Roasted Cherries with a hint of Balsamic Vinegar are so easy to make and require just 3 ingredients. The result is impressive: intense, juicy cherries glazed in a thick syrup. They are unexpectedly good.

Roasted Cherries on a parchment lined baking sheet

I don’t want to depress you, but cherry season is almost over for this year. I’ve been enjoying vast quantities of cherries for the last 6 weeks, but finally, the supplies are dwindling. Even worse than the season being at it’s close, I’ve also noticed the flavour of those cherries that are still available is not quite as good as it could be.

Since I am more than just a little bit in love with cherries, I’m prone to buying enormous volumes of them at a time. The season is so short, so my mantra is to make the most of it whilst I can. Mantra in mind, I’ll often buy a bounty of cherries with the intention of making jam or some cherry sauce to drop into the freezer for future consumption. Quite often I repeat the same purchase and intention a few days later after getting sidetracked by eating too many cherries straight from the bag. It’s not just me. It’s a family habit.

Given my cherry buying habits, I was obviously fairly miffed when I first realised I’d bought a large stash of lack-lustre cherries 2 weeks ago. They looked the business but tasted as if they had been out on the town partying too hard and sleeping too little. The spring to their step was missing. These were not jam worthy cherries.

But the silver lining is that I got around to making these Roasted Cherries with a hint of balsamic vinegar. The cooking process transformed my jaded bunch of cherries into dark, juicy, intensely flavoured, almost chewy little fruity gems.

Close up of balsamic roasted Cherries on baking parchment.

Oh and, if you have excellent cherries to start with, these Roasted Cherries just get even better. I’d say verging on dangerously addictive if you already have a mild cherry fetish.

Since my recipe calls for just a couple of spoons of added sugar, the cherries are not overloaded with sauce.

Fresh cherries on parchment paper being sprinkled with sugar and balsamic vinegar

Instead, the juice from the cherries along with the sugar and balsamic vinegar transform into a thick, sticky syrup that just covers the fruit. This makes them perfect for serving with many things. Here are a few of my favourites to get you started:

Go savoury and serve alongside cheese (I recommend Goats Cheese, Camembert or Brie)
Top toast with a little ricotta, mascarpone or quark and add a few Roasted Cherries for a delicious breakfast treat
Sticking with the breakfast theme, serve with Greek yoghurt (and maybe a little granola)
Serve with ice cream
Pile into a Victoria Sponge Cake in place of jam
Use these cherries to top a vanilla cheesecake

Roasted Cherries with yoghurt in a bowl.

Every so often I come across a recipe that is a real find. Something I know I will come back to time and time again. A recipe to experiment with. I don’t come across such recipes that often, but this is the one for this summer. These Roasted Cherries are unbelievably easy to make yet so unexpectedly good.

I also have an easy strawberry sauce recipe that is equally delicious. You can find it here.

Roasted Cherries with Balsamic

Jane Coupland

5 from 4 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Worldwide

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 5

Servings: servings

Ingredients

▢ 600g/ 21oz Fresh Cherries
▢ 4 tsp caster sugar (ideally vanilla)
▢ 1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150C/ 300F/ GM2 and line a baking tin with baking parchment
Remove the stalks and pit the cherries. Rip each cherry in half and put onto the parchment
Sprinkle over the balsamic vinegar and the sugar
Toss briefly with a metal spoon and roast for 60 minutes, turning and stirring the cherries at 20 minute intervals
Let cool and store, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days