This homemade Cherry Sauce is loaded with sweet juicy cherries. Quick and easy to make, we love serving this cherry topping on Cheesecake, pancakes, waffles, vanilla ice cream, and pound cake. Cherry Sauce tastes like the filling for Cherry Pie.
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Homemade Cherry Sauce Recipe:
Fruit toppings are the perfect complement to many desserts, and this Cherry Sauce definitely can’t be beaten. I find that cherries make the perfect fruit topping for decadent desserts like cheesecake because the tartness of the cherries balances the indulgence of the dessert.
Nothing beats homemade sauces, be sure to also try our Strawberry Sauce and our Caramel Sauce as toppings for desserts or breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles!
How to Make Homemade Cherry Sauce:
This Cherry Sauce couldn’t be easier! All of the ingredients are cooked together in one saucepan and you are left with an irresistible sauce you’ll want to eat with a spoon!
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together water, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar.
- Put the saucepan over medium heat and stir until it starts to thicken. Add cherries and continue stirring occasionally until sauce is at a light uniform boil and has thickened.
- Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Should I Use Sweet or Tart Cherries?
I love making this sauce with sweet cherries. Using sweet cherries means less added sugar is needed – only about 2 tablespoons. Tart cherries also work very well for cherry sauce, however, if using tart cherries I recommend adding 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar (or add sugar to taste) so the sauce isn’t too tart.
Can I Use Fresh or Frozen Cherries?
This Cherry topping recipe is so versatile – either fresh or frozen cherries work. Fresh cherries are perfect in the summer at the peak of their growing season.
Frozen cherries are a great choice when fresh cherries are out of season and are typically pre-pitted which can save you the step of removing cherry pits. Keep in mind, frozen fruit release more juice so add a little less water with frozen cherries.
Can This be Used as Cherry Pie Filling?
With a few modifications, this Cherry Sauce makes a delicious cherry pie filling! Simply double the recipe and add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken the sauce to allow your cherry pie to set up more firmly.
Since the Cherry Sauce is usually served over a sweet dessert, we love that it is a little tangy. If you prefer a sweeter cherry pie filling, be sure to add a little more sugar to sweeten the mixture.
How to Store Cherry Topping:
If you have leftovers of this delicious Cherry Sauce or need to make it in advance, the sauce will store well in the fridge for about 3 days. Let the sauce cool completely to room temperature then store in a glass mason jar or Tupperware container. This recipe also freezes well for future use.
Love Cherries? More Cherry Desserts:
- Classic Cherry Pie – with the best crust
- Cherry Upside-Down Cake – the fluffiest cake
- Cherry Crumble – delicious almonds on top
- Pineapple Cherry Dump Cake – quick and easy dessert
Easy Cherry Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 cups sweet cherries, (fresh or frozen), pitted*
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup water
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan (off the heat), add water (use 1/3 cup for fresh cherries and 1/4 cup water for frozen cherries). Whisk in 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, and 2 Tbsp sugar.
- Place over medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken.
- Add cherries and cook stirring occasionally until sauce is at a light boil (about 6-10 minutes for fresh cherries and 12-15 minutes for frozen). The sauce should be thickened and uniformly bubbling, not just at the edges, then remove from heat.
- Cool to room temperature then cover and store in the refrigerator in a glass mason jar or Tupperware container until ready to use. It will thicken more as it stands.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Awesome recipes thank you for your contribution and I need your cook book
Love all of her recipes. ❤️ I’m making the no bake cherry cheesecakes for my husband’s poker game he has every week. They are going to love these.
Hi Natasha!
I made this to go on top of bread pudding with vanilla ice cream. I made it today to serve tomorrow so it’s in the fridge. I’m a bit confused because some of the comments lead me to believe this should be served cold. I don’t have any experience with fruit sauces. Can I serve this warm? If so, how do you recommend I reheat the sauce to preserve the consistency it originally had?
Hi Christiana! We serve and eat this cold or at room temperature. Warming it up will loosen the sauce and make it thinner/more runny.
Agreed this is the best.
However, I put too much lemon in so I had to add more sugar, which then I added another cup of cherries and a little water slurry of starch.
The same recipe just a little more of everything. LOL…
Very good I would have never thought to use dark Cherries what a smooth taste and less sugar to add made me happy!
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Made the Cherry Sauce. Didn’t have fresh or frozen cherries. I had canned dark sweet cherries in juice. Recipe was easy didn’t take long and was delicious. I replaced water with some of the juice from the canned cherries. Yummy. Thanks Natasha you never let me down
Hey there, thanks for sharing! Good to know that you liked the recipe using frozen cherries too.
Just made this with cherries that have been in the fridge for a while. I had to use the measurements for frozen cherries because the ones I used were a little drier than fresh picked, but it looks and tastes wonderful. This is going on top of French toast (your recipe, of course} tonight.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Joe! I hope you love the French Toast recipe!
Made this for the topping to my crushed golden grahams crust/ pudding cheesecake 🙂 DELICIOUS 😋😋😋 Thank You😁
Hi Marci! You’re very welcome! I’m glad you liked the recipe.
I used fresh sour cherries. And because of their tartness, I skipped the lemon juice. I did add a few drops of almond flavoring to compliment the cherries. It was so delicious.
I’m so glad you loved it, Kathy!
That sounds good! Maybe I’ll try a little vanilla when I make this!
Delicious! I made this recipe to go on a cheesecake – perfect consistency for a cherry sauce. I used last summer’s fresh sweet cherries that I had halved, pitted and frozen. 1/4 cup water worked perfectly. I had to use lime juice since I didn’t have the lemons I thought I had. It still worked great, but I had to add 1-2 tsp of sugar to cut the bitterness of the lime. Still tastes great, though, and I think with lemon it would work perfectly as written, no need for extra sugar. I’ll make this again!
That’s wonderful, Emily! Thank you for sharing.
I’d like to make a keto-friendly version of this to serve to friends who follow that diet, and was wondering if I could use a sugar substitute.
Hi Deanne, I haven’t tried this with a sugar substitute to advise on the outcome. I looked through the comments and I’m not finding anyone that has tried that either. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Lakonta Classic’s the way to go. And I’d suggest Lakonta Gold as a brown sugar sub. Not cheat, but completely natural. Taste just like the sugars. No chemical taste.
Ever since, I saw your mini cheese cupcakes, I have been making them for several times. It is the best recipe for my grandkids and the family. A tiny bite goes a long way. Super easy and tasty
That’s great to hear. I’m glad your family enjoys them. Thank you for sharing.
Can I freeze the cherry sauce in a mason jar I have?
Thanks,
Ruth
Hi Ruth, yes this recipe freezes well, however, I have not tried storing this sauce yet for more than a coupe of days.
This was okay. nothing outstanding about it. I cut my fresh cherries in half. Had to go back and quarter them. I had to add way more sugar as the lemon juice was overwhelming.
Hi Natasha. This recipe sounds so yummy. Is it possible to can the sauce instead of freezing. I bought 15 lb of cherries to make awesome desserts and sauces. Thanks
Hi Maureen! I haven’t tried canning this sauce but I think it could work well. You might add a little more sugar though for preserving the cherry sauce.
Made this tonight with two batches of cherries. One that has been in the fridge for a while so isn’t as fresh, and the remains of a fresh bag my kids had already eaten most of. When I tasted the cherries in the sauce that were not as fresh, they lacked really delicious cherry punchiness, but they were still pretty good with the added sugar.. However, when I tasted one of the cherries from the fresh bag (yellow ones, so I knew which were which) the flavor was outstandingly, amazingly delicious. So, I would recommend using the freshest cherries that you can, but if you have a bag that’s been in the fridge for a while don’t hesitate to use them up in this sauce. It’s a wonderful, easy recipe. Thanks for sharing it!!!
Hi Susanna! Thank you for the feedback and tips. So glad you enjoy this recipe.
This cherry sauce was not sweet at all,I put almond extract in to try to give it flavor but still not sweet.Iam disappointed that it was tasteless and it looked good on my cheesecake but flavor was awful.Waste of money and time.
Just made this sauce with my kiddo, it’s so good! Used fresh cherries & added a little almond extract. Using it for a funnel cake topping. So yummy and super easy!
Hi Leanne, nice one! Thanks for the good review, we’re so glad you and your family enjoyed thie recipe.
Do you think this could be canned and stored? I would like to make it and give as gifts during the holidays
Hi Gail, I haven’t tried canning this sauce but I think it could work well. You might add a little more sugar though for preserving the cherry sauce.
so excited to try this… looking for an alternative to storebought cherry sauce ! Will this recipe be ok if I store it overnight in the fridge?? Planning to use as a mini cheesecake topping
Hi Kristee, you can make this ahead and store it in the fridge.
Nice flavor! I used 1/4 cup sugar with tart cherries and also added 2 Tbsp bourbon. Will use as topping on pound cake and ice cream
So glad you love this recipe!
With the cherry sauce can you
leave it in the mason jar to freeze?
Then when needed thaw in the
fridge overnight!
Hi Byron, yes this recipe freezes well.