Gluten-Free Black Cherry Crisp Recipe
Home » COOK » Recipes » Baking » Crumbles, Crisps & Cobblers »This Black Cherry Crisp is the perfect late summer dessert that showcases an array of wholesome and fruity flavors. Chop black cherries and add cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and thyme. The crunchy topping is made with rolled oats, pecans, and almond flour, making it gluten-free too.
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Black Cherry Crisp
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading all the way through for any tips or substitute suggestions, to ensure that you have any specialized ingredients and equipment required and that you understand the steps and timings involved.
My favorite fruit has been cherries for as long as I can remember! And I cannot pass up any opportunity to enjoy them!
This black cherry crisp is a delightful dessert, is so simple to make, and can be on the table in under an hour (have it cooking while enjoying your dinner!).
The cherry filling contains a variety of spices, and if you’re not a big fan of the flavor of cloves, you may want to switch that and use more cinnamon instead.
You can eat crisp warm from the oven on its own, or add some whipped cream, pouring cream, custard (if you’re in the UK) Crème Anglaise (if you’re not!), or ice cream (try our easy recipe for No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream!)
What’s the Difference Between a Crisp, Crumble, and Cobbler?
Essentially all these desserts are baked with a fruit base and some sort of pastry topping. To me, crisps and crumbles are interchangeable as they have a topping (usually) made with rolled oats, sugar, butter, and flour. I sometimes throw nuts in there too. For a cobbler, the topping is usually (American) biscuits – which are similar to British scones but without the dried fruit.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients (and equipment) needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online.
It does not include staple ingredients such as oil, salt, and pepper, as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen already. The complete list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Fresh Produce – Black Cherries [Frozen, then thawed before use], Thyme.
- Dairy – Unsalted Butter, plus optional to serve – Greek yogurt, whipped cream, or ice cream (try our no-churn vanilla ice cream recipe!)
- Honey – try to buy locally produced honey when possible.
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Allspice – not ALL the spices but the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica tree. Often used in Jamaican and West Indian cuisine.
- Ground Cloves
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats
- Almond Flour – essentially, very finely ground almonds.
- Pecans
- Honey – try to buy locally produced honey when possible.
- Coconut Oil – you can use olive oil instead.
The cherry crisp is pictured served in 9-oz. oval cast iron mini-servers or you could use a 10″ cast iron skillet instead to make one large crisp. Alternatively, if you have roughly the same size serving dishes that can go into the oven, you can of course use those!
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. Please note, you can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
More Recipes Using Cherries
One of the hero ingredients in this dish is cherries, so here are some more recipes using the same:
More Warm Dessert Recipes
Looking for more desserts to make? Check these recipes out next:
- Homemade Peach Cobbler Recipe with No-Churn Vanilla Ice cream
- Rustic Fresh Blueberry Crisp Served with Greek Yogurt (Gluten-Free)
- Spiced Rhubarb And Apple Crumble
Recipe Tips
- Frozen cherries are much easier to use than fresh for this recipe. Place frozen cherries in a small strainer set over a large bowl to collect the liquid while thawing.
- Reserve the liquid to use in smoothies, cocktails, or non-alcoholic beverages. For example, you can combine some of the cherry juice with club soda and some crushed mint for a refreshing spritzer.
How Do I Make Black Cherry Cobbler?
Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.
Black Cherry Crisp
Ingredients
- 4½ cups. frozen black cherries thawed and chopped
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
For the Topping
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ⅓ cup honey preferably local
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- ⅛ tsp table salt
- 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil or olive oil
Optional, to Serve
- Greek yogurt whipped cream, or ice cream
- Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish
SUGGESTED PRODUCTS
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
- Combine thawed chopped cherries, honey, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and thyme leaves in a bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.
- Combine the topping ingredients in a separate bowl and stir until oats are thoroughly coated and all ingredients are well combined. Set aside.
- Lightly grease four 9-oz. oval cast iron baking dishes (or a 10” cast iron skillet) with coconut oil.
- Divide the cherry mixture equally among the cast iron mini-servers and spread it into an even layer. Divide the topping between the 4 mini-servers, as well, and spread into a thin layer on top.
- Place into the center of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the cherry mixture is nice and bubbly. Tip: If using a 10” skillet, cover loosely with aluminum foil after 30 minutes and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving plain or topped with some Greek yogurt, whipped cream, and/or ice cream. Garnish with a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Full Meal
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal for a dinner party or special occasion:
- Appetizer: Garden Fresh Tomatillo Salsa Verde – A Delicious Dip for Tortilla Chips!
- Soup: Southwestern Chicken Soup with Black Beans
- Salad: Mexican Chopped Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
- Main Dish: Cast Iron Ribeye Steak with Green Herb Sauce
- Side Dish: Cuban Mojo Potatoes – A Delicious Side Dish with Chili, Garlic & Lime
- Beverage: Frozen Mango Margaritas (Cocktail & Mocktail Versions!)
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too.