This quick and easy fruit dessert is the stuff of dreams! Served warm with a scoop of ice cream. Baked cherry crisp is the ultimate weeknight dessert!

cherry crisp served with a scoop of ice cream

When we lived in Richland, Washington, fresh cherries were always in abundance. Summer 2015, my daughter had a "Tri-Cities Challenge" list of 50 objectives that if she accomplished, she would win a big prize. It was really a ploy to keep her occupied and having fun, and it worked! One of her objectives was to go to a cherry orchard, pick her own basket of cherries and make a delicious dessert. To our surprise, she brought home 15 pounds of cherries! Along with MANY other cherry concoctions, this easy crisp was born.

photo collage of a girl making cherry crisp

Cherry crisps are a comfort-food dessert. They're great year-round and can be made with fresh or frozen cherries or with a yummy canned cherry pie filling. You might ask "What's the difference between a cherry crumble and a crisp?" Well, they're often used interchangeably, but the answer is a crumble is a crisp without oats in the streusel.

This sweet and savory oatmeal topping paired with the pie filling is a glorious duo. The ratio of filling to topping is perfect as well. You'll be sure to have a bite of topping with each cherry as long as you can resist picking it from the top after it bakes!

You'll love this easy cherry crisp because it's just a few ingredients, it's quick to assemble, not labor intensive and it's a great dessert you can make ahead of time. See my note below on how you can make it with fresh or canned cherry pie filling. With a scoop of ice cream on top, you'll instantly melt with just one bite!

Table of Contents

What You'll Need

Self-Rising Flour
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Brown Sugar
Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
Pecans or Walnuts, optional
Butter
Cherry Pie Filling
Vanilla Ice Cream, optional

Ingredients for cherry crisp on a cutting board

Tools You'll Need

2-Quart Baking Dish
Ice Cream Scoop (optional)
Cherry Pitter (if making homemade pie filling as noted below)

How to Make Simple Cherry Crisp

For the streusel, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, oats, and nuts.

Mixing together streusel ingredients in a glass bowl

Stir in the melted butter until well combined.
In a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish, spread the pie filling in an even layer followed by a layer of the streusel on top

cherry pie filling covered by streusel in a baking dish

Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the baked cherry crisp to rest for 10 minutes before serving. If you'd like, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Tips and Substitutions

This crisp can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Simply cover tightly and store in the fridge until you're ready to bake it.
You can substitute the canned pie filling with homemade cherry pie filling.
- Homemade: Stir together 3lb fresh pitted cherries, ½ cup water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½-2/3 cup sugar, ¼ cup cornstarch, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low. Stir often and cook for 10 minutes. Cool before using in this dessert.
If you decide to make homemade pie filling, you can use pretty much any type of cherry. Bing and rainier will lend a sweeter flavor. Montmorency cherries are tarter and will likely require a skosh more sugar.
For a gluten-free version, substitute the flour with oat flour and add ⅛ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon baking powder. You can also substitute it with a gluten-free baking blend.

Storage

This dessert (without the ice cream) can be stored at room temperature if eaten within 24 hours. Any longer, store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Store in the freezer in an air-tight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before reheating.

More Recipes Like This

This is a picture of a saucer with a cherry dessert on top. The cherry is on the bottom in a glaze filling and there is an oatmeal brown sugar crumble on top. The dessert is topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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