This Easy Homemade Cherry BBQ Sauce is made with fresh or frozen cherries and goes perfectly with chicken or pork. Make a big batch and keep it in the fridge or freezer all summer long! Includes how to recipe video
I know this seems a little ridiculous, but I think my love of fresh summer cherries really only started last summer. They’re so expensive, and they’re not that bountiful around here, so they’re something that we never had much of.
But since I started cooking and baking with (and eating!) them more and more, I’ve learned there’s really nothing like fresh cherries!
Looking for some recipe inspiration? Try this Berry Cherry Crisp (one of my all time favorites!) or this Black Forest Cake.
Last summer I decided to stock up on alllllll the summer fruit I could get my hands on and freeze it to enjoy all winter long. I usually do this with the strawberries I pick (hopefully from our own patch this year!), but this winter one of our freezers was ¾ full of blueberries, cherries, strawberries, saskatoons and rhubarb (i.e., the Good Stuff).
Usually what happens then is I realize in May that I haven’t even eaten half of what I’ve saved and then end up quickly trying to use it. This was the case with this Cherry BBQ Sauce!
The nice thing is that I’ve been testing some awesome summer recipes in the last couple months using my stockpile, and this is just the beginning. I would love to hear what your favorite ways to eat cherries are! Do you add them to baking? Savory dishes? Sauces? Smoothies?
Let me know! I’m sure to save a pile more this summer. In fact, we might need to buy another freezer 😉
Easy Homemade Cherry BBQ Sauce + RECIPE VIDEO
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh or frozen sweet cherries pitted
- 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch red chili flakes ¼ tsp if you like it spicy!
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
Instructions
- In a medium pot, combine cherries, ⅔ cup water, brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes.
- Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until cherries are soft and mixture is slightly reduced.
- With an immersion blender (or in a food processor or a regular blender if you have one that handles hot liquids — be sure to check!), puree cherries in the pot. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove remaining skins if desired.
- Return sauce to the pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Combine 1 tablespoon water and corn starch. Whisk into the sauce gradually, thickening until desired consistency is reached.
- Cool to room temperature and store in the refrigerator up to 2-3 weeks.
Nutrition Information
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Laney says
I loved this recipe! The taste was amazing and it was so easy. I didn’t need to strain the sauce or add corn starch.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Laney! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Margo K says
This was a delish BBQ sauce and just the right favors. I’m from Texas, raised in CA now live in Michigan I made this with fresh picked Michigan Cherries. Just the right spiciness.Better then any of these store bought BBQ sauces 😁❤
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Margo! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Barry Sinclair says
I tried your cherry BBQ sauce recipe because I had 6 pounds of cherry’s frankly I was not impressed with it, too much vinegar and loaded it up with rep pepper flakes and it was not hot, this is either Kansas city style of BBQ sauce or Carolina, definitely not Texas, hey I tried it but I will be looking for a cherry BBQ sauce Texas style
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Barry. Thanks for your feedback! I did not claim that this was a Texas style BBQ sauce. We all have different tastes 🙂
Clyde says
Hello I was wondering if this Cherry BBQ sauce can be frozen or canned. I love it on chicken and believe it or not grilled shrimp.
Ashley Fehr says
I would probably freeze it to keep longer!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
I’m the same as you…I do like cherries, but I didn’t really start to love them until I wanted to make some recipes for the blog. But now, I can’t get enough! And this bbq sauce is just brilliant, Ashley! I seriously love this and could probably slather this on just about everything. Such a fun summer sauce!
Ashley Fehr says
It’s crazy, isn’t it?!? But in a way I’m also just so thankful that the blog has pushed me to try more things that I never would have before!