3-Ingredient Cherry Cobbler Recipe

Cherry cobber is definitely one of the top classic desserts out there. With the perfect balance of tart and sweet fruit, paired with a delicious topping, it's as simple as can be. And sometimes, simple desserts are the best kind of treats.

Cobblers provide the perfect opportunity to utilize in-season fruits, but you can certainly make a delicious dessert utilizing frozen or canned fruit options as well so that you can have dessert any time of the year. And with how delicious this comfort food is, who wouldn't want to serve it at any time? 

This ridiculously simple cherry cobbler comes together in just under an hour, and it only utilizes three quick and easy-to-find ingredients. Plus, once it's baked, topping it with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream will create the perfect treat, pairing warm and cold ingredients. It's a delicious dessert experience, and it's one that's sure to impress anyone you plan to share it with.

Is there anything better than a dessert that comes together in under an hour? Part of putting together an easy and impressive treat all has to do with utilizing simple ingredients.

For this easy cherry cobbler recipe, you'll want to gather a box of white cake mix, one stick of butter, and cherry pie filling. You could certainly opt for a different flavor of cake mix if desired, such as a yellow mix. Or, if you're hoping to really play up the flavor of this cobbler, a chocolate cake mix could be a delicious substitute.

We chose to utilize canned cherry pie filling for our cobbler, especially since it's so easy to find on grocery store shelves. However, you could definitely opt for fresh cherries when they're in-season. Just be sure to remove the pits and stems, and dice them into small pieces.

When it comes to easy dessert recipes, sometimes it's better to work with fewer ingredients. The shorter the ingredient list, generally the smaller the margin of error. And this certainly comes in handy if you're not an avid baker.

Cake mixes are definitely one of the best inventions for those hoping for a simple solution to baking a cake. But they can also be utilized for so many other recipes, such as this one.

However, if you don't have a stash of cake mixes tucked away in your pantry, or you'd simply prefer not to use them, you can still put together a delicious cherry cobbler. Mixing together 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt will produce a simple cake mix substitute to utilize for this recipe. If you like a sweeter topping to your cobbler, you can add a bit more sugar to the mix, or even swap it out for brown sugar for a more caramelized flavor.

The beauty of fruit cobblers is that a recipe can easily be adapted for pretty well any fruit. Cobblers are often made with apples, peaches, blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb, and anything else you can dream of. The combination of a sweet topping paired with fruit is a total classic, and really, any fruit you utilize will be delicious.

You can utilize frozen fruit with this cherry cobbler recipe, if desired. Finding a bag of frozen cherries at the grocery store will certainly work. Or, if you find a bag of frozen fruit featuring cherries mixed with other fruits, it would make a delicious cobbler as well.

Additional canned fruit pie fillings can also work with this recipe, allowing you to swap out the canned cherry pie filling for blueberry, apple, or peach. It's truly an easily customizable recipe to suit any occasion.

To get started on making this easy 3-ingredient cherry cobbler, you'll want to make sure your oven is prepped for success. First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees to allow it to warm up to temperature while you prep your cobbler.

Grab a pan for your cobbler, such as a 9" X 9" square pan or a 9" X 13" pan. Truly, any size or shape of pan will work for this recipe. For a glass baking dish, spray it with a bit of cooking spray or brush it with oil before adding any fruit to the pan to be sure it doesn't stick. For a metal or non-stick pan, this step isn't necessary.

Open your two cans of cherry pie filling and completely dump both of them out into the pan. Use a spoon to smooth the fruit filling into an even layer to prep it for its topping.

To make the topping for this quick and easy cherry cobbler, you'll need your white cake mix and your butter.

Melt the entire stick, or ½ cup, of unsalted butter using any method. We find it's easy to put the stick in a mug or bowl, covered with a paper towel, and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds. You can also use a pan on the stove as well.

Dump the white cake mix into a large bowl. Once your butter is melted and slightly cooled, gradually add it to the bowl with your cake mix. You'll want to stir with a large fork as you go, evenly mixing the butter and the dry mix. As you mix, small clumps will begin to form for your topping. Be sure to utilize all of the melted butter and continue mixing so your topping isn't too dry.

The mixture of the white cake mix and melted butter provides the ideal consistency for a cobbler topping. By creating the crumble topping with melted butter, it adds moisture to the topping as it bakes.

Once your cake mix crumble mixture is ready, pour a layer of the topping over your cherry pie filling layer. To incorporate the mixture with the fruit just at the top, slightly stir your fruit. Then, sprinkle the rest of the cake mix topping over the cherry pie filling and pat the mixture down slightly.

Once your cherry cobbler is prepped, put it in the oven at 375 degrees, and allow your cobbler to bake for 40-45 minutes. As it bakes, the topping will take on a light golden brown color. You'll know it's done once you see a bit of color on top and the crumble topping has hardened slightly.

Once you pull your cobbler out of the oven, allow it to cool for a few minutes before serving. As you let it cool, it's the ideal opportunity to grab your favorite serving bowls to dish up dessert. And while you're at it, grab some vanilla ice cream and an ice cream scoop.

There's just something so perfect about the combination of a warm, gooey cherry cobbler and cold vanilla ice cream. This classic combo of hot and cold temperatures is something that chefs play with all the time to create incredible dishes.

Serve up spoonfuls of your cobbler in bowls, and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. You could opt to dish it up with cherry or chocolate ice cream as well. If you really want to go all out on this dessert, layer the cherry cobbler and ice cream in a bowl, or top your dessert with oats or granola for added crunch.