Tall glass container with lid, labeled and filled with individually frozen, pitted cherries.

Cherries are one of my favorite fruits to have stashed in the freezer! Frozen cherries work beautifully in smoothies, pies, crisps, and crumbles. Freezing helps lock in the tart flavor of fresh cherries and the powerful nutrients packed inside.

Our method for freezing cherries works for both sweet cherries and sour cherries, and for many uses you donโ€™t need to defrost the cherries before using them in a recipe. A bag of cherries in the freezer is such a wonderful taste of summerโ€”all year long! Letโ€™s show you how to do it.

Overhead of fresh cherries spilled onto a clean kitchen linen from an overflowing bowl.

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Are frozen cherries good for you?

Freezing is one of the best ways to preserve foods if you are interested in locking in the nutrients. Cherries are packed with antioxidants and other nutrients, and freezing them keeps all the nourishing goodness there until youโ€™re ready to use them.

Should cherries be washed before freezing?

Yup! Itโ€™s always a good idea to wash produce before freezingโ€”just make sure you dry them thoroughly before freezing, because extra moisture on produce can contribute to freezer burn.

Close up of frozen, pitted cherries on a baking sheet.

Can I freeze cherries with pits?

You can, although we highly recommend pitting cherries before freezing, just for convenience’s sake. Since frozen cherries can be used as is, without thawing, youโ€™ll thank yourself later for doing the pitting work ahead of time.

Pitting cherries beforehand is also just a lot safer. Once things go into the freezer, itโ€™s easy to forget how you prepared them. I could see someone tossing a handful of cherries into a blender thinking they were pittedโ€”and they werenโ€™t! Considering cherry pits (and other stone fruit pits) contain cyanide, you definitely donโ€™t want those blended into your smoothie.

Overhead of fresh, pitted cherries on a baking sheet.

Teach me how to freeze cherries!

Freezing cherries is pretty straightforward. Hereโ€™s what to do:

Prep your cherries. Wash your cherries and remove the stems. Pit the cherries using one of our methods on how to pit cherries.

Mason jar push button cherry pitter with a cherry on it ready to be pitted, next to a bowl of fresh fruit.

Freeze! Spread the cherries out on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer, and stick that baby in the freezer. They should be frozen solid after a few hours.

Overhead of white baking sheet filled with a single layer of fresh, pitted cherries.
Overhead of white baking sheet filled with single layer of frozen, pitted cherries.

Move the cherries to freezer containers. Squeeze out as much air as you can if you use freezer bags. Label your bags or containers and store in the freezer.

Overhead of open Hefty freezer bag lying on its side, filled with individually frozen, pitted cherries.

Wholefully Protip

Freeze the cherries on a baking sheet before putting them in containers, and youโ€™ll be able to measure out small amounts at a time (like for overnight oats or baking!) later.

How do you store cherries in the freezer?

I typically use a mix of containers and bags for frozen cherries, depending on what space looks like in my freezer and how I plan to use the fruit. Here are the ways I store frozen cherries:

  1. Glass Food Storage Containersโ€”These containers stack nicely, making them a good choice for a chest freezer. However, they do take up the most space out of all the options.
  2. Glass Canning Jarsโ€”I always have plenty of jars on hand, so naturally, this is one of my go-to freezing options. Make sure you choose jars that have straight sides, instead of curved, because they are safer for the freezer. The downside of using canning jars for freezing? They take up more space than bags.
  3. Zip-top Freezer Bagsโ€”Freezer bags are affordable and space-saving, but they are also single-use plastic.
  4. Vacuum Sealing Bagsโ€”Youโ€™ll need to make an initial investment in a vacuum sealer for this one, but these bags are definitely the biggest space saver. If you plan to just grab a handful of frozen cherries at a time, youโ€™ll want to skip this one, as it is hard to reseal the bags.

Close up of individually frozen, pitted cherries in a labeled glass container with a lid.

How long do cherries last in the freezer?

If you vacuum seal cherries, they will last as long as 2-3 years. Otherwise, youโ€™re looking at 8-12 monthsโ€”the perfect amount of time to use them up before cherry season rolls around again!

Okay, I know how to freeze cherriesโ€”but what do I do with them? 

Now that you have a stash of cherries in your freezer, what do you do with them? Here are a few of our ideas:

  • Cherry Smoothies. Whip yourself up a delicious cherry smoothie using one of our simple smoothie base recipes.
  • Tart Cherry Smoothie Bowls. Blend up your cherries into these Smoothie Bowls for a light summertime breakfast.
  • Mixed Berry Agave Jam. Our naturally-sweetened jam calls for berries, but cherries are an excellent addition! Use them straight from the freezer.
  • Overnight Oats. Top your favorite overnight oats recipe with some chopped thawed cherries.
  • Green Juice. Drop some thawed cherries into one of our reader favorite juicing recipes for some added nutrition and amazing cherry flavor.
 
Tall glass container with lid, labeled and filled with individually frozen, pitted cherries.

How to Freeze Cherries

Yield: 4 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Learn how to freeze cherries with our full step-by-step tutorial. Frozen cherries are wonderful in smoothies, crisps, and pies!

Ingredients

  • 4 cups fresh cherries

Instructions

  1. Wash the cherries and remove the stems. Pit the cherries.
  2. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer, and freeze until frozen solid.
  3. Transfer to freezer containers or bags and seal, removing as much air as possible.

Notes

This can be done with any amount of cherries, as long as you freeze in batches if needed to keep the cherries in a single layer during the initial freeze.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 92Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 3gSugar: 19gProtein: 2g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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One Comment

  1. I wholeheartedly disagree that pitting cherries is easier before freezing. I want to get sour cherries in the freezer (or in vodka ๐Ÿ˜‰) as quickly as possible. Using my 5 pronged cherry pitter is a piece of cake when the cherries are out of the freezer for 5 minutes. A plus is I lose less juice!