How to make homemadeCherry Syrup

Cherry Simple Syrup is the perfect sweet addition for drinks and more during cherry season. All you need are three ingredients — including one very important fresh one — and a little time to make this cherry syrup for cocktails, mocktails, desserts, breakfasts and more. 

Cherry Syrup 

Real talk: simple syrup is one of the most basic, but wonderful additions to any drink. 

Realer talk: it can be infused with a world of flavor, so you don’t just have to use plain jane simple syrup to sweeten.

This Cherry Simple Syrup takes the sweetness of the summertime and infuses it into a simple syrup that can be enjoyed for the rest of the year.

Since cherry season is relatively short, this cherry syrup recipe is a great way to soak in the awesome cherry flavor and bottle it for later in the year. 

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One of the things I love about this recipe is that it’s a wonderful addition to cold drinks… especially one of my summertime favorites: a classic Cherry Limeade or an Italian soda. Also, it has true cherry flavor and none of that artificial flavor (or high fructose corn syrup) that you might find in a store-bought syrup.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I love flavored simple syrups, but I don’t always love the ingredients that store-bought syrups have. 

Homemade syrup is simple and has been my jam for as long as I’ve known I could make it because I know what’s going into the recipe. 

If you’re into this, as well, I hope that you get a lot of use out of this homemade cherry syrup this summer!

Why I love this recipe:

This Cherry Syrup is so wonderful for non-alcoholic drinks, cocktails and more. Not only is it tasty, but LOOK at that deep crimson color! 

The not-so-secret ingredient is a fresh cherries, which you split, remove the pits from and let infuse with the syrup until it’s infused with the most wonderful cherry flavor.

Truth be told, you could make this with frozen pitted cherries if it’s not cherry season, but I just love using fresh fruit in a recipe like this if I can find it.

Here are some things to adore about this recipe:

• This fruity syrup incredibly easy to make and only requires three ingredients. I bet you can find ‘em easily!
• Add this cherry syrup for drinks, be they mocktails or craft cocktails. Drizzle it on pancakes, waffles or even a bowl of vanilla ice cream, too! 
• It can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a while, so you can enjoy it any time! (Spoiler alert: it’s always a good idea.)

Recipes to try with this simple syrup: Homemade Cherry Limeade | Cherry Smash with Honeysuckle Vodka | Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes

What you need to make this recipe:

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Here are the simple ingredients that you’ll need:

• Cherries — you need cherries to make this recipe. I used fresh sweet cherries for mine, but you can use frozen cherries if they are not in season or the fresh ones are looking sad. Bing cherries and Rainier cherries are excellent for this. I would potentially stay away from sour cherries, but it could add a nice contrast if you give that a try. 
• Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, this is going to give sweetness to our simple syrup. I do not recommend substituting it because it will change the color of the syrup itself. It would be murkier if you used dark brown sugar or a cane sugar.
• Water — regular water from the tap is fine!

How to make easy Cherry Syrup

Pit the cherries. You can do this with a sharp knife and a cutting board or with a cherry pitter, which is exponentially faster.

Warm the water and sugar over medium heat in a saucepan. 

Stir occasionally, letting the mixture bubble lightly, but not come to a full rolling boil, until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Turn off the heat, and add the halved cherries. 

Let them steep for an hour at room temperature. Why do we do this? The delicious cherry flavor will infuse into the syrup and change the color, too!

Let it chill. Transfer the syrup and the cherries to a mason jar, and pop them in the fridge. 

These will keep for weeks on end because the sugar syrup preserves the cherries. They also make an excellent garnish!

How to store cherry syrup:

Once the syrup has been strained, transfer it to a mason jar, an airtight container or a fun glass jar, like these glass jars.* (affiliate link)

Keep it in the refrigerator for up to a month.

You can also freeze simple syrup. If you want to make a big batch of this and freeze some for later, follow this tutorial of how to freeze simple syrup.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

If you’re planning on hosting friends or having a happy hour, I highly suggest making some simple syrup to accompany your drinks!

This is also great for an at-home brunch with friends (use it in mimosas for a sweet splash!) or for happy hour at a dinner party. Who wouldn’t love a homemade Cherry Limeade?

Here are a few tips and tricks to make it as easy as possible:

• Make a batch of cherry syrup 1-2 days in advance. Let it hang out in the fridge.
• Double or triple the recipe. This will depend on the number of guests, you might need to double or triple the recipe. I always err on the side of too much since this recipe keeps well for an extended period of time.
• Before friends arrive, get out the ingredients for your drinks. Decide whether you’ll mix the drinks yourself or let your friends play bartender! Either way is fun. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick tips and tricks to making cherry simple syrup 

• Give it time to infuse! This will provide the best flavor and color. I mean… just look at it!
• How to store: Store in a jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Other variations on simple syrup:

Your simple syrup ratio will remain the same at 1 part water to 1 part sugar. In fact, you’ll make simple syrup in the saucepan and then add in these additional flavors to infuse.

Here are some of our favorites:

• This basic simple syrup recipe is the classic for a reason!
• Use up a ton of fresh mint by making mint simple syrup. This is great in the summertime for when your garden is producing like mad!
• Add cinnamon sticks, and let them infuse for 1-3 hours to create cinnamon simple syrup. This is spectacular in fall drinks, like Gin Apple Pie Cocktail and Apple Cider Moscow Mule!
• Use honey instead of sugar to make Honey Simple Syrup! We love this in Honey Lemonade so much. 
• Throw in a halved vanilla bean to make Vanilla Syrup.
• Add peeled, fresh ginger root, and let it infuse for 30-45 minutes to make ginger simple syrup.
• Add rosemary and transform it into Rosemary Simple Syrup.

Keep in mind that when you infuse simple syrup with flavors, the stronger the flavors will be the longer you steep them. 

Also — remember that everyone’s tastebuds are different!

If you’re concerned that your infused simple syrup might become too strong (or not be strong enough), do a taste test after a little while. This will give you an idea of how the flavors are coming together. You can let them continue to do their thing or remove the infusion ingredient because you’re done!  

Recipes to use this fresh cherry syrup with:

Here’s how you make this recipe…