You're going to love this vegan cherry cobbler. It's a sweet and tart cherry pie filling topped with buttery biscuits and baked to perfection. Serve with non-dairy vanilla ice cream for the perfect summer dessert.
There are so many things I love about summer!
First of all, there are all the summer travels. I mean, now would be a good time to mention that as I am hitting publish on this post, I am landing in Rome (!!!) where I will spend the next few days before heading up the coast of Italy. I also love all the day adventures, summer potlucks and BBQs, and late evening bonfires. But one of the best things about summer is all the good food that grows this time of year.
There are the freshest tomatoes, ALL the zucchini in the world, and, of course, cherries. My, oh my, do I love cherries.
If you, too, are on team cherry, then I think you're going to love this vegan cherry cobbler.
It's sweet.
It's tart.
And it's buttery delicious.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Good news, friends. Cobblers are one of the easiest desserts to make. It’s a matter of macerating the fruit, making a sweet biscuit topping, and baking to golden brown perfection.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cherries –When making any kind of fruit cobbler, I always recommend fresh fruit. However, when fresh berries are not possible, frozen berries can be substituted
- Granulated Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and sugar alternatives.
- Cornstarch
- Lemon
- All-Purpose Flour – I have also made this cobbler with 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Baking Blend with great success. (<<affiliate link)
- Baking Powder & Soda
- Salt
- Vegan Butter – When working with few ingredients, it’s important to use high-quality, non-hydrogenated butter. I suggest using Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter for this recipe. If you can’t find Miyoko’s butter at your local grocery stores, Earth Balance is the best alternative.
- Non-Dairy Milk – Thick and creamy is best. Soy, cashew, and coconut are the kinds of milk I recommend.
Recommended Equipment
For this recipe, you will need a 9×13 casserole dish or similarly sized baking dish. You will also need mixing bowls and basic kitchen utensils.
You may also find a pastry cutter to be helpful for your drop biscuit. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Cherry Cobbler
Good news, friends. Cobblers are one of the easiest desserts to make. It’s a matter of cooking down the cherries to make a thick, sweet filling and whipping together a buttery biscuit topping to drop on top. So easy!
Step One – Cook the Cherries
Once your cherries are washed, pitted, and halved, combine all the ingredients for the filling in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring the cherries to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.
Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cherries are tender and the juices have thickened. When they are done, the cherries will have a shiny glaze and sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Step Two – Make the Drop Biscuit
To make the drop biscuit, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Add the butter in small cubes and mix it in with the dough using your fingers until small pea-sized pieces have formed. Add the non-dairy milk and stir together until a stiff dough has formed.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Step Three – Assemble and Bake
Drop pieces of dough onto the berry mixer so that it is mostly covered with a large piece of dough resembling a cobbled road (see picture below).
Bake the mixed berry cobbler until the berries are bubbling up and the dough is golden brown. This should take about 20 minutes.
Serving and Storing
Serving – Let the cobbler sit for at least 20 minutes once out of the oven. This gives the syrup time to cool and thicken into a nice cherry compote. Serve the cobbler with coconut whipped cream or your favorite non-dairy ice cream. Enjoy alongside your favorite summer bbq recipes.
Storing – Store leftover cobbler in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this recipe in advance?
Why, yes! It can. If you want to prepare this cherry cobbler in advance but don’t want soggy biscuits, you can prepare the filling and biscuit separately.
Instead of layering the biscuit over the cherries, add it to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Make the filling as well, according to the recipe instructions. Once out of the oven, let the biscuit cool completely before storing it. The fruit can be covered and stored in the refrigerator. The topping should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
When ready to serve, add the topping to the cooked cherries and gently reheat at 350F until heated all the way through. This will help combine the layers and crisp up the topping before serving.
When making any kind of fruit cobbler, you can choose between fresh or frozen. I always prefer fresh fruit. Unlike frozen berries, they don’t contain extra liquid, meaning you get the most delectable filling. More importantly, they have THE BEST flavor and texture.
Since fresh cherries aren’t always in season, frozen cherries are a great alternative. If you have to use frozen, here are a few tips for preparing frozen cherries for this vegan cobbler.
- Place the cherries in a colander and run them under room temperature water, breaking them up with your fingers. This will allow the excess juices and water to run out.
- Let the cherries sit in the colander for at least 30 minutes so all the water has drained from them. If they are still wet, they will add liquid to your filling.
- Gently pat the cherries dry with a paper towel before mixing them with sugar and cornstarch.
Following these steps, you’ll get a result as similar to fresh berries as possible.
More Vegan Crisps And Cobblers
- Classic Cherry Cobbler
- Blackberry Bourbon Crisp
- Vegan Fruit Tarts
- Vegan Peach Cobbler
- Perfect Vegan Apple Pie
Vegan Cherry Cobbler
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
- 4 cups fresh cherries, pitted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Cobbler Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. vegan butter, I use Miyoko's
- 2 tablespoon non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Start by making the cherry filling. Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cherries are tender and the juices have thickened. Transfer cherries to a 9x9 baking dish.
- To make the crumble topping combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter in small cubes and mix it in with the dough using your fingers until small pea-sized pieces have formed. Add non-dairy milk and stir together until a stiff dough has formed. You may need to add a little more milk. If so, add it 1-2 teaspoons at a time.
- Drop pieces of dough onto the cherry filling so that it is mostly covered with a large piece of dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered until the cherries are bubbling up and the dough is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let sit for 20 minutes before serving.
- Serve with non-dairy ice cream of your choice.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Jamie says
YUMMMMM! Doubled the pastry and served with oat milk "ice cream." Delish!
Marcia Correll says
This healthier version of cherry cobbler was a hit at a family dinner. I substituted 1/3 cup organic coconut palm sugar instead of half cup regular sugar and used coconut milk for the non dairy milk. Topped with a tiny scoop of vanilla coconut ice cream after baked and warm- this was absolutely amazing! Surely a keeper recipe I’ll make over and over. Thank you!!!!
Yahlly says
Hi! The recipe looks great!!
I wanted to ask if the vegan butter can be replaced with coconut oil?
Thanks!!!
Joanne says
Unless I'm missing something, there's no mention of adding any liquid to the Filling recipe. It says to bring to a boil - but there's no liquid other than 2 T of lemon juice...???? Sarah - can you please advise?
Sarah McMinn says
The water that is released from the fruit combined with sugar and lemon juice will create a thick liquid that can boil. Hope that helps!
Lindsay says
This has a nice flavor and was easy to make but my cherries became very thick in the pan and there was no juice so the filling was thick yet dry (if that makes sense?). I used fresh cherries... Any suggestions?