Cherry compote is a quick and easy stove top cherry sauce made with cherries and 2 other simple ingredients. This sweet and tart cherry sauce compote is perfect for topping cheesecake, ice cream, pancakes, french toast and more.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
I love a fresh and easy fruit topping. My Apple Compote, Blackberry Compote, Strawberry Glaze and Macerated Strawberries are two of my favorite fruit topping recipes on the blog. I am so excited to add this easy blackberry compote recipe to the blog.
- Only 3 ingredients needed. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of cherry sauce.
- The perfect topping. Whether you need a quick and easy cherry topping for cheesecake, cakes, pancakes, waffles, french toast or as a fun mix in for ice cream or yogurt this cherry sauce compote makes the perfect breakfast or dessert topping.
Ingredients
This cherry compote recipe needs only 3 simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you will need to make this syrupy cherry topping.
Ingredients: Gather fresh or frozen cherries sugar and water.
Substitutions
Here are my recommended substitutions to make this easy cherry sauce topping if you need them.
- Cherries: Use fresh, ripe and firm cherries. Tart or dark cherries are best. Taste the cherries to ensure they are sweet. Frozen cherries can be used without changes to the recipe ingredients. Frozen cherries can take a bit longer to cook down.
- Sugar: For an easy refined sugar free option use maple sugar, honey or maple syrup.
- Water: Feel free to use 2 tablespoons of your preferred liquid. I suggest using lemon and/or water. If you prefer, substitute the lemon with lime or orange juice.
How To Make
Learn how to make cherry compote in a few easy steps.
- Wash, de-stem and pit the cherries. Place the prepared cherries, sugar and water into a medium sauce pan. Gently stir to fully mix the ingredients together. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cook the cherries over medium heat for about 10 - 15 minutes, stirring fairly frequently to prevent the cherries from sticking to the pan. The cherries are done cooking when they have started breaking down, have softened, the syrup has thickened a little and the compote is your preferred texture and consistency. Remove the cherry sauce from the heat, stir in lemon juice or almond extract if you like.
- When it’s time to serve, transfer the soften cherry sauce to a serving dish or top your favorite breakfast or dessert with the syrupy cherry topping.
How To Store, Freeze, Thaw and Serve
- Store: Keep the cherry compote in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. For longer storage transfer the compote to the freezer.
- Freeze: Store an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Transfer the frozen cherry sauce to thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Serve: Cherry compote is the perfect topper for any breakfast or dessert dish you would typically add fruit on or serve with fresh fruit such as pancakes, waffles, parfait, cake, cheesecake, brownies or even ice cream. I highly suggest serving cherry sauce with my Donut Cake, Croissant French Toast, Brioche French Toast Casserole, Chocolate Olive Oil Cake or Creme Brulee Cheesecake.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use your favorite cherries. To make the best cherry compote make sure to use ripe, in season cherries you love. Make sure the cherries are firm, without a lot of bruising. Frozen cherries can also be used without any changes to the ingredients. Frozen cherries can take a bit longer to thicken and cook down.
- Decide how sweet you want the cherry sauce to be. Make sure to taste the cherries to decide how much sugar to add before making the compote.
- Add herbs or citrus for flavor variations. Herbs such as mint or thyme can be added to the cherries and sugar for a fresh, earthy flavor. Swap the water for lemon, lime or orange juice. Ground cinnamon, ginger or vanilla extract add more cozy flavor.
FAQs
Cherry compote and cherry sauce are basically the same thing. Compote is a fancy word for simple fruit sauce. Compote can be loose and saucy or thicker and glossy depending on the cooking time and your preferences.
Yes, frozen cherries can be used to make cherry compote. There is no need to thaw the cherries.
This cherry sauce can be sweetened with sugar, brown sugar, maple sugar, honey or maple syrup.
This easy and fresh cherry sauce lasts about 1 week when stored in the fridge.
Other Cherry Recipes to Try
- Black Cherry Ice Cream
- Cherry Dump Cake
- Cherry Danish
- Cherry Turnovers
- Cherry Cookies
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
If you try this Cherry Compote recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Cherry Compote Recipe
Equipment
- 1 cherry pitter optional
- 1 medium sauce pan or pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh or frozen cherries
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar, light brown sugar, honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
Instructions
- Wash, de-stem and pit the cherries. Place the prepared cherries, sugar and water into a medium sauce pan. Gently stir to fully mix the ingredients together.1 pound fresh or frozen cherries, ¼ cup (50 g) sugar, light brown sugar, honey or maple syrup, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
- Heat the mixture over medium heat until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cook the cherries over medium heat for about 10 - 15 minutes, stirring fairly frequently to prevent the cherries from sticking to the pan. The cherries are done cooking when they have started breaking down, have softened, the syrup has thickened a little and the compote is your preferred texture and consistency. Remove the cherry sauce from the heat, stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice or ¼ teaspoon almond extract if you like.
- When it’s time to serve, transfer the soften cherry sauce to a serving dish or top your favorite breakfast or dessert with the syrupy cherry topping.
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