If you need a dessert in under an hour that will seriously wow a crowd, cherry crisp is your answer. It's warm, bubbly, and loaded with sweet cherries and a buttery almond oat crumble that bakes up golden and crunchy. Fresh or frozen cherries both work here, which means this one is fair game any time of year.
I started making this crisp because I wanted all the vibes of a cherry pie in a fraction of the time. My brown butter peach crisp was already a reader favorite, and I knew the same cozy pairings (juicy fruit, buttery crumble topping) would work perfectly with cherries. The almond extract was a last-minute addition that turned out to be my favorite part of the whole recipe!
This is the kind of dessert that feels right at any table. Whether it’s a weeknight treat, a backyard cookout, or a dinner party where you want something warm and homestyle. Serve it up warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and you've got something really special. If you're on a summer fruit kick, you'll also love this peach almond galette. It’s the same type of easy, rustic dessert with a gorgeous result.
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Why We Love It!
- Fresh or frozen cherries work - This means you're not locked into cherry season. Pull a bag from the freezer in January and still make this happen.
- Crispy, jammy, and loaded with flavor - The cherry filling gets thick and bubbly, while the oat and almond topping stays golden and crunchy. We. Love. Textures!
- Two bowls, no special equipment - Mix the filling, mix the topping, layer it all up, and bake. That's it.
- The almond combo is a major moment - Sliced almonds in the topping AND almond extract in the filling give this crisp a flavor that is so much deeper than your average version.
If you love a crunchy crumble situation, my apple blueberry crisp is another crowd favorite for any season. And for more fruit-forward bakes you'll love, browse through all of the fruit recipes for your next project.
Ingredients
- Pitted sweet cherries. Fresh or frozen both work. If using frozen, no need to thaw, just add them straight to the bowl. Cut larger cherries in half so you get even bites throughout. If using fresh, you’ll need a cherry pitter to remove the pits.
- Cornstarch. This is what thickens the cherry juices as the crisp bakes. Don't skip it or you'll end up with a soupy filling.
- Almond extract. Just one teaspoon, but it completely transforms the filling. It pairs naturally with cherries and adds a warm, almost-nutty depth of flavor.
- Rolled oats. Use old-fashioned rolled oats here (not quick oats) for maximum texture.
- Sliced almonds. These go right into the topping for extra crunch and flavor that ties the whole dessert together.
- Brown sugar. This gives the topping that deep, slightly caramel-y sweetness and helps everything crisp up beautifully.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Bake the cherry crumble in ramekins for a cute individual dessert for a dinner party.
- Swap sweet cherries for tart/sour cherries and increase the granulated sugar by ¼ cup.
- Replace the sliced almonds with chopped pecans or walnuts for a different nutty crunch. Or, omit the nuts completely.
- Add ½ teaspoon of cinnamon or cardamom to the topping for a little warm spice.
- Use a gluten-free 1:1 baking flour to make it fully gluten free.
- Stir in a handful of dark chocolate chips with the cherry filling for a chocolate cherry situation.
📸 Step By Step Overview
This is a quick visual overview. See the recipe card for full, detailed instructions.
- Step 1: Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, sliced almonds and salt until crumbly.
- Step 2: Toss the cherries with sugar, cornstarch, lemon, and almond extract.
- Step 3: Add the cherries to a buttered casserole dish and spread evenly.
- Step 4: Cover the cherries in the almond oat crumble, then bake for ~45 minutes until very bubbly and golden.
Pro tip
Move the oven rack!
Bake the crisp in the bottom third of the oven so the cherry juices get blasted by the heat. This helps all of the released juices thicken up (with the help of the cornstarch).
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Tips for Success
- Cut the large cherries in half. This gives you more even distribution and makes sure each scoop has a good ratio of fruit to topping.
- Butter the dish generously. This helps make the cherry juices ultra glossy and syrupy.
- Cover the filling completely with topping. Spread it evenly, but don't press down! It's good to let a bit of steam escape through the cracks.
- Use the lower third of the oven. This helps the bottom of the filling get hot enough to bubble and thicken while the topping on top gets golden (without burning).
- Don't skip the cooling time. The filling needs 20-30 minutes to set. Scoop it too early and it'll be runny.
Testing Notes
- When using frozen cherries, I kept running into the issue of it being more runny than syrupy. I didn’t want to increase the amount of cornstarch (which can make the texture unappealing), so the solution was to bake the crisp in the bottom third of the oven for the entire baking process to really blast the cherry juices.
- A 9x13” pan was my first test, but I didn’t love how thin each layer was, especially the crisp topping. Going down to a 7x11” pan gave a thick cherry bottom and a generous topping.
- The almond extract made a big difference in flavor. It’s not a smack-in-the-face flavor but just really enhances the cherries. This led me to also add sliced almonds to the topping to bring it all home.
- Making this in a white dish really made the colors of the cherry juices on pop (in case you’re trying to make it look aesthetic)!
Common Questions
Yes! Frozen cherries work great and don't need to be thawed first. Just toss them straight into the bowl with the other filling ingredients and proceed as normal. The bake time stays the same.
If the crisp has cooled for 30 minutes and the juices still feel too thin and runny, it likely wasn't baked long enough. Put it back in the oven (low oven rack) on 375℉ for about 10 minutes, and it should thicken up nicely.
A 7x11" casserole dish is the sweet spot for this recipe. It gives you a thick, generous layer of fruit and topping. A 9x13" pan also works but leads to a thinner layer - still delicious, just a bit more spread out.
Totally! You can make this a day ahead of time, actually. The topping will soften slightly over time, but you can re-crisp it in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes before serving.
Storage
Store any leftover cherry crisp covered at room temperature for up to one day. After that, transfer to the fridge and store for up to three more days. The topping will soften in the fridge, so to bring it back to life, pop it in a 350℉ oven for about 10 minutes until warmed through and crisped back up.
To freeze, let the crisp cool completely, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat directly from frozen in a 350℉ oven until warmed through.
More Easy Summer Fruit Desserts
General Tid Bits
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
📖Recipe
Cherry Crisp with Almond Oat Topping
Equipment
- 7x11” casserole dish
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (for casserole dish)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 40 oz cups pitted sweet cherries fresh or frozen (~10 cups)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and move a rack to the lower third of the oven.
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 7x11” casserole dish.2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Use a fork to mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, salt, and sliced almonds until crumbles form. Set aside.½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup rolled oats, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup sliced almonds
- Cut large cherries in half, and leave small ones whole.40 oz cups pitted sweet cherries
- Add the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and almond extract to a large bowl and toss to combine.⅓ cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, Juice of 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Pour the cherries into the buttered baking dish and spread into an even layer, then top completely with the crisp topping.
- Bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes until the cherry juice is very bubbly.
- Cool for 20-30 minutes to let the juices set, then serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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