This easy Cherry Crisp recipe is pure comfort food. Sweet summer cherries are topped with a sweet, buttery & crunchy oat topping. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect, make-ahead summer dessert!
Calling all cherry lovers! This Cherry Crisp is the ultimate summer dessert. WAY easier to make than pie, this recipe always disappears!
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Why this recipe works
- Bake or grill: You can bake this crisp in the oven OR you can grill it along with the rest of your meal (a great option for when you don't want to heat up the house by turning on the oven).
- Fresh or frozen cherries: Sometimes fresh cherries aren't available (or are crazy expensive when they are out of season), but this recipe works equally well using readily available frozen cherries.
- Sweet or tart cherries: You can use all sweet cherries, a combination of sweet and tart or all tart cherries in this crisp recipe. If using all tart cherries, you may need to increase the amount of sugar to keep the flavor from being too sharp.
- Make-ahead dessert: Running short on time? Make this dessert up to a day ahead of time!
Ingredients
You most likely have almost all the ingredients you need for this recipe in your pantry. All you need to get are a boatload of cherries!
A few ingredient notes:
- Cherries: Both fresh and frozen cherries work in this recipe. If using frozen cherries, lay them on a sheet pan to completely defrost and drain extra juices before adding to recipe.
- Oats: both rolled (old-fashioned) and instant (quick) oats work for the crisp topping.
- Flour: you can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour if you want to make this a gluten-free recipe. Just be sure your oats and corn starch are also gluten-free.
Instructions
It doesn't take much to pull this cherry crisp together. The most laborious part is pitting all the fresh cherries!
Pit cherries and stir in lemon juice, corn starch and granulated sugar. Pour cherries into prepared pan.
Add topping ingredients to a bowl and stir together. Evenly crumble topping over cherries in pan. Bake (or grill) as directed.
FAQs
Yes! You have two options:
1) Assemble the entire crisp in the morning, cover and refrigerate until ready to bake, or
2) bake the crisp the day before and store covered in the refrigerator. Gently reheat in either the microwave or oven if you want to serve it warm.
If you are going to be making anything with fresh cherries during the summer, I highly recommend you add this inexpensive cherry pitter to your collection of kitchen tools. Bonus: you can also use it to pit olives!
Don't want to buy another kitchen tool? I get it. You can also use a pair of chopsticks or a metal drinking straw. Simply insert the end of the stick or straw into the stem end of the cherry and push the pit out the other side.
Absolutely! Fruit crisps freeze well either before or after baking. Wrap both baked and unbaked crisps tightly with foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost crisp overnight in refrigerator. If crisp is unbaked, bake according to recipe instructions.
Expert tips for making cherry crisp
✘ Cherry juice stains so take extra care when pitting your cherries. You'll be amazed at how far that juice can fly! I have an extra deep sink that I pit my cherries in to try to contain the mess but a large, deep bowl works well, too. Just be sure to wear an apron or an old shirt to prevent staining your clothes.
✘ You can pit your cherries up to a day ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to assemble your crisp.
✘ Frozen cherries tend to give off a little more juice than fresh cherries so add an extra 1 tablespoon of corn starch if using frozen cherries in this crisp.
✘ I've given a range for the sugar needed in this recipe. Taste your sweet cherries before adding sugar to them and adjust based on their sweetness.
✘ Add an additional 2 tablespoons of sugar if using all tart cherries in this recipe.
✘ If you grill this crisp, use either a large cast iron skillet or double up on two 8x8" disposable foil pans to ensure the bottom of the crisp does not overbake.
✘ Top warm cherry crisp with vanilla ice cream or vanilla Greek yogurt.
✘ Store leftover crisp covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
More summer fruit desserts
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Recipe
Fresh Cherry Crisp (Baked or Grilled!)
Ingredients
- 8 cups fresh cherries, pitted
- 4-6 tablespoons granulated sugar, depending on sweetness of your cherries
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
Baked recipe
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8" (or similarly sized) pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together cherries, 4-6 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on sweetness of cherries), lemon juice and corn starch until evenly coated. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
- Add oats, flour, brown sugar and ¼ cup granulated sugar to another bowl. Stir together. Pour vanilla extract and melted butter on top of oat mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle evenly over cherries.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until bubbling around all the edges. Tent lightly with foil after 30 minutes if browning too quickly. Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve warm with ice cream.
Grilled recipe
- Preheat grill to medium heat. Grease a large cast iron skillet or double up two 8 x 8-inch disposable foil pans and grease the top one. .
- In a large bowl, stir together cherries, 4-6 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on sweetness of cherries), lemon juice and corn starch until evenly coated. Pour mixture into prepared pan.
- Add oats, flour, brown sugar and ¼ cup granulated sugar to another bowl. Stir together. Pour vanilla extract and melted butter on top of oat mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle evenly over cherries. Cover and firmly seal with heavy duty aluminum foil.
- Grill for 30-35 minutes or until bubbling around all the edges. Remove foil and grill for an additional 5-10 minutes or until topping is set. Remove crisp from grill and allow to cool for slightly. Serve warm with ice cream.
Notes
- You can use fresh or frozen cherries in this recipe. If using frozen cherries, defrost in a single layer on a sheet pan and drain before adding to recipe.
- If you use frozen cherries, add an extra tablespoon of corn starch to the recipe to make sure the filling isn't too runny.
- For best color, use a mix of sweet and tart cherries. If using all tart cherries, add an extra two tablespoons of sugar to the cherries.
- You can pit fresh cherries up to a day ahead of time. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the crisp.
- Store baked crisp covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze an unbaked crisp to use later. Defrost completely in the refrigerator before baking according to recipe directions.
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
Ok- I have a bag full of cherries- my pitter arrives Friday and I’m making this for guests this weekend! (Along with some of your fabulous cocktails!) I love you guys- keep up the great work!
Thank you Christy!!! Have a fabulous weekend! Let me know what you make 🙂 Cheers!!