When cherry season hits I want to consume as many cherries as I possibly can. And while I love a perfectly chilled fresh cherry, unadorned, there are only so many pounds I can eat before I need to get a little more inventive. Enter this classic cherry crisp — a super simple fruit dessert using fresh cherries with a nutty almond and oat topping. I absolutely love this one.
Crisps are an excellent summer dessert since they’re so simple and easy to make. Think of it like a fruit pie, just easier — no crust, no pastry dough, no stress. It’s all about the fruit and the topping. And while this version uses cherries, you can easily swap in whatever fruit you have: blueberries, peaches, apples, the list goes on.
Think of it like a fruit pie, just easier — no crust, no pastry dough, no stress. It's all about the fruit and the topping.
Ingredients
Serves 6 | 9×6″ baking dish or 8×8″ square baking dish
Almond Crisp Topping:
- 4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cubed
- 22g almonds (~20 whole almonds – small handful), roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (light brown works too)
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Cherry Filling:
- 1½ lbs fresh sweet cherries, pitted
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
- Pinch of salt
How to Make Cherry Crisp
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Make the crisp topping
Combine the flour, both sugars, oats, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and mix with your fingertips, pressing and crumbling everything together until you have a sandy mixture with a few pea-sized clumps remaining. Set aside. - Make the cherry filling
Toss the pitted cherries with the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated. - Assemble
Pour the cherry filling into your baking dish in an even layer. Crumble the topping over the cherries, spreading it as evenly as possible. Get it all the way to the edges. - Bake for 40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crisp and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving — it’ll be very hot straight out of the oven!
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or my personal favorite, Easy Diplomat Cream.
Special Equipment
Baking Dish
This recipe was made in a roughly 9×6″ baking dish, but an 8″ square baking dish or anything equivalent in size works just as well. You could even use a pie dish if you like.
Cherry Pitter
The one hassle of this recipe, I’ll admit, is pitting the cherries. I have pitted pound upon pound of cherries by hand and it does take some time. If you, like me, tend to cook with a lot of cherries, I would highly recommend investing in a cherry pitter — specifically the OXO Quick-Release Multi Cherry Pitter. It is well worth it. It pits 6 cherries at a time and makes light work out of a bag or two. You’ll be happy you have it!
Crisp vs. Crumble vs. Cobbler
All three are baked fruit desserts, what makes them different is in their toppings. A crisp has a topping made with oats, which gives it that signature crunchy texture once its baked. A crumble is very similar but typically skips the oats, resulting in a slightly sandier, less crunchy topping, similar to the topping you would get on a coffee cake. And a cobbler has a biscuit or cakey topping rather than a streusel-style one. All three are delicious, all three are easy, and honestly the terms get used interchangeably all the time.
More Recipes to Try:
Cherry Compote – A simple, versatile cherry compote made with fresh or frozen cherries. Spoon it over ice cream, cheesecake, or yogurt — or use it up any leftover cherries from this very recipe.
Rhubarb Crumble – Tart, tender rhubarb topped with a sweet buttery crumble. Another easy fruit dessert that belongs in your summer rotation.
Blueberry Pie – A classic, simple blueberry pie with an all-butter crust. Works with fresh or frozen berries and is the peak of summer in dessert form.
Easy Apple Galette – Flaky pastry dough layered with apples and finished with a cinnamon crumble and toasted walnuts. Rustic, elegant, and surprisingly easy.
Pavlova with Balsamic Strawberries – Light, crisp vanilla meringue topped with whipped cream and balsamic macerated strawberries. A stunning warm weather dessert that’s easier than it looks.
The Best Cherry Crisp
Equipment
- 9x6" baking dish or 8x8" square baking dish
- Cherry Pitter optional, but makes things much easier
Ingredients
Almond Crisp Topping:
- 4 tablespoons cold salted butter cubed
- 22 g almonds ~20 whole almonds (small handfull), roughly chopped or slivered
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar light brown works too
- 2 tablespoons rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
Cherry Filling:
- 1½ lbs sweet cherries pitted
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice about ½ lemon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Make the crisp topping. Combine the flour, both sugars, oats, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and mix with your fingertips, pressing and crumbling everything together until you have a sandy mixture with a few pea-sized clumps remaining. Set aside.
- Make the cherry filling. Toss the pitted cherries with the cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated.
- Assemble. Pour the cherry filling into your baking dish in an even layer. Crumble the topping over the cherries, spreading it as evenly as possible. Get it all the way to the edges.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and crisp and the filling is bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving — it’ll be very hot straight out of the oven!
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or my personal favorite, Easy Diplomat Cream.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Leave a comment with your thoughts or share your version on Instagram by tagging @TheMostHungry. I’d love to see how you made it your own!
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Hi, I'm Rachel — the cook, photographer, and recipe developer behind Most Hungry.
This is my go-to spot for bold, approachable recipes rooted in Italian and Italian-American cooking, from hand-rolled fresh pasta to fall-off-the-bone ribs. Great food should be fun, doable, and absolutely delicious. Learn more about me →
FAQs
Can I make cherry crisp ahead of time?
You can bake it a few hours ahead and let it sit at room temperature — it reheats well in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes. The topping will soften slightly as it sits, but it will still be totally delicious. You can also prep the topping and filling separately ahead of time and assemble right before baking. I love to have a big batch of the topping stashed in the freezer so when I have some fruit and want an easy dessert I can simple toss, top and bake.
Can I make this in individual portions?
Absolutely! Divide the filling and topping between ramekins and bake at the same temperature. Start checking around 25–30 minutes since smaller portions bake faster. You’ll know they’re done when the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling.
What’s the best pan size for this recipe?
This recipe was made in a roughly 9×6″ baking dish, but an 8″ square baking dish or anything equivalent in size works. You could even use a pie dish if you like. Only have larger baking dishes? You can scale it up for a 9×13 — just double the filling and topping!
