by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Sometimes I need a can of cherry pie filling for a recipe. But DANG have you priced that little can of filling? And there’s often lots of filling but precious little actual cherry in those cans. But it’s simple to make your own cherry pie filling using canned or frozen cherries. 

Holiday Food Favorites

For each major holiday gathering – whether Thanksgiving or Christmas – the non-negotiable dishes my family requests of our household is that we bring  RancherMan’s Famous Green-Bean Casserole and my sweet, desserty no-cook Cherry Schtuff.

Now in the past I’d simply buy a can of cherry pie filling to make my sweet no-cook cherry dessert. But I was often very disappointed at the abundance of filling and significant lack of actual cherry in those cans. 

So these days I’ve found it’s often cheaper and always oh-so-much-more delicious to make my own cherry pie filling. I use either canned or frozen cherries and BOOM!

Single Pie Filling Recipe Or Double?

For smaller cherry pie filling needs such as for topping desserts for instance, I’ll use the quick & easy recipe below to make a small 1-cup recipe of cherry pie filling. That gives me plenty of filling to use for those desserts.

But sometimes I need more pie filling for a recipe. I’ll often double the recipe below when I’m making my Cherry Schtuff dessert so it will be even more cherrylicious. 

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Making this cherry pie filling is beyond simple. I’m basically just thawing frozen cherries and reserving the juice that drains away. (or reserving the juice from a drained can of cherries).

Then I’m adding some sugar & thickening the juice with cornstarch. A tiny amount of lemon juice & vanilla extract and I’m done!

Really, it’s faster than running to the store and plunking down hard-earned money for canned cherry pie filling.

And as I mentioned I use it for more than just the Cherry Schtuff dessert I make during the holidays. I often plop a dollop of homemade cherry pie filling on my Homemade Cheesecake too.

Or anywhere that topping a dessert with cherry pie filling adds a little sumpin’…

So versatile, so EASY!

So if you’re tired of plunking down the cash for that can of cherry pie filling which contains precious few actual cherries, consider buying cherries when they’re in season & cheap.

Pit them and then toss them in the freezer. That way they’ll be ready and waiting for you to use them down the road for making your own homemade cherry pie filling. You know, the filling that contains LOTS of cherries!

Here’s the recipe I use for topping desserts. Double the recipe if you need more.

5 from 1 vote

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Small 1-Cup Cherry Pie Filling Recipe:

I was often very disappointed at the abundance of filling and lack of actual cherry in those purchased cans of cherry pie filling. So these days I've found it's cheaper and preferable to make my own cherry pie filling. I use canned or frozen cherries. #TexasHomesteader

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword apple pie filling, cherry, cherry pie

Prep Time 3 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Author www.TexasHomesteader.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup Frozen or canned red tart cherries thawed for 24 hours in the refrigerator
• 1/2 cup Reserved drained cherry juice
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1 HEAPING Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice

Instructions

1. WHISK together 1/2 cup cherry liquid, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 HEAPING Tablespoon cornstarch in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil until thickened and mixture begins to bubble.
3. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Return to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Add reserved cherries all at once. Return to a boil, stirring constantly but gently.
5. Remove from heat, stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

~TxH~

Want More Holiday Cooking Tips & Recipes?

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• Enjoy The Holiday – Pre-Cook The Turkey
• How To Spatchcock & Smoke A Whole Turkey With Pecan Wood

SIDE DISHES

• RancherMan’s Green Bean Casserole Recipe
• Quick & Easy Roasted Vegetables
• Zesty Ranch-Style Beans
• Rosemary Rice

DESSERTS

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• Apple Pie With Home-Canned Apples
• Easy Instant Pot Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Bread (with Cake Mix Shortcut)
• Easy, Healthy Breakfast Muffins
• Honey-Sweetened Whipped Cream
• Double Pie Crust Recipe

BREAD

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• Basic Beer Bread (flavor as you wish!)
• Quick & Easy Jalapeno Cornbread

INGREDIENTS

• MYO Sweetened Condensed Milk
• MYO Broth Easily!
• Easy Cream-Of-ANYTHING Soup Recipe
• Easier Peeling For Boiled Eggs
• How To Tell If Your Baking Powder Is Still Good

FOOD SAFETY

• What Do The Dates On The Food Labels Mean?
• Keeping Hot Dishes HOT In Transit
• Keeping Food Safely COLD

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