This easy Homemade Cherry Pie recipe is the best I've ever had. It's made from scratch with an easy cherry pie filling using canned tart cherries, which means you can easily enjoy homemade cherry pie all year round.
Best Cherry Pie Recipe
Given the choice between cake or pie, I'm going to choose the pie every time. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a delicious yellow cake with chocolate frosting or chocolate cupcakes with rainbow chip frosting. I mean, hey, it's cake and obviously I love it, and besides, I'm not one to turn my nose up at dessert.
But pie just speaks to me more than cake does.
While cakes are show-offy with their towering layers, buttercream swirls, ganache drips, and colorful sprinkles, pies are more humble and unpretentious. Sure there are lattice crusts and some people (not me - I can barely manage the lattice) do pretty incredible things with pie crust design. But for the most part, pies are unassuming with their flaky golden-brown crusts and fruit or cream fillings.
And yet, that combination of buttery, flaky crust with the often jewel-colored interior of fruit pies topped with a scoop of ice cream satisfies my tastebuds (and my soul, for that matter) like no cake ever can.
When it's cherry season, we love to go cherry picking and make all our favorite cherry desserts! Some of our other favorite cherry recipes are Cherry Crisp, The Best Cherry Pineapple Jello Salad, and Cherry Crisp Cake.
The crust is the part that seems to give most people pause when it comes to making a homemade pie from scratch, so I've shared all my best tips and tricks for how to make pie crust to help you out.
As a kid, a classic, homemade cherry pie was my very favorite and I looked forward to them every 4th of July and Thanksgiving, which seem to be the two big pie occasions in my family.
I've since moved on to claiming razzleberry pie as my favorite, but cherry pie is still up there and will always hold a place in my heart.
The best cherry pie recipe is simple and uses only a few simple ingredients to make the homemade filling: canned cherries, some (but not all!) of the juice they come in, sugar, and cornstarch, with a little salt and butter for good measure. Maybe some red food coloring (affiliate link) if you want a vibrant ruby red color for the filling.
The cornstarch, sugar, and cherry juice get cooked on the stove to thicken the filling before adding the cherries and using this to fill the pie.
Done right, and the filling will have just enough stability so that you can cut gorgeous slices of pie that will hold up while still being juicy. Too much cornstarch and the cherry pie filling ends up gummy, too little and the filling ends up runny. But no worries - follow this recipe and you've got cherry pie perfection every time.
What kind of cherries should I use for homemade cherry pie?
I want so badly to be able to use fresh cherries in cherry pie, but if I'm being honest, I don't like them as well for baking as canned cherries. And I definitely do not recommend frozen cherries for pie.
The biggest problem is that the very best cherry pie is made with tart cherries, which can be near impossible to find fresh.
Some people just use sweet cherries and decrease the sugar in the recipe, but I don't think rainier, brook, or bing cherries (all sweet cherries that are best eaten out of hand) match tart cherries (also known as sour cherries or pie cherries) for flavor and texture after being baked.
The good news is that there are two easily available options for making a pie with tart cherries: Oregon brand tart cherries (which I think are made from Montmorency cherries) and Trader Joe's Morello cherries (my favorite!).
The Oregon Specialty Fruit tart cherries are available in almost every grocery store I've been to, either in the baking aisle or in the canned fruit aisle. And they make a wonderful cherry pie. You will need three cans of Oregon tart cherries for one pie. And be sure to check the label because they also sell a sweet canned cherry version as well.
But if there is a Trader Joe's anywhere near you, I highly recommend picking up their jarred Morello cherries, which are tart cherries that are imported from Germany. Oh my goodness, they are SO, SO GOOD. I buy extra jars to have them on hand and will totally open them and just spoon the cherries straight over ice cream with chocolate syrup and it. is. HEAVEN.
You can even order Trader Joe's cherries online, but it's super expensive (like $12 per jar, which is crazy). At my local Trader Joe's, one jar is something like $2.79 or $3.00, which is super reasonable to me.
The only downside to the Trader Joe's Morello cherries is that they are more of a dark purple than a red, so you really can't get that classic ruby red cherry pie filling look unless you use quite a bit of red food coloring (affiliate link). I'm fine with a deeper burgundy-colored cherry pie filling, but I just wanted to give you a heads up on that.
How to Make Cherry Pie Filling
- Whisk. In a medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the reserved cherry juice from the canned cherries.
- Thicken. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until thick and bubbly. The cloudy liquid will into a clear gel after about 5 to 7 minutes, which is when you know the filling is ready to add the cherries.
- Add cherries. Stir in the cherries, butter, and food coloring (affiliate link), if using, then cool completely before adding to the pie crust. This can be done up to 1 week in advance and stored in the fridge.
This cherry pie filling is AMAZING and can be used in lots of different ways, not just for pie. Use it for black forest cake or black forest cheesecake, swirl it into brownies, or use it to top cheesecake or ice cream!
This recipe makes enough for one deep dish pie, so if you only have a regular pie plate (affiliate link), you might end up with about 1 cup of leftover pie filling. But somehow it never seems to go unused.
How to Make Cherry Pie
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the bottom pie crust and use it to line a 9-inch deep dish pie plate (affiliate link). Spoon the cherry pie filling into the bottom crust.
- Roll out the remaining crust and use it to top the cherry pie filling. You can make a lattice crust, or just do a solid crust with slits cut in the top using a sharp knife for venting. Be sure to seal the edges, either by crimping or fluting, then brush the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425°F, then decrease the oven temperature to 375°F and finish baking for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown on top and the filling is bubbling. Check the pie around 25 minutes and cover the edges with a pie protector or tinfoil if they are starting to brown too much.
Tips for the Best Cherry Pie
- Start with a homemade pie crust. They are so much easier to make than you think, if you have never made one before or made one and had it fall apart. This is my favorite double-crust pie crust that I use in all my pie recipes. It uses both butter AND shortening for the ultimate in buttery flavor and flaky texture.
- I highly recommend using a pie crust shield (affiliate link) to cover the edges of your crust partway through. It keeps them from getting burnt while the pie cooks through. But you can also just make a shield using tinfoil.
- Definitely remember to brush your pie crust with the egg wash. It makes a big difference in getting a beautifully golden brown crust.
- Be sure to let the pie cool for 3-4 hours before serving to give the filling time to set up. Otherwise, when you slice into it you will have a runny (albeit still delicious) mess.
- Store any leftover pie in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just cover it well with plastic wrap.
- If you like eating your pie warm, you can reheat individual slices in the microwave for 20 to 25 seconds. Or if you want to warm up the entire pie, just stick it back in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes.
More of my Favorite Pie Recipes
- Peach Pie Perfection
- Strawberry Pie made without Jello
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Homemade Blackberry Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Blueberry Custard Pie
- Key Lime Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- and see all my pie recipes here!
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Best Cherry Pie Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 [double pie crust recipe]
- 44 ounces tart cherries, drained with 1 cup of juice reserved
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- Red food coloring (affiliate link) (optional)
- 1 beaten egg, for brushing on top of the crust
- Additional sugar, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt, then add the reserved cherry juice from the canned cherries.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until thick and bubbly and the cloudy liquid turns into a clear gel, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the cherries, butter, and food coloring (affiliate link), if using, then cool completely before adding to the pie crust. This can be done up to 1 week in advance and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the bottom pie crust and use it to line a 9-inch deep dish pie plate (affiliate link). Spoon the cherry pie filling into the bottom crust.
- Roll out the remaining crust and use it to top the cherry pie filling. You can make a lattice crust, or just do a solid crust with slits cut in the top using a sharp knife for venting. Be sure to seal the edges, either by crimping or fluting, then brush the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, if desired.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425°F, then decrease the oven temperature to 375°F and finish baking for 45-50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown on top and the filling is bubbling. Check the pie around 25 minutes and cover the edges with a pie protector or tinfoil if they are starting to brown too much.
- Remove the pie from the oven and cool for at least 3-4 hours before serving.
Notes
- Look for three 14.5-ounce cans or or two 24.7-ounce jars of tart cherries.
- If you only have a regular pie pan, you won't need to use all of the filling. It will keep in the fridge for 1 week and makes a great ice cream topping, crepe filling, and can be used in lots of other desserts.
- If you can somehow get your hands on fresh, tart cherries, you can make this same recipe, just pit the cherries and slice them in half, then toss with the sugar and cornstarch and add to the pie crust. They will release their juices and thicken as the pie bakes.
This classic just screams 4th of July to me! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, I could totally go for a big slice of that cherry pie right now!
This is the most delicious cherry pie I've ever made! I work for Aldi and bought the cherries in hopes of finding a good pie recipe. This one is amazing! I did add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the cherry filling. That's just how we roll in my family. Thank you for sharing.
For Memorial Day I wanted to make my first cherry pie and this was it! I used the Oregon Cherries, but would love to try it with the Trader Joe's cherries next time. As I cut into the pie, cherries rolled out into the pie plate so I might have cooked the filling a bit longer. I did not add the red food coloring but it still had a nice jewel like color. I challenged myself to add the lattice top, brushed with egg, and sprinkled it with Trader Joe's Turbinado Sugar which added a nice color. Thank you for the recipe -Was easy to follow and a fun one to make with a definite wow factor!
Great recipe! I needed a topping for baked meringue shells that are filled with a sweet filling made from cream cheese and real whipped cream. I usually top them with canned cherry pie filling, but had some Morello cherries and decided to go with homemade. I found your recipe and used it as written, except doubling the sauce part from the juice and sugar, since I was using it as a topping instead of in a pie. It turned out great! The perfect combination of sweet and tart. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for commenting, Amy! I'm so glad this turned out so well for you!
Hello,
I made this pie filling and your pie crust yesterday. I cooked the filling until it was clear but now it’s cooled its gone very cloudy. Is this normal once cool? Or should I start over?
Thanks,
Babette
I have never made a scratch pie. I have one can of tart and two cans of dark sweet cherries. Can I make a three can pie that will taste good?
Absolutely! Just decrease the sugar by a few tablespoons if using sweet cherries.
This is ACTUALLY the best cherry pie recipe I've ever had - and it's because of the filling. I don't remember the crust at all, but the filling is incredible. I have this page bookmarked and use it every yer. One tip: I feel like TJ's either stopped selling its cherries or they're hard to find - but Aldi actually sells a very similar cherry (sour morello's in light syrup). They work exactly the same!
So glad you love this recipe! Thanks for the tip about the TJ's cherries. You can also find Oregon brand tart cherries in cans at most supermarkets and they work too!