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

No Bake Banana Pudding Pie with Nilla Wafer Crust

Indulge in this delicious no-bake banana pudding pie with a crunchy Nilla wafer crust. It’s the perfect dessert for any occasion and requires minimal effort to make.

I know it’s kind of a long title, but I wanted you to know that’s it not a graham cracker crust (which you can totally use instead if you want). And technically it’s not no bake pie either because you do have to bake the crust. Well, no you don’t. Oh gosh, this no bake banana cream pie with Nilla wafer crust is getting confusing let’s just shoot through a few facts (I’m channeling my inner Dwight Schrute from The Office)…

1. Fact~ I’ve never seen all of The Office, but I have seen episodes and it was hilarious.
2. Fact~ This crust uses Nilla Wafers not Graham Crackers.
3. Fact~ I have called them Vanilla wafers my whole life until I made this recipe and realized that is not the name on the box.
4. Fact~ You totally do not have to bake the crust. It just won’t be as hard on the bottom but it’s still wonderful.
5. Fact~ The rest of the pie is no bake and I mean it. It just whisking and stirring and folding.
6. Fact~ I actually made, photographed and wrote this post in December, but I’m posting in spring because I couldn’t justify one more treat during the already full schedules of desserts.
7. Fact~ I love pie. And the number 7.

Ingredients for a Banana Pudding Pie

It’s surprising how few ingredients you need to make this super easy banana pudding pie recipe. Here is what you will need:

Crust

• Nilla Wafer Crumbs: I like to grind the cookies in a blender. A food processor would work great too.
• Sugar: adds a little sweetness to the crust
• Butter: binds the cookie crumbs and sugar all together to form the crust

Filling

• Banana Cream Instant Pudding: grab the 3.4 ounce box of instant pudding mix and make sure it isn’t the sugar free kind
• Milk: helps create the banana pudding
• Cream Cheese: adds richness and creaminess
• Sweetened Condensed Milk: adds sweetness and creaminess to the filling
• Cool Whip: feel free to use sweetened whipped cream if you prefer not to use Cool Whip
• Bananas: adds natural banana flavor to the pie
• Nilla Wafers: adds texture to the filling and looks pretty scattered on top

If you are looking for a traditional banana cream pie with everything made from scratch, we have that recipe for you too

Sugared Pear Galette Pie

Juicy thinly sliced pears wrapped in a buttery flaky crust in a rustic style pie called a galette. This Perfect Sugared Pear Galette Pie is 100% the greatest dessert ever, imho.

However, not everyone feels that way, which is totally fine but I was missing it! This last Thanksgiving we enjoyed a glorious meal but since the families aren’t into pie all that much, I really was feeling it. So, my friend Kerri and I decided to have a little gathering 2 days after the holiday but then disaster struck- a barfing kiddo!

Our plans were foiled but I couldn’t get this idea of a pear dessert out of my head. So, Saturday rolled around and I started testing recipes and holy moly, it was inspired! Every single person in my family devoured it and Cade kept saying, forget apple pie, this is my new favorite!

Ingredients for a Pear Galette

When all is said and done, you only need 8 ingredients to make this recipe. I couldn’t believe that when I actually sat down and counted the ingredients…only 8! And most of them you will already have on hand. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the only thing you’ll need to go to the store for are the pears and candied ginger, unless you’re running low on a pantry staple. Here is what you will need:

Crust

• Flour – just regular all purpose flour
• Sugar – adds a little sweetness to the crust
• Salt – enhances all the flavors
• Unsalted Butter – if you only have salted butter, just omit the salt from the recipe
• Ice Water – get the water as cold as you possible can, it helps the butter stay cold making a flakier crust

Filling

• Butter – adds richness and flavor to the filling
• Pears – I like a combination of Bartlett and Bosc, Anjou also works great
• Sugar – adds sweetness to the filling
• Flour – helps the filling thicken
• Cinnamon – adds that signature fall/holiday flavor
• Candied Ginger – this is the secret weapon, that extra pop of flavor is amazing

Egg Wash

• Egg – whisked well, it helps the crust bake to golden perfection
• Water – thins out the egg wash a little
• Sugar – adds a little sweetness and extra shimmer to the crust

The measurements for each of the ingredients is listed in the recipe card at the end of the post. You can save and/or print the recipe there as well.

Four Important Tips for the Best Pear Galette

There are a few things that make this recipe extra special…

1. The crust. We aren’t going to make a traditional crust, we are going to make a flakier, sheets of pastry dough crust (see section below for more details). This is accomplished by rolling out the butter in long sheets which I read about in a book long ago. Their version took a few hours and too many steps for me, so I’ve shortened things up and made it crazy easy. In fact, if you struggle with a pie crust this is your new best friend.
2. Brown Butter. Need I say more? Head to our chewy pumpkin cookies pos

Classic Pumpkin Pie

Oh, pumpkin pie, oh pumpkin pie, thy flavor is so lovely… Who needs the Christmas tree song when we could be singing about pie? In fact, I’m pretty sure a song about pie would not only be awesome but certainly the most delicious song ever.

Our classic pumpkin pie totally made from scratch, from the best pie crust recipe ever to a pumpkin filling that is perfectly spiced and creamy, it is a must-make every Thanksgiving.

I know we have some haters out there (haters gonna hate, hate, hate. Thank you Taylor Swift.) I can’t even understand the hate, but it’s fine. It exists. I believe that every blog should share their favorite classic recipes and this one is one of my favorites. Well this, and Mom’s Lemon Meringue Pie. 

Thanksgiving For Me Growing Up

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. As a kid we always celebrated with more people than even fit into a house. Seriously, I remember going to my grandpa’s house in Le Grande, Oregon and all of the cousins, aunts and uncles would pile into the house, set up tables and chairs in every nook and cranny and still some of us kids would end up parking it on the floor somewhere because there just wasn’t enough room for so many people.

If we didn’t travel then we would have as much family at our house in Vancouver, Washington as possible and then Dad would make sure that everyone at church had a place to go and often we would end up with a few extra families that had nowhere to go. It was awesome! The cousins ran around playing, everyone was snacking and finally we had a prayer and “dinner” which usually happened mid afternoon so it wasn’t dinner at all.

Then we would clean up (always paper products as dishes for that many people would have been insane), the ladies and kids would do fun Christmas crafts, the men would sleep or watch football and then pie for all!

And my favorite part? Well, the pie of course, but I actually loved the next day even more. We would be lazy and watch movies all day, snacking on leftovers and making turkey sandwiches on rolls. I love those sandwiches more than the actual dinner!

Thanksgiving at Our House Now

Most importantly it had been a time to be together, no matter who we were. Everyone always had a place to go, which I’ll be honest has been a little hard living where we live. Most people have lived here their whole lives and have so much family that they make their own plans and stick closely with their fam. If you aren’t from here and aren’t going anywhere it kind of feels lonely now. It’s not the holiday I grew up with, but it has taught me that I must be like Dad, always reach out and see if anyone else is alone instead of only focusing on my family. But, we do have pie, and pie makes everything ok.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Pie

You’ll want to start by making my favorite pie crust recipe or Mom’s failproof magic crust. It makes a double crust, so you’ll only need half the dough for this pumpkin pie.

Plum Galette

Take advantage of the remaining plum season to make this super easy Plum Galette. Flaky pie crust is filled with juicy plums, flavored with warm cinnamon, it is the perfect transition dessert from Summer to Fall!

Are you tired of all the heat and already looking forward to Autumn with all of its amazing Fall desserts like this Pumpkin Bundt Cake, or this beautiful Apple Pear Pie? I totally feel you! But I want to introduce you to a great season transition treat, this super easy Plum Galette.

How to make Plum Galette

I used an all butter pie crust or a pate brisee for this recipe. But if you have a pie dough recipe that has been passed down in your family like this Mom’s Magic Pie Crust, feel free to use it instead!

1. First, make the pie dough and let it chill out in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour. When it’s ready, take it out of the fridge and roll out into a circle, about 11” – 12”. 
2. Slice up the plums and mix them with part of the sugar for about 10 minutes to release their juice. Discard the juice and mix the plum with the rest of the sugar, salt, cinnamon and tapioca flour (or cornstarch).
3. Assemble the plum slices in concentric circles leaving a border with enough crust to fold over. Brush the exposed crust with egg wash and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar and sliced almonds.
4. Bake until golden brown, about 30 – 35 minutes at 400°F.

Tips for Plum Galette

• Macerate the plums with a little bit of sugar before you mix it with the rest of the filling ingredients will allow them to release some of the juice which can be a lot. This juice is to be discarded or reserved and reduced into a glaze if desired.
• If you don’t discard some of the juice and use it all in the recipe, you’ll end up with soggy crust or having the juice spill out all over the baking sheet and burn.
• Brushing the crust with some egg white will also help with preventing it from being soggy.

Delicious variations

• You can add citrus zest like lemon or orange to brighten up the filling.
• For a fancy plum almond galette version, you can roll out or press some almond paste to the bottom of the crust before adding the sliced fruits on top, similar to this Almond Apple Tart.
• Change up the spices to suit your mood: allspice, cardamom, cloves, and ginger all go well with plums.
• Add in a mix of stone fruits like apricots, nectarines and peaches.

Can I use store bought pie dough?

Absolutely, you can save time by using store bought pie dough. Just be sure to buy one you can roll out and not one that’s already shaped into a pie pan.

How to store leftover

You can leave leftovers on the counter overnight but if you’re planning to keep them for more than a few days, it is best to refrigerate. Refrigerated, the plum galette will last for 5 days to a week. 

You can serve it cold straight from the refrigerator or yo