This tart cherry crisp recipe is easy to throw together with fresh cherries! If you love cobbler for dessert, this is easy and will be a huge hit during the summertime.
Oh how we love this easy tart cherry crisp recipe! Using fruit we picked off the trees near our house we made an easy dessert that everyone loved. You can use frozen fruit with this too if that is all you have. (affiliate links present)
I mean this isn’t really “sour” but not sweet like with maraschino jarred types or pie filling. Instead these are tart, fresh, and pretty darn wonderful if you ask me. Of course you can use store bought pie cherries for this too. The bing variety are much sweeter so less sugar needs to be used.
We started this obsession after we made this rhubarb crunch dish. It was just so delicious that we kept going with different fruits. Then was a huckleberry crisp, and on to this one.
Should you make cobbler with pie cherries or tart cherries?
Either one is great but this is made with fresh tart cherries. They are just called different things depending on whom you ask really. Tart cherries are sour and often used as key ingredient in desserts such as homemade cherry pie. Of course with any fruit crisp you need a sweet topping like with oats for texture and flavor, or dough like our Easy Cherry Cobbler.
Get your kids involved in this. It will take a bit of time if you are using fresh from the produce section or a tree. It is worth it believe me. Another great reason to involve them is so they realize just how much time it does take to make something wonderful. They will appreciate those bites that much more after they work for it a bit. 😉
Notes
To make these we used pitted sour cherries. If you wanted to use bing sweet cherries from the store (most commonly found there) those wouldn’t change anything other than the flavor. Since those aren’t as sour you may prefer to cut down the sugar a bit but can taste along the way. I would leave dry ingredient crisp topping as is. Use a cherry pitter to prep.
Sugar and brown sugar will make it sweeter so you don’t pucker quite as much. Use in your cherry mixture to coat the outsides well. A medium bowl is needed for this step.
Cornstarch to thicken the sauce, that is why you find this ingredient in the list of needs. Add a bit of Vanilla extract or almond extract in there for added flavor and a Fall touch.
All purpose flour is the beginning for the oat crumble. Incorporate in a mixing bowl with softened (not melted) butter and some shortening. You could use a dairy free alternative for butter and it will taste the same.
with Frozen Cherries
“Yes, you could buy these frozen at some stores. If you do, they likely will already be pitted, which is nice. For a dessert with frozen cherries, you’ll want to defrost them first. If they are just a bit icy, that’s okay, but not rock hard. If left in a bowl for 1-2 hours, that usually does the trick.
Baking Tips
I like to use a bit nicer dish than just a baking pan I would for brownies because it looks nicer. This cherry dessert won’t slice out pretty but rather needs to be scooped out. This is my go to baking AND serving dish.
Take out of oven when topping is golden brown and allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving to solidify and thicken up a bit. THIS is what it looks like when it’s done!! Seriously this recipe for cherry crisp is so good as is. No ice cream or whipped cream are needed for added sweetness, but a great addition too if you want.
Recipe for Cherry Crisp
Equipment
- 1 8×8 pan casserole dish
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 4 cup cherries, tart or pie cherries, pitted (if another type is used you'll need less sugar)
- 2/3 cup sugar, or more if you taste and want it sweeter
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 cup oats, not instant
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1.5 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Pit cherries and put into a bowl with sugar, cornstarch, lemon and vanilla extract. Gently stir together so cherries are coated. Let this set while you're preparing the rest.
- In another bowl combine your 1.5 c of all purpose flour with brown sugar, and old fashioned oats. Stir together.
- Add softened butter and shortening. Use a fork to cut this into the dry mixture so it becomes softened (like wet sand).
- Spray the inside of a 2 quart baking dish with non stick spray. (could use 8×8 pan but this size was best)
- Spread cherries on bottom of pan evenly.
- Then sprinkle oat mixture on top of that evenly. Cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until top crisp is lightly brown.
- Take out and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes so it can thicken. Scoop out and serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other easy fruit desserts
Doesn’t this just look amazing?? Don’t expect to lift this out in cleanly sliced pieces. It is similar to our cherry pie filling dump cake where a large spoon is needed. I serve it in bowls because it’s just gooey and ready to be scooped up with spoons.
- Our pumpkin crisp is great too
- If you love EASY, give our cherry brownies a whirl that only have 2 ingredients…seriously!
- Fresh apple recipes are always a winner during the summertime especially.
One of our favorites on that list is our Cast iron apple crisp recipe! You know you really just love the inside of apple pie, that is what this is. Skip the crust and just go for the good stuff y’all!
Should cherry crisp be refrigerated?
If you do have any leftovers you can cover the pan or transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days for best results. I will say the texture of this and our Upside down cherry pie is another fun one I came up with quite by accident using cherry pie filling but way way better fresh.
Can I make this with frozen cherries?
This is great for that, and our strudel pastry too! You’ll just want to defrost them beforehand and then follow our instructions below. Like I said, tart cherries are better for this and of course fresh is always better but use what you have on hand. Printable recipe is below.
Oops, made my own error. The 1.5 additional flour was at end of ingredients.
Sorry bout that!
Thank you, but I think your recipe has an error. It calls for 1.5 cups sugar in ingredients, but after reading the instructions, I believe it should say 1.5 cups flour in the ingredients. Thats what I’m going with when i make it.
I love the sound of this recipe, but how can we make it with cherry pie filling and do it in my Ninja Foodi??? I have a feeling that you’re probably already working on this!! Thanks for all the great recipes.