Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

Want to make a delicious cherry pie from scratch? This easy recipe for homemade cherry pie filling will have you whipping up a delicious dessert in no time!

Love cherry pie but hate the store-bought filling? Try making your own with this simple and delicious recipe! Just a few ingredients and a little bit of time is all it takes to create the best cherry pie filling. It is glossy and gorgeous and so silky smooth!

Growing up there was always a can of cherry pie filling hanging out in our food storage. In great desperation we’d find ways to create desserts like a cherry filling stuffed burrito that we’d fry in a pan and drizzle glaze over the top. Actually, I should totally make that again, haha.

All these years later I still have fond memories of mom’s no bake cheesecake with tart cherry pie filling on top, my little cherry burritos and so on but I’ve found that homemade pie filling is really the secret to a better dessert. If you can find tart cherries vs Bing etc, you’ll end up with an even better results.

Ingredients for Cherry Pie Filling

With just a little time and these 4 ingredients, you can have a homemade cherry filling worth singing about! Here is what you will need:

• Pitted Sour Cherries: You might think a sweet cherry is what you would want for baking desserts, but the opposite is true. Tart cherries make the best cherry desserts with that signature cherry flavor. You can use fresh cherries preferably but frozen cherries will work fine too.
• Cornstarch: Used to thicken the pie filling as it heats up.
• Sugar: Balances the tartness of the cherries.
• Cinnamon: Adds a warm flavor to the filling.

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below so keep scrolling for the all the details.

How to Make Homemade Cherry Filling

Watch how easy it is to take those 4 ingredients and make this cherry pie filling recipe at home…

1. Pour the cherries in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the juices release and start simmering.
2. In a small bowl, stir the rest of the ingredients together and once the cherries are simmering, add the cornstarch/sugar mixture and stir until combined.
3. Let it simmer until bubbling and thick, then remove from the heat.

See that’s totally doable! These instructions can also be found in the recipe card below where you can save or print the recipe as well.

What Type of Cherries are Best?

Sour cherries are best for baking, and the best varieties are called Morello, Montmorency, or Amarelle. Those can be hard to find. We used Rainier cherries, which are a little easier to find. Bing will work as well, but I would use them as a last resort. They are sweet cherries.

How to Remove a Cherry Pit

If you use fresh cherries, you will want to remove the pits. You can slice the cherries in half and pop the pit out, or my favorite little tool is this cherry pitter. It is so handy and just pops the pit right out

Tangy, sweet pineapple rice with cilantro and lime is a guaranteed win for any pineapple lovers. My family gives it two thumbs up around the table every time I make it.

This is a fun side dish that was originally inspired by this recipe for Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken. I wanted something sweet and just a bit tangy, and the rice worked out beautifully.

Rice with Pineapple

To say that we’re a family of pineapple lovers just doesn’t even do justice to how much we all enjoy fresh, frozen, or canned pineapple. (And speaking of those options, any of them will work nicely in this recipe.)

The much-loved pineapple was a big hit when I added it to the cilantro lime rice. My family informed me that I should probably double the recipe the next time I make it.

If my boys are at home while I’m slicing a pineapple, the odds are good that it will disappear within moments. I’m just as guilty as they are though, seeing how I’ve been known to demolish a batch of pineapple salsa entirely on my own.

Pineapple rice would also be delicious with Sticky Chicken or Sweet and Spicy Glazed Salmon – or honestly, just about any other main dish imaginable. My boys went a little crazy over this rice and repeatedly told me how much they liked it.

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Pizza-dilla (Pizza Quesadilla) [+Video]

Have you ever had a pizza quesadilla (or tortilla pizza)? It is such a quick and easy way to enjoy those classic pizza flavors! We have named them “pizza-dillas” in our house!

It’s always the random recipes that turn out the best. We held a quesadilla throw down one Sunday evening and things got a little delicious. At first we had planned to make original quesadillas using anything, but the kids decided to have us all pick a meat then create any kind of quesadilla you want.

I ended up with pepperoni and at first was a little bummed. But it turned out to be the best quesadilla ever!! The secret? Oh my goodness, it’s so random and I don’t even know why it works, but a little lime honey drizzle inside of the quesadilla, wow!!! It’s absolutely delicious!!! The buttery, garlic topping and that touch of salt from the cotija cheese, it’s just so good! Always use vista tortillas, my favorite, and Volpi pepperoni is hands down the best!

We make them in the air fryer which makes them extra crispy and delicious, and dinner is on the table in 10 minutes!

Ingredients for Tortilla Pizzas

The ingredients for pizzadillas are simple with a couple of key items that take the flavor profile to the next level! Here is what you will need:

• Flour Tortillas: Our favorite brand is Vista, but you can use whatever flour tortillas your family loves.
• Mozzarella: Buy a brick of good quality mozzarella cheese and shred it yourself for the best flavor and melt factor.
• Pepperoni: Volpi is the best brand ever. I find it here in Utah at Trader Joe’s and Harmons. If you can’t find Volpi, then ask the deli counter worker for a good quality pepperoni.
• Butter: I use unsalted butter just to keep the saltiness down, and it’s used to create the garlic butter spread for the outside of the tortilla pizza.
• Johnny’s Garlic Spread: I always buy Johnny’s at Costco, but you can find it at most grocery stores or online. Any garlic seasoning would work to mix with the butter for the garlic butter spread.
• Honey: A little drizzle inside of the pizzadilla adds a little touch of sweetness that makes all the other flavors burst. You could use hot honey instead if you want a little heat!
• Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! This was a week filled with sunshine (YAY for spring weather!), plenty of great food, a whole lot of work, and an abundance of coffee. I’m ready to relax as much as possible this weekend!

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: You can make this creamy, rich, and extra saucy Broccoli Mac and Cheese – completely from scratch – in the same amount of time it takes to cook a box of mac and cheese.

These Zucchini Taco Boats are full of flavor and cheesy goodness. Let’s face it – tacos make everything better, especially zucchini.

Pasta and sausage in a rich tomato pasta sauce is topped with an abundance of cheese to create this Cheesy Sausage Pasta. Everything bakes and melts together to create an irresistible dinner for any cheese or pasta lover.

Creamy, tangy, and very lightly sweetened, this Blueberry Cream Cheese is exactly what your morning is missing. Make some now and you can thank me later.

With crisp edges and soft, chewy centers, these White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies make me grin with every bite. If you aren’t a fan of white chocolate, feel free to use your favorite chocolate instead. However, if you like white chocolate, the combination of macadamia nuts and sweet vanilla chips can’t be beat.

Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream is an old-fashioned favorite made simply with strawberries, sugar, cream, and milk. Just a few ingredients add up to a summer ice cream treat that everyone loves.

Last but not least, here are 20+ easy, inexpensive, naturally gluten free desserts that require no special ingredients! These are my go-to desserts anytime I need an allergy-friendly option at the last moment. They are also the recipes I share with anyone who asks for a simple and uncomplicated gluten free dessert recipe.

What I’m CRAVING: This Muffuletta Cheese Ball caught my eye this week and it needs to happen very soon. Filled with spicy Capicola, salami, and provolone cheese, I already know my guys will go crazy over it. 

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are my pens. It’s been a little over a year since I first told you about these pens and I’m even more obsessed after using them daily for the past year. At barely a dollar each, they’re not only the b

The Most Delicious Mexican Black Beans Ever

Black beans taken to the next level with bold Mexican flavors all from ingredients you have around the house! Sometimes black beans become a forgettable side dish, but not these! They will be the highlight of your meal!

Easy Black Bean Side Dish

We just barely survived an extremely stressful summer. Before I get into the details, let me just say that these Mexican black beans from scratch came from some friends who had us over for dinner one tonight. They were the best black beans we have ever had!

All you need are a few simple ingredients and you’ll be in the middle of a Mexican black bean fiesta! Ole! Serve these alongside our pork carnitas or either one of our chicken or beef fajitas!

Okay, so this summer we made a major mistake. Well, not a mistake, but we went through an incredibly stressful summer and it was all at our own doing. We chose to completely gut our kitchen and three of our bathrooms.

You guys, I know that seems like it’s not that big of a deal, but have children, have your job be completely centered around cooking, and then take away the sinks, anything with cooking, showers and toilets and then fill the whole house with endless people, dust, dirt, and chaos.

That is stress.

One thing after another fell apart, the kitchen backsplash tile was accidentally installed in the shower, the cabinets were late, and then late again, and then wrong. The floors were ruined, which we hadn’t planned to replace.

WE FOUND MOLD.

I mean, the list literally goes on for another mile and we were stretched beyond our own capacity. It was so hard living off of protein bars and cereal in plastic bowls and I’m not kidding, that’s what we ate. We aren’t the type to say, hey folks, we could use a dinner or heck a plate of cookies because we are drowning!!!!! But we have two friends who reached out and cooked us a meal at one point.

One of those meals involved these easy black beans and although they filled our spirits and we knew, we knew it was such a crazy tender mercy that day, they also happened to be the best, the most delicious Mexican Black Beans Ever!

What’s Needed for Mexican Black Beans?

To make this simple black bean side dish, you need just a handful of mostly pantry ingredients. Here’s what goes into this easy recipe:

• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Canned black beans
• Tomato sauce
• Fresh cilantro

The measurements of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Mex