This cherry syrup recipe is easy to make with only two ingredients plus water. This is a cherry simple syrup recipe, so a thin syrup to add to drinks, cocktails, lattes or my personal favorite: Diet Coke. Lol.
I love the sweet and tart flavor of cherries and making your own homemade syrup from fresh cherries is the best! While store-bought cherry syrups are less work they sometimes can taste too much like medicine or too sweet to me. Homemade is worth with and super easy.
Related: If you love cherries make our Cherry Limeade, Shirley Temple or Cherry Bomb shot. You’ll also enjoy our Mint Simple Syrup or Honey Simple Syrup.
Ingredients
- Cherries Fresh cherries work best for this recipe, but frozen will work just fine too. Any variety of sweet and sour cherries such as Bing or Rainier cherries are a great choice.
- Granulated White Sugar You may also use brown sugar or honey if you like.
- Water filtered of distilled water is best.
We are looking for fresh cherries, like what you would find in the produce section. You may find them frozen as well. Do not use maraschino cherries (jarred) for this recipe.
How to make Cherry Syrup
Remove the stems and cut the cherries in half.
In a small to medium pot combine the sugar and water. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Add the cherries to the mixture. Bring to boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer (low) and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool. The cherries will continue to steep and release flavor.
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a glass mixing cup with a spout. Use a spoon to fresh the cherries into the sieve, to get as much liquid out as you can.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If you think you may want to use the cherry syrup longer you can freeze it in ice cubes to use as needed.
Tips, Notes and Substitutions
- If you are using frozen cherries thaw before following this recipe.
- You do not have to remove the pits. But, if you do remove the pits then you can use the leftovers like a compote on jam or ice cream. If you leave the pits in it will not effect your syrup but you’ll want to discard the remains after straining.
- This cherry syrup recipe is super simple and delicious as is. But if you want to slightly deepen or alter the flavor you could try adding: vanilla extract, fresh herbs like mint or rosemary, citrus rind like orange or lemon, or simply a big pinch of sea salt. Add these to the cooking process as strain out any solids along with the cherry fruit / pits.
- You could also swap some or all of the granulated white sugar for brown sugar for a different flavor. Or swap for demerara sugar for a slightly different texture to your syrup.
Uses for Cherry Syrup
- Roy Rogers Drink – swap the grenadine
- Shirley Temple– swap the grenadine
- Dirty Shirley Cocktail– swap the grenadine
- Add to a latte or mocha
- Add to your favorite tea or sparkling water
Frequently Asked Questions
Is cherry syrup the same as grenadine syrup?
No, grenadine syrup is made from pomegranate. But, they are similar and it can make a good substitute even though it doesn’t taste exactly the same.
Cherry Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup cherries
- ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
- ⅔ cup water
Instructions
- Remove the stems and cut the cherries in half.
- In a small to medium pot combine the sugar and water. Whisk until the sugar dissolves. Add the cherries to the mixture.
- Bring to boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer (low) and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool. The cherries will continue to steep and release flavor.
- Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a glass mixing cup with a spout. Use a spoon to fresh the cherries into the sieve, to get as much liquid out as you can.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If you think you may want to use the cherry syrup longer you can freeze it in ice cubes to use as needed.