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Sour cherry frozen yogurt is bright, refreshing, and bursting with flavor. It’s a great way to enjoy sour cherries at the height of summer — but since it’s made with frozen fruit, you can go for it anytime.
Why we love this recipe
Fresh sour cherries have a very short season and an even shorter life span once picked. Whenever possible, we pick a ton and then pit and freeze them for use during the year. This recipe uses them straight from the freezer, which is super-convenient. But that’s the least of its joys. This recipe is:
- Bright, fresh, and tart
- Just he right amount sweet
- A little bit creamy, a little bit sorbet-like
- Highly flexible — use other fruits or even nondairy yogurt if you like
I first published this recipe here in 2016. I’ve updated the post for clarity and tweaked the recipe just slightly.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this easy recipe.
- Sour cherries, also called tart cherries, are delicate, thin-skinned, and bright red. As the name suggests, they’re very sour, and they have a floral briskness that really shines when lightly sweetened. They come in several varieties, including Moreno and Montmorency (pictured). You can use them interchangeably.
- I like to use full-fat plain Greek yogurt, but you can choose your favorite fat content and even use a non-dairy Greek-style yogurt if you prefer.
- A tiny bit of almond extract goes a long way. It complements the cherries beautifully.
- If you’d like a slightly chewier result, you can replace some of the sugar with corn syrup. Please refer to the recipe card below for more information.
How to make it
Here’s what you’ll do to make a great batch of frozen yogurt. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Stir together the sugar and water. Heat on the stove or in the microwave until completely dissolved, then let cool.
- Add all ingredients to a blender.
- Process until perfectly smooth, then pour into an ice cream maker.
- Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions (mine takes about 25 minutes). Serve right away for softer yogurt, or transfer to a quart container or loaf pan, freeze for a few hours, and then scoop and serve.
Expert tips and FAQs
Absolutely. You can use the exact same formula with sweet cherries, any type of berries, peaches, nectarines, mango, or a combination.
Sure thing. It will keep well in the freezer for a couple of weeks, though it will get a bit icier as time goes on. If you plan to keep it for a while, use the corn syrup variation in the recipe card below. Remove it from the freezer 10 minutes or so before serving time.
More favorite ways to use sour cherries
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Sour Cherry Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup (135 grams) sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) water
- 4 cups (600 grams) pitted sour cherries, frozen
- 1 cup (225 grams) plain Greek-style yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Combine sugar and water in a small pot.
- Set over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is totally dissolved.
- Cool completely before proceeding.
- Combine sugar syrup, cherries, yogurt, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a blender. Puree until smooth.
- Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Serve immediately for softer yogurt, or, for firmer yogurt, scoop into a pint container or loaf pan and place in freezer for two or more hours.
Notes
- Use whatever Greek-style plain yogurt you like. I have used everything from fat-free to full-fat yogurt. You can make it vegan with a coconut-based or other nondairy Greek-style yogurt if you like.
- For a slightly chewier frozen yogurt, use 1/3 cup sugar plus 1/3 cup light corn syrup. Heat the corn syrup with the sugar and water in step 1 above.
- If freezing for more than a couple of hours, let sit on the counter for 10 minutes before serving.
- Yogurt will keep in the freezer for a couple of weeks, though it gets a bit icier over time. If you plan to keep it for more than about 24 hours, consider making the version with corn syrup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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