Cherry Oat Crisp Casserole With Home-Canned Cherries
Disclaimer: I received the book mentioned below in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. There are also links to products I recommend from companies I have a referral relationship with. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
If you have home-canned cherries sitting on the pantry shelf, this cherry oat crisp casserole is an easy way to turn them into a warm dessert without making a pie crust or doing a lot of extra prep.
I originally made this with cherries I had canned in a medium syrup, and the recipe used five pints. That made it especially useful for me because it turned something I had already preserved into a dessert I could put together quickly.
In This Article
Using Home-Canned Cherries for Cherry Oat Crisp
The biggest thing to remember is to drain the cherries well before putting them in the pan. My cherries were canned in syrup, so the fruit already brought sweetness and moisture to the recipe.
I was a little concerned the first time I made this because the topping also contains sugar. Once the canned cherries were opened and drained, though, the balance worked well. The topping gave the casserole the sweetness and texture it needed without the finished dessert becoming syrupy.
If your cherries are canned in a lighter syrup, juice, or water, the finished flavor may be a little less sweet. If you are using frozen or freshly pitted cherries instead, you may also need to account for the extra juice they release as they bake.
Why This Is a Good Pantry Dessert
One of the reasons I like recipes like this on a homestead is that much of the work has already been done during preserving season. When the cherries are already canned, there is no washing, pitting, or cooking down fruit when you want dessert.
That makes a crisp especially useful when company is coming, you need something for a family meal, or you simply want to use preserved fruit before the next harvest fills the pantry again.
The oat topping also relies on ordinary pantry ingredients, so this is the kind of dessert you can make without buying a long list of specialty items.
Cherry Oat Crisp Casserole Recipe
The recipe below was adapted from Not Your Mother's Casseroles by Faith Durand.
Print How To Make Cherry Oat Crisp Casserole
Ingredients
- 5 pints home canned cherries in medium syrup
- 1 ½ cups old-fashion oats
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of the following spices mixed in equal amounts - nutmeg, ginger and coriander
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Drain the cherries and put them in the bottom of the 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.
- Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
- Pour the mixture on top of the cherries making sure all of the fruit is evenly covered.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Remove the cherry oat crisp casserole from the oven and allow it to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Serve.
Notes
Note: This is a great make-ahead dessert. Just prepare it 24 hours in advance and put it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it.
Serving and Storing Cherry Oat Crisp
This is good served warm on its own, but it also works well with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or a little cream poured over the top. If you have leftovers, cover and refrigerate them once cooled.
The topping will soften somewhat in the refrigerator, which is normal. Reheating individual portions can bring back some of the warmth and texture.
If you preserve a lot of cherries, this is also a useful recipe to keep in rotation with pie, ice cream toppings, dehydrated fruit, and homemade maraschino cherries so every jar does not have to be used the same way.
Adjusting the Recipe for What You Have
Preserved fruit is rarely identical from one batch to the next, so use the recipe as a starting point and pay attention to moisture. Very juicy cherries can make the bottom of the crisp softer, while well-drained fruit gives the oat topping a better chance to stay crisp.
If your cherries are tart, the sweeter topping can be a good balance. If the fruit is already very sweet, serve smaller portions or pair the crisp with unsweetened cream rather than adding more sweetness.
This same approach is useful with other preserved fruit too. The important part is understanding how much liquid and sugar the fruit already brings before changing the topping.
More Ways to Use Cherries
- Maple Vanilla Bourbon Cherry Pie From Scratch
- How To Dehydrate Cherries
- How To Make Maraschino Cherries
- Five Spice Cherry Homemade Recipe For Ice Cream
- Sous Vide Cherry Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe
Use the buttons on the right hand side of the screen to share this article with friends or family who might find it useful. Pin the picture below to your pinboard on Pinterest for future reference.
