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Sugar-free cherry sauce without cornstarch is SO easy to make and crazy tasty. My favorite cherry sauce recipe makes an amazing cherry dipping sauce, is perfect as a pancake or waffle topper (my FAV) or eaten by the spoonful (my 2 year old’s preference).
CHERRY SAUCE WITHOUT CORNSTARCH
I originally made this cherry sauce recipe to go on top of my coconut flour waffles, and now my children request it whenever I make the waffles.
I oblige because I love it just as much as them, and this easy cherry sauce is completely sugar free. I make this cherry sauce without cornstarch because I prefer to use arrowroot instead.
That makes this cherry sauce Paleo, sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free and sugar free (but still full of flavor!).
SUGAR FREE CHERRY SAUCE RECIPE
When I say this cherry sauce is sugar free, I don’t mean it has stevia or xylitol, or any other sugar substitute added.
I mean is that there is absolutely no sugar or sugar substitute in this recipe.
Most fruit and cherry sauce recipes have some type of sugar in them, but I have never understood why since fruit is nature’s candy! I find cherries to be plenty sweet on their own, so you won’t find ANY sweeteners in this recipe. We use this sauce as a topping for our coconut flour waffles instead of syrup for a completely sugar free breakfast that tastes like a treat. WIN!
The thing that makes this cherry sauce recipe so simple is that it uses frozen cherries instead of fresh.
Yes, fresh cherries would probably be even MORE delicious, but who has time to pit a bowl full of cherries when you are trying to get breakfast served to a gang (3 counts as a gang, right?) of hungry kids? Not me!
Plus, cherries are only in season for a few short months, but my family likes to enjoy this cherry dipping sauce all year.
CHERRY SAUCE RECIPE WITH FROZEN CHERRIES
I buy the giant bag of organic frozen cherries from Costco and they are amazing in this recipe. They are the dark, sweet variety – you want to make sure you use sweet cherries, not tart in this recipe.
(These frozen cherries are also amazing in smoothies, chopped and added to oatmeal, by themselves eaten straight from the freezer…..I could go on for days. We are super in love with frozen cherries around here).
You could also make this easy fruit sauce with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or a combination of any of those.
I’ve used the exact same fruit sauce recipe with blueberries and it turned out wonderful. My family prefers the cherry sauce, so that is what I typically stick with.
THE BEST PALEO SAUCE THICKENER
I use Arrowroot as a thickening agent in my cherry sauce, and it works wonderfully! Arrowroot is a great paleo sauce thickener, and works for all kinds of gravies and sauces.
Arrowroot poweder is, in my opinion, far under-utilized in most kitchens! It has been getting lots of love from me lately as a thickener for sauces and in all of my grain-free baked recipes to enhance the texture of baked goods.
Cherry sauce is so easy to make! It is a simple reduction of cherries with a little liquid and a paleo friendly sauce thickener that comes together in just a few minutes. You will love this sugar-free version with no cornstarch – it tastes like a treat!
CHERRY SAUCE RECIPE
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Easy Sugar-Free Cherry Sauce Recipe without Cornstarch
This quick and easy sugar free cherry sauce uses only a few ingredients, comes together in minutes and is delicious on top of waffles, pancakes, ice cream or desserts.
Total Time5minutes
Ingredients
2cupsfrozen pitted sweet cherries
1/2tspvanilla extract
2tbswater
1tbsarrowroot powder
Instructions
Add frozen cherries and vanilla to a medium saucepan and heat over medium/high heat just until boiling and all cherries are defrosted
Mix arrowroot powder in a small bowl with 2 Tbs water until it is dissolved
Add arrowroot mixture to just boiling cherries
Stir sauce until thickened. This should happen very quickly if the cherries are boiling.
Remove from heat once desired thickness is reached and serve
Recipe Notes
makes about 1 and 1/3 cups finished cherry sauce. This is enough for 4-5 waffles for us.
Looking for a healthy recipe you can top with this cherry sauce? Try my coconut flour waffles – its the perfect combination.
Cherries, pitted or with pits, may be frozen without sugar, in water or unsweetened fruit juice, or dry, but the texture will be softer when thawed. Sweet cherries may be frozen in a single layer on shallow trays before packing into containers or zip-type plastic bags to prevent them from sticking together.
In a medium saucepan, whisk together water, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar. Put the saucepan over medium heat and stir until it starts to thicken. Add cherries and continue stirring occasionally until sauce is at a light uniform boil and has thickened.
Canning is the best way to preserve cherries long term. It is also probably the hardest method (i.e. takes the longest) and requires the most equipment. You will need a canner (a huge pot with a rack in it), canning jars (reusable), lids, and tongs.
All-purpose flour is an easy substitute for cornstarch; in fact you may see recipes for thickening pie fillings or soups with either. You'll need 2 tablespoons of flour for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a recipe.
One is to coat the fruit as it is cut with a solution of 1 teaspoon crystalline ascorbic acid or 3,000 mg crushed vitamin C tablets per cup of water. Another is to drop the cut pieces in a solution of water and ascorbic acid, citric acid, or lemon juice.
Good for: Smaller fruits like berries or cherries. Soaking them in a vinegar solution is an easier way to make sure they're completely clean. How to do it: Pour the vinegar solution into a large bowl or storage container. Add the fruit and make sure that all pieces are submerged in the vinegar solution.
Most people consider glazed or frosted cherries to be synonymous with candied cherries and, although they are very similar, there are differences between them that you need to know, as their taste, texture and appearance convey different effects when used in confectionery.
So, yes, maraschino cherries are crafted from real cherries.
After the cherries are bleached, they're soaked in another solution with sugar, red food dye, and bitter almond oil for about four weeks. This treatment provides them with bright red color and sweet taste.
Without liquid or sweetening, pack cherries into containers to within 1/2 inch from top. If pint or quart freezer bags are used, fill to within 3/4 inches from the top.
Keep 'em cold! Cherries will spoil quickly if left out at room temperature, so you should pop them in the refrigerator immediately upon getting home from the grocery store. Once in the fridge, cherries can last for about a week.
Cherries will last in the freezer for around 6 months but will be fine up to a year when properly frozen. This means you can enjoy the sweet taste of cherries year-round, even when the cherry season is over.
All-purpose flour is an easy solution, as you're sure to have it in your pantry. Since it's lower in starch, you'll use more of it than you would higher-starch thickeners. Quick-cooking tapioca makes filling bright and clear, but also gives it a stippled and somewhat sticky texture.
You can try using ingredients like arrowroot powder, tapioca starch, or potato starch as natural thickeners for your sauce. Another option is to reduce the sauce by simmering it for a longer period of time, which can help it naturally thicken as the liquid evaporates.
Use twice the amount of tapioca flour to replace the cornstarch in your recipe and don't overheat or boil for an excessive amount of time. Use it in jammy fruit pie filling or desserts like this Plum-Cardamom Crumble With Pistachios or an eggy, jiggly Custard Tart With Cream and Fresh Fruit.
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