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This recipe for Cherry Crisp is easier than pie! If you’ve been making Cherry Crisp with cake mix, you’ll love this from-scratch version which is just as simple to make but tastes even better.
Meggan’s notes
Whether you have a bag of sweet frozen cherries in the freezer or a basket from your latest market haul, this easy Cherry Crisp is a great way to showcase summer’s best stone fruit.
While most crisp recipes call for cutting butter into the topping, like a pie crust, here we melt the butter, toss it with the topping ingredients, and chill it to ensure even distribution. It’s an easier way to get the crunchy buttery topping you love without all the fuss.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Rolled oats: Flat and flaky, these are otherwise known as old-fashioned oats. You can get away with using quick-cooking oats in a pinch but do not substitute steel-cut oats.
- Walnuts: Or substitute raw pecans, slivered almonds, or cashews (I tried the pecan and cashew variations and they were really great!).
- Cherries: Fresh or frozen, tart or sweet, any cherries are the right cherries for Cherry Crisp.
Step-by-step instructions
- To make the crisp topping, in a medium bowl, add flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or rub with butter. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add cherries and toss well to coat.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with topping.
- Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Cherry Crisp, enough for 8 servings, ¾ cup each (plus ice cream).
- Storage: Cover the Cherry Crisp with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or reheat small portions in the microwave.
- Make ahead: You can make the topping one day in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator until baking time.
- Freezer: Fully-baked Cherry Crisp doesn’t freeze well. Unfortunately, the crunchy topping turns mushy upon thawing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically, a cherry crisp without oats is considered a cherry crumble. It doesn’t matter what you call it, though, both are fantastic, easy desserts that go great with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
For a crispy crunchy oatmeal crisp, switch out the flour for almond meal and keep the rolled oats as-is.
As a certified ServSafe Food Manager, I take food safety very seriously. While it’s possible that cherry crisp might be safe at room temperature for a day or so, your best bet is to cover and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days. Fruit desserts, and crisps in particular, have a lot of moisture in the filling and are prone to mold and spoilage. This is especially true in humid environments. For the best, safest results, refrigerate your leftover crisp.
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Cherry Crisp
Ingredients
For the crisp topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see note 1)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts toasted and chopped (see note 2)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter melted (1 stick)
For the cherry crisp:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 cups cherries pitted (about 32 ounces or 2 pounds, see note 3)
- Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- To make the crisp topping, in a medium bowl, add flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over mixture and toss to combine. Cover an refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or rub with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add cherries and toss well to coat. Pour into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with topping.
- Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Rolled oats: Flat and flaky, these are otherwise known as old-fashioned oats. You can get away with using quick-cooking oats in a pinch, but do not substitute steel-cut oats.
- Walnuts: Or substitute raw pecans, slivered almonds, or cashews (I tried the pecan and cashew variations and they were really great!).
- Cherries: Fresh or frozen, tart or sweet, any cherries are the right cherries for Cherry Crisp.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Cherry Crisp, enough for 8 servings, ¾ cup each (plus ice cream).
- Storage: Cover the Cherry Crisp with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I used 32 ounces frozen cherries that I defrosted in the microwave for a couple minutes. The juice was very thin, so I would like to add something to help thicken the juice if I used frozen again. It was very sweet so I would cut back on the sugar, again, if I used frozen cherries. We like more topping so I would make either half again as much or maybe even double the amount. Overall the taste was sensational! So much better than the canned cherry pie filling Iโve been using.
Thank you so much for writing, Barbara! – Meggan
Meggan, this recipe looks delicious! I haven’t made it yet, but I was wondering if as it cools down, is the cherry filling somewhat thick or is it runny. I’d like to know if I should add a bit of cornstarch to the cherries?? Thank you!
Hi Linda, the filling is a little runny or loose, not firm like jam. Hope you love it! – Meggan
This is my husbandโs favorite dessert! I use frozen dark red sweet cherries. That way I can make this recipe any time of year. Itโs the best I have tried. Thanks so much!
You’re so welcome, Roni! I’m so happy you both love it. Using frozen cherries is a great tip! – Meggan
This is soooo good. Thank you for this recipe!
I followed the recipe for the fresh or frozen cherries, to make the cherry filling. I had a jar of Door County, Wisconsin tart cherries and used those. It worked well. I also used 1/4 cup juice from the cherry jar instead of the water, since it was handy.
I added chopped pecans on top. The flavors all worked well together.
My husband and son both thought this the best cherry crisp ever!
Thanks Jackie, I’m so happy you all liked it! – Meggan
can you just take the cherries from the freezer and add to recipe without thawing??
Hi Mike, you can use frozen cherries for the Cherry Pie Filling, it may be a little thicker than if you used fresh. – Meggan
Thank you for this recipe! Everyone loved it!
It says stir in “the water” and I don’t see any measure of water in your recipe. I’m stuck.
Hi Bobb, I am so sorry about that. It’s just awful, I am imagining you in your kitchen cursing my name. It should be 1/4 cup water. I’ll fix the post! Sorry again. -Meggan
So delicious!