Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (2024)

There’s nothing like a fresh Cherry Pie bubbling through a rich, flaky crust. Learn how to make the best cherry pie from scratch with our easy, go-to Pie Crust and fresh or frozen cherries.

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.

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (1)

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Homemade Cherry Pie

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.

Watch How to Make Cherry Pie

If you enjoyed this Cherry Pie video tutorial, you can check out all of our video recipes on our Youtube Channel. 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).

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (2)

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 – balances the sweetness and adds some juiciness to the filling
  • Sugar – amps up the natural sweetness of the cherries. You can adjust sugar to taste depending on the sweetness of your cherries.
  • Corn Starch – helps to thicken the cherry pie filling
  • 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 base and lattice top.
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Variations

  • Frozen Cherries – cherries from the freezer work great 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.
  • For a Sour Cherry Pie – Since sour cherries are generally smaller, you will need about 2 1/2 to 3 lbs (or 6 cups, pitted) 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.

  1. Roll the first pie crust to a 13″ diameter circle
  2. Roll the crust onto your rolling pin
  3. Unroll crust over your deep dish pie pan
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The Best Cherry Pie Filling

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.

  1. Stir together cherries and lemon juice.
  2. Whisk together cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon and combine with cherries.
Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (5)

How to Make a Lattice 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.

  1. Place 5 strips of dough horizontally over the pie filling, with the longer strips in the center and shorter strips towards the edges.
  2. Fold back the 2nd and 4th strips halfway and place a long vertical strip of dough in the center.
  3. 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.
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How to Crimp Pie Crust

Your fingers are all you need to make a beautiful crimped or scalloped pie crust.

  1. Tuck in excess dough behind the bottom pie crust.
  2. 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
  3. Repeat all the way around the edge.
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Pro Tips for the Best Cherry Pie

  • Freeze the unbaked pie 10-15 minutes while the oven preheats (keeps crust from 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 oven rack to the lower third of the oven.
  • 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.
Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (8)

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!

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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:

  • Black Forest Cake
  • Cherry Smoothies
  • Chocolate Cherry Cake
  • Cherry Upside-Down Cake
  • Cherry Crumble
  • Sparkling Cherry Lemonade

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe

4.97 from 151 votes

Author: Natasha Kravchuk

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (11)

There's nothing like a homemade Cherry Pie bubbling through a rich, flaky crust. Learn how to make the best cherry pie from scratch with our easy, go-to Pie Crust and fresh or frozen cherries.

SavePinReviewPrint

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Dough Cooling Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

Servings: 8 people

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:

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.

Nutrition Per Serving

317kcal Calories55g Carbs3g Protein10g Fat3g Saturated Fat24mg Cholesterol122mg Sodium263mg Potassium3g Fiber34g Sugar140IU Vitamin A8mg Vitamin C26mg Calcium1.1mg Iron

  • Full Nutrition Label
  • Nutrition Disclosure

Nutrition Facts

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe

Amount per Serving

Calories

317

% Daily Value*

Fat

10

g

15

%

Saturated Fat

3

g

19

%

Cholesterol

24

mg

8

%

Sodium

122

mg

Potassium

263

mg

8

%

Carbohydrates

55

g

18

%

Fiber

3

g

13

%

Sugar

34

g

38

%

Protein

3

g

6

%

Vitamin A

140

IU

3

%

Vitamin C

8

mg

10

%

Calcium

26

mg

3

%

Iron

1.1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cherry pie

Skill Level: Easy/Medium

Cost to Make: $$

Calories: 317

Natasha Kravchuk

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (12)

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

Read more posts by Natasha

Classic Cherry Pie Recipe (VIDEO) (2024)

FAQs

Should you prebake the bottom crust of a cherry pie? ›

Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie. you should probably get: Pie weights are super helpful to have for pre-baking.

How do you keep the bottom crust of a cherry pie from getting soggy? ›

Crust dust is a 1:1 mixture of flour and granulated sugar. When baking a pie, especially a fruit pie, a couple of teaspoons of crust dust sprinkled into the bottom of the crust will help prevent the crust from becoming saturated with juicy filling as it bakes.

How do you make a cherry pie not runny? ›

Tapioca starch can also thicken cherry pie filling at a concentration of only 5.5%, so we don't need very much—a real victory for those of us who despise starchy pies. Combined with fruit juice, tapioca forms a translucent gel that feels silky and light, so you never have to deal with cloudy or gloppy filling.

Why was my cherry pie so watery? ›

If you don't leave the pie in the oven long enough your thickener doesn't get to the necessary temperature and time to thicken your filling. You want to see thick bubbling! The bubbling of the filling is activating the natural gelatin of your fruit as well as your thickeners.

How long do you Prebake bottom pie crust? ›

Line the crust with foil, parchment, or a paper coffee filter. Fill it about two-thirds full with dried beans, uncooked rice (or other uncooked grain berries), pie weights, or granulated sugar. Bake the crust in a preheated 375°F oven for 20 minutes, set on a baking stone or steel if you have one.

Should you poke holes in the bottom of pie crust? ›

With docking, the holes allow steam to escape, so the crust should stay flat against the baking dish when it isn't held down by pie weights or a filling. Otherwise the crust can puff up, not only impacting appearance but also leaving you with less space for whatever filling you have planned.

Should I egg wash the bottom pie crust? ›

You've spent time and effort putting the pastry together, so don't sell yourself short by skipping the final step—the egg wash for the pie crust. The truth is that cream and egg washes are a simple but vital step to improving the appearance and flavor of pies and other baked goods.

How do you make sure the bottom pie crust is cooked? ›

One of the fool-proof ways to ensure a crisp bottom pie crust is to do what is called blind baking. This simply means that you bake the crust—either fully if you are adding a custard or cream that won't be cooked, or partially if the whole pie needs to bake—before adding the filling.

What is the best thickener for cherry pie? ›

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed. We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies.

How to know when cherry pie is done? ›

A fruit pie is ready to be pulled from the oven when its juices are bubbling in the center of the pie, not just the sides!

Should I refrigerate my homemade cherry pie? ›

Fruit pies keep at room temperature for two days; you can store them, loosely covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days longer. (In warm climates, always store fruit pies in the refrigerator.)

How can you tell if cherry pie filling is bad? ›

You can tell if the cherry pie filling has gone bad if it exhibits a strange odor, discoloration, or mold. If the can is bulging, leaking, or has rust, it is unsafe to eat. For homemade filling, if there are any signs of mold or an off smell, discard it.

How do you thicken a runny pie? ›

When thickening a fruit pie filling, there are several options to consider. Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency.

How do you cook the bottom pastry for a pie? ›

They recommend lining the pan with a defrosted, lightly rolled sheet of puff pastry and pricking it with a fork before blind baking covered with aluminum foil for 25 minutes at 400F (~200C). Don't use pie weights, that will interfere with the 'puff'.

Should pie be baked on the bottom? ›

A pie's place in the oven is on the bottom rack. The worst mistake you can make with your pie is under-baking the bottom crust—it makes for a soggy, doughy mess.

Do you grease a pie pan for cherry pie? ›

What is this? Spraying your pie pan with cooking spray or greasing the pan might change the texture of the bottom of the crust, so if you're not going to remove the whole pie from the dish before serving and it doesn't have a sticky, messy filling, it's more than okay to refrain from greasing the pan.

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