This cherry crumble with oats and almonds is pure comfort food and the absolute BEST easy, fruity dessert. Soft, juicy cherries bubbling away under a crunchy, buttery crumble until they’re almost sticky and jammy. It’s such a scrumptious treat.
Even better, it’s so quick and easy to make. Adapted from my mixed berry crumble everything comes together by hand in minutes. You only need a bowl and a skillet or pie dish – it’s no hassle, no fuss, and pretty much effortless.
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❤️ Why you’ll love it
- Comfort food classic – warm, cosy and nostalgic
- Perfect flavour balance – sweet, tangy cherries with buttery crunch
- Ready to bake in minutes – no fancy equipment, just mix and bake
- Crowd-pleasing dessert – easy to scale up, effortless but impressive
- Endlessly adaptable– try other berries, peaches, nectarines – the list goes on!
- Serve with runny custard, pouring cream or ice cream
Ingredients & substitutions
Whether you call it a cherry crumble or a cherry crisp (the latter being technically correct due to the addition of oats), this recipe uses just simple ingredients that you can have on hand. While I use fresh cherries when they’re at their best, frozen will work too!
Jump to the recipe card for full quantities and instructions.
- Cherries: I use fresh cherries here but frozen cherries will work too. You’ll get the best flavour from ripe cherries at their best but it will still work with underripe berries (just add a touch more sugar). If using frozen cherries, do not thaw them before baking.
- Flour: Just regular plain flour / all purpose flour. A gluten-free 1:1 blend will work too.
- Old-fashioned oats: These add a bit more chew and crisp to the topping and make it more substantial.
- Almonds and cherries are a match made in heaven so they feature in the form of sliced almonds and almond extract. You can leave out the extract if you like but the sliced almonds add a wonderful crunch and flavour to the cherry crumble topping.
- Sugar: Both brown sugar and white sugar are used in this easy cherry dessert.
- Lemon juice balances out the sweetness in that filling. If you want more of a lemon hit, add some lemon zest to the topping too.
How to make cherry crumble
There are 3 simple stages to this cherry crisp recipe;
- The juicy cherry filling,
- The oaty almond crumble topping,
- Bake until golden.
You can use a cherry pitter if you like but I tend to just slice around the centre of the cherries with a sharp knife, then pull the stone out with my fingers.
Pitting the cherries can take 15 minutes or so by hand but you can prepare them the day before if you want.
Jump to the recipe card for full quantities and instructions.
2. The crumble topping
Combine flour, sugar, salt and butter, pressing the butter into the dry ingredients with your fingertips. It should look a bit like wet sand at this point. If you can still see pieces of butter, that’s fine.
Stir the oats and almonds into the flour and butter mixture.
Did you know?
A crumble is usually just a streusel of flour, sugar and butter, while a crisp includes oats and sometimes nuts. While this is technically a cherry crisp, crumble and crisp are used quite interchangeably these days.
3. Top and bake
Scatter the topping over the cherry mixture and bake.
Tips and tricks
- Preheat your oven at least 30 minutes prior to baking anything. While some “fast heat up” ovens suggest they’re at temperature much quicker, they aren’t at temperature throughout the whole oven.
- Halving the cherries will give you peace of mind that they are all definitely pitted but if you’re confident, you can put them in without halving them.
- Depending on the exact depth of your dish, the cherry filling may bubble over. Use a dish that has at least an extra 1-2cm or ½-1 inch of room above the filling.
- Make sure to wash and dry your cherries. You don’t want extra moisture in the filling or it won’t thicken up as nicely.
- If using frozen cherries, do not thaw them first.
Can I make cherry crumble in advance
While this cherry crumble dessert is very quick to throw together (even with pitting the cherries) here are a couple of tips to get you ahead if you’re trying to make this around a hectic schedule.
- Cherries can be pitted and halved 24-48 hours before use. Keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.
- The cherry filling can be mixed in your baking dish up to 24 hours before baking.
- The crumble mixture can be made up to 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge in an airtight container.
- You can assemble the cherry crumble completely in advance then freeze for up to 3 months, however, it’s best thawed in the fridge at least 24 hours before baking. This should prevent any damage to your baking dish by going straight form freezer to oven.
Storage
Leftovers should be stored in the fridge either in the cooking vessel covered tightly with plastic wrap or transferred into an airtight container.
Leftovers can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Variations
This cherry crumble is easy to make variations to as well.
- Other stonefruit: Other stone fruits will work in this recipe. Plums, pluots, apricots, peaches or nectarines are all great. Slice them into 5mm/¼ inch slices or into cubes roughly the size of halved cherries.
- Frozen cherries: While I love frozen cherries, they aren’t always cheap or in season. Luckily, frozen cherries will work fine too. I still like to cut them in half as I have found stones in frozen cherries before when they were meant to be pitted.
- Give it a fall twist by adding a little cinnamon, nutmeg or all spice.
- Try honey in the filling – replace the sugar with 2 tablespoons of honey in the filling.
If you try any variations that you love, let us know in the comments below.
FAQs
Portions can be made in advance but it’s best if it’s assembled when ready to bake. The cherry filling and the crumble topping can be made up to 24 hours in advance but kept separately in the fridge.
Yes. Portion the filling then the crumble topping out between 4-6 ramekins then adjust the baking time to suit.
No. Keep frozen cherries frozen right up to using them.
Whether it’s a cosy family dessert or just something easy to share with friends, this cherry crumble with oats and almonds always hits the spot. Serve it warm, add your favourite topping and enjoy every spoonful – it’s like a hug in a bowl.
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Ingredients
CHERRY FILLING
- 7 cups fresh cherries or frozen, pitted (~1kg/35 ¼oz)
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar (50g/~1 ¾oz)
- 3 teaspoons cornflour (US cornstarch)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (4 tsp, notes 1)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract optional
ALMOND CRUMBLE TOPPING
- 115 g unsalted butter coarsely grated and cold, (1 stick / 4oz)
- 130 g plain flour (all-purpose flour) (1 cup/~4 ½oz))
- 66 g light brown sugar (⅓ cup packed / 2 ⅓oz)
- pinch of salt
- 85 g rolled oats (¾ cup / 3oz)
- 25 g flaked almonds (~¼ cup)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- 9-11 inch skillet or 9 inch deep pie dish
Instructions
- THE CHERRY FILLING:Add the cherries, sugar and cornflour to a 9 inch wide, deep pie dish or oven-proof skillet and mix well to distribute evenly.7 cups fresh cherries, 3 teaspoons cornflour (US cornstarch), 3 teaspoons cornflour (US cornstarch)
- Pour over the lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract and mix again. Set aside.1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- THE CRUMBLE TOPPING:Add the grated butter, flour, brown sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl. Use your fingertips to blend the two together until mostly combined and you can form clumps easily. If there are still pieces of butter showing, that’s fine.115 g unsalted butter, 130 g plain flour (all-purpose flour), 66 g light brown sugar, pinch of salt
- Stir in the oats and almonds.85 g rolled oats, 25 g flaked almonds
- Scatter the crumble evenly over the top of the cherries.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is turning golden brown and the edges are bubbling.
- Serve with creme anglaise, cream or ice cream.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
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4 Comments on “Cherry Crumble (Fresh or Frozen Cherries)”
Was given a box full of cherries at Christmas so after making a Black Forest Trifle I froze the remaining cherries. After searching cherry recipes came across this perfect cherry crumble. Easy and so yum! Loved the combo of cherries and almond essence and in the oat almond topping. Baked at 180C for 35 mins
I’m so happy you love it, Sharon. Thank you so much for dropping back to review.
This is not a crumble, technically it is a “crisp” due to the fact that you included oats.
Technically, yes that’s correct however the names are used much more interchangeably these days. Many people I know grew up with “crumble” that included oats.