Easy Sweet Cherry Pie Recipe

Sweet Cherry Pie is sweet cherries enveloped in a flaky butter pie crust, and then baked until golden and bubbling. This will become your new favorite pie! Make it with sweet or sour cherries (or a combo of both!).

The filling is simply made with cherries, sugar, lemon juice and some cornstarch to thicken it. Make it all summer long when the cherries are ripe and lovely. You could also use frozen cherries and enjoy it any time of the year.

Love baking with fresh fruit? You'll also want to try our Salted Caramel Apple Pie and Blueberry Limoncello Pie for more homemade pie inspiration.

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This sweet cherry pie is everything summer should taste like. Fresh Bing cherries tossed in sugar and lemon, tucked into a flaky, buttery lattice crust, and baked until the juices bubble up golden and glorious through the top. It's the kind of pie that makes you pull out the ice cream scoop without thinking, the kind you bake once in June and then again every other week until the cherries are gone.

Make it with sweet cherries, sour cherries, or a mix of both. The technique is exactly the same. A quick toss with cornstarch and lemon juice, a classic butter and shortening crust, and about an hour in the oven. No fancy tools, no tapioca, no whole wheat flour.

Just the pie you want it to be. If you love seasonal Italian baking too, you'll adore this Pastiera Napoletana (Neapolitan Easter Pie) for Easter and our classic Sicilian Ricotta Pie for spring gatherings.

What Makes This Sweet Cherry Pie So Good

This cherry pie leans on a few old school pie making truths:

• A proper all butter (and shortening) crust that stays flaky and tender in any heat
• Cornstarch, not tapioca, so it's easier to find and gives that glossy, clean looking filling
• Lemon juice to balance the cherry sweetness and keep the flavor bright
• Turbinado sugar brushed on top for that bakery style sparkle and crunch
• A real lattice that's worth the 10 extra minutes for how gorgeous it looks on the table

If you love a buttery fruit filled classic, you'll also want to bookmark our Apple Pie with Oat Streusel Topping, which uses a similar crust technique.Ingredients for Sweet Cherry Pie

Here's everything you need (full printable recipe below):

For the flaky pie crust:

• All purpose flour, 2 cups
• Kosher salt, ½ teaspoon
• Unsalted butter, ¾ cup (1½ sticks), cold and cubed
• Vegetable shortening or margarine, 3 tablespoons, chilled
• Ice water, ¼ cup

For the cherry filling:

• Bing cherries, 2 pounds, pitted and halved (a mix of Bing and Rainier is beautiful)
• Granulated sugar, ½ cup
• Cornstarch, 2 tablespoons
• Fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons

For finishing:

• All purpose flour for rolling
• Egg yolk, 1 large, beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
• Turbinado sugar, 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

The Best Cherries for Cherry Pie

Frozen cherries work perfectly year round. Thaw and drain well, then reserve 2 tablespoons of the juice to add back into the filling.

Bing cherries are the classic choice. Deep red, firm, sweet.

Rainier cherries are golden pink with yellow flesh, milder and aromatic. Gorgeous mixed with Bing.

Sour cherries (Montmorency) are the traditional pie cherry. If you can find them, increase the sugar by 2 tablespoons.

How to Make Sweet Cherry Pie (Step by Step)

First thing you need to do is make the filling. In a large bowl, combine cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; toss until cherries are coated. Set aside while you prepare the crust.

After you make the filling, it's on to the pie crust.

Food Processor Method: Put flour and salt in bowl of machine. Cut butter and vegetable shortening into flour. Process a few seconds until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Drop by drop add the water, processing very briefly. The whole process would take 20 to 30 seconds.

Wrap and chill the pastry for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F. If pastry has been chilled for a long time, let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling.

Lightly flour a pastry board, marble counter, or kitchen counter. Divide the pastry in half. Pat each piece of pastry into a flat round. Roll first disc between parchment paper or plastic wrap (or ½ and ½ like I did here).

Roll pastry in one direction only, turning pastry continually to prevent it from sticking to the surface.
Using pie plate as a guide, measure rolled-out pastry -- it should be slightly larger than the pie plate and ⅛-inch thick. Fold rolled pastry circle in half so you can lift it more easily. Unfold, gently fitting the pastry into the pie plate, allowing pastry to hang evenly over the edge.Add in your filling.

Now on to the lattice strips. On a very hot summer day even with the air conditioning working at its fullest potential. Even making it in a freezer...making lattice strips can be tricky. While you are making your strips, if you feel the dough has gotten too soft to work with, pop the dough into the freezer to chill a little.

Roll out 2nd dough disk the same way you rolled out the first disc. Cut out your lattice strips and start to carefully place them in a crises-cross way over the cherry filling. Brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle on some turbinado sugar.Turbinado sugar makes every thing so sparkly. 🙂

I bake my fruit pies over a baking tray lined with aluminum foil as the juices sometimes like to escape. Bake at 375 until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, 50 minutes-1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tips for the Best Cherry Pie

• Pit the cherries the night before. Cherry pitting is the most time consuming part. Do it while watching a movie and refrigerate overnight.
• Use a cherry pitter. A real cherry pitter (or a clean piping tip) speeds this up dramatically and keeps the cherries whole.
• Keep the dough cold. Cold butter equals flaky crust. If it softens while you work, chill it.
• Don't skimp on chilling. The full hour in the fridge is what makes the crust manageable and flaky.
• Egg wash plus turbinado sugar is the move. It's what gives bakery pies their glossy, sparkly finish.
• Let it cool before slicing. A warm pie oozes. A cooled pie slices cleanly. Rewarm individual slices if you want it warm with ice cream.

Sweet vs Sour Cherries, Which Should You Use?

• Sweet cherries (Bing, Rainier) are easier to find, less tart, and give classic pie flavor. No sugar adjustment needed.
• Sour cherries (Montmorency) are the traditional pie cherry. Brighter, more intense flavor. Add an extra 2 tablespoons of sugar.
• A mix of both is the best of both worlds. Use 1½ pounds sweet and ½ pound sour for balanced flavor with classic tartness.

Can I Use Frozen Cherries?

Yes, frozen cherries make a fantastic pie all year. Here's how:

1. Thaw completely in a colander over a bowl.
2. Drain well. Frozen cherries release a lot of liquid.
3. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the juice and stir it back into the filling for extra cherry flavor.
4. Add 1 extra tablespoon of cornstarch to compensate for any remaining moisture.

If you love baking with frozen fruit, our Blueberry Limoncello Pie uses a very similar method.

How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Cherry Pie

• Room temperature: Covered, up to 2 days.
• Refrigerator: Up to 5 days, well covered.
• Freezer (baked): Cool completely, wrap tightly in plastic and foil. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm in a 325°F oven for 20 minutes to revive the crust.
• Freezer (unbaked): Assemble the pie, freeze solid uncovered, then wrap tightly. Bake from frozen, adding 15 to 20 minutes to the bake time.
• Reheat a slice: 10 minutes at 325°F brings it back to life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use frozen cherries for cherry pie? Yes. Thaw and drain well, then reserve 2 tablespoons of juice to stir back in. Add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch to account for extra moisture.

Do I have to use sour cherries? No. This recipe works beautifully with sweet Bing cherries, sour cherries, or a mix. If using sour cherries only, increase the sugar by 2 tablespoons.

Can I use tapioca instead of cornstarch? Yes. Swap the cornstarch 1:1 for instant tapioca, or use 3 tablespoons of tapioca flour. Both thicken the filling beautifully.

How do I keep my cherry pie from being runny? Don't reduce the cornstarch, let the filling sit briefly before filling the crust, and most importantly, cool the pie completely before slicing. Warm pie equals runny pie.

More pie recipes:

• Southern Buttermilk Pie
• Salted Caramel Apple Pie
• Cranberry Meringue Pie
• Blueberry Icebox Pie
• Coconut Cream Pie

What is your favorite summer pie? 🙂

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5 from 4 votes

Sweet Cherry Pie

Sweet cherries enveloped in a flaky butter pie crust, and then baked until golden and bubbling. This will become your new favorite pie! Make it with sweet or sour cherries (or a combo of both!).

Prep Time1 hour hr

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time2 hours hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cherries, pie, pie crust

Servings: 1 9-inch pie

Calories: 4241kcal

Author: Lora

Ingredients

PIE CRUST

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter
• 3 Tablespoons margarine or chilled vegetable shortening
• ¼ cup ice water

CHERRY FILLING

• 2 pounds Bing cherries pitted and halved (I used a combo of Bing and Rainier cherries)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• All-purpose flour for rolling
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
• 1 Tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Filling

• In a large bowl, combine cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice; toss until cherries are coated. Set aside while you prepare the crust.

CRUST

• Food Processor Method: Put flour and salt in bowl of machine. Cut butter and vegetable shortening into flour. Process a few seconds until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Drop by drop add the water, processing very briefly. The whole process would take 20 to 30 seconds.
• Wrap and chill the pastry for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 F. If pastry has been chilled for a long time, let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before rolling.
• Lightly flour a pastry board, marble counter, or kitchen counter. Divide the pastry in half. Pat each piece of pastry into a flat round. Roll first disc between parchment paper or plastic wrap (or ½ and ½ like I did here).
• Roll pastry in one direction only, turning pastry continually to prevent it from sticking to the surface.
• Using pie plate as a guide, measure rolled-out pastry - it should be slightly larger than the pie plate and ⅛-inch thick. Fold rolled pastry circle in half so you can lift it more easily. Unfold, gently fitting the pastry into the pie plate, allowing pastry to hang evenly over the edge. Add in your filling.
• Now on to the lattice strips. On a very hot summer day even with the air conditioning working at its fullest potential. Even making it in a freezer…making lattice strips can be tricky. While you are making your strips, if you feel the dough has gotten too soft to work with, pop the dough into the freezer to chill a little.
• Roll out 2nd dough disk the same way you rolled out the first disc. Cut out your lattice strips and start to carefully place them in a crises-cross way over the cherry filling. Brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle on some turbinado sugar. Turbinado sugar makes every thing so sparkly.
• I bake my fruit pies over a baking tray lined with aluminum foil as the juices sometimes like to escape. Bake at 375 until crust is golden brown and juices bubble, 50 minutes-1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.

Nutrition

Calories: 4241kcal | Carbohydrates: 967g | Protein: 90g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 1318mg | Potassium: 270mg | Fiber: 92g | Sugar: 570g | Vitamin A: 32205IU | Calcium: 858mg | Iron: 26mg

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