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. 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. As always, wait for the pie to cool completely before slicing, which is another non-negotiable that helps avoid a soupy pie filling.
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.
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 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.
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.
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. 🙂
PrintHomemade 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)
- 2/3Â cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (28g) cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1Â 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.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract together until thoroughly combined. Cover 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 spoon and spread the cherries into the crust. Reserve the juice for the next step. Refrigerate pie, uncovered, as you reduce the juices in the next step.
- Pour the few Tablespoons of leftover juice into a small saucepan over low heat. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until juice has slightly reduced and thickened. 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 and it will melt again in the oven. Dot the pieces of butter on top of the filling.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut strips of dough—I cut four strips 2 inches wide and two strips 1 inch wide. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small paring knife to trim off excess dough. Flute or crimp the pie crust edges with a fork.
- Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if using.
- Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down 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 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.
Love love love!
I made it vegan by using vegan butter.
Crust was amazingly flaky and delicious. Filling had the perfect amount of sweetness.
My kids and hubby loved it.
Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Would this recipe work with fresh cherries that were canned in a simple syrup?
Hi Amanda! Fresh, uncanned cherries would be best here — we fear the simple syrup on the cherries would make the pie much too sweet. If you do decide to try it, be sure to drain them well.
Thank you! I canned them myself and used minimal sugar so the syrup they are canned is not too sweet. I’ll drain them before making the pie.
Pie and crust turned out sooooo good. Thanks for the recipe.
Sally, I followed this recipe and I used fresh Rainer and some bing cherries. It was a lot of work, but a labor of love. My husband even helped pit the cherries. It was good, but it didn’t taste like the cherry pie I expected. There was no tartness and the cherries seemed slightly cooked, but the filling wasn’t like cherry pie filling. I think next time I’ll try tart cherries. I’ve made pies for years and was so looking forward to my FIRST cherry pie, but I was disappointed.
Cherry pie has always been my favorite. But I do not like the prepared cherry pie filling. I had never made a cherry pie using real cherries. Bring on the big bag of frozen organic ones from Costco, add Sally’s recipe,, and I have the most beautiful, delicious pie ever!
As always, thank you, Sally, for including your blog notes in the printed recipe. I followed the recipe to a T and made sure to read your suggestions as I went.
Fantastic! Thank you thank you! You are greatly appreciated!!
Made this for our 4th of July party- It was delicious. A huge hit with our guests and not one bite left. Followed the recipe exactly and served with fresh whipped cream. One of the best pies I have ever made. Cherry season in California is almost over- might need to make one more pie with the last of the season’s sweet cherries! Yum!
Not impressed. I tried it. The cherries weren’t as cooked down as I expected and it was too juicy. I cooked the juice down but the filling of the pie didn’t hold together.
This was the worst cherry pie I have ever made. It was cherries in water in the crust so the crust bottom was a soggy mess. All the yummy juices/sugar/cornstarch (close to a cup) were discarded when I drained the cherries (I did keep the few tablespoons). I am super bummed it didn’t turn out because it was very labor intensive.
Just put in the oven, filling is tasty. The instructions need to be tweaked as you need 4 1-inch pieces of pie dough for the lattice.
Omgaw. This PIE O MY is fabulous!!!! Everything about it is perfect! I used a mixture of fresh cherries and it was delish!!! Thank you for sharing! It is def a keeper!!!
I am only going to provide a review on the filling as I already had a pie dough that made leftover from a previous recipe. This filling was absolutely delicious and reducing the juices on the stove is a MUST to make sure the pie sets beautifully. The addition of the almond extract is essential too and would not leave it out as it just takes the flavoring to another level. I may have missed this but this recipe is for a regular pie size pan. I made the mistake of using a deep dish one so I did not have enough cherries to fill the whole thing even though I measured 4 1/2 cups of pitted cherries, which equals slightly more than 1 1/2 lbs. Luckily I had some poached pears on hand when I made them for another tart and the result was astounding. However, I did taste the pie with only the cherries and it was delicious.
This is the best cherry pie I’ve ever baked!!! Thanks for another wondeful recipe.
This pie is delicious! So so good. Flaky crust, perfectly luscious cherry filling. 10/10.
One question: Could this work as hand pies? Would love to bake up a bunch of hand pies that taste just like this pie. It’s perfect. xoxo
Hi Michelle, we can’t see why not! This filling would be delicious in hand pies.
My daughter is allergic to corn, so what can I substitute for cornstarch that won’t affect the taste?
Hi Sally, you can try all-purpose flour or tapioca starch. I would increase amount to 1/3 cup.
Thank you so much! It was delicious!
I *just* made your homemade cherry pie recipe earlier this week–we have a cherry tree in our yard 🙂 I’ll have to try the tweaked version of the recipe too, we have more than enough cherries to make dozens of pies!
I used some Ginger extract instead of Almond extract and it gave it a nice twist.
If I want to make this cherry pie using the crumble topping, would I still begin it at a higher temperature; concerned about the topping burning.
Thanks, Sally.
Hi Ann, do not change the baking temperatures. The crumble topping won’t burn unless you over-baked the pie. You can always tent the entire top with foil if you notice it browning too quickly.
So can I thaw them out and not use the extra juice from thawing them out, or would it still be too soupy? When I thaw our peaches, I don’t use the liquid that’s left in the bag in my pies. Thank you for help.
We find frozen cherries are still too soupy after thawing and draining.
Hi! I am planning to make this recipe using fresh Montmorency cherries. So you have suggestions on how to adjust the recipe?
Hi Emily! We suggest a mixture of dark sweet and sour cherries, but that’s up to you! We would love to hear how it goes with your Montmorency cherries.
We made this cherry pie using Sally’s pie crust recipe. We used the vodka too. It was amazing! Best cherry pie and best pie crust ever!
Just wondering,
Why when it comes to rolling out pie crust , it breaks apart.
I flour board and rolling pin, but sticks to rolling pin and in pieces!! What am I doing
Wrong, I refrigerated dough for 3 hrs, so was cold.
Hi Rose! If the dough is just too hard right out of the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. It will still be cold, but even a few minutes at room temperature will help soften it up. Roll out very slowly and gently. If it’s cracking, moisten your fingertips with water and meld the dough back together as best you can. (As if it were play doh.) If it’s cracking, the dough may not have enough liquid. We highly recommend at least 1/2 cup of ice water in our homemade pie crust. Most pie dough problems come from not adding enough water. Hope this is helpful!
Absolutely loved this recipe. I did forget my little T cubes of butter, but it turned out amazing. I added extra vanilla extract instead of the almond extract because I’m not a fan of almond extract. So that works too. I loved how simple the filling was with no cooking required ahead of time! Made this so much easier than others I’ve tried. Thank you Sally! I’ve been a fan for years!!
This was hands down one of the best cherry pies I’ve tasted. This one won me so many praises! The crust is so buttery and flaky and the filling is sweet in just the right amount.
This recipe is definitely a keeper.
I’ve been using Sally’s crust recipe for the past year+ after a couple of fails trying all-butter. Delicious in this pie, as expected. Thank you for giving me my Forever Crust, Sally! I followed the recipe as written. If I were to try this pie again, I’d add more cornstarch or arrowroot powder, chop some of the cherries into smaller pieces, maybe cook the cherries down a little before baking the pie? Even after resting overnight, it was still runny and the cherries didn’t quite come together. Love the addition of the almond extract – it adds a really nice flavor.
Made this today for my boyfriend’s birthday and it was a HIT! Followed the directions to a T aside from subbing arrowroot for cornstarch. Crust was FLAKY and the filling was incredible, not runny AT ALL! This was my very first pie ever so I was a little concerned reading some other reviews complaining about it being runny or soggy at the bottom. If you follow the directions, you will have no problem!! I made sure to keep everything cold/cool and I was even concerned I took a bit too long with the lattice but everything was perfect. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! We will be making this again one day and i’m looking forward to checking out the rest of your recipes! xx G
This recipe was perfect to use some jars of cherries I had canned last summer. I ended up using 4 pints of cherries after draining the liquid I canned them in. Everyone raved about the pie and there wasn’t any left, so I took that as a good sign. Thank you for the great recipe!!
Read and followed the steps in the instructions, same result as one of the other comments – no gooey filling, just cherries in water. Maybe don’t lead with refrigerating the pie for an hour before putting it in the oven, since those are several steps (and screen scrolls) apart. That’s the only thing I can think of that ruined this. Or perhaps it was the corn starch discarded in the juices of the filling mix. Anyway, total bummer and waste of time.
Made this pie with the all butter pastry.
100% recommended.
No soggy bottoms here!
Perfect amount of sweetness in the pie.
Hi Sally! I have never come back to a website to leave a review of a recipe but I saw in one of your videos that you love hearing from us. I recently made this recipe with your pie crust as well. I made it for Christmas and everyone loved it! I ended up not having enough cherries (i used frozen dark sweet- thawed them in water and squeezed them out.) I only had about two cups after draining them so I added my frozen mixed berries. It was a fantastic variation and I recommend trying it with mixed berries as well as cherries! I also added half as much sugar since I used sweet cherries. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world. 🙂
Was very nervous as I have never made a pie let alone my own pastry. Followed the recipe precisely (note to self will get pastry cutter next time!) and made sure to drain the cherries well. Base and crust was perfect- filling was amazing. Was an absolute hit thank you !
Thank you…a bit nervous, but more confident after reading your comment!♡
Rated best cherry pie in the world by my grandchildren! Thanks for the recipe.