This scrumptious homemade gluten free cherry pie filling is so easy! And like everything else that’s homemade, it tastes way better than store-bought! You’ll never go back to buying canned filling again … I promise!
Combined with my impossibly tender and flaky homemade gluten free pie crust, this homemade gluten free cherry pie knocks it out of the proverbial park. It’s the perfect dessert for every patriotic holiday — of course — but don’t stop there. It’s the perfect dessert for so many delicious occasions!
As with apple pies, I like to use a mixture of varieties of fruit in my cherry pies. For this pie, I prefer Morello and organic sweet, pitted cherries to total the 7 cups used in my pie.
But when I ran out of cherries for this pie on July 4th this year, I didn’t panic. I simply made up the difference with organic frozen blueberries and I must say … it was accidental genius.
The combination was heavenly. And the red, white and blue effect was stunning, don’t you agree?
And whatever you do, don’t skimp on the gluten free pastry crust.
I’ve heard from too many people that their gluten free crusts are hard or inedible … because they used lesser gluten free flours (you don’t want gritty rice or odd-smelling bean flour in your pie crust, do you?).
When you use my gfJules™ flour and follow my step-by-step photos and directions (including tips on not over-baking your lovely crust!), you will have yourself a pie fit for the tv news! (click here to watch: scroll to the bottom for my segment!)
You can even use this delicious recipe to make lattice out of the crust — seriously! It’s that soft and supple and stretchy!
Then brush with milk, oil or egg wash and let the oven work its magic.
I’m telling you — this is the gluten free pie crust of your dreams — with this cherry pie filling or ANY filling!
Feel free to lattice it up, or cut shapes out of the crust to decorate, or do whatever you would do with a wheat flour crust to make your gluten free cherry pie special. You can do that with this amazing gluten free pie crust recipe. Follow along with all my tips and tricks in this post, linked here.
For July 4th, I like to cut out star shapes from extra pie pastry dough and decorate the tops of my pies. Use other shapes for any time of year to make your crust pretty (and cleverly cover any cracks!)
(WOW that’s an old photo! That’s my gfJules Flour packaging from way back in 2014!)
However you choose to bake it — even in these adorable mini pie pans! — this gluten free cherry pie will be a hit!
Homemade Gluten Free Cherry Pie Filling
This delectable gluten free cherry pie filling recipe is the perfect excuse to make adorable gluten free mini pies or one large pie or even hand pies!
Ingredients
- 7 cups pitted cherries, mixed varieties recommended
- 5 Tbs. gfJules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- ½ cup granulated cane sugar (more or less, depending on the tartness of the cherries you use) or unrefined coconut palm sugar
- 2 Tbs. lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- ¼ tsp. almond extract (optional)
- 2 recipes my Grandma's Pie Crust
- milk or egg wash to brush onto crust
Instructions
Bring cherries, gfJules Flour, sugar, lemon juice and water to a boil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Stir frequently so the mixture does not burn. Once boiling, lower the heat to cook another 5 minutes, or until thickened.
Remove from the heat to cool while preparing your gluten free pie crust. Refrigerate or place in the freezer if necessary to cool the mixture down before making mini pies.
Preheat oven to 400° F.
Make 2 recipes of my Grandma’s flaky Pie Crust recipe (for a double-crust pie). Roll out according to the directions in this step-by-step post.
Fill the lined pie plate with the cooked cherry pie filling and top with second rolled crust. Brush with milk of choice and cover the crust edges with foil or a pie crust saver (see the ones I use here).
Bake for 15 minutes, brush the crust lightly with an egg wash or more milk or oil, then return to the oven to bake at 375° F. for 15-20 minutes (for mini pies bake only another 12 minutes). The filling should be bubbly and the crust should be lightly browned.
Remove to cool before cutting to serve.
Serves 6-8.
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 201Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 26mgSodium 63mgCarbohydrates 42gFiber 3gSugar 28gProtein 4g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
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We have followed your homemade pie dough twice now. Still haven’t achieved the flakiness yet…however we have yet to have a pie that lasts more then a day. So we must be doing something right! Since being gf my middle son (age 9) has had to make pie crusts by hand because we don’t have premade gf crusts in our area. He isn’t a fan but still keeps trying. I bought the pie rolling bag and a pastry cutter for the next time so I hope it helps.
Well you sure did make a beauty!!!! I love that your son has gotten into the pie-making action, too!!! Have you used the “vodka trick” yet? I really do find that it helps with the tenderness and flakiness of the crust, as does the super cold butter. But you’re right, you’re obviously not too far off if the pies are going that quickly!!! Working with the crust less will help, so the pie bag might be a big help for you, too. I can’t wait to see more of these pies you’re going to be whipping up!!!
~jules
I am confused about the cherrys. What kind where do u get them ? If not from a can then what kind?
Thanks for your time
Hi Renee, I like dark sweet cherries – you can buy them in the frozen section (pitted) or find them in jars in light syrup. Dark Morello cherries are also quite nice for pies!
~jules
What a great idea – cherry-blueberry! Love that flakey crust.
It’s the best, Dave! So soft and tender. Makes any filling delish!!!
~jules
WOW! Fancy you. A TV Celeb. That must have been fun.
LOL I haven’t done any in a while (obviously!) but I used to appear now and then, mostly in Baltimore and DC on the network news shows. It’s fun, but a lot of time in prep work.
~jules
Can you do this recipe with any fruit and can them for later date? If so how would do the canning process. I’ve never canned amyrhing before. How long does canned fruit generally last? I’m also diabetic and eating gluten free, can i substitute the cane sugar with a sugar alternative. It looks and sounds like a easy recipe to do. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Please let me know something when you can. Have a great day.
Hi Debi, I can’t really comment on canning them for a later date, but I do know you can use a sugar alternative like Swerve or even Coconut Palm Sugar with good results! Enjoy!!
~jules
Can I use frozen cherries in this recipe? Would I have to reduce the amount of water called for?
Hi Jackie – you could absolutely use frozen cherries here. I would dial back the liquids somewhat, in anticipation of them melting, but if you stir your fillings together and let it sit while you make the crust, you’ll have a good gauge of how liquid-y it is before it bakes. Enjoy!
~jules
Oh my goodness! This cherry pie is excellent!
I know I’ll never use canned cherry pie filling again!
Thank you
How wonderful to hear, Sheila! Thanks for letting me know! Happy pie baking!
~jules