We Tested the Best Cherry Pitters for Effortless Pies

Best Overall

OXO Good Grips Cherry and Olive Pitter

4.8

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While this cherry pitter looks simple, it’s got features that boost its performance. The clear shroud keeps cherry juice from splattering sideways, so the kitchen counter won’t look like a crime scene. The holder contains large Bing cherries easily, while the recessed area cradles small cherries or olives securely. The curved spike moves easily in an arc to slide through the pitter and the cherry for clean pit removal, and the handle is comfortable to hold, no matter how many cherries need pitting for your pies.

Our tester reported the grip on this pitter remained comfortable across 12 tests of large cherries with no hand fatigue. She noted the splatter shield completely contained juices while operating, and the flesh of the cherries remained pristine after pitting. Across all tests, the cherries pitted with ease, but when she tried Castelvetrano olives, the pit was a bit large and the pitter tore the flesh two out of four times. When switched to smaller Kalamata olives, she recorded complete success with no marring or tearing of olive flesh. 

The plastic shroud is removable for easier hand washing, and the whole tool is dishwasher safe. Our tester warned the shroud is small, and best loaded in the utensil caddy when running in the dishwasher. For storage, the pitter locks closed, and our tester appreciated the compact design.

Price at time of publish: $17

Dimensions: 5.75 x 1.25 x 4.75 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best for Large Quantities

Leifheit Cherry Pitter with Stone Catcher Container

4.3

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Great for pitting a lot of cherries for jams, pies, and salads, the Leifheit is designed to make it easy to keep pitting without stopping. The plunger pits the cherries with a simple push. Those pits fall into the large clear container, while the cherries roll out the chute where they can be caught in your favorite bowl. Our tester noted a learning curve when first setting up this cherry pitter. Instructions come in multiple languages, but English is not one. Fortunately, pictures of the process on the box and in the instruction manual walked her through set up and operation.

The highlight of this pitter for our tester was the no-mess performance. She pitted all 34 cherries without juice splash, and every pit collected in the large clear container that did not have to be emptied until she finished. She did note that the cherries had to be manually removed from the dowel each time, but the spout design directed them straight into an awaiting bowl she positioned below. She did attempt testing of olives, but after 10 Castelvetranos, she found though pitted, five were mangled from the amount of pressure required. And the nonslip base kept the Leifheit from moving around the counter during testing.

Our tester noted the Leifheit stood out in large batch pitting because of the top shelf where de-stemmed cherries can be loaded to await pitting. Once finished, she took it apart and put it into the dishwasher for cleaning. She did warn to put the smaller parts (spring and coil) in the utensil caddy to keep from losing them, but reported all components came out completely clean and intact.

Price at time of publish: $40 for Classic Multi

Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.5 x 12 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best Budget

Westmark Kernex Cherry Stoner

4.2

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This lightweight model effortlessly pits cherries at an affordable price. The durable aluminum construction promises long life, and the compact size makes for easy storage. Our tester noted the pitter was quite sturdy in her hands, and she felt no fatigue across testing six large cherries. 

Even when cherries were askew during testing, the pit came out cleanly with the simple scissor-action of the pitter. Across all tests, the cherries remained unmarred, and the operation of the pitter required little pressure. When our tester switched to olives, she had less success—neither Kalamatas nor Castelvetranos yielded their pits. The olives remained fully intact with pit, or tore apart completely.  But this pitter is worth it for the easy and accurate cherry-pitting capabilities.

The pitter locks with a simple latch on the end of the handles, so it will stay neatly closed in the gadget drawer. It’s not dishwasher safe, but our tester noted it washed up easily in a basin of hot, soapy water. You'll be cleaning the sink anyway since this model has no splatter shield so all our tests needed to be performed over the sink to contain mess.

Price at time of publish: $14 for one size

Dimensions: 6.5 x 2 x 1 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: No

Best for Manual Pitting

Triangle Germany Cherry Pitter

4.2

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When you’re pitting cherries for snacking, for jam, or for a pie, they don’t need to be pretty—they just need to have the pit removed. But when you want a pretty cherry for a garnish or an elegant dessert, you want a nicer-looking fruit. That requires a bit more manual work. This pitter makes that work a bit easier, since it’s designed to neatly cut out the pit without crushing, bruising, or breaking the fruit, and it leaves a neat hole.

Our tester appreciated the straightforward operation, and level of control this manual pitter afforded. Across 10 large cherries, she noted the pitter was lightweight, caused no hand fatigue, and produced pristine cherries each time. She did report her hands became quite messy during the process as she had to hold each cherry while digging out the pit—processing over a sink is paramount. She also found equal success when pitting larger olives, except she did have to work harder to separate the pit from the skin, but again, the olives were unmarred when complete.

Whether you plan on stuffing the cherries or leaving them whole, they will look attractive on the plate. When you’re done pitting, this tool is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning, and as our tester noted, quite compact for easy storage in her gadget drawer.

Price at time of publish: $11

Dimensions: 5.12 x 0.8 x 0.47 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best for Kids

Talisman Designs Chomper Cherry Pitter

4.8

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A friendly pitter that kids will love, the Talisman Designs Chomper helps keep them safe from accidental pinches since the plunger is hidden, while the front tooth on the chomper acts as an extra guard to keep fingers out of the way. It’s easy for kids or adults to place a cherry in the chomper’s mouth before pushing down on the top of its head to pit the cherry and watching the pit fall into the clean base. 

The illustrated instructions on the box thrilled our tester, which made assembly and operation a cinch. She tested six large cherries, both askew and upright, and didn't encounter any issues removing the pit. Required pressure was very light, making this an easy tool for kids to operate. And she noted the pits released cleanly in each test, depositing them in the awaiting bottom chamber. Our tester also tried four Castelvetrano and two Kalamata olives with marginal success. The Castelvetranos proved unpittable, but the Kalamatas released the pits after a great deal of pressure and torn flesh.

This device comes apart easily to empty the accumulated pits, and our tester appreciated the no-mess operation it afforded.  Cleanup is as simple as detaching the bottom, throwing the pits away, and putting the whole thing in the dishwasher. Even though this one had lots of nooks and crannies, she noted everything came out clean after a cycle in the dishwasher. This is somewhat bulky to store, even disassembled, but would appeal to children dipping their feet in cooking.

Price at time of publish: $18

Dimensions: 3.5 x 2.75 x 6 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

Best for Small Cherries

Cuisipro Cherry Pitter

4.2

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The Cuisipro pitter features a silicone cup that accommodates cherries of any shape or size, while the scoop front allows one-handed use. Just scoop a cherry from the bowl and tilt it into the cup, squeeze to push the plunger to send the pit out of the bottom, and tip the pitter to drop the pitted cherry into a bowl. The deep bottom and splatter shield keeps cherry juice from splattering, for neater pitting. 

After six rounds of trials with cherries, our tester reported once placed directly below the dowel, cherries pitted cleanly. She did appreciate the size and comfort of the pitter for longer periods of use, though cherries had to be placed exactly below dowel, not askew, for the pitter to operate. When testing it with olives, the Castelvetrano olives were met with no success. It either wouldn't push the pit, even with excessive pressure, or completely tore them. She also unsuccessful with smaller Kalamata olives, where the flesh of the olives completely tore.

This is dishwasher safe for easy cleaning when the pitting is done. Our tester put it through two dishwasher cycles, and noted it came out pristine both times. Once dry, it locked for compact storage.

Price at time of publish: $15

Dimensions: 8 x 3.25 x 1.5 inches | Cherry Capacity: 1 at a time | Dishwasher Safe: Yes