Nothing says Valentine’s Day like sweet, ruby-red cherries bubbling into the perfect homemade pie filling. ❤️ In today’s video, I’m showing you how to make and safely can homemade cherry pie filling — using frozen cherries making a delicious winter project ready and waiting whenever you need a special dessert.
This home canned cherry pie filling is thick, glossy, and perfectly balanced between sweet and tart. It’s delicious baked into a classic cherry pie, spooned over cheesecake, layered into Valentine’s Day desserts, or even warmed and served over ice cream for an easy romantic treat.
There’s something so special about opening a jar you preserved yourself — especially when it turns an ordinary evening into something just a little more meaningful.
In this video, I’ll walk you through:
• Preparing the cherries
• Making the filling with the proper thickener for canning
• Filling and processing the jars safely
• Tips for getting that perfect consistency every time
Whether you’re baking for someone you love or simply stocking your pantry with beautiful homemade goodness, this cherry pie filling is a must-have.
If you enjoy traditional food preservation and cozy seasonal recipes, don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next!
Happy canning — and happy Valentine’s Day 💗🍒
Half Recipe I demonstrated:
7 1/2 c. frozen red tart cherries, thawed for 24 hours in the refrigerator
2 c. juice from drained thawed cherries
1 3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. Cook type ClearJel
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 c. bottled lemon juice
Optional: 1-2 T. Disaronno or 1 t. almond extract
Full Recipe:
15 cups frozen red tart cherries (about 10 lbs), thawed for 24 hours in the refrigerator
3-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup ClearJel® starch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
Ladle hot pie filling into hot pint jars leaving a generous 1” headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid and apply band to fingertip tight.
Process for 35 minutes in boiling water or steam canner, adjusting for altitude as follows:
1,001-3,000 ft ~ increase processing time by 5 minutes
3,001-6,000 ft ~ increase processing time by 10 minutes
6,001-8,000 ft ~ increase processing time by 15 minutes
8,001-10,000 ft ~ increase processing time by 20 minutes
Allow jars to rest undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Remove bands, check seals, wash and label jars. Store in a cool dark dry place.
This tutorial is for informational purposes only. It is your responsibility to follow all instructions for your canner and water bath/steam canning. Always adhere to safe canning guidelines.
Recommended products I use:
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Enjoy!
xo~Carol
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Recipe Source: https://www.ballmasonjars.com/blog?cid=cherry-pie-filling
#foodpreservation #cherrypie #cherrypiefilling #homecanning
27 Comments
This looks delicious. I will be trying it in the near future. Thank you.
I love canning this, I do both versions the one you used because the only way to get tart cherries here is frozen and another one where you use sweet cherries, (good tip for that is use tart cherry juice when making) You’re right about the head space and de-bubble the crap out of pie filling. Yours looks beautiful, enjoy.
I'm glad you're doing it in the smaller sizes. Us emptinessers need the measurements. Hope you're having wonderful day
I did can frozen cherries last august 2025 but now when I open them up it has a whiskey odor … what did I do wrong ???I did not use alcohol …
Love cherry pie and the canned cherries are SO expensive. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I love love your hairstyle. So so pretty!! And cherry🍒 pie is my favorite. Thank you for sharing this video
Thank You! I have trouble with Ball recipes amounts, too. Love the small pie pans and that they're stainless steel and not aluminum. Happy Canning! 🙂🌸🌳☀️
Perfect video, Carol! We've only got 1 quart jar of cherry pie filling left, so it's time to re-stock. I think pints IS a better idea… easier to use up if I'm not making a pie. If I do want a pie, I'll just open two jars!
And oh boy, are you correct giving the warning about leaving extra head space! Better safe than sorry. 🍒🍒🍒🍒 Happy Valentine's Day! 💝💟💘
Happy Valentine's Day and thank you for video
Love this! I have started making pie filling in half-pint jars to have available as a fruity snack, straight from the jar, just like you said, lol. 😋👍 Have not tried the Ball recipe yet. Their quantities are always a guessing game, but it is nice to have small-batch options with less math for us singles. I always add a few drops of almond extract for cherries and really like the idea of adding a little Disaronno. Thanks for another fun video! 🍒😄💖
I have many pounds of sweet cherries in my freezer. How would you adapt?
I love this recipe! Cherry turnovers are coming soon❤ How big of a bag do I need to get of frozen cherries?
Thanks for this recipe. You read my mind – as I have frozen cherries and blueberries in the freezer – and you stopped my fingers from commenting right off the bat! 😂😂 But I do have a question that maybe you or someone else can answer about the Clear Jel. I bought a container like yours from Amazon last fall for some apple pie filling I was making. I used a cup or whatever I needed, and it's been sitting in the pantry since. But I noticed the "best by" date is October 2025! 😮 Do you think it's still good?? Should I toss it or should I decant much of it into glass jars that can be vacuum sealed or sould I toss it in the freezer?? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks Carol! Happy Valentine’s Day to you as well!
This recipe is a winner, I have made this several times. I love cherry pie actually anything cherry. Thank you
Wonderful recipe. I absolutely love the Tart cherries and would like to know where you found such a lovely big bag of frozen?
Yeah, I found out about the clear gel expansion the hard way. Lots of scrubbing bottles. I love cherries. Great on yogurt or ice cream.
Do you know if it works if you leave out the sugar? I know you can can fruit in juice or water, so my guess is probably. I’d be tempted to leave out the clearjell and maybe just thicken it later. I can eat sugar, but live with someone who needs to severely limit that and I usually avoid high sugar anyway for myself.
Yes you can use other fruits. I made apple, raspberry, strawberry it all is amazing. Tip for you, mix the sugar and clear gel together in a bowl and mix then add to your liquid and it mixes quickly without any lumps
Beautiful! I should make some just for decorating!🤣
Can you use fresh sour cherries? I have 2 sour cherry trees.
I planted a mini tart cherry tree last year. If I get some cherries this summer can I use those fresh for my pie filling?
My first thought OMG how pretty is that jar of cherry filling. I instantly thought of a black forest cake….. Yes clear Gel is tricky. I make strawberry/rhubarb when in season. Thank you for the recipe.
I can fresh cherries with Amaretto … and, yes, Disaronno is the best! I've also used it with peaches.
Ball has several canned fruit recipes using alcohol.
They turned out beautifully!
According to the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (page 174), the recipe makes 8 pints or 4 quarts, so next time you can use quarts, which is enough for a regular-sized pie.
The cherry filling and the Brandied Fruit Mincemeat ( 8 pints or 4 quarts) are the only ones that mention quarts. All of the others … Pear Mincemeat, Peach, Rhubarb Strawberry, Blueberry, and Apple … only mention pints (4-5). The processing time is different for each one, so check the recipe.
I remember years ago, all of the pie filling recipes were for quarts. Ball had a "generic" recipe for either one or seven quarts. Everything was the same, I believe, except for the amount of fruit.
The small jar of filling would be perfect as a topping for a cheesecake.😋
You mentioned that this was the first time you made this. How did it taste?