Cherry Crisp with Sliced Almonds is the perfect dessert. Especially after a hearty Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Fresh cherries are bountiful in the summer, and I happen to live 5 minutes away from several farm stands and the Farmer's Market. That's why I decided to make this cherry crisp using two different types of cherries (though you can use just one type).
Sweet and sour cherries are topped with a crispy oat crumble and sliced almonds, and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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What's the difference between a cherry crumble and a cherry crisp?
Good question.
Honestly, I didn't know at first either and had to look it up.
The difference between a crumble and a crisp is that a crisp uses oats while a crumble is more of a cake batter topping. A crisp is, in fact, more crispy than a crumble. Therefore, I am all for the crisp. There is also such a thing as a cherry cobbler, which is like a soft cake batter on top.
Not only are cherries and almonds a match made in heaven, but the sliced almonds in the topping add even more crunch to our crisp topping. I think you're really going to enjoy this one.

Ingredients for Cherry Crisp:
For the Cherry Filling:
- Pitted and stemmed fresh or frozen cherries. Frozen cherries will produce more juice.
- Freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- Pure vanilla extract
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch. This is crucial for thickening up the cherry juice.
For the Oat Topping:
- Oats. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats if dining gluten-free.
- Sliced almonds
- High quality gluten-free all purpose flour containing xanthan gum, or regular all purpose flour. I used Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (the blue bag).
- Light brown sugar
- Butter
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional

How to Make:
- Rinse, pit, and de-stem the cherries, if using fresh. You may want to sit while doing this. It can take awhile. If you have a cherry-pitter; use it. If not, I used a cheese knife to dig underneath the pit. It worked well, just be careful not to cut yourself.
- Once the cherries are pitted, preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease an 8-inch square cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray, making sure to coat the bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
For the Cherry Filling:
- Add the cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, pure vanilla extract, and lemon juice to a large bowl. Stir until evenly coated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use a silicone spatula to spread it into an even layer.

For the Oat Topping:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the gf oats, gf all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until combined.
- Add in the melted butter, then stir until well-distributed.
- Fold in the sliced almonds.
- Sprinkle the oat topping evenly over the cherry filling. Smooth into an even layer.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cherries are bubbling and the oat topping is lightly browned. Tip: Place a cookie sheet under the cake pan before baking. That way, if cherry sauce bubbles out it will be caught by the pan underneath.
- Let the Cherry Crisp sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.
Equipment
You only need basic kitchen tools to make Gluten Free Cherry Crisp. I recommend:
- A cherry-pitter would make pitting the cherries so much easier
- An 8x8 baking dish is the perfect size for this recipe
- A silicone spatula is always a go-to whenever I bake anything
Notes on Gluten Free Cherry Crisp:
- Use a combination of sweet and sour cherries. I used half sweet cherries from the store and half Morello-type sour cooking cherries I bought from my local farm stand. I believe the sour cherries are called Early Richmond's, but if you know otherwise please do tell me.

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Cherry Crisp - Gluten Free
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Ingredients
For the Cherry Filling
- 5 cups pitted and stemmed cherries fresh or frozen, (I used half sweet cherries and half Morello sour cherries)
- 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (add 1-2 tablespoon extra if using all or mostly sour cherries)
- 2 tablespoon organic cornstarch
For the Oat Topping:
- 1 cup certified gluten-free rolled oats
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ⅔ cup high quality gluten-free all-purpose flour containing xanthan gum I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF Baking Flour (the blue bag) *Replace with regular all-purpose if not GF*
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Rinse, pit, and de-stem the cherries, if using fresh. You may want to sit while doing this. It can take awhile. If you have a cherry-pitter; use it. If not, I used a cheese knife to dig underneath the pit. It worked well, just be careful not to cut yourself.
- Once the cherries are pitted, preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease an 8-inch square cake pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray, making sure to coat the bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
For the Cherry Filling:
- Add the cherries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, pure vanilla extract, and lemon juice to a large bowl. Stir until evenly coated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and use a silicone spatula to spread it into an even layer.
For the Oat Topping:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the gf oats, gf all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until combined.
- Add in the melted butter, then stir until well-distributed.
- Fold in the sliced almonds.
- Sprinkle the oat topping evenly over the cherry filling. Smooth into an even layer.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the cherries are bubbling and the oat topping is lightly browned. Tip: Place a cookie sheet under the cake pan before baking. That way, if cherry sauce bubbles out it will be caught by the pan underneath.
- Let the Cherry Crisp sit for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.
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