This easy homemade cherry sauce recipe uses fresh sweet cherries for a simple, not-too-sweet cherry sauce that's perfect for topping ice cream, cheesecake, and so much more!
If you're someone who looks forward to cherry season each summer and gets excited when these juicy little red fruits finally make an appearance at grocery stores and farmer's markets, then you need this easy recipe for homemade cherry sauce in your life! This sauce is so quick and easy to make, using just a handful of simple ingredients. The fresh cherry flavor shines in this not-to-sweet dessert sauce, and it's absolutely perfect for topping all of your favorite treats like ice cream, cheesecake, brownies, waffles, and more!
How to Make Homemade Cherry Sauce
Homemade cherry sauce is surprisingly easy to make from scratch! The most time consuming part is actually pitting the cherries (read how to do this without a cherry pitter below!), but cooking the sauce is quick and easy.
- In a saucepan, combine pitted cherries, water, and sugar and bring to a boil.
- Whisk a mixture of lemon juice and cornstarch into the boiling cherry mixture.
- Cook the boiling mixture while stirring constantly until it thickens, which takes only a minute.
- Let the sauce cool to room temperature before serving with ice cream, cheesecake, waffles, chocolate cake, or any dessert you choose (or before storing in the fridge for up to a week)!
How to Pit a Cherry (Without a Cherry Pitter)
Pitting a cherry without a cherry pitter is not difficult (though it can get a little messy, so grab your apron and some paper towels). You will need a small tool to poke through the cherry, and I find that a pastry tip or chopstick work best. If you use a pastry tip, be sure it's on the small side and has a smooth rather than spiky tip, as the spikes could become bent.
To pit a cherry, remove its stem and carefully poke the pastry tip or chopstick through the top of the cherry and out the bottom, removing the pit in the process. The goal is to remove as little of the fruit along with the pit as possible, though some juice will inevitably be lost. Some of your cherries may split in half when you remove the pit, and that's perfectly fine for making cherry sauce.
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Recipe
Easy Homemade Cherry Sauce
Special Equipment
- Cherry pitter
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pound (about 3 cups) fresh sweet cherries, washed and pitted
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and cornstarch and stir until smooth.
- In a medium saucepan, add pitted cherries, water, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often.
- When the cherry mixture comes to a boil, whisk in the lemon juice mixture.
- Return the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook the sauce for 1 minute, while continuing to stir constantly, until the sauce thickens.
- Transfer the cherry sauce to a jar and let it cool to room temperature before using or before sealing and storing for later use.
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