This recipe is better than ever. My homemade cherry pie is perfectly sliceable with a thick almond-hinted cherry pie filling and a golden brown buttery flaky pie crust. As always, wait for the pie to cool completely before slicing, which is a non-negotiable that helps avoid a soupy pie filling.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips, like quartering *some* of the cherries instead of halving and reducing some juices on the stovetop to guarantee the pie filling will set up perfectly.
No store-bought pie filling or pie crust because today we’re making cherry pie completely from scratch. Does making homemade pie intimidate you? I promise this dessert specialty is nothing to fear and that’s exactly why I’m sharing my recipe with you. Out of all pie flavors, cherry pie is where most bakers depend on canned filling, but I’m going to teach you how to make the most of fresh cherries and a delicious crust.
One reader, Shirlee, commented: “I’ve never tasted a cherry pie as delicious as this one. The crust is flaky, not soggy, and so delectable. The dough is easy to work with. The filling was incredible. It’s just the right consistency—not runny. The almond extract adds amazing flavor. Pitting the cherries takes a little bit of time, but once that’s done the recipe moves along quickly. Thanks, Sally, for providing such wonderful baking tips and instructions. ★★★★★“
Cherry Pie Details
- Flavor: While the cherry flavor is front and center in this pie, you’ll enjoy the notes of vanilla and almond as well. Vanilla and almond extracts add richness and depth and a touch of lemon juice keeps the overall flavor fresh and bright. (Without it, the filling can taste a little flat.) A scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dollop of homemade whipped cream pair perfectly on top of a slice.
- Texture: If you follow the recipe closely, this cherry pie filling is buttery, jammy, sturdy, and sliceable. You can use your favorite pie crust recipe, but I encourage you to try mine linked below. We use a mix of shortening and butter because they work together to make the BEST crust. Butter adds flavor and flakiness, while shortening’s high melting point keeps the crust tender and workable. It’s my go-to crust for apple pie and pumpkin pie, too. If you don’t want to use shortening, try this all butter pie crust recipe instead.
- Ease: It goes without saying that homemade pie is a labor of love, especially if you’re a beginner. Consider this recipe an activity—hopefully fun and definitely satisfying—and set aside several hours from start to finish. My time-saving tip is to prep the pie dough ahead of time because it needs to chill for at least 2 hours before you can roll it out. Plan accordingly if you want to include this cherry beauty in your lineup of Memorial Day recipes.
Best Cherries to Use for Cherry Pie
If you’re making cherry pie from scratch, it’s helpful to know which cherry variety works best. I usually choose a mix of rainier cherries and dark sweet cherries, but opted for all dark sweet cherries in the pictured pie. You can use all Rainier or all dark sweet. If using sour cherries, add a little more sugar as referenced in the recipe note below.
You can also use frozen halved or quartered cherries. Follow the recipe as written below and don’t skip the reducing step on the stove.
Pitting Cherries
Pitting fresh cherries is always a tedious and messy task, so if you want to save time and prep work, pick up a cherry pitter. If you’re anything like me, you don’t like stuffing your kitchen drawers with endless gizmos and gadgets, but a cherry pitter is most definitely an exception. I don’t bake with cherries often, but when I do, I’m VERY thankful for this tool.
- It’s also a timesaver if you’re baking bourbon cherry crisp, cherry cobbler, and/or cherry buckle!
Reducing the Cherry Juices on the Stove Takes Less Than 10 Minutes
After you combine the filling ingredients together, set it aside and roll out the pie dough for your pie dish. During this time, your filling is already working as the sugar pulls juices from the cherries. Normally I discard all this juice, but it’s where a lot of the cornstarch ends up and that’s what helps thicken the filling in the oven. I use this same method in my blueberry peach pie, and it helps the filling set nicely.
Instead, use a slotted spoon to transfer the fruit into your crust, then pour the leftover juice into a small saucepan. You’ll only have a few Tablespoons, but this juice is pure GOLD as it holds our thickening agent and a lot of flavor. Reduce on the stove over low heat for about 3-4 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then pour over the cherries and toss gently (in your pie dough!) to combine.
Here’s the filling in the mixing bowl. You can see all the juices at the bottom. Spoon cherries into the pie dough:
Reduce the excess juice on the stove until it has thickened:
Let it cool for a few minutes, then toss into the cherries. The sugars in the reduced juice will harden and you’ll notice this “juice” become almost caramelized and stringy once it hits those cold cherries. This is NORMAL and totally fine! The “juice” will melt down in the oven, but keep the filling thick.
Don’t Forget the Extras
- Butter: Dot the pie filling with small cubes of butter before applying the top crust. Why? It adds buttery richness and actually helps prevent the formation of bubbles on the filling’s surface. We do the same thing when we make peach pie.
- Egg wash: An egg wash is egg mixed with milk (or water) and you use it pretty much whenever you’re baking pie dough or baking other shaped dough such as stromboli, vanilla biscotti, homemade bagels, choux pastry, croissants, etc. Egg wash promises a crispier crust and helps develop that signature golden sheen. Without it, dough is dull and lackluster.
- Coarse sugar: This is optional, but I love finishing sweet pies with coarse sugar because it adds a little crunch and sparkle. I usually use Sugar in the Raw or these coarse sugar sprinkles, both of which can be found in the baking aisle of major grocery stores.
Lattice Pie Crust
Note that our pie crust recipe yields enough dough for a double crust pie—one for the bottom and one for the top. If you’re new to working with pie dough or need a little troubleshooting, our pie crust tutorial walks you through each step in thorough detail and includes a video, step-by-step photos, and all my tips and tricks for pie crust perfection.
I made a simple lattice pie crust design with thick and thin strips, but decorate the pie however you’d like. Once your lattice is assembled, you’ll want to crimp or flute the pie crust to finish it off. I fluted the pie crust in these photos.
You could even skip the top crust and use the crumble topping from our blueberry crumble pie. Or if you wish to skip the pie dough completely, try these cherry pie bars instead.
Start the Pie at a High Oven Temperature
Why do some pie recipes call for an initially hot oven temperature that you eventually lower? Baking this pie at 400°F (204°C) for 20 minutes helps the pie dough set and activates the cornstarch in the filling (as does heating it on the stove). After that, reduce oven temperature down to 375°F (190°C) to continue baking the pie. We use this same trick when we make blueberry pie and triple berry pie.
Do I Need to Par-Bake The Crust for This Cherry Pie?
Before you begin, let me answer a FAQ we receive on this recipe. You do not need to par-bake or blind bake this bottom pie crust. Reducing the filling’s juice on the stove keeps excess liquid off the bottom pie dough, plus we bake the pie for long enough that the bottom crust sufficiently cooks through. It’s helpful to use a glass pie dish so you can see when the sides/bottom of the pie crust has browned.
See Your Homemade Cherry Pies!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂 For more pie inspiration, check out our collection of delicious summer pie recipes!
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Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This homemade cherry pie is perfectly sliceable with a thick almond-hinted cherry pie filling and a golden brown buttery flaky pie crust. The ingredients are exactly the same as when I originally published the recipe in 2017, but quartering *some* of the cherries instead of just halving and reducing some juices on the stovetop both guarantee that the pie filling will set up perfectly.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust or All Butter Pie Crust (both recipes make 2 crusts, 1 for bottom and 1 for top)
- 4 and 1/2 cups halved & quartered pitted fresh cherries (see note)
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (28g) cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare either pie crust recipe through step 5. The pie dough needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before using.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract together until thoroughly combined. Cover the filling and place in the refrigerator as you roll out the pie dough (or for up to 24 hours).
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cherries into the crust. Reserve the juice in the bowl for the next step. Refrigerate pie, uncovered, as you reduce the juice in the next step.
- Pour the leftover juice into a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until juice has slightly reduced and thickened, about 3–4 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then pour over cherries in filling. Do your best to gently toss together—doesn’t have to be perfect. The reduction will harden and thicken as a result of mixing with the cold cherries—this is normal. Dot the pieces of cold butter on top of the filling. Place the pie in the refrigerator while you roll out the top crust.
- Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle 12 inches in diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut the dough into strips—for the pictured pie, I cut four strips 2 inches wide and four strips 1 inch wide. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. See this post on How to Lattice Pie Crust for help with this step. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use kitchen shears or a small paring knife to trim off excess dough. Flute or crimp the pie crust edges.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the top and edges of the pie crust with egg wash. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if using. Place the pie in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes while your oven preheats.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for an additional 30–40 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown and the filling juices have been bubbling up around the edges or through the lattice/vents for at least 5 minutes. *After the first 20 minutes of bake time, I recommend placing a pie crust shield on the crust’s edges to prevent it from over-browning too quickly.*
- Remove pie from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for at least 3–4 hours before slicing and serving. Filling will be too juicy if the pie is still warm when you slice it.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead / Freezing Instructions: There are a couple ways to make this pie ahead of time. Prepare the pie in full 1 day in advance—after pie cools, cover tightly and keep at room temperature. The pie crust dough can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Baked pie also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling (with juices) can also be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before spooning into dough and reducing the juice.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Cherry Pitter | Glass Mixing Bowl | Rolling Pin | Pie Dish | Pastry Wheel or Pizza Cutter | Pastry Brush | Pie Crust Shield | Cooling Rack
- Cherries: You need about 1.5 lbs of cherries for this recipe. Cut half of the cherries into halves and the remaining half of cherries into quarters. Using a mix of halved and quartered cherries helps keep the baked filling in tact. You can use any variety of cherries. I use all dark sweet cherries in the pictured pie, but also enjoy using a 50/50 combination of dark sweet and Rainier cherries. Feel free to use all Rainier cherries if desired. If using sour cherries, increase sugar to 3/4 or 1 cup depending how sweet you like your pie. You can also use frozen cherries. Halve/quarter them while they’re frozen, then toss with other filling ingredients as instructed. Reduce the juices as instructed as well. Bake time may be a few minutes longer.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Cherry pie is my FAVORITE and I had never made one until I saw your recipe! Delicious! Everything turned out perfectly except that the bottom crust seemed a little underbaked – not sure why. I baked it for the full time.
I’m in the middle of making this and now wondering if I should blind bake the bottom crust?
Can you freeze the uncooked pie ?
Hi Karin, we recommend freezing the baked pie for best results. But you can also freeze the pie dough and the filling separately. See the recipe notes for details.
The pie was great! And I like that you included a video since pie crusts are usually my downfall. The crusts did seem a bit thick, but I probably need to roll it out more. One question: I have been keeping the leftover dough. Will it be OK to re-use for another pie down the road?
Hi Katrina, we’re so glad you enjoyed the pie! If the dough has already been worked with for another pie, the fats will likely be overworked and the crust will not bake up as nicely. You can certainly give it a try, though.
Would it be possible to substitute instant clearjel for cornstarch?
Hi Deb, we haven’t tried this, but it should be fine.
I haven’t used this website before but after reading the recipe & noting your tips: quartering & halving the cherries, reducing the juice, beginning the bake at a higher temp – I’m sold. I’ll be making the cherry pie tomorrow & looking forward to a beautiful result! I do have a couple tips which work for me: rolling out the dough between parchment sheets & using a pizza stone to ensure a crisp bottom crust. Thanks Sally for what I anticipate to be a delicious pie!
We hope you love it, Jacki!
Hi Sally. If I wanted to convert this recipe into a slab pie (using the crust recipe from the Berry slab pie) what would be the ratio? Should I double the filling amount?
Hi Mel, that should be about right. For the slab pie, you need about 8 cups of fruit.
Please send fresh peach, zucchini. Quiche
Thank you
How do I make sure the bottom isn’t underbaked?
Hi Allison, I use a pizza stone to ensure a crisp bottom crust. I place the stone in the oven as it preheats & then place the pie directly on the preheated stone. I use this trick for quiches, galettes & tarts – no soggy bottoms! Good luck & happy baking!
The bottom was completely underbaked. I followed the directions to the letter. I moved the racks to the lowest position and put them back in to see if I can crisp them up from fully cooled.
I’ve never made a cherry pie before. I have 2 questions.
1. After I pit the cherries and mix them with the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and the other ingredients and chill it overnight, is it okay if I put them into another bowl and leave the juice in the original bowl?
2. If someone has a nut allergy, what can I substitute the almond extract with while still maintaining the pie’s cherry-forward flavor?
Hi Allison, yes, you can separate the juices and filling into separate bowls before reducing the juices on the stovetop. You can omit the almond extract—the pie will still have plenty of cherry flavor. Hope it’s a hit!
Thanks. That would be great. I wonder why the cherry juices are reduced at low heat? How can I tell if the juices are reduced enough?
Hi Allison, the juice will be slightly reduced and thickened. All stoves are different, you can definitely use medium-low if needed next time.
That makes sense. After the fruit’s juices are drawn out by the sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice (in the fridge overnight), how much juice would be drawn out?
How do I reduce the cherry juices without overdoing or burning it?
Hi Allison, the exact amount of juice will vary, but it’s usually a few Tablespoons. Cooking over low heat will help prevent burning. And keep a close eye on it, too.
I’ve made it before and it’s delicious! Can I substitute a crumble topping?
Hi Dana, absolutely. It’s delicious with the crumble topping from our blueberry crumble pie!
I so want to make this pie but pressed for time. I can make the dough ahead of time. My question is just pitting and cutting up the cherries without the other ingredients would be ok to freeze like that for a week?? Then when I have time, I can put the pie together with half the work done already!
Hi Lauri! You have a couple options. You can use frozen cherries. Halve/quarter them while they’re frozen, then toss with other filling ingredients as instructed. Reduce the juices as instructed as well. Bake time may be a few minutes longer. The prepared filling (with juices) can be also frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before spooning into dough and reducing the juice.
This was the best pie I ever made. Yummy! I always go to Sally’s Baking Addiction for recipes cause they always turn out perfect.
Has anyone tried subbing tapioca starch in for cornstarch? If so did you have to make any other modifications to the recipe?
Hi Mark, you can use tapioca instead — we would increase amount to 1/3 cup. Hope you love this pie!
I have used tapioca itself in place of flour in fruit pies and it works very well!
I’ve made many many recipes from this website and this one is EASILY my favorite. Best pie I’ve ever made, maybe the best pie I’ve ever eaten. Absolutely perfect. Delicious, tastes like summer. Perfect sweet-tart balance. Insanely good!!
Best pie ever. This is the first pie from scratch I have ever made. We’re not a pie family. It was a big hit with everyone. We loved the crust, it was more like shortbread.
Didn’t change a thing on the recipe, almond extract was perfect.
Rest assured there will be more pie making with other tree fruit we have. Froze two more fillings since we had an abundance of cherries on our tree this year.
Hello…I have small tart pie cherries. Can I use those whole in the pie with the sweet cherries, or should I halve them? Also, since its half tart cherries/half sweet, do I need to adjust the sugar still? Thanks. Cant wait to make this.
Hi Susan, it’s really up to your discretion about the size of the whole small tart cherries… if they’re pretty small you can probably leave them whole (after pitting them of course!!). And you may not need to adjust the sugar if you’re using half sweet cherries, but again, that may be a matter of personal taste! Though a slightly too-tart cherry pie can always be sweetened up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top… 😉
Never baked anything EVER.
Huge confidence boost for this to come out so well. Adjusted my recipe for 9.5 inch dish but I probably need to increase a bit more for next time.
Very much worth the time spent!
This cherry pie recipe is really good. I like the vanilla extract. My family doesn’t care for almond extract in their cherry pie so I added a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon in its place. Also, I’m switching from sugar to honey. I traded the 2/3 cup of sugar for a 1/2 cup of honey. Used 3 cups of sour pie cherries, 1.5 cups of sweet cherries.
Took this to dinner at mother-in-law tonight. My husbands sister doesn’t like honey. Didn’t tell her, she raved about the flavor. Still didn’t tell her 🙂
Why thicken the juice first? Won’t the heat from the oven activate the corn starch in the cherry mixture?
I have very small sour cherries, frozen in 6 cup measurements. In the past when making pies with the frozen cherries, it was soggy, and then I saw where it was recommended I thawed and drain the cherries which improved the pie. Generally, I had about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Let’s go around i’ll try mixing the cornstarch and sugar with increased amount to account for 6 cups rather than 4 1/2 of frozen cherries and let them thaw then cooking down the remaining liquid.
How important is it to half or quarter the cherries?
Hi Jeannie, we do recommend it!
In my country, I can only find jars of sour cherries preserved in syrup (with sugar). What twists would I beed to make to the recipe? TIA!
Hi Karen! We would search for a recipe that uses jarred cherries instead of trying to adapt this one, since it may not work well here. Let us know if you find one you love!
I have a bunch of fresh sweet cherries I need to use, but not quite ready to make a pie today. Can I make the filling ahead and freeze it for later use?
Hi Stacey, Prepared filling (with juices) can be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before spooning into dough and reducing the juice.
I love the technique of using the thickened liquid from the cherries to set the filling. It turned out nice and thick. Next time I will leave out the almond extract because it was overpowering. Maybe it’s the brand I used but I could barely taste the cherries over the almond flavor and I only used the 1/4 teaspoon.
Very good cherry pie recipe, never made one before. Used tart cherries, so estimated how much more sugar to add, but will definitely use this recipe again.
Hi! I’ve made this recipe before and I ABSOLUTELY loved it!!! Just wanted to know if the pie can be baked in an air fryer? If yes, then what’ll be the time and temperature?
Hi Abby, we haven’t tested it, but let us know if you do!
Hi there. I’m at the step where I thicken the juice. There was more juice because I used frozen cherries, and it’s not thickening. Should I keep at it for longer?
Hi Donna, yes, it may take a bit longer to thicken. Keep at it until it starts to thicken. You can even try turning up the heat slightly.
Hi there. My SIL is severely allergic to nuts, so I can’t use almond oil in the recipe. Are there any adjustments, or substitutions you would recommend if I omit the almond oil?
Hi Donna, you can omit the almond extract, and increase the vanilla extract to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons if you’d like.
This was just about perfect! Lots of cherries in a thick filling. Loved the idea of the sugar crystals on top.
I added 2 lbs of cherries like previous reviewers suggested. I absolutely regret that. Definitely not my best pie. My advice? Follow Sally’s recipe. She’s a tried and true baker, ingredients are too expensive to waste listening to random people on the internet. I don’t care to share this pie with anyone, disappointing. Lesson learned!
I’ve made this twice with 2 lbs of frozen sweet cherries, no other change to the recipe. The first time, I didn’t have a chance to let the cherries thaw and there wasn’t much juice to preheat and the sugar/cornstarch just coated the frozen cherries. I did heat up the available juice as recommended. That pie was very good but the filling texture was too thick. For the second pie, I defrosted the cherries in the fridge overnight while the pie dough chilled. The next day when I made the filling, there was quite a bit of juice which dissolved the sugar/cornstarch mixture completely. I was able to heat up about 80% of the juice until it started to congeal, then I stirred it into the cherries and filled the pie shell. This pie was excellent. The filling was perfect, just holding together while juicy.
Made this fabulous pie in a 9.5″ diameter pie plate. Used 2 lb frozen sweet cherries to make up for the larger dish and didn’t change anything else with the recipe. Was completely delicious, my guests had seconds.
Thanks to Sally, I’m turning into a pie maven. Have made 4 different pies and they all have been excellent!