Canning Cherry Pie Filling

Easy recipe for making and canning homemade cherry pie filling from fresh pie cherries.

How to Can Cherry Pie Filling

 

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Canning cherry pie filling is very satisfying. It is now one of my favorite pie filling recipes for canning. One afternoon of labor, and you can enjoy cherry pies all winter.

 

With the last few pounds of Rainier cherries I picked this year, I decided to make a couple of quarts of cherry pie filling. We already enjoyed one quart of it in a homemade cherry crisp. Yum!

 

Related Recipe: Canning Peach Pie Filling

 

To make and can homemade pie filling, you will need to buy some Clear Jel. Clear Jel is basically the same thing as cornstarch, but it does not clump and separate during the canning process like cornstarch does.

 

Discover the sweetest way to preserve the taste of summer with our easy-to-follow recipe for canning cherry pie filling. Perfect for baking delicious pies, tarts, and pastries all year round, this homemade filling is bursting with juicy cherries and just the right amount of sweetness. Follow our step-by-step guide and savor the delicious flavors of freshly canned cherry pie filling in every bite!

 

The Clear Jel results in a clear, smooth pie filling. The USDA only recommends Clear Jel for canning. Cornstarch is not recommended for canning. You can buy a pound of Clear Jel from Amazon for $10.00.

 

Related RecipeCanning Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling

 

To make this recipe, I followed the basic instructions for canning cherry pie filling available from PickYourOwn.org. That web site has lots of great advice and recipes for beginning canners. I often find myself looking for recipes there.

 

To prepare cherries for canning, you will also need a cherry pitter like the Norpro Deluxe Cherry Pitter. If you don’t have a cherry pitter, you seriously need to get one! They are inexpensive and save a lot of time while preparing cherries for canning.

 

Easy recipe for making and canning homemade cherry pie filling from fresh pie cherries.

 

Step by Step Canning Video

 

Are you new to canning? The video below will show me prepare this cherry pie filling canning recipe, step by step.

 

 

Cherry Pie Filling Recipe

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c. cherries
1 c. sugar, Stevia, or Splenda
1/3 c. plus 1 tbsp. Clear Jel
1 1/3 c. cold water
2 tbsp. bottled lemon juice
1/8 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional)
6 drops red food coloring (optional)

 

Note: 1 recipe = 1 quart cherry pie filling.

 

You can make cherry pie filling from either sweet cherries or sour cherries, depending on preference. This recipe makes 1 quart of cherry pie filling.

 

Related Recipe: Canning Blackberry Pie Filling

 

To make more jars, just multiply the ingredients by however many jars you want to make. Only make as many jars as your canner can hold at one time.

 

Before you start, sterilize your canning jars, lids and rings. Put your boiling water canner on the stove so that the water can start heating up while you prepare the cherry pie filling.

 

Mix Clear Jel, sugar, water, cinnamon, almond extract, and food coloring together in a large sauce pan or pot. Heat and stir over medium high heat until the mixture begins to boil. Stir in the lemon juice, and boil for 1 minute. Mixture will get thick.

 

Related Recipe: Apple Pie Filling

 

Canning Directions

 

Stir the cherries into the hot pie filling. Fill hot sterilized jars, leaving 1 inch head space. It is okay to add a little water to the jars if you find the mixture is too thick.

 

Wipe the mouths of the jars with a clean damp towel, and put the lids and rings on the jars. Process the jars in a boiling water canner for 30 minutes.

 

Remove the jars from the canner and let them set on a towel on the kitchen counter until the jars are cool and all lids have sealed. These jars can be stored in your pantry for a year or more. One quart jar makes one cherry pie.

 

Related Recipes

 

Follow my canning and preserving board on Pinterest.

 

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4 Comments on "Canning Cherry Pie Filling"


  1. All your other Rainier Cherry recipes were good and this one is as well. I have been canning 20 lbs Rainier Cherries all day. I can tell you a secret though. You don’t need to waste your money on a fancy cherry pitter. It’s easy as pie to pit them without a cherry pitter. Go online, UTube, that is what I had to do. And I chose the method with a staw. You can use a plastic straw from a convenience store. I use a harder, reusable straw. Take the stem off. Place the Cherry in the palm of your hand, stem side up. Place the straw over the place the stem grew out, centered, and press firmly but gently down. The pit should exit from the bottom center and your intact cherry will be free. If you want to keep your pits from accidentally flying, one guy had a glass coke bottle and set the cherry over the opening, centered, and then you use the straw carefully holding the cherry. I didn’t try that but theoretically, the pits go into the jar. To me, that is a mess in is itself.
    Oh, for the jam, I didn’t like the idea of the fact that due to my bad arthritis it takes me a lot longer to do my fruit, and it was turning brown…I was making jam. I decided to put the juice of 2 very large (at least 3 Tbsp ea) and tripled the recipe; rather than put lemon juice in while making the jam. I had already washed the berries and sprayed with a light vinegar solution to make sure any germs left on would be dealt with. You can use lemon juice as well, but I would use commercials for the same reason you should not really use fresh lemon juice while cooking and canning. Different lemons can vary in what percent vinegar. Commercial lemon juice and vinegar have to indicate on the label the guaranteed minimum percent.

    Reply

  2. Love this recipe. I made 3 quarts and they turned out great. I used 1/2 sour cherries and 1/2 Bing. I also used sour cherry juice instead of water. Yummy ❤️

    Reply

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