There’s nothing like a fresh Cherry Pie with juicy cherries bubbling through a rich, flaky crust. Watch the video tutorial and learn how to make the best cherry pie from scratch with our easy, homemade Pie Crust and fresh or frozen cherries.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Homemade pies are easy to make and so satisfying to eat. We change up the fruit with the seasons and make Apple Pie in the cooler months, then Blueberry Pie, juicy Peach Pie and, of course, this sweet cherry pie in Summer.
Cherry Pie Recipe
Memories are made around homemade pies and there’s something so satisfying about creating a pie from scratch. The only downside to a homemade pie is in waiting for it to cool before enjoying it. For easier serving, let the pie cool almost to room temperature so the juices thicken. If you slice into a hot pie, the filling will slide out.
Don’t forget to top each slice with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. It will melt slightly into the slice, making it irresistibly good.
Homemade Cherry Pie Video Tutorial
If you enjoyed this Cherry Pie video tutorial, you can check out all of our video recipes on our . I hope you’re pumped and inspired to bake your own cherry pie while cherries are in season, or you can use frozen when the craving strikes (see instructions below).
Ingredients for Cherry Pie
- Cherries: We love sweet red cherries here but you can use a variety of cherries and even a combination of different cherries.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice balances the sweetness and adds some juiciness to the filling. Use less or omit if you are using a tart cherry.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar amplifies the natural sweetness of the cherries. You can adjust sugar to taste depending on the sweetness of your cherries. Add more for tart cherries.
- Corn Starch: This helps to thicken the cherry pie filling to create a bubbly saucy center just like in our Cherry Sauce.
- Butter: We use unsalted butter to dot the cherry pie filling before applying the crust.
- Pie Crust: You will need two disks or 1 recipe for Pie Dough, to make the bottom crust and lattice top.
The Best Way to Pit Cherries:
To be safe, double-check that each cherry is pitted. I like to watch them one by one as I pit to see the pit exit the cherry. There are many cherry pitters on the market and these two are a great choice:
- For big batches of cherries – use a countertop pitter. You can get through a lot of cherries faster.
- For small projects (like cherry pie!) – you can use a hand-held cherry pitter.
Can I use Frozen Cherries for Cherry Pie?
Cherries from the freezer work great when cherries aren’t in season. Using frozen cherries can be even easier since they are already pitted. Make sure frozen cherries are well thawed. Lightly rinse them and let them sit in a colander to drain well. Use 2 1/2 lbs of frozen cherries for this recipe.
Can I make a Sour Cherry Pie?
Since sour cherries are generally smaller, you will need about 2 1/2 to 3 lbs (or 6 cups, pitted) of sour cherries. Since sour cherries are more tart, use 1 cup of sugar.
How to Transfer a Pie Crust to the Pan
Transferring pie crust to a pie pan is easy. Flour your work surface before rolling out the dough to prevent sticking.
- Roll the first pie crust to a 13″ diameter circle
- Roll the crust onto your rolling pin
- Unroll crust over your deep dish pie pan
How to Make Cherry Pie
A homemade cherry pie filling is easy to make and takes just a few ingredients. The cornstarch creates a thick bubbly cherry filling while the cinnamon and lemon juice amplifies the flavor of the cherries. The resulting filling is bubbly and saucy like our Cherry Sauce.
- Stir together cherries and lemon juice.
- Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon and combine with cherries. Stir until the cherries are saucy and evenly coated.
How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust
Here’s a quick visual reference for making a lattice pie crust for cherry pie. I still use this visual reference when making pie because I can move through the steps at my own pace.
- Place 5 strips of dough horizontally over the pie filling, with the longer strips in the center and shorter strips towards the edges.
- Fold back the 2nd and 4th strips halfway and place a long vertical strip of dough in the center.
- Fold the strips back over the new line then fold back the alternate strips (1st, 3rd, and 5th). Continue adding and alternating strips then switch to the other side of the pie, until the lattice is complete.
How to Crimp a Pie Crust
Your fingers are all you need to make a beautiful crimped or scalloped pie crust.
- Tuck in excess dough behind the bottom pie crust.
- Crimp the crust edges by pushing the dough out with your index finger and at the same time pushing/pinching the dough around it with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand
- Repeat all the way around the edge.
Pro Tips for the Best Cherry Pie
- Freeze the unbaked pie for 10-15 minutes while the oven preheats (this keeps crust from sagging in the oven and browning too fast).
- Brush the pie crust with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp milk or water) and sprinkle with coarse sugar just before baking.
- Arrange the oven rack to the lower third of the oven to keep the crust from getting too brown.
- For easier cleanup, place a sheet of foil (or slide a sheet pan) under the pie once you turn the heat down to 350˚F.
I hope you take full advantage of cherry season with your own homemade cherry pie. Cherries have to be my favorite stone fruit and I’ve always loved them fresh and especially baked into desserts. From the flaky buttery crust to the juicy cherries that burst with every bite – this pie has your name written all over it!
More Cherry Recipes
We are wild about cherry recipes and take full advantage of those juicy sweet cherries in Summer. These are a must-try:
- Cherry Clafoutis
- Black Forest Cake
- Cherry Smoothies
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
- Cherry Upside-Down Cake
- Cherry Crumble
- Sparkling Cherry Lemonade
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to Natasha’s Newsletter and YouTube for meal-time inspiration and let’s connect on social! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X for a peek behind the scenes of Natasha’s Kitchen.
Cherry Pie Recipe
Ingredients
Cherry Pie Ingredients:
- 6 cups sweet cherries, pitted (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 lbs)
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3/4 cups sugar, use 1 cup for sour cherries
- 5 Tbsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced, to dot the top
- 1 Recipe for Double Pie Crust
Egg Wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp milk, or water
- 1 Tbsp coarse sugar
Instructions
- Make pie crusts and refrigerate 1 hour before using. Arrange oven rack in the lower third of the oven.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup sugar, 5 Tbsp corn starch and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
- Pit cherries and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Sprinkle on sugar/cornstarch mixture and stir together until evenly moist.
- Roll the first pie crust disk into a 13" circle and transfer to a 9" wide, deep pie pan. The edges should hang a little over the edge of the pan. Pour the cherry mixture over the bottom crust along with any accumulated juices. Dot with Butter.
- Roll the second crust into a 12" circle and use a pizza cutter to slice into ten 1-inch strips. Using the 10 strips of dough, create a lattice crust over the top (see photo tutorial on Natasha's Kitchen). Tuck in the excess dough at edges then pinch the edges to seal or crimp edges if desired. Refrigerate pie 30 minutes (or freeze 15 minutes) while preheating oven to 425˚F.
- Beat together 1 egg and 1 Tbsp milk or water and brush the egg wash over the lattice crust and edges. Sprinkle the top with 1 Tbsp coarse sugar. Bake in the lower third of the oven at 425 ˚F for 25 minutes.
- Place a sheet of foil or baking sheet beneath the pie, reduce oven temperature to 350˚F, and bake additional 30-35 minutes, or until crust is golden and cherry juice is bubbling through the lattice top.
My pie turned out fantastic! I used Natasha’s easy pie crust recipe (my go-to for any pie that I make) and fresh cherries I got from Costco. I did leave the pie to cool in room temp for hours before serving. I love that it is not a super gooey, syrup-heavy sort of cherry pie that uses a lot more corn starch and sugar. It highlights the cherries as the main focus as a good cherry pie should.
My pie overflowed all over the bottom of my oven, making a lot of smoke inside the oven and in the house. The smoke lent a smoky taste to the pie unfortunately.
I followed this recipe exactly, but it came out with an excessive amount of liquid. This was my first time making cherry pie, and it was a disaster for me.
Hi Diane! I’m so sorry to hear that. Did you use a deep pie dish? See step 4, I linked the dish that I used. Make sure you’re using a pan with the same dimensions.
Hi can I make this as just the pie filling? And NOT make it in a pie?! I can’t have crust. Please let me know if I can do this as you instructed but just cook on the stovetop. Thank you!
Hi Sam! I think so, but I would reference my Cherry sauce recipe instead which is similar to this filling.
Getting ready make this pie…I do not have fresh cherries, but cherries in a jar. Will this work for pie and do I prepare it the same way as fresh, using all the juice on the cherries in jar..
Hi Vickie! I have not tested that to advise. Some of my viewers reported using jarred maraschinno cherries with good results after straining them.
I made this pie as instructed and it turned out perfectly. I didn’t change anything. Thank you for sharing this recipe along with your crust recipe.
The crust did not work out. Too wet and over mixed. I tried again but this time I mixed the water in by hand a little at a time- not with the food processor. Much better.
Hi Valerie, that sounds very much like over-mixing the dough – if it’s over-mixed, the dough will get gummy and sticky.
Hi Natasha. Can Tapioca be used to thicken the Cherry pie, instead of corn starch ? I prefer it over that or flour. If so, how much do I use ? Same amount as for a peach pie ?
Hi Dianna, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
this did not set up for me at all. not sure what i did wrong.. maybe undercooked as i could still taste the grittiness of the cornstarch. cooked 425 then 350 as written. however, the crust was good.
Hi Susan, that definitely should not be the outcome. Is your oven working properly? If you can sense the cornstarch at all – maybe there was too much cornstarch added for the amount of cherries? Make sure to use the same proportions and stir together the lemon juice with sugar and cornstarch until it’s evenly moist. You shouldn’t be seeing white cornstarch when you put the filling into the crust. If you look at the photo of the cherries after they are mixed with the cornstarch mixture, you can see they look more syrupy/saucy than dry. Did your cherries look that way? I hope that helps to troubleshoot.
Hi, this is my first cherry pie but not my first pie. I cook from scratch almost every night and I bake 2-4 times a week. I’m not sure what happened but the pie has been in the oven for a hour and 10 minutes now and the cherries haven’t cooked down, it still has not bubbled and the crust is still soft. I used 6 cups of freshly picked and pitted cherries. I am using a 3″ deep ceramic pie pan I have used for years. I put the wash and sugar on and baked at 425° for 25 minutes and noticed the top was browning faster than I anticipated so double checked the recipe to make sure I followed the steps. When I turned the oven down I did lay a piece of tin foil over the top loosely to slow the browning, but I don’t think that would have hindered the cooking time like this. The recipe says to pour the accumulated juices into the pan with the cherries but it does not specify how much that amount should be I’m wondering if that may be the issue. Please let me know what you think I may have done wrong.
Hi LC, pour the accumulated juices into the pan means all of the juices. It sounds like maybe you put less than that? The sugar helps soften the cherries to release their juice which helps them release their natural pectin as the cherries bake. If the top is browning too much, I suggest covering with a sheet of foil (some ovens produce more heat from the top or maybe the pie was too high up in the oven) . I hope that helps for next time.
Hi! For step 5 (refrigerate pie for 30 min) can it be longer than that? maybe a few hours? or would that affect the baking?
Hi Samantha! Yes, you can refrigerate it longer if you’d like. It may require a few additional minutes to bake the colder it is but keep an eye on it in the oven to check for doneness.
When baking a frozen unbaked fruit pie, should you thaw the pie first or put in the oven frozen?
Hi Holly. I do not thaw it, I bake it from frozen.
Ugh! I added the sugar to the cherries before i whisked with the corn starch and cinnamon. Is that why my pie didn’t thicken? It’s runny cherry juice
Hi Penni! Did you use frozen cherries? If so, be sure to fully thaw them and let them sit in a strainer to drain the extra juices. The cornstarch should still work. You’ll want to fully preheat the oven before you start baking the pie, it could have needed to bake longer. The filling needs to bubble so that it can thicken. It will also thicken more as it cools. I hope that helps. You can also add more cornstarch if needed next time.
This recipe did not work at all. All of the juices came out of the pie and stuck to the pan and foil. It did not thicken up at all while baking and took much longer than recipe said and none of the cherries cooked down.
I have made a cherry pie before and have always cooked down the cherries and thickened them on the stove. I should have not taken the ‘easy’ recipe. Very disappointed in flavor and clean-up.
Hi Dean, I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like maybe your pie pan was too small if all of the juices came out. This recipe needs a deep pie pan.
I had the same experience except I used a deep pie pan, it didn’t run over, but the juice didn’t thicken at all and I ended up with a horrible scald on my hand from all of the liquid sloshing out when I removed it from the oven. This was supposed to be for a surprise party for a friend and was an enormous disappointment.
HI Anna, that sounds awful. I always recommend using oven mitts when transferring hot things in and out of the oven to keep your hands safe. Usually the pie thickens up as it cools and that is the case with most fruit pies, but I haven’t had it happen where it doesn’t thicken at all. I would suggest not removing the pie from the oven until you see thick juices bubbling out of the crust per the recipe instructions and make sure not to reduce the amount of corn starch which is the primary ingredient that thickens up the sauce. I hope that is helpful to you. Also, make sure to bake for the full time for a total of 55-60 minutes starting on the higher temperature then reducing and double check that your oven is heating properly.
Hi Natasha, I made the pie as directed (to the T)… The only problem is is the first 25 minutes I baked it at 425 it seemed to be all the way done, I was afraid to bake it an additional 30 minutes what would I do at this point? I did bake it an additional 15 min. With it tented, to avoid burning it
Hi Cheri! Are you baking it in a convection (fan oven)? If so, it would bake faster and would need to be adjusted. This recipe is written for a conventional oven.
Please get rid of some of the ads. They pop up so fast and there are so many of them, I can’t navigate the page.
Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback. The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site, so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes. But we will definitely take note of your feedback and use it to improve our website.
I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you love every recipe you try.
Hi! I used your apple pie recipe for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit! I really want to try this cherry pie recipe. Can I use canned cherries?
Hi Christina, we prefer this with fresh cherry and haven’t experimented with canned cherry to advise. If you experiment with canned, please let us know how you like it. For reference, we used 6 cups of fresh cherries pitted (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 lbs).
Hi,I was wondering if this recipe is possible to make without egg and would it still taste the same since i dont eat egg. Thanks
Hi Viraaj. I have heard some people use just milk or butter to do the wash on top of the pie crust eggless.
I’m going to try to make this for thanksgiving! My grandmother is allergic to cinnamon, but cherry pie is her favorite, so I was planning on omitting the cinnamon. Do you think that will drastically change the flavor?
Thanks!
Hi Trista! That would be fine.
How long do I thaw the cherries before putting into the pie shell?
Hi Ann! That can depend on the temperature in the room too. I don’t have an exact time. You’ll want them well thawed. Lightly rinse them and let them sit in a colander to drain well.
I Loved your apple pie! 1st time my pies weren’t too juicie. Can I use the same cooked butter sugar flour water mix for frozen cherry pie?
I haven’t tested that yet to advise, Kathy.
Hi Natasha,
I watched your video making cherry pie and then printed your recipe but totally missed reading if using frozen cherries, thaw and drain!!! The crust is the best ever but the bottom was completely soggy. I have the remake baking so hopefully they were drained enough! Maybe think about adding that part to your video when you talk about using frozen cherries. You are entertaining to watch and your recipes are delicious.Thank you!
Hi Jaynie, Thank you so much for sharing that with me. since we used fresh cherries we left that note out of the video, but I always recommend watching the video for a quick visual instruction, but the following the written recipe to make your pie. I hope that helps.