A sweet no bake cherry crisptopped with a crunch from toasted almonds – and best of all – it doesn’t require an oven! Get the ice cream ready. You are going to want to dive in!
Looking for an easy, no-bake cherry dessert?
This easy recipe lets you enjoy cherry season any time of year without turning on the heat. Unlike a traditional pie, a crisp features a luscious homemade cherry pie filling layered with a crumble topping made from simple ingredients.
Cherry lovers will adore this cherry crisp recipe. It’s like a mix between a cherry pie and a berry crisp but without the baking. Plus, it’s the perfect campfire treat as it’s made in a cast iron skillet, like our skillet chocolate chip cookie and skillet banana crumb cake .
What Is a Cherry Crisp?
This cherry crisp recipe starts off with making the crisp topping. This sweet topping consists of chopped almonds, flour, white sugar, brown sugar, vanilla cinnamon, and salt. Next is the cherry filling. For the filling, we chose frozen cherries instead of fresh ones because of convenience, but you can totally use fresh ones if you have them. The filling ingredients are cooked in a skillet to warm them up and then topped with the delicious topping.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You Need to Make This Easy Cherry Crisp
How to Make This Cherry Crisp Recipe
- Make the crisp topping:Pulse chopped almonds, flour, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor until crumbly. Toast the remaining almonds in a skillet, then add the crumb mixture and cook until lightly browned. Set aside.
- Make the filling:Combine cornstarch with sugar in a bowl. In the skillet, mix cherries, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, and amaretto (optional). Cook covered over medium heat for 7 minutes, stirring once. Stir in dried cherries and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Thicken with cornstarch mixture over low heat for 3 minutes.
- Assemble and enjoy!Spoon the topping over the hot filling, then return to heat and cook until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let cool slightly, then serve warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Expert Recipe Tips
- Frozen sweet cherries are readily available and work perfectly in this recipe. If using fresh cherries, be sure to pit them first. You can also use a mix of frozen and fresh cherries for a vibrant flavor and texture.
- Don’t have almonds? No problem! Substitute chopped pecans, walnuts, or even a mixture of nuts for a different flavor profile.
- Vanilla ice cream is the classic pairing for cherry crisp, but feel free to get creative! Top your warm crisp with whipped cream, a scoop of frozen yogurt, or even a dollop of mascarpone cheese for a richer flavor experience.
How to Store Leftovers & Reheat
This crisp can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, simply scoop a portion into a microwave-safe bowl and warm until heated through. The topping may lose some crispness, but the flavor will still be delicious!
If you try this recipe, please rate the recipe cardand leave a comment down below to help out the next reader!
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 3/4 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teas vanilla
- 1/4 teas ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teas salt
- 4 tbs unsalted butter - melted
for the Filling
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbs cornstarch
- 2 lbs frozen sweet cherries
- 1 tbs lemon juice
- 1 teas vanilla
- 1/2 teas salt
- 1/4 teas amaretto
- 2/3 cup dried cherries
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse 1/4 almonds until chopped (about 3 pulses) with the flour, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Add the butter in a stream and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand (1 – 3 more pulses). (If camping, pulse the almonds ahead of time to have ready for this step – use a large bowl and a wooden spoon instead of the food processor).
- In an oven safe 10″ skillet, toast the remaining sliced almonds over medium-low heat, about 4 minutes. Add the flour mixture and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until just browning. Transfer to a bowl and carefully wipe down the skillet with a paper towel.
- Make the filling by combining 2 tbs sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. In the skillet, add the cherries, lemon juice, vanilla, salt, and almond extract. Cook covered for 7 minutes over medium heat. Stir once or twice while cooking. Remove the lid and stir in the dried cherries. Cook 3 to 4 minutes longer until the dried cherries have softened.
- Over a low simmer, stir in the cornstarch mixture, until thickened (about 3 minutes). Remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle the topping evenly over the cherries. Return the skillet to the heat and cook until the filling is bubbling, a few minutes later.
- Remove from heat and allow crisp to cool 30 minutes before serving with ice cream.
Notes
Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.
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That is gorgeous!!