30+ Cherry Canning Recipes

Cherry canning recipes can be hard to track down in the rush of cherry season, so I’ve pulled together a big collection of safe, tested options that cover just about every way to put up a cherry harvest. Whether you’re working with sweet cherries, sour cherries, or foraged wild ones, there’s a jar here for you.

We grow half a dozen varieties of sour cherries on our Vermont homestead, and they make wonderful jams, jellies, and pie fillings. This past year, we planted Rainier, and a couple of sweet cherry varieties too, so I’m doubling down on cherry canning recipes to make sure none of these beauties go to waste.

Plain canned cherries work beautifully on top of yogurt all winter long, and that’s a breakfast I look forward to around the holidays. There’s something festive about a bowl of creamy yogurt topped with bright cherries, even though they haven’t been on the tree since July.

Beyond plain canned cherries, the options really open up, from simple jams and jellies all the way to pickled cherries and cherry chutney. Cherries are naturally acidic, so they’re safe for water bath canning, which keeps these projects approachable even if you’re newer to putting up fruit.

Preparing Cherries for Canning

Most cherry canning recipes call for pitting first, which sounds tedious but goes quickly with the right tool. I use a simple hand pitter, and honestly, I just hand it to my kids and let them race to see who can pit the most.

The catch is that little hands miss a pit here and there, so give the bowl a once-over before you start canning. If pitting isn’t your idea of a good time at all, a steam juicer lets you skip it entirely and turn whole cherries into juice for jelly, lemonade, and limeade.

Canning Whole Cherries

Canning cherries plain or in a light syrup is the simplest way to put them up, and it keeps them ready for pies, cobblers, and that yogurt breakfast all year. A jar of whole cherries is also just a nice thing to spoon over ice cream when you want something quick.

You can pack them in syrup, juice, or water, and either hot pack or raw pack works depending on how much time you have. They’re well worth the freezer-and-pantry space when cherries are in season and cheap.

• Canning Cherries covers hot pack, raw pack, and syrup options step by step

Cherry Jam

Cherry jam might be the most useful jar to come out of the cherry season, good on toast, swirled into oatmeal, or spooned over a wheel of brie. Sweet and sour cherries each make a distinctive jam, so it’s worth putting up both if you can get your hands on them.

Cherries are low in natural pectin, so most jams call for a box of pectin or a long, patient cook to set. They also take beautifully to other fruit and warm spices, which opens up a lot of room to play.

• Sour Cherry Jam has a bright, tangy flavor that holds up well in baking
• Black Cherry Jam is a deep, sweet jam made from dark cherries
• Rainier Cherry Jam captures the delicate flavor of golden Rainier cherries
• Spiced Cherry Jam works in cinnamon and warm spices
• Low Sugar Cherry Jam sets with far less sugar using no-sugar-needed pectin
• Cherry Blueberry Jam blends two summer fruits into one spread
• Sweet Cherry Jam with Pineapple adds pineapple for a tropical note

Cherry Jelly

Cherry jelly strains the fruit down to a clear, glossy spread with no skins or pits to deal with on the plate. It’s a good use for the juice that comes off a steam juicer, and the color is hard to beat.

Wild cherries make some of the most interesting jellies, from tart pin cherries to astringent chokecherries that turn into something special once they’re cooked with sugar. There are savory options here too, like a hot cherry pepper jelly for the cheese board.

• Sour Cherry Jelly is a bright, tangy jelly made from tart cherries
• Pin Cherry Jelly makes use of these small, tart wild cherries
• Chokecherry Jelly transforms astringent wild chokecherries into a deep, rich jelly
• Cherry Blossom Jelly steeps spring cherry blossoms into a delicate floral jelly
• Nanking Cherry Jelly uses the small ornamental Nanking cherry
• Hot Cherry Pepper Jelly brings sweet heat for serving over cream cheese

Cherry Pie Filling

Cherry pie is about as iconic as fruit pie gets, and a jar of home-canned filling puts it within reach on any winter evening. It’s also lovely over cheesecake, ice cream, or a stack of pancakes when you don’t feel like baking.

Canned pie filling uses Clear Jel, the one thickener tested as safe for canning, so it holds the right texture through processing and storage. Put up a few jars and winter dessert practically makes itself.

• Canning Cherry Pie Filling makes a classic spiced filling ready to bake or spoon over dessert

Cherry Sauce

Cherry sauce is the jar that turns a plain weeknight dinner into something a little special, draped over pork, duck, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It walks the line between sweet and savory depending on how you make it.

The range here is wide, from a simple dessert sauce to a smoky chipotle barbecue sauce for the grill. As always with added ingredients, follow a tested recipe so the acidity stays where it needs to be.

• Cherry Sauce is a simple sweet sauce for desserts and breakfasts
• Chocolate Cherry Sauce is a decadent dessert sauce for canning
• Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce brings smoky heat for grilled meats
• Danish Cherry Sauce is a classic European dessert sauce

Cherry Butter

Cherry butter cooks the fruit down low and slow into a smooth, spoonable spread, with little or no added pectin needed. It’s a quick snack on toast and a handy addition to a cheese board or a thumbprint cookie.

Both sweet and sour cherries make a good butter, and a little vanilla rounds out the flavor nicely. It’s a forgiving recipe, which makes it a good one for using up softer fruit.

• Sweet Cherry Butter cooks sweet cherries into a smooth, spiced spread
• Sour Cherry Butter uses tart cherries for a brighter version
• Sour Cherry Vanilla Butter adds vanilla for a mellow, dessert-like flavor

Cherry Juice

Cherry juice is one of the most useful things to come off a steam juicer, good on its own or as a base for jelly and drink concentrates later. Tart cherry juice in particular has a loyal following for its flavor.

You can can it plain for sipping or cook it down into a concentrate that stores in less space. Either way, a few jars stretch the cherry season well into winter.

• Cherry Juice with a Steam Juicer walks through the easiest way to extract juice
• Tart Cherry Concentrate cooks the juice down into a concentrated form

Cherry Limeade & Lemonade Concentrate

I love canning lemonade concentrate so it’s ready to go all summer, and I recently started canning limeade concentrate too. A jar of concentrate plus a pitcher of cold water is the fastest summer drink there is.

Cherries go so well with lime that I tried a cherry limeade concentrate, and it was a hit with everyone. It’s the same idea as plain limeade, just with cherry juice carrying the flavor and color.

• Canning Cherry Limeade Concentrate cans down to a concentrate you dilute by the glass

Cherry Syrup

Syrup usually brings maple to mind, but cherry syrup might change how you think about pancakes. It’s a pourable, fruity syrup that’s just as good over waffles and ice cream as it is stirred into a soda or cocktail.

Wild chokecherries make a particularly good syrup, since their bold flavor stands up to the sugar. It’s a nice way to use the same juice you’d reach for to make jelly.

• Chokecherry Syrup turns foraged chokecherries into a rich pancake syrup
• Cherry Pancake Syrup is a simple sweet cherry syrup for breakfast

Pickled Cherries

Pickled cherries are an underrated treat, sweet and tangy, and right at home next to rich meats and a cheese board. The leftover brine is a bonus, wonderful drizzled into dressings or splashed into a cocktail.

Recipes run from sweet spiced cherries to savory, herb-forward versions from around the world. Firm sweet cherries hold their shape best in the jar.

• Pickled Sweet Cherries are firm cherries in a sweet-spiced brine
• Russian Pickled Cherries are a traditional Eastern European preserve
• Spanish-Style Pickled Cherries take a savory turn for serving with meats and cheese
• Spiced Pickled Cherries add warm spices to the pickling brine

Cherry Chutney

For meats and roasted vegetables, it’s hard to beat a good cherry chutney. The fruit cooks down with vinegar, onion, and warm spices into a thick, savory-sweet condiment that wakes up a plain plate.

Cherries pair especially well with other orchard fruit in a chutney, so apple and pear versions are worth a look. A jar or two also makes a thoughtful homemade gift.

• Cherry Chutney is a classic savory-sweet chutney for canning
• Honey Sweetened Cherry Chutney swaps in honey for the refined sugar
• Cherry Apricot Chutney blends two stone fruits with warm spice
• Apple Cherry Chutney pairs cherries with fall apples
• Pear and Dried Cherry Chutney combines pears, dried cherries, and ginger

Other Ways to Preserve Cherries

Canning isn’t the only way to keep cherries around past July. Freezing and dehydrating are both simple, and dried cherries are wonderful in granola, baking, and trail mix.

And if you find yourself with more cherries than jars, a batch of cherry wine is a satisfying project for the soft, very ripe fruit that won’t can well anyway.

• Cherry Wine ferments ripe cherries into a light homemade wine
• How to Freeze Cherries keeps fresh cherries in the freezer for baking and smoothies
• How to Dehydrate Cherries dries cherries for snacking and baking
• Homemade Cherry Fruit Leather turns a cherry puree into chewy fruit leather

Cherry season is short and a little frantic, but that’s what makes a full pantry shelf feel like such a win. Grab them while they’re cheap and in season, and pick a recipe or two that fits the time you have.

With this many ways to put them up, even a single productive tree or a few flats from the farmstand can keep your pantry interesting all year. Start with whatever’s ripe and a tested recipe, and go from there.

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