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    Home » Desserts » Fresh Cherry Crisp

    Published: Jun 22, 2018 · Modified: May 24, 2025 by Zerrin & Yusuf

    Fresh Cherry Crisp

    Jump to Recipe

    Fresh Cherry Crisp is a simple combination of cherries and crumbly oat topping. So easy that it doesn't require any baking skills. Wonderfully moist and light. Perfect single-serve summer dessert to welcome the cherry season! 

    Fresh cherry crisp in white ramekins

    Making this fresh cherry crisp is a great idea when you have tons of cherries. As we’ve started to see beautiful sour cherries at the market here, it’s time to make some wonderful recipes with this lovely colored fruit.

    Like most of you do, we crave for refreshing treats like Creamy Lemon Ice Cream or Peach Sorbet when it is finally summer, but I can never resist a crisp like this. I mean, look at that color! Doesn't it look so attractive? Plus, it is super easy and you only need a few ingredients that are staple in your pantry. I used sour cherries this time because they were what I had on hand and I loved the subtle tanginess in my crisp, but you can use sweet cherries too as I did when I made it for the first time 4 years ago.

    We loved the idea of making crisp when I made this fresh cherry crisp for the first time years ago. It’s like the shortcut version of a cherry pie. With less effort and less calories. I love fruit desserts like this because they are moist and light. What’s more, you can use whatever fruit you have in your kitchen. Make this cherry crisp when you can find cherries, and then change it with other fruit like apples, blueberries or peaches when cherry is no longer in season.

    Fresh cherry crisp in white ramekins

    How To Make

    The steps in this recipe are so easy to follow that even a person who has no baking experience can make this crisp.

    The first thing you need to do is to pit the cherries. I love the cherries whole in my crisp, but if you find it easier, you can just cut them in half and remove their pits. In a medium bowl, combine the cherries with sugar and cornstarch. Put it aside.

    In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, ground pistachio and sugar. Add in the cubed cold butter and gently pinch them together with the oatmeal mixture until crumbly. Don't overplay with the mixture so that it keeps its crumbly texture. Chill for 15 minutes.

    Butter the ramekins or use a cooking spray and put a tablespoon of the dry mixture in the ramekins to make a thin bottom layer. Share the cherries into three ramekins with the juice. Top each with the rest of the oat mixture and sprinkle a little sugar on each. Bake until the top is slightly golden and serve it warm.

    Fresh Cherry Crisp in a white ramekin

    I regret not using the nuts on the topping here as I did in the Peach Cobbler with Cake Mix recipe for a perfect crunchy texture. Ground pistachio is a nice addition but lacks that extra crunch. I should have left the pistachios whole.

    Fresh Cherry Crisp in white ramekins

    No Flour Variation

    I made the topping for this sour cherry crisp with oatmeal and flour combination because they slightly hold together, yet still crumbly. On the other hand, it can easily turn into a gluten free cherry crisp when you leave the flour out and replace it with oats or a type of gluten-free flour like rice flour or almond flour.

    Fresh Cherry Crisp in white ramekins

    Serving

    This is not a cherry crisp for a crowd, so I made this cherry crisp in 3 ramekins. They can be served individually this way and you feel special when you are served. If you don’t have ramekins, a square cake pan works fine as well. For pure perfection, you can serve it with whipped cream or ice cream.

    You will be mesmerized when you feel that tempting smell coming from the oven when your cherry crisp is in oven. You will love the bubbling cherry layer right under the crumble topping and don’t worry if it runs over. It looks even more tempting if that happens.

    You can have this cherry crisp either as a dessert in the afternoon or for breakfast. I think it makes a wonderful start to a new day!

    I love the idea of making crisp so much that I'm planning to try Ambitious Kitchen's amazing Healthy Apple Crisp when summer ends and we start to see fall apples at our local bazaar. It is sweetened with maple syrup and topped with pecans, so I'm definitely intrigued!

    Fresh Cherry Crisp in white ramekins

    Can I Freeze It?

    As it is already a very easy recipe and doesn't require any effort, I wouldn't recommend freezing it. Moreover, the topping might get soggy when thawed, which is not desired. Therefore, freezing is not a good idea.

    Tips

    • If you have a cherry pitter, use it to pit the cherries. Do you know what you can use if you don't? A straw. Yes, you can easily pit them with a simple straw. Read A Pit Tip to learn more.
    • You can leave cornstarch out if you like. It gets a bit more runny then, but you might love it too.
    • The butter you use must be cold, don't forget this. Otherwise, your topping won't be crumbled.
    • Don't use a food processor to mix the flour and other ingredients for the topping. Use your hands to have a better crumble mixture. Don't overplay with this mixture, or you get a cakey dough, something not desired in a crisp recipe.
    • It's important to chill the crumble mixture before baking, so don't skip this step.
    • To have a crumble texture on top of your crisp, don't press it down when putting the crumble mix on the fruit.

    If you love cherries and would love to try more recipes with them, here are my suggestions:

    No-Churn Fresh Cherry Ice Cream from Give Recipe

    Fresh Cherry Pie from The Baker Mama

    Sweet Cherry Rhubarb Pie from Comfortably Domestic

    Cherry Lemonade Popsicles from The View From Great Island

    Fresh Cherry Crumb Cake from  From Valerie's Kitchen

    Fresh Cherry Crisp in white ramekins

    More Easy Desserts

    • Peach cobbler with cake mix topped with almonds in a white baking pan with a spoon in it and fresh peaches behind it.
      Peach Cobbler with Cake Mix
    • Two cinnamon baked pears topped with clotted cream on a round grey plate.
      Baked Pears Recipe
    • Healthy baked apples with walnuts and cinnamon served with a simple beet syrup on the side
      Walnut Stuffed Healthy Baked Apples

    As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

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    📖 Recipe

    Fresh cherry crisp in white ramekins
    5 from 3 votes

    Fresh Cherry Crisp

    By Zerrin & Yusuf
    A super easy summer dessert with fresh cherries. Crispy topping and moist center. Perfect with whipped cream or ice cream.
    Yields: 3 servings
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    PREP 20 minutes mins
    COOK 30 minutes mins

    INGREDIENTS
      

    Cherry mixture:

    • 1 and ½ cups cherries pitted
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

    Topping mixture:

    • ¼ cup all purpose flour
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • A pinch of salt
    • ½ cup oatmeal
    • A pinch of cinnamon
    • ½ tablespoon ground pistachio
    • 3 tablespoons butter cold and cubed
    • ½ teaspoon sugar for the topping of each

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Preheat oven to 190C. Spray 3 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray or butter them.
    • Mix cherries, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl until combined well and set aside.
    • For the crumbly topping, in a medium bowl mix everything except butter.
    • Add in the butter pieces and pinch them together with the oatmeal mixture until it gets crumbly. Don't overplay with the mixture. Chill it for 15 minutes.
    • Put 1 tablespoon topping mixture into ramekins to make a thin bottom layer for your crisp.
    • Share the cherry mixture into ramekins evenly and sprinkle remaining the topping mixture evenly on cherries.
    • Sprinkle a pinch of extra sugar on each.
    • Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is slightly golden and the cherry layer is bubbling.
    • Serve warm or at room temperature.

    NOTES

    Prep time includes pitting the cherries and chilling the flour and oatmeal mixture.
    It is best eaten on the day it is made.

    NUTRITION

    Serving: 1ramekinCalories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 49.6gProtein: 2.8gFat: 2.7gCholesterol: 3.6mgSodium: 867.9mgSugar: 30.2g

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

    ADDITIONAL INFO

    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Tried this recipe? Leave a comment below!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 3 votes

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Cynthia says

      September 09, 2020 at 7:07 am

      5 stars
      Delicious! But no way would this bake at 190 degrees. I turned up heat to 325. I’ll definitely make it again.

      Reply
      • Yusuf says

        September 10, 2020 at 12:14 am

        Glad you love it Cynthia! It was 190 Celcius. Sorry we forgot to give it Fahrenheit. 325F is just fine.

        Reply
    2. Jillian says

      May 20, 2019 at 9:02 am

      5 stars
      I made this and it was great! I left out the cornstarch and pistachios, and used fresh grumichama cherries. Will definitely use this recipe again. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        May 20, 2019 at 4:07 pm

        Hi Jilian!
        Glad you loved it. It's great that the recipe still works without cornstarch.
        Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us here.

        Reply
    3. charles says

      July 14, 2018 at 1:02 am

      5 stars
      I've made this crisp several times and just wanted to thank you!

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        July 15, 2018 at 8:44 pm

        Thank you Charles! Glad you loved it. So easy, isn't it?

        Reply
    4. Healthy Kitchen 101 says

      June 29, 2018 at 6:25 am

      It looks like berry jam! We shouldn't freeze it but what about storing in the fridge at a cool temperature?
      and How long can we store it?
      - Natalie Ellis

      Reply
    5. Sue | the view from great island says

      June 23, 2018 at 6:29 pm

      This is literally making my mouth water ~ love cherries!!

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        June 24, 2018 at 2:22 pm

        Thank you Sue! This is so simple too.

        Reply
    6. Joy says

      August 01, 2017 at 2:09 am

      I make rhubarb crisps and apple crisps and even a combination of rhubarb and apple but never a cherry crisp. Usually I put the oats in my food processor and give it a whizz and mix it with ground almonds. Cherries make the best pie ever so am going to give this a go.

      Reply
    7. Edward says

      October 19, 2016 at 6:17 pm

      When I was only 6-7 years old, my chef aunt use to bring her cherry crisp to our family potlucks. It was the most outstanding dessert. Her version of it started with a bed of pecans and honey. Then the layer of cherries with the crisp/struddle crust on top. She would serve it with a couple tbsps. of whipped cream. What a treat.

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        October 20, 2016 at 1:43 am

        What a nice memory from your childhood. Starting the crisp with a bed of pecans and honey is such a brilliant idea. Will try this. Thank you Edward!

        Reply
    8. Adina says

      May 19, 2016 at 10:44 am

      So delicious! And you are so lucky to have cherries already, our will only ripen in July.

      Reply
    9. David @ PieAddict says

      February 27, 2015 at 8:03 am

      Zerrin - this looks wonderful and the recipe so delightfully simple (from its appearance anyways). I can't wait to put it together very soon! About 'how many' mini dishes does the recipe make?

      Reply
    10. Aysegul - Ice says

      May 22, 2014 at 5:00 pm

      Oh soooo good... I love cherries especially the ones we have back home.
      I can only imagine the smell. ahhhh....

      Reply
    11. marla says

      May 16, 2014 at 12:22 am

      Such a pretty cherry crisp! Pinning now 🙂

      Reply
      • Zerrin says

        May 16, 2014 at 11:51 pm

        Thank you Marla!

        Reply

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    Zerrin & Yusuf

    Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

    More about us→

    POPULAR RECIPES

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