This easy homemade cherry sauce recipe uses fresh sweet cherries for a simple, not-too-sweet dessert sauce that's perfect for topping ice cream, cheesecake, cakes, 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 simple cherry topping elevates your favorite desserts. Just a spoonful of this sauce takes a dish of vanilla ice cream from plain to to-die-for! It's the perfect addition to many of your favorite treats like ice cream, cheesecake, pound cake, waffles, and more.
Best of all, this simple cherry sauce recipe is quick and easy to make using fresh (or even frozen) cherries. The sauce comes together with just a handful of basic ingredients in a few minutes on the stovetop.
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Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.
Cherries - Cherries are the star of the show! Choose the cherry variety that you like best to customize the cherry flavor (and color) of the sauce. I used dark sweet cherries, which make a dark red sauce that's sweet but not too sweet. Check out the FAQs below for information about using different varieties of cherries - and even frozen cherries - in this recipe.
Lemon Juice - A little bit of lemon juice helps to brighten the cherry flavor and balance the fruit's sweetness.
Sugar - A few Tablespoons of granulated sugar add a bit of sweetness to the fruit without creating an overly sweet sauce.
Cornstarch - A bit of cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce as it cooks.
Special Equipment
In addition to essential baking equipment (like a saucepan and whisk), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.
- A cherry pitter, for pitting the cherries. Don't have a cherry pitter? Check out my suggestions for how to pit cherries without a cherry pitter below.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.
Step 1: Wash and pit the cherries, then set them aside.
Step 2: Combine lemon juice and cornstarch and stir until smooth.
Step 3: Add pitted cherries, water, and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Whisk in the lemon juice mixture.
Step 4: Cook the sauce for 1 minute, while continuing to stir constantly, until the sauce thickens.
Step 5: Transfer the cherry sauce to a jar and let it cool to room temperature before using or before sealing and storing for later use.
Tip: Pitting cherries can get messy. I like to do it over the trash can or the sink and hold the pitter low down to minimize any cherry juice splatter. And don't forget to wear an apron to protect your clothes!
How to Pit Cherries 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.
Recipe FAQs
You can choose any variety of cherry that you like for making cherry sauce. Sweet cherries will of course produce a sweeter sauce, while tart cherries will produce a sauce that's slightly sour or acidic. You may choose to add an extra Tablespoon or two of sugar if using tart cherries. Unless you want your sauce to be quite sour, I do not recommend sour cherries for this recipe.
Yes, frozen cherries can be used in place of fresh cherries in this recipe. Since frozen cherries will release more liquid than fresh cherries, I recommend reducing the amount of water added to the recipe by half. You also may need to cook the mixture a little bit longer to ensure the sauce thickens.
No. This sauce is not thick enough to use as pie filling. It is pourable for topping desserts like ice cream or cheesecake and will not set if baked in a pie.
Storage Instructions
Store cherry sauce in a jar or other airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
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Recipe
Easy Homemade Cherry Sauce
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon (15 grams) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) cornstarch
- 1 pound (454 grams) fresh sweet cherries, washed and pitted
- ¼ cup (59 grams) water
- ¼ cup (50 grams) 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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