A BOIL AND REDUCE HEAT TO LOW.
STIR FREQUENTLY FOR ABOUT 10-12 MINUTES
COOL SLIGHTLY.
REFRIGERATE FOR UP TO A WEEK OR FOLLOW CANNING INSTRUCTIONS TO FREEZE.
Considering the amount of cherry splatter the cleanup was easy and worth the effort for my first homemade pie filled with fresh cherries.
THE CRUST
To play it safe and manage my expectations I used a pre-packaged crust. I added a few star cutouts and I was pretty darn proud of myself.
I reminded myself it was just a pie. Or was it?
I was nervous about how my first cherry pie filling would taste. Would it be too sweet or too tart? Turns out it was just right.
My family devoured the pie and the compliments were legit!
Looking for more fresh cherry recipes? Check out this list.
**disclosure: I received Northwest Cherries for this post. But, I had no help with making this homemade cherry pie filling. ;0)
Check out my other cherry recipes
Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake (so easy)
This looks soooo good! I’ve shied away from cherry desserts because I don’t want to pit the cherries but maybe I’ll try it now!
Glad your pie was successful. I often mix my pitted cherries with a can of lite pie filling (SO is diabetic) or other berries. Sometimes I use cornstarch, sometimes tapioca. It’s hard to beat a homemade pie–even with store-bought crust (mine are horrible!).
Hi kathy,
That is a great suggestion! Thank you for stopping by!