Fresh cherry cobbler is such an amazing dessert during summer – sweet, juicy and just perfect with a scoop of ice cream. A quick homemade cherry filling is topped with easy drop biscuits, then baked to golden perfection!

overhead view of cherry cobbler in white bowl with ice cream

In case you missed it, it’s cherry season. Which also means it’s fresh cherry cobbler season ♡

I’m certainly no stranger to using frozen fruit, or canned pie filling if I’m pressed for time (and you could even make this cobbler with canned pie filling if you wanted to!). But during cherry season, I’ll make the time to pit a million cherries because this cobbler is just so good – and not difficult to put together at all!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients to make cherry cobbler with text labels — Ingredients to make Cherry Cobbler: Cherries, white and brown sugar, cornstarch, flour, buttermilk, butter, lemon juice, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Remember to check the recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact quantities and baking instruction!

Ingredient notes

Cherries: I use sweet cherries for the filling, not sour. Feel free to use a 21-oz can cherry pie filling if you don’t want to bother with pitting the fruit! You can also use 2lbs frozen cherries in this recipe, although you may need to add a little more cornstarch to the filling.
Buttermilk: No buttermilk? No problem! Just stir ½ tablespoon of white vinegar into ½ cup of regular milk. Let sit for 5 minutes and then use as directed.
Vanilla: You can use almond extract in place of the vanilla, if that’s what you prefer.
Butter: Must be cold from fridge! If you’re using margarine, make sure to use stick margarine and NOT spreadable margarine.
Cornstarch: Do not substitute flour for the cornstarch, it doesn’t work the same.

How to make a cherry cobbler

1. Start by making your cherry filling: Place the pitted and halved cherries in a medium-large saucepan. Stir in both sugars, then bring to a boil.

Immediately reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for around minutes, or until the cherries have softened.

2. Thicken the filling: Combine the cornstarch with the lemon juice, vanilla extract and 3-4 tablespoons of water (how much water you need depends on how juicy your cherries are – start with 3 tablespoons, add more if needed).

Take the cherries off the heat and stir in the cornstarch slurry. Work quickly and stir continuously while adding the cornstarch, or you’ll end up with lumps! Set the filling aside to slightly cool.

overhead view of fresh pitted cherries and sugar in pan — simmer cherries and sugar

cornstarch slurry pouring over pan filled with cooked cherries — simmer cherries and sugar

3. Make topping: Before you begin with your topping, turn on your oven and preheat it to 350°F.

Combine the dry ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl (use a whisk for this step to evenly distribute the baking powder and soda). Cut in the butter until the mix looks crumbly (use a pastry blender, two forks or your hands to rub the butter into the flour).

Whisk the vanilla extract into the buttermilk, then pour over the flour mixture. Use a spoon or spatula to stir the batter just until all of the flour has been moistened – stop as soon as no more dry flour is visible, or your biscuits may come out dense. The batter will be quite thick.

overhead view of flour in glass bowl with whisk — combine dry ingredients

overhead view of flour with butter cut in in glass bowl — combine dry ingredients

4. Assemble the cobbler: Spread the filling in a 9-inch deep pie dish, or into a 2-2.5 quart casserole or baking dish. Make sure you catch all of the juices!

Drop the biscuit topping over the filling by the tablespoon. You can sprinkle them with a little granulated sugar to make the top sparkle!

Place a lined baking sheet under your cobbler to catch any accidental spills during baking. Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the biscuits are fully baked through.

overhead view of cherry filling in fluted pie dish — place filling in dish

overhead view of unbaked cherry cobbler in fluted pie dish — place filling in dish

Extra tip: Especially if you’re using a round or oval dish, the biscuit in the middle is always the very last one to bake through. Make sure to check well before removing the cobbler from the oven, to ensure all of the topping has fully baked.

To check, carefully lift up the middle biscuit with a fork, if it isn’t done yet you will see liquid batter underneath.

If the top gets too brown before your biscuits are done, loosely cover with foil for the remaining baking time. Check for browning around the 20 minute mark, and then every 5 minutes, to make sure your cobbler doesn’t get too dark on top.

overhead close up photo of cherry cobbler

Recipe FAQs

How to pit cherries without a cherry pitter: If your cherries are ripe, the easiest and safest way to me is to use my hands (you can wear gloves if you don’t want cherry juice all over your fingers).

Break the cherry open where the stem was attached, remove the pit. You just pitted and halved a cherry in a single, easy step! I highly recommend doing this in your sink wearing an apron, because the cherry juice will be everywhere…

Why even pre-cook the filling? Many fruit cobblers simply combine the fruit with sugar and cornstarch in the bottom of the dish without pre-cooking. It’s fine in some crisps, but for cobblers I generally prefer pre-cooking the fruit into a thick pie-like filling.

Not only can you taste and adjust the amount of sugar and cornstarch/water before adding a topping; but I also find the filling stays too dry and doesn’t get bubbly and jammy in cobblers if it isn’t pre-cooked. It’s an extra step, but I do think here it’s worth the effort.

What does it mean to cut butter into flour? This just means that you’ll rub the butter and flour together in a way that forms crumbs. It’s like making a streusel topping, or pie crust. You can use a pastry cutter or two forks to mash the butter into the flour. I prefer using clean hands. Stop once the mixture looks crumbly and no more large bits of butter can be seen – avoid working too long and turning the mixture pasty.

Recipe tips

Flour measuring: Do not scoop flour with a measuring cup, use the spoon and level method: Loosely spoon flour into measuring cup, then level off with back side of a blunt knife. Wrongly measured flour yields a dry topping.
Cornstarch: The filling is hot, so the starch will seize up quickly when added. Make sure to start stirring immediately as you’re pouring the cornstarch slurry into the filling, or you’ll get lumps which are not really fixable.
Batter: Make sure to fully incorporate all dry flour with the buttermilk, but don’t over-stir the batter for the biscuits. Use a spoon or rubber spatula, and stop stirring once all of the dry flour is gone.
Check biscuits for doneness: Make sure to not only check along the edge, but check the biscuits in the middle as well to make sure all of the biscuit batter has fully baked before removing the cobbler from the oven.
Watch the top: Loosely cover the cobbler with foil if the top gets too dark after 20-25 minutes in the oven.

Storage

Leftovers keep on the counter, loosely covered, for up to 2 days. If you need to keep the cobbler for up to 4 days, store it in the fridge, tightly covered.

Serving ideas

Add a scoop (or two!) of vanilla bean ice cream
Serve your cobbler with whipped cream
Add a dollop of Greek yogurt and a light dusting of cinnamon (personally, this is my favorite!)

close up photo of cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream in white bowl

More summer desserts

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe

Recipe first published on 06/21/2018. Updated with new photos, new text and improved recipe on 06/12/2024.

Fresh Cherry Cobbler