Skip to Content
Menu

Cherry Pie

  • Jump to Recipe
  • Save
Updated Jul 25, 2024
  • Save
  • Share
  • Jump to Recipe

Cherry pie or cheery pie? Our deliciously easy cherry pie is both! Whether you’re celebrating a sweet recipe that only needs 4 ingredients or putting a smile on everyone’s faces when you serve up this gorgeous, glossy dessert, this pie does it all. The sweet-sour burst of that cherry filling, a flaky crust and a crunchy, sugary top add up to one terrific pie.

Pillsbury™ Pie Crusts give this dessert homemade taste without the effort of making a crust entirely from scratch—all you have to do is unroll it and fill it with cherry pie filing! This easy-to-use pie crust takes the pressure off making your own crust, and only you will know just how easy it was. For even more wow factor, we’ll go a step further and give the top crust some sparkle with a crunchy, eye-catching texture.

Our cherry pie recipe is a perfect pick for any occasion that calls for dessert, from a simple weeknight family meal to a potluck with friends. The bright red filling fits right in at any holiday gathering, too . Add a little color to a Thanksgiving meal, stick with the red and green theme of Christmas, or serve up a proud Independence Day dessert—you can’t go wrong with cherry pie on the menu.

How to Make Cherry Pie

Whether you’re a new baker or a seasoned pro, this easy cherry pie is sure to wind up in your collection of favorite desserts. Simple prep, delicious taste and a picture-perfect presentation make this an easy pie to master and a future family-favorite dessert in one. Ready to get baking? We’ve got an overview of the recipe up first, then an ingredients list and step-by-step instructions further below.

Start with a Premade Pie Crust

The simplest step is up first. Just unroll the refrigerated pie pastry into a glass pie plate. We love using glass plates for pies because they offer even heat distribution, which helps the crust bake to a beautiful golden brown all over.

Load Up on Cherries

The best pies are absolutely bursting with delicious filling. For that level of decadence, you’ll need to spoon two cans of cherry pie filling into your crust-lined plate. (Be sure to scoop out any lingering glaze stuck to the bottom of the can!)

Top, Seal and Crimp the Crusts

Next, seal the two crusts together to prevent any of that delicious filling from oozing out. If you’ve never crimped or fluted your way around a pie before, we’ve got you covered. For perfect crimps in your cherry pie crust, use the handle of a wooden spoon to mark evenly spaced sections, then pinch the crust around the handle with your fingers. It’ll look like it was done by a professional!

Create the Crunchy Top

To take this homemade cherry pie to the next level, brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle it with sugar. This will create a sparkly, delicately crunchy finish, just like you’d see on a bakery pie. For more of a glazed top crust, use cream and coarse sparkling sugar instead. Don’t forget to cut vents in the top to allow the pie to release steam as it bakes!

Bake and Enjoy

All that’s left to do is pop your pie in the oven. Keep an eye on the crust as your cherry pie bakes—you don’t want to underbake the pie, as that can create a gummy bottom crust, but you also don’t want to over-brown the top edges of the pastry. Have strips of foil or aluminum pie crust shields at the ready to help shield your crust edges as the rest of your pie continues to bake.

Types of Cherry Pie Filling

When it comes to making cherry filling for your pie, you might be wondering if you can use fresh cherries in place of the canned. Here’s how the two compare.

Canned Cherries (Our Pick ): We love the convenience, flavor and color that canned cherry pie filling brings to this easy recipe. The cherries are picked at the peak of ripeness and all the work of taking out each tiny pit and making the thick, juicy glaze is already done for you!

You can usually find cherry pie filling in the baking aisle of your grocery store. If it’s not there, try looking in the aisle with other canned fruit. You’ll find these canned options have a lot of nice cherry glaze that will create a gooier pie. Alternatively, you can use the “more fruit” variety of filling, which has more cherries and less glaze. Both are delicious and work well with this cherry pie recipe, so it’s up to you to pick your favorite—why not double the dessert and compare two pies?

Fresh Cherries: Fresh sour cherries are amazing when they’re in season—we eat ‘em all on their own! But they’re not ideal for this recipe because they don’t come with that sweet glaze that really pulls the filling together . If you want to make your own cherry pie filling from scratch, give our Fresh Cherry Pie recipe a try.

Perfect Cherry Pie Toppings

Make your yummy dessert the absolute best cherry pie ever by serving it with some tasty toppings. Here are our picks, but feel free to experiment with any and all favorite pie toppings!

Whipped Cream: Decadent whipped cream complements the luscious cherry pie filling nicely. Add a generous helping onto the pie just before serving. If you don’t have an aerosol can on hand, you can also add a dollop or two of frozen (thawed) whipped topping. A sprinkle of granola or chopped nuts over the top would also be delicious.

Ice Cream: Creamy vanilla or vanilla bean ice cream pairs beautifully with the warm, flaky crust and sweet filling. You could also branch out a bit with a less expected flavor like chocolate chip, butter pecan or coffee. For even more decadence, sprinkle chopped candy bar pieces over your ice cream.

Garnishes: If you really want to go the extra mile, add a cherry on top—literally! For an over-the-top dessert experience without any extra work, you could also garnish your ice cream or whipped topping with a sugar cookie or chocolate wafer cookie. Pick up themed sugar cookies with sprinkles around the holidays from the grocery store as a special touch.

Storing and Reheating Cherry Pie

Eating cherry pie for the first time? Great. Having leftovers and enjoying another piece later? Extra amazing. Here’s how you can store, freeze, and thaw either unbaked or baked pies or reheat individual pieces of cherry pie:

Storing Pie on the Counter: Cover any leftover cherry pie with plastic wrap and store at room temperature on the counter. Your pie will last for up to 2 days.

Refrigerating Cherry Pie: To get a few more days out of your leftovers, cover your pie with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator. Refrigerated cherry pie will last for up to 4 days.

Freezing Pie: The freezer is a great option for longer-term storage. Wrap your leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, then add a layer of aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also prep and freeze an unbaked pie ahead of time. Simply follow our cherry pie recipe through Step 2, but don’t cut slits in the pie. Proceed with freezing instructions. To bake, unwrap and cut slits in the top crust. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake 30 to 45 minutes longer until juices begin to bubble through the crust.

Reheating Cherry Pie: To thaw and reheat frozen baked pie, thaw unwrapped frozen pie at room temperature for several hours or overnight, or unwrap and thaw at room temperature 1 hour, then bake at 375°F for 35 to 40 minutes or until warm. To reheat refrigerated or room-temperature pie, place a piece on a microwavable plate. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and microwave on Medium-High (70%) for about 1 minute for room-temperature pie or up to 3 minutes for refrigerated pie.

More About This Recipe

  • A fresh, homemade pie with a delicious filling and flaky pastry is hard to beat. No wonder pies are a loved dessert, no matter what time of year! We have terrific pie recipes of every size, flavor, and type for you to try next! Our delectable apple pie can be made any time of the year or try our Pumpkin Pie with your Thanksgiving or Christmas spread. Love individual pies you do not have to share? Try any of our scrumptious mini pies. Or for even more top-rated pie recipes, scroll through our drool-worthy pie collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best Premade Crust?

Refrigerated Pillsbury™ Pie Crusts are the top choice for premade pie crust. Give them a try with this cherry pie recipe and you’ll see why! They’re incredibly easy to use, bake up super flaky and give your pie that homemade taste.

Be sure to follow the directions on the box for softening these pie crusts before using them. Once you do that, they can be easily molded into the pie plate and crimped into a decorative edge. Use one at a time for one-crust pies (refrigerate the remaining pastry to make another yummy pie later) or use both like we did for this delicious two-crust cherry pie.

What Are Some Fun Crust Designs?

Homemade cherry pie is such a special dessert that you don’t need much else for a pretty presentation—especially with the sugary crust treatment. But if you want to add a little more creative flair to this dessert, we have a few ideas.

Decorative Edges: Feeling fancy? Check out our very best decorative pie crust ideas and enlist your budding chefs to help add a scalloped or herringbone edge to your cherry pie. You can practice with an extra package of pie crust before doing it on your final dessert, so that everyone feels confident before fully committing. (Sprinkle the practice pie pastry pieces with cinnamon sugar and bake as a tasty reward for your work!)

Playful Shapes: For another way to decorate your homemade cherry pie, break out the tiniest cookie cutters you have. Forest critters, holiday shapes, they’re all fair game! Before placing the top crust over the filling, use small cookie cutters to cut out little shapes. This will create vents to release steam, replacing the slits you would otherwise cut in the pie.

Cherry Pie

  • Prep Time 25 min
  • Total 1 hr 10 min
  • Ingredients 4
  • Servings 8
  • Save
  • Share
  • Print
  • Keep Screen On

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie, using 9-inch glass pie plate.
  • Step 
    2
    Spoon pie filling into crust-lined plate. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Brush top crust with milk; sprinkle with sugar. Cut slits in several places on top crust.
  • Step 
    3
    Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. After 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Cool at least 1 hour before serving.

Nutrition

380 Calories
12g Total Fat
2g Protein
65g Total Carbohydrate
30g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
380
Calories from Fat
110
Total Fat
12g
19%
Saturated Fat
5g
25%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
5mg
2%
Sodium
260mg
11%
Potassium
160mg
5%
Total Carbohydrate
65g
22%
Dietary Fiber
2g
8%
Sugars
30g
Protein
2g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
4%
4%
Vitamin C
2%
2%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
2%
2%
Exchanges:
1 Starch; 1/2 Fruit; 3 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 2 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
4
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Tips from the

Pillsbury Kitchens

© 2024 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved