27 Sweet and Sour Cherry Recipes (2024)

Cherries are wonderfully delicious all on their own, but when you'd like to cook or bake with the fruit, allow us to share some of our favorite cherry recipes with you. We have sweet and sour applications for fresh, frozen, and dried cherries. For dessert, cherry pie is a classic, and we're big fans of black cherry–chocolate ice cream sandwiches; for a savory entree, try prime rib with sour cherry conserva, truffle, and chocolate. The spread includes booze, too, such as a recipe for a smoked cherry bounce (an ideal toast to the holidays, if you ask us). Read on for even more cherry recipes we love.

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Cherry Empanadillas

This delicious cherry filling will convince you that empanadillas aren't just for savory snacking. These empanadillas are fried until golden brown, then glitzed up with a pretty pink glaze. If you don't have a cherry pitter, a chopstick does a surprisingly good job of removing the pits.

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Polenta Cherry Cobbler

A few spoonfuls of polenta add a sunny color and nutty depth to this twist on a classic cherry cobbler. Sour cherries are abundant at farmers markets in the early summer (you'll probably want to use a cherry pitter to make short work of prepping them), but frozen sour cherries are available year-round in many supermarkets as well.

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Luxardo-Style Cherries

Move over maraschino cherries, there's a serious new upgrade in town — and with this recipe, you can save money by making your own instead of buying the pricey ones from the store. Cook a batch when cherries are in season, or any time of year; frozen cherries work well here. They're the perfect garnish for your next Manhattan, a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or a cake.

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Sour Cherry Pie

Here, sour cherries and almond frangipane are combined to create a rich cherry pie with perfect sweet-tart balance. Sour cherry season is fleeting, so be sure to make this pie while they're around. If you're yearning for an off-season sour cherry pie, feel free to use canned sour cherries.

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Black Rice Salad with Cherries and Plums

Fresh plums and cherries add pops of juicy sweetness to this hearty summer salad. Black rice gives the dish a dark, moody hue and an extra textural bite. The salad builds to a delicious crescendo with its finishing touch: crunchy, craggy, blue cheese–infused breadcrumbs, which provide a lovely textural reprieve to the chewy rice and fruit.

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Cherry Cordial

Packed with the sweet flavor of ripe fruit and rounded out with subtle notes of orange, cardamom, and ginger, this cherry cordial has countless uses. Add a splash to a glass of sparkling wine or lemonade, or serve over ice with plenty of tonic water. Brush cherry cordial on layers of chocolate cake before frosting, or drizzle it over crêpes or vanilla ice cream.

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Blue Corn, Cherry, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Featuring a soft interior that has a hint of almond flavor, these fresh cherry–studded cookies are not only colorful but also incredibly delicious.

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Sour Cherry–Cheesecake Trifle with Black Pepper and Saba

Chef Pichet Ong's riff on a proper British trifle retains the classic form while reinventing the components. Cheesecake stands in for egg custard; pound cake replaces ladyfingers. Rather than sherry, Ong's trifle uses saba, a syrup made from cooking down grape must, which has a flavor similar to balsamic vinegar.

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Sour Cherry Mezcal Margarita

This fruity spin on a margarita combines smoky mezcal, citrusy Cointreau, and sweet-tart cherry puree in a vibrant red drink perfect for summer sipping. Bright, pleasantly tart sour cherries are in season for a limited window, so this simple roasted puree is an easy way to preserve their flavor. Try it on ice cream or over pancakes, too.

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Dark Cherry Crumble Pie

Maya-Camille Broussard's shop Justice of the Pies in Chicago is inspired by her father's work as a criminal defense lawyer on the West Side of Chicago. When she was young, she says, he would pull her away from the television and into the kitchen. In addition to turning out delicious pies like this one, Justice of the Pies is focused on community development and inclusion. This pie, which uses fresh, sweet cherries, amaretto, and toasted oats, has no thickeners for a cleaner, more fruit-forward flavor.

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Chilled Sour Cherry Soup with Fennel and Sour Cream

Traditional Hungarian chilled sour cherry soup is sweet enough to be a dessert. Chef Nicolaus Balla blends fennel into his more savory version and serves the beautiful pink soup as a first course.

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Juniper-Rubbed Roast Duck with Cherry Jus

Chef Angie Mar models her roast duck on the one her father made every Christmas. After a prolonged salt cure, he'd cold-smoke it so the fat picked up the whiff of sweet smoke. Then he'd slow-roast the bird until it resembled the crisp-skinned, mahogany-hued ducks that hang in the windows in Chinatown. Mar serves hers with a rich sauce of reduced duck broth and tart cherries as a nod to the cherry trees in the Pacific Northwest where she grew up.

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Casarecce with Sausage, Pickled Cherries, and Pistachios

This creamy pasta from star chef Tom Colicchio comes together in just minutes, though you'll have to make the pickled cherries the night before.

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Chocolate-Cherry Focaccia

Tart dried cherries play up the fruitiness of dark chocolate and olive oil in this light and airy, sweet, and savory focaccia. Bittersweet chocolate, aromatic rosemary sprigs, and crunchy turbinado sugar balance one another in this bread. For an even more delicious treat, try dipping in a fruity olive oil and cherry balsamic vinegar.

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Black Cherry–Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Homemade chocolate cookies encase store-bought black cherry ice cream for the ultimate ice cream sandwiches.

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Smoked Cherry Bounce

Smoking juicy, sweet Bing cherries infuses them with a heady, savory aroma. The depth carries into boozy cherry bounce, ready after a three-month rest. Plenty of sugar, a touch of bright lemon juice, and smooth brandy round out this vibrant homemade cordial.

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Cherry Clafoutis

"In France, there's almond flour in everything — except clafoutis," pastry chef Belinda Leong says about the rustic dessert of fruit baked in batter. Bucking tradition, she includes the flour in her clafoutis to add texture to the custardy interior.

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Prime Rib with Sour Cherry Conserva, Truffle, and Chocolate

2017 F&W Best New Chef Angie Mar is a master with meat, like this enormous, decadent, and completely fabulous dry-aged beef rib roast. Mar's trick is to take the meat out of the oven for 30 minutes during its overall cooking time, which creates evenly cooked and perfectly juicy meat throughout the roast.

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Cherry and Cream Cheese Kolaches

For the filling in these kolaches, a quick jam of summer's fresh sweet cherries is dolloped over lemon-scented cream cheese.

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Cherries Poached in Red Wine with Mascarpone Cream

Thick mascarpone cheese mixed with honey makes a luscious topping for poached cherries. You can serve the dessert either warm or cold. We love it both ways.

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Sour Cherry Tart with Almond Frangipane

This irresistible tart takes full advantage of the affinity between tangy sour cherries and rich, nutty frangipane. A sprinkle of toasted almonds on top adds a welcome dose of crunch. It's essential to seek out sour cherries for this tart, whether they're fresh, frozen, or jarred. Serve the tart with your choice of unsweetened whipped cream, crème fraîche, or vanilla ice cream — or all by its glorious self.

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Almond Rice Pudding with Sweet Cherry Sauce and Caramel Cream

Cookbook author Nadine Redzepi's creamy, fluffy rice pudding is good enough on its own, but it's even better with two great sauces: a fruity and tangy sweet cherry sauce, as well as a creamy caramel sauce.

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Sour Cherry–Glazed Ribs

These finger-licking ribs from F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple get great flavor from a Sriracha-spiked barbecue sauce.

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Sour Cherry Lambic Sorbet

"Above all, sorbet should taste — and feel — almost like eating fresh fruit," says ice cream maven Jeni Britton-Bauer. She makes this sorbet with an old-fashioned style of Belgian beer called lambic, which is brewed with wild yeasts.

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Black Forest Mousse Cake with Cherry-Chile-Pomegranate Glaze

In the hands of pastry chef Renee Bolstad, black forest cake morphs into a modern layered mousse. To add texture and heat, Bolstad sandwiches it between a spicy cherry-pomegranate glaze and crispy chocolate. For the smoothest, silkiest mousse, be careful not to over-whip the cream; just under soft peaks will result in the best final texture.

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Cherry Gazpacho

This truly delicious gazpacho is inspired by Andalusian chef Dani García, who includes sweet cherries in the mix, then tops the summery soup with shaved goat cheese "snow."

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Pork Chops with Cherry-Miso Mostarda

Adding a bit of umami-rich miso to cherry mostarda amps up the flavor, making a perfect condiment for juicy pork chops.

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