My quick and easy balsamic cherry compote makes the perfect topping for pancakes, French toast, yogurt, ice cream, desserts, and roasted meat.
We love cherry season but often end up buying too much. When we have an overabundance of cherries, I use the sad looking ones for my balsamic cherry compote. It's a great way of saving those languishing cherries from ending up in the compost bin. The compote has only 4 ingredients and takes less than 20 minutes to make. Just dump the pitted cherries, some sugar, water, and balsamic vinegar in a pan and let the heat do its magic.
After a short time on the stove, the heat turns the mixture into a sweet and tangy compote that’s more delicious than you can imagine. This balsamic cherry compote pairs perfectly with a wide range of cheeses from burrata, soft brie, and ricotta to Humboldt Fog. It will take your humble pancakes, Dutch baby, French toast, and waffles to the next level. I love eating the compote with vanilla ice cream, yogurt, cheesecake, and roasted meat especially duck and lamb. This balsamic cherry compote is the perfect way to make those summer cherries last a big longer!
For more summer recipe inspiration, check these recipes: burrata with cherries and sumac, orange blossom yogurt with figs and pistachios, yogurt with cherry compote and pistachios.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cherries, pitted
- 2 tbsps balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the cherries and let them simmer just until they are slightly soft, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the compote to a sterilized glass jar and let it cool to room temperature. The compote will keep in the fridge for about 7 days.
Szechuan
I made this by accident before finding your recipe. I have bookmarked your page so I can use this recipe as a starting point. I think I added too much vinegar to my first batch 🙂 Thank you for sharing your recipe
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Vy Tran
I make it with both fresh and frozen cherries. I hope you'll like it!
Ian
Should be 2 tsp of vinegar, had to double the recipe to adjust for that
Vy Tran
Sorry if it turned out too tangy. We like our quite tangy. It works great for salad, meat, and ice cream.
GM
Only 2tbsp of water to dissolve a 1/4cup of sugar? Is that right?
Vy Tran
hi GM! Yes 2 tablespoons of water because there will be a lot of juice coming from the cherries.
Janelle McClintock
Are these sweet cherries or tart?
sgadmin
Hi Janelle! These are sweet cherries.