Fresh Cherry Crumble is an easy summer dessert with a sweet, juicy cherry filling and a buttery oat crumble topping. Made with fresh cherries and simple pantry ingredients, it's the perfect way to enjoy cherry season.
If you love homemade fruit desserts, this cherry crumble is hard to beat. It has all the flavor of cherry pie with a fraction of the work. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a dessert everyone will request again and again.
Be sure to try my Sour Cherry Scones and this Cherry Cordial Ice Cream for two more yummy recipes.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Great way to use fresh cherries
- Easier than homemade pie
- Buttery oat crumble topping
- Perfect summer dessert
- Simple pantry ingredients
- Delicious warm or cold
- Easy to make ahead
Before You Get Started
- Pit the cherries carefully. It is easy to miss a pit.
- Taste the cherries first and adjust the sugar if needed.
- Let the crumble cool before serving so the filling can thicken.
- A cherry pitter makes prep much faster.
Ingredients
- Cherries - Sweet cherries work best, but tart cherries can also be used with a little extra sugar.
- Sugar - Sweetens the filling and crumb topping.
- All-purpose flour - Thickens the cherry juices while baking.
- Lemon juice - Adds a tangy contrast of flavor to the sweet cherries.
- Almond extract - Almond pairs perfectly with cherries.
- Butter - Creates a rich, buttery crumble.
- Brown sugar - Sweetness for the topping of the easy cherry crumble recipe.
- Flour - Used to keep the topping thin so it spreads out.
- Old-fashioned oats - Give the topping its classic texture.
- Vanilla extract - Balances the other flavors.
- Baking powder - Helps create a light crumble.
- Salt - Enhances all the flavors.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make this Fresh Cherry Crumble Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step One: Add the pitted cherries to a large bowl with the rest of the filling ingredients. Toss to coat.
Step Two: Spread the mixture out into a baking dish. The cherries will be layered two deep.
Step Three: Next, add the butter and sugars to a food processor and pulse.
Step Four: Add the rest of the topping ingredients and process until crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the cherries.
Step Five: Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes until the crisp topping is golden brown and the fruit is thickened and bubbling.
Step Six: Let cool before serving.
Top Tip
The filling thickens as it cools, so letting the crumble rest before serving gives you the best texture.
Substitutions
- Brown sugar - You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar.
- Tart cherries - If you don't have fresh cherries as an option, you can use frozen. Just be sure that you drain all the liquid before adding.
Variations
- Fruit filling - You can easily make this simple dessert using other types of fruit. Blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries all work!
- Frozen Cherries - Frozen cherries work well. Thaw and drain them first to remove excess liquid.
- Mixed Berry Crumble - Replace some of the cherries with blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
- Extra Almond - Sprinkle sliced almonds over the topping before baking.
- Cinnamon Crumble - Add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the topping.
- Cherry Peach Crumble - Replace half the cherries with sliced peaches.
- Gluten-Free - Use a gluten-free flour blend and certified gluten-free oats.
- Lemon zest - If you want to add more of a citrus flavor, adding a bit of lemon zest to the cherry filling or even in the crumble mixture works great. A little lemon juice works great, too.
See this Cherry Apple Crumble for a fun version that includes sliced apples and tart cherries!
Storage
Leftover cherry crumble is super simple to store. Let it cool completely, then store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. For the best results, eat within 2-3 days. You can eat cold or warm a bit and add a scoop of ice cream on top.
Common Questions
I use a cherry pitter just because it's fast, easy, and gets the job done without getting my hands all stained. You can pick them out by hand, too, but it's just a much more tedious process.
Yes. Thaw and drain them well before using to prevent the filling from becoming watery. If they are very moist, add an extra tablespoon or two of flour.
A crumble typically has a buttery flour topping, while a crisp usually contains oats. This recipe has characteristics of both, with a buttery oat topping.
Yes. Assemble the crumble a few hours ahead and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Vanilla ice cream and whipped cream are great choices.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Fresh Cherry Crumble Recipe
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 lb cherries pitted
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Topping
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Filling
- Toss the cherries with the filling ingredients. Spread in a 9x9 baking dish.
Topping
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Pulse the butter and sugars in a food processor
- Add the remaining ingredients. Process to cut in the butter.
- Use your fingers to form large crumbs.
- Sprinkle on top of the cherries.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let cool completely.
Nutrition
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