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This easy cherry sauce is sweet, tart, and perfect for topping a cheesecake, chocolate cake, and other desserts! Use any type of cherries, fresh or frozen, for this easy cherry topping! If you’re looking for a thicker version that can be used as a pie filling, try my cherry pie filling recipe.
Cherry sauce is the perfect topping for any dessert, especially cheesecake, chocolate cake, and ice cream! It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors and has a beautiful red, glossy finish.
Best of all, it’s incredibly easy to make and requires just four ingredients and ten minutes. This recipe works with all kinds of cherries, sweet or sour, and can be made with fresh or frozen cherries!
Ingredients
- Cherries – Use any type of cherries – sweet or sour and fresh or frozen. I used frozen sour cherries for this recipe. Keep in mind that fresh cherries release less liquid than frozen so you may need to adjust with more water.
- Sugar – Sugar helps balance out the natural tartness of cherries. If using sour cherries, you may need to add more sugar to help balance out the tart flavor. For sweet cherries, start with less sugar.
- Cornstarch – This helps thicken up the sauce and create a glossy finish.
- Lemon – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice to help brighten up the flavor. Sweet cherries may need more lemon juice compared to sour cherries.
Steps
- Mix together the cornstarch and water to create a cornstarch slurry.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add the cornstarch slurry, cherries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
- Once the sauce comes to a boil, reduce the heat and adjust to taste. Add more sugar or lemon juice as needed. Sour cherries may need more sugar and sweet cherries may need more lemon juice.
- For a thinner sauce, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until your desired consistency is reached. Note: the sauce will thicken as it cools.
Ways to Use Cherry Sauce
- Topping for cheesecake – wait for the sauce to come to room temperature before topping the cheesecake.
- Pound cake
- Chocolate cake and cupcakes
- Chiffon cake
- Sponge cake
- Ice cream
- Pancakes, waffles, crepes – serve the sauce warm on the side of these breakfast items.
- Scones and muffins
- Savory dishes – Cherry sauce makes a great substitute for cranberry sauce during the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays! Serve with rib roast, ham, roasted turkey, chicken, or lamb, duck, or pork.
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Cherry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb pitted cherries, fresh or frozen; about 3½ cups
- 3 to 6 Tablespoons sugar, start with less and adjust
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeeze
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Cornstarch slurry: In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water. Set aside.1 Tablespoon cornstarch, ¼ cup water
- Cook cherries: Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch slurry. Bring to a boil, stirring to avoid burning.1 lb pitted cherries, 3 to 6 Tablespoons sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- Taste: Once the sauce thickens up, reduce the heat and taste. Adjust with more lemon juice or sugar as needed. Sour cherries may need more sugar and sweet cherries may need more lemon juice. If needed, add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Note: sauce thickens after it cools.
- Serve: Wait for the sauce to reach room temperature before topping cold desserts like cheesecake and ice cream, or serve it warm over pancakes, cakes, and waffles. See Note 1 for storing.
Notes
- Storing – To store, keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. It will become thicker once cold.
- Reheat
- Microwave: Add the sauce to a microwave-safe container and heat for 20 seconds at a time, stirring after each time.
- Stovetop: Add the sauce to a pot and reheat on medium heat stirring occasionally.
- Type of cherries – You can use sweet or sour cherries for this recipe. If using sour cherries, increase the amount of sugar to balance out the tart flavors. Keep in mind that fresh cherries release less liquid than frozen cherries so you may need to add more water to reach a thinner sauce if using fresh cherries.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I don’t recommend freezing this sauce as the cornstarch will lose its integrity once frozen and it will lose its viscosity. But you can make this 3 days in advance and reheat it on the stovetop of the microwave.
I usually grab the canned version but following your recipe and making it myself was so easy and tasted much better. I’ll be making it from now on!
This cherry sauce was so delicious and easy to make. Think I will be making mine homemade from now on. My kids loved the cherry sauce on top of vanilla ice cream!
I love a good cherry chocolate combo so I served this sauce on chocolate cake and it was amazing! I’m gonna try it on some cheesecake next time!
My partner LOVES cherry sauce, particularly on cheesecake so I made this for him. This is SO much better than the store bought stuff. Thanks!
I made this to top a cheesecake and it was ah-mazing! This is so much better than canned pie filling.
This is great recipe that was not too sweet and a great way to use seasonal fruit. I used it as a topping on french toast this morning and everyone raved about how perfect it was. Thank you!
It was awesome on my chocolate cheesecake!
This cherry sauce was so perfect on my homemade cheesecake bites! I will be making this cherry sauce again to store so I always have some handy.
I made mini pavlovas and used your cherry sauce recipe to pair them. It is delicious and has all the flavors I love. I will be trying it with a cheesecake next. This is such a good foolproof recipe, thank you!
is the nutrition info for 3 TBSP or 6 TBSP of sugar?
It’s like you read my mind! It’s Pi day today and I was thinking mostly about doing a cherry pie. A bit more cornstarch and this sauce turns into a great pie filling!
This cherry sauce was so sweet and delicious! We used it as a topping for pancakes and it turned out great! 🙂
I’m glad to hear that Anjali! It’s great on waffles too!
This cherry sauce is incredible! I have made it a few times now and figured it’s about time I come on and leave a comment about how great it is. I really like it on cheesecake, of course, but also like it on pancakes/waffles and angel food cake. Thank you!
Thanks Karen! I’m so glad love this cherry sauce! Indeed, it’s perfect on any dessert!
This was so much better than anything store bought! I will be using this recipe again!
This was perfectly tart and sweet — such a great balance! We will definitely make again. Thank you! 🙂
Whoa, this cherry sauce was terrific! We served it over vanilla ice cream for a simple dessert!!
That’s great Liz! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Awsome recipe instead of sugar I used some sugar-free strawberry syrup for the sweetness.i was impressed. Thanks!
This was an amazing cherry sauce recipe! I loved making it myself.
This homemade cherry sauce is so good, so much better than store-bought version. I can think of so many ways to use it, from ice cream, waffles, pies, and so much more.
It’s Winter here in Australia, and I am missing fresh cherries. I came across your recipe and was delighted to know it worked with frozen cherries. This sauce is incredibly delicious and easy to prepare – we served it over buttermilk pancakes!
Your cherry sauce is an absolute stunner! So pretty I want to put it on absolutely everything!