What Makes This the Best Cherry Pie Recipe

• Easy to make. I make this pie from scratch with my easy 10-minute cherry pie filling and a buttery homemade crust. Both are simple recipes, but you can always substitute your favorite store-bought versions if you’re pressed for time.
• Thick and sliceable. After many rounds of testing, I’ve finally cracked the secret to thick slices of pie that hold in the filling. No runny cherry pie here! It comes down to simmering the cherries long enough and giving the pie plenty of time to set.
• Perfect for any season. Cherry pie is the perfect way to make the most of in-season fruit. The filling turns out best when I make it with ripe, sweet dark cherries. That being said, you can make this pie year-round with frozen cherries, too.

Ingredients You’ll Need

You really only need a handful of ingredients to make a perfect cherry pie. Even my crust recipe uses pantry staples that you likely have on hand. See my notes below. I’ve linked to the crust and filling recipes in the recipe card, where you’ll also find the ingredients list for this pie with specific amounts.

Easy Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

While canned filling will produce a perfectly acceptable cherry pie, if you ask me, nothing compares to the taste and thickness of homemade cherry pie filling. It’s as easy as tossing fresh or frozen cherries with water, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch and then simmering everything on the stovetop for 10 minutes. It stores in the fridge for days, and you can use the leftovers as a topping for cheesecake!

How to Make Cherry Pie

The pie crust and cherry pie filling each take about 10 minutes to make (I’ll usually get the filling simmering on the stove while I make the pie dough). Once your pie filling and dough are ready, follow the steps below. You’ll find the printable instructions in the recipe card.

Make It Ahead

I’ll sometimes bake two cherry pies, one to enjoy now and one to freeze for later. This pie freezes well before or after baking (see the storage tips below on how to freeze the baked version). To freeze the unbaked cherry pie, prepare the pie as directed and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then in foil. Keep it frozen for up to 1 month. When it’s time to bake, unwrap the pie and bake it straight from frozen with 10-15 minutes added to the baking time.

Recipe Tips

• Cook the filling. It’s important to simmer fresh cherries for the filling to avoid a soggy cherry pie. Pre-cooking the filling also prevents a cavity from forming under the top crust, which happens when fresh, uncooked cherries shrink as they bake. This doesn’t apply if you’re using a ready-to-use cherry pie filling from the store.
• Avoid burnt edges. I suggest checking the pie after 25 minutes. If you notice the crust is browning quickly, cover the edges with a pie shield or aluminum foil to prevent them from burning while the pie finishes baking.
• Cool the pie completely. If you slice into homemade cherry pie while it’s still warm (as tempting as it might be), you’ll end up with soupy slices that may fall apart. For this reason, I recommend giving this pie 4 hours or more to cool and set before slicing. It’s the secret to thick, picture-perfect slices.

How to Store

• At room temperature. Store the cherry pie for up to 2 days at room temperature. Keep it lightly covered so that the crust doesn’t become soggy.
• Refrigerate. For longer storage, you can keep the covered pie in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Freeze. Once the baked pie has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and a second layer of foil, and freeze it for up to 1 month. Thaw the pie, unwrapped, at room temperature.

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