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Home » recipes » Desserts

Cherry Crunch

Updated: Jul 4, 2025 · Published: Dec 3, 2024 by Kitchen Ready Betty · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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Craving a dessert that's easy to make and full of sweet flavor? Meet Cherry Crunch. In this delicious dessert, cherry pie filling sits in between two layers of buttery, sugar-spiced, crumbled Rice Chex. This sweet treat is perfect for a busy weeknight and will also make a wonderful addition to any holiday dessert table.

cherry crunch on plates

Cherry Crunch, much like Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake, is quite a tasty treat. Crushed Rice Chex are mixed with a little butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt (that's it!). And the best part is that what you see on the top is also on the bottom.

There's no separate bowl or topping, because frankly, the crumb mixture is good as both a base and topping. You simply divide it in half, pat one portion into the bottom of an 8x8 pan, spread on the cherry pie filling, and then top it with the remaining mixture and bake.

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  • Why you'll love it
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Equipment
  • Storage
  • 📋Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

Why you'll love it

Easy: Using a can of cherry pie filling is a great timesaver. There's also hardly any mixing involved and only one bowl is needed.

Simple ingredients: There's only 7 ingredients, and you most likely have the majority of them already on hand.

Full of fantastic cherry flavor: Do you sometimes find yourself asking: "What can I make with cherry pie filling?" This recipe is the answer. Every delicious bite is bursting with sweet cherry goodness.

Great for the winter holidays: With its beautiful, vibrant red, this dessert makes a wonderful addition to any holiday gathering. You can also double it to feed more of a crowd.
cherry crunch ingredients

Ingredients

  • Rice Chex- finely crush this for best results
  • flour
  • brown sugar- light or dark brown is fine; dark brown will give the topping a richer flavor
  • cinnamon
  • salt
  • butter
  • cherry pie filling- avoid light cherry pie filling for this recipe as it's too runny

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Start making Cherry Crunch by crushing the Rice Chex. Place the Chex in a freezer bag, seal it, and then gently crush the cereal by lightly squeezing it from the outside with your fingers.

dry ingredients in bowl for cherry crunch

Place the crushed cereal, along with all the other dry ingredients, in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.

bottom layer of cherry crunch

Add the softened butter to the bowl. Use a pastry blender to fully incorporate it with the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press half of the crumb mixture into the prepared 8x8 pan.

cherry filling over crumb base

Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly over the crumbs.

Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until crumbs are lightly browned.

Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

cherry crunch

We enjoy Cherry Crunch served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's also good cold right out of the fridge.

Equipment

  • freezer bag (quart size)
  • 1 large mixing bowl
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • mixing spoon
  • pastry cutter
  • can opener
  • 8x8 inch square pan, lightly greased

Storage

Cover with foil or store in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Just know that the longer Cherry Crunch sits, the soggier it gets (but it still tastes great!).

To reheat, cover with aluminum foil and place in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

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📋Recipe

cherry crunch

Cherry Crunch

Kitchen Ready Betty
It's not quite a bar (though close), cherry cobbler or crisp, but Cherry Crunch is amazingly delicious. Crushed Rice Chex are mixed with a little butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt (that's it!). And the best part is that what you see on the top is also on the bottom.
There's no separate bowl or topping, because frankly, the crumb mixture is good as both a base and topping. You simply divide it in half, pat one portion into the bottom of an 8x8 pan, spread on the cherry pie filling, and then top it with the remaining mixture. After baking for 40 minutes, you have the perfect cherry treat.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Rest Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course Desserts
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 & ¼ cups Rice Chex, crushed to 1 cup
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup butter, softened
  • 1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Place the Chex in a freezer bag, seal it, and then gently crush the cereal by lightly squeezing it from the outside with your fingers.
  • Place the crushed cereal, along with all the other dry ingredients, in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
  • Add the softened butter to the bowl. Use a pastry blender to fully incorporate it with the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • Press half of the crumb mixture into the prepared 8x8 pan.
  • Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly over the crumbs. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top.
  • Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until crumbs are lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
  • Cover leftovers with foil or store in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. 
    To reheat, cover with aluminum foil and place in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.

Notes

I always use a freezer bag to crush the Chex. Freezer bags are thicker and less likely to puncture.
Because the cherry pie filling gets super hot in the oven, you definitely want to let the dessert cool for 15 minutes before serving.
After a day or so, the base starts to get soggy. If you're making this for a gathering, try not to make it no more than one day ahead, but preferably the day of if you can.
Keyword brown sugar, cherry, cherry pie filling, crumb topping, easy dessert, holidays, Rice Chex

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Comments

  1. Gail V. says

    June 03, 2025 at 11:02 am

    5 stars
    I really like how easy this recipe is. Cherry pie filling is my favorite and it's nice to have a different way to enjoy it.

    Reply
  2. Kitchen Ready Betty says

    June 03, 2025 at 11:04 am

    Thanks for your feedback! I agree, it's so easy to make and eat!

    Reply

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