Cherry Pie Best Filling Recipe

Why We Love This Homemade Cherry Pie Filling Recipe

We love fruit pies, with sweet and juicy seasonal fruit nestled into a buttery and flaky crust. Cherry pie is a classic American treat for summer, but it is actually (surprisingly) easy to make with homemade pie filling any time of year! You can make a delicious cherry pie recipe with fresh cherries, or you can use frozen cherries when fresh are not in season. Either way the filling comes together quickly and is perfect to enjoy baked in a homemade pie crust or store bought pie crust, or with any number of fabulous desserts. Making the filling fresh gives it that completely grandma’s kitchen made-from-scratch flavor, even when you need to cut corners on the dough. But while we love a good homemade pie crust, if you’re in a rush, this is a great tried-and-true recipe to use with refrigerated roll-out pie crust.

Ingredients You Need

Pie crust – homemade butter pie crust or store-bought Cherries – fresh or frozen (sweet and tart cherries or sour cherries) Sugars – granulated sugar and coarse sugar for topping the pie Lemon – zest and juice Cornstarch – a gluten-free pie filling thickener Almond extract – or vanilla extract Egg – plus a bit of water

How to Make Cherry Pie Filling from Scratch

Step 1 – Prep the Cherries

Use a cherry pitter to remove the pit and stem from fresh sweet cherries. Then place them in a medium saucepan. Pro Tip: There’s nothing worse than biting into a piece of pie and nearly breaking your tooth on a cherry pit. Make sure to prep the cherries carefully removing every pit.

Step 2 – Make the Cherry Pie Filling

Pour the sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cornstarch into the sauce pot. Bring the cherries to a simmer and stir to release the juices and thicken the filling. Pro Tip: Stir continuously, so the sugar doesn’t burn while the juices release. Continue simmering until the cherries are mostly cooked through and the glaze is the consistency of thick syrup. Do not let the mixture boil. Turn off the heat and add the almond extract. Allow the cherry pie filling to cool completely before adding to the pie crust. Pro Tip: Cherries are denser than berries, so cooking the filling ahead of time gives it a head start. Then, you don’t have to overbake the crust to get a perfect cherry pie filling inside.

Step 3 – Prep the Pie Crusts

Make our homemade pie dough recipe, separate the dough, wrap in plastic, and chill until ready to use. Then roll out 2 pie crusts into 9-inch circles when you’re ready to get going. Pro Tip: It helps to use a pastry mat to roll out the pie crusts. Place each piece of dough on a piece of wax paper (or parchment paper) before rolling for easy moving. Set out a deep dish 9-inch pie pan. Use a rolling pin to roll one crust into an 11-inch circle so that it fits over the bottom and sides of the pan, and covers the lip of the pan as well. Place the bottom crust in the refrigerator while you work on the top crust. For the top crust, you do not have to do any fancy decorating if you don’t want to. You can use a knife to simply slice 4 air vents (slits) in the top. However, if you want to create a classic lattice top, use a pizza roller to cut the pie crust into 1-inch strips. Place 6 strips across the pie in one direction, leaving 1/2-inch gaps in between. Then, weave the remaining strips in the opposite direction, gently lifting the original strips up as needed. Here’s a handy video to see how it’s done! You can also use a diamond shaped cookie cutter to cut out decorative vent holes in the top of the pie, like we did. It’s sort of a reverse-lattice look!

Step 4 – Preheat the Oven and Fill the Cherry Pie

Carefully pour the cooled pie filling into the cold pie crust. The filling should come to the top of the pie with a slight dome in the center. If you find your pie pan is not quite large enough to hold all the cherry filling, reserve some for another use.

Step 5 – Cover the Pie and Bake

Carefully move the top pie crust over the cherry pie filling. Crimp the two crusts together along the rim of the pan. You can do this with your fingers, or with a fork. Working with a lattice top, it’s best to roll the edges of the pie crust up over the lattice. If working with any other crust you can roll the two piecrust together downward to make the edges neat. If you want the pie crust to be shiny on top, whisk together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the top of the pie, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Note: This step is completely optional—you do not have to eggwash the top. It makes the crust shiny but does not improve the taste. Place the pie on the center rack of the oven and bake for approximately 40-45 minutes, until golden brown on top. Pro Tip: Check the pie crust about halfway through cooking time. If it looks like it’s browning too early, place a piece of foil loosely over the top and continue baking. Allow the pie to cool completely to room temperature before cutting and serving, otherwise the filling may not be fully set. Serve cherry pie as-is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

More Ways to Use Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Aren’t you already in love with this cherry pie recipe? But don’t stop here! Our easy pie filling can be used to make all kinds of sweet and delicious goodies. Give these a try:

Hand pies (AKA Homemade Pop-Tarts!) Mini tarts and pies Slab pie Pie bars Cheesecake dip Sweet rolls Ice cream Dessert or yogurt topping

Recipe Variations

Fresh or frozen – As noted you can make this recipe with fresh or frozen cherries. Fruit – Use this basic scratch-made pie filling recipe to make all kinds of berry pies! Swap fresh or frozen cherries with blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries. Gluten-free – Simply use your favorite packaged gluten-free pie crust dough from the store. Canned filling – Short on time? No worries! You can use a can of pie filling and continue with the cherry pie recipe.