🍒 Cherry Cream Cheese Pie is an old-fashioned pie with homemade crust topped with NO-BAKE layers of sweetened cream cheese along with juicy cherry pie filling! If you like cherry pie, you’re going to LOVE this amped up version!
The BEST Old-Fashioned Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
I love all things cherry, like my glazed cherry pie bars and stuffed cherry pie cookies. However, when I really want to wow my guests, this cherry cream cheese pie is the recipe I turn to. Loved by kids and adults, it’s bright, flavorful, and perfect for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, Christmas, or even a patriotic holiday, like the Fourth of July!
In addition to the cherry pie filling, there’s a layer of sweetened cream cheese that’s SO creamy. The slight tanginess of the cream cheese layer helps balance some of the sweetness of the filling.
But what I love about this pie is that after you blind bake the crust, the rest of the pie is no-bake! Just refrigerate the pie for approximately 30 minutes total, and dig in!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flours are not created equal. For making pie crusts (or anytime you bake), I find that King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or organic King Arthur unbleached flour yields the best-tasting baked goods
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Cold butter and vegetable shortening: It is important to use both butter and shortening in a pie crust. Quality butter gives a beautiful flavor, while the shortening produces the flaky, tender, melt-in-your-mouth crust
- Ice cold water
- Egg
- Pie filling: Cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cherry pie filling. I use canned cherry pie filling to save time, but homemade cherry pie filling tastes great if you have the time
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
I recommend a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie pan for this pie.
- Make the homemade pie dough. Follow a process similar to my all-butter pie crust, combining the dry ingredients, cutting in the fat, and adding water.
- Roll out the pie crust. Start from the center, and roll out by pressing gently on the rolling pin. I like to roll it out to 12 inches to make sure the pan will be covered. Save the scraps by wrapping them in cling wrap and storing them for up to 3 days. Once the pie dough has been rolled out, gently transfer it to your pie plate.
- Blind bake the pie crust (bake without filling). Prick the crust all over with a fork to allow steam to escape. Then, line the crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Don’t skip the weights, or your crust will puff up and shrink! Bake partially. Then, remove the foil and pie weights, brush with egg wash, and bake until golden brown.
- Make the cherry cheesecake pie filling. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the filling in a large mixing bowl. Note that the best way to soften cream cheese is to set it out at least 1 hour before you use it. If it’s not very soft, it’s much harder to get it to beat together into a smooth and fluffy consistency.
- Assemble and chill the pie. Pour the mixture into your blind-baked crust, and chill in the refrigerator until set. Top with the cherry pie filling and refrigerate again. Garnish the chilled pie with an edible sugar rose, or top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit, like fresh cherries or blueberries. Slice and enjoy!
Add a chocolatey twist
If you would like to add a twist to the cherry cheese pie, you can melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips and spread the chocolate on the crust before adding the filling. Allow the white chocolate to set, then add the filling, followed by the cherries.
Cherry Cream Cheese Pie
Equipment
- 2 Large Bowls
- 1 Electric Mixer
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup cold butter, cubed
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- 4 tablespoons ice cold water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Filling
- 8 ounces brick-style cream cheese, very well softened to room temperature
- one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed is optimal but bottled is acceptable
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 21- oz can cherry pie filling
Instructions
Crust:
- To a large bowl, add the flour*, salt, sugar, and mix with a whisk until combined.
- Add the butter, shortening** and with a pastry cutter or fork, mix until the mixture resembles a coarse meal (pea-sized bits with a few larger bits is ok).
- Add ice cold water a tablespoon at a time over the flour mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula after every tablespoon. Do not add any more water than you need to. Stop adding water when the dough begins to form large clumps.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 375F and on a clean table or counter top, sprinkle some flour on the surface and on your rolling pin and roll out the dough into 1⁄4-inch thick and place it into a 9-inch pie pan.
- Tuck in the extra pie crust if you like your crusts thick, or cut it out.
- Using a fork, prick holes into the pie crust dough.
- Line the pie crust with parchment paper or foil, and add a cup of uncooked dry rice on top or 1 cup of dry uncooked beans.
- Blind bake for 20 minutes and while it bakes, make the egg wash by whisking together the egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl.
- After 20 minutes, remove the blind baking weights and the parchment or foil, and brush with the egg wash.
- Bake for another 10 minutes without any parchment, foil or weights.
- Allow the pie crust to cool completely.
Filling:
- With a handheld electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese on high speed until smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes depending on how soft it was and how powerful your mixer is.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and best on medium-high until fully combined
- Pour the cream cheese mixture into the blind-baked crust.
- Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or until set.
- Add and arrange the cherry pie filling to your liking, and refrigerate for at least more 10 minutes before serving.
- Best served with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Favorite Cherry Dessert Recipes:
Soft Cherry Bread with Cherry-Almond Glaze — An EASY quick bread recipe that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day! Because you can never have too much pink!
Glazed Cherry Bonbon Cookies — Soft, buttery cookies with the fun surprise of a cherry baked in! The cherry juice glaze boosts the cherry flavor even more! Easy cookies that make everyone smile!
Glazed Cherry Pie Bars — Just like your favorite cherry pie but way easier!! A no-roll crust with juicy cherries and topped with a sweet glaze! Perfect for parties, events, and holidays!
Triple Chocolate Cherry Cake — Loaded with juicy cherries and topped with an easy homemade chocolate frosting. I used a few shortcuts in this recipe to save time, but this cake tastes completely homemade!
Chocolate Chip and Cherry Blondies — These cherry bars use my favorite blondie base and turn out perfectly every single time! These bars are seriously so good and are a reader favorite!
Mini Cherry Oreo Cheesecakes – EASY mini cheesecakes loaded with cherries and an Oreo cookie crust! The hit of your Valentine’s Day party! Mini food is IRRESISTIBLE!
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I have made this pie for years…but most of the time I have used fresh peaches instead of cherries. I wonder if anyone has ever had this experience I just had.
I made the pie just like this recipe but using peaches …I had one other different variation and that is to use a glaze ( Marie’s peach glaze which is no longer available) I mixed into the fresh peaches, which I have done many times, The glaze was made with cornstarch and water and sugar…a normal thing to do to thicken.
I have made it for YEARS….But this time the pie would not set up…even after leaving it in the freezer for a couple hours!!! it was just runny…anyone have any idea why???
Sorry that is odd, can’t really say for sure. Glad for years though it has come out great for you.
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Great!
Love this pie! A staple in my world since the ‘80s, but with a graham cracker crust. Thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear that you love this pie and that it’s a staple in your world!