Cherry Delight
This post may contain affiliate links.
Cherry Delight is a super easy, no bake dessert made with a graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, and cherry pie filling. You can make this dessert in about 20 minutes!
Save this classic recipe (and its sister dessert, Peach Delight) for summer cookouts, potlucks, and Fourth of July parties!
Classic Cherry Delight
I recently learned that the term “vintage” can refer to anything that is over 20 years old but less than 100 years old, which was, to my mid-30s self, mildly horrifying.
That means N*SYNC, jelly shoes, Polly Pocket, and that gigantic CD binder rolling around in your car–all vintage.
It also means all those recipes I grew up with in the 90s–Green Bean Tater Tot Casserole, Cold Veggie Pizza, and Cherry Delight–also vintage.
I’ll admit, the former list makes me feel *ancient*, but there is a certain charm to a “vintage” recipe, isn’t there? It instantly evokes nostalgia, dredging up memories of family reunions, slumber parties, or high school cafeterias.
For me, Cherry Delight brings back memories of church potlucks. It was a popular option, battling it out with Dirt Pudding for the most sought after dessert.
I recently remade this classic recipe, and I can happily say that unlike jelly shoes, it holds up. Cool and creamy with a buttery graham cracker crust and saucy cherry topping, this easy dessert is like a no bake cherry cheesecake!
Our version adds extra cherries on top, making it the very best cherry delight! We love a 9 x 13 inch dessert that feeds a crowd, and this one is no exception. You’ll want to save this one for your next gathering.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
- Graham crackers– This recipe uses honey graham crackers. If you’d like the recipe to be gluten free, just substitute gluten free graham crackers (<<we prefer this brand).
- Salted butter– We usually use unsalted butter when baking, but for very simple things like graham cracker crust the salted butter adds more flavor without adding extra ingredients.
- Cream cheese– Most brands of cream cheese should work just fine, but we recommend using only full fat cream cheese, and letting it come to room temperature.
- Powdered sugar– We prefer to sift our powdered sugar first to avoid a lumpy filling.
- Whipped topping– Cool Whip or an off brand whipped topping both work well, but again, we recommend using a full fat version.
- Cherry pie filling– We use canned cherry pie filling, but you can also make your own pie filling, if you prefer.
How to Make Cherry Delight
Step 1: Make the graham cracker crust. In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Refrigerate.
Step 2: Make the filling. Beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium high speed until smooth. Stir in the whipped topping, beating on low speed until well combined. Gently spread over the graham cracker crust.
Step 3: Top with cherry pie filling.
Tips and Variations
- The key to our cherry delight recipe is the extra cherries on top. You might’ve noticed that canned cherry pie filling can be heavy on the “filling” and not so much on the cherries. We love for there to be cherries in almost every bite, so we use a full can + just the cherries from a second can.
- Use leftover cherry pie filling as a topper for pancakes, chocolate waffles, pound cake, or cheesecake.
- This dessert can be made with any pie filling you’d like! We also love it with blueberry pie filling!
- To crush the graham crackers, you can either use a food processor or place them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
This dessert is best made at least two hours in advance, but it keeps well for up to a week in the fridge. Cover with saran wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve!
We do not recommend freezing this dessert.
More Easy Potluck Desserts to Try
- Chocolate Crazy Cake
- Easy Rhubarb Custard Cake
- Chocolate Covered Rice Krispie Treats
- Easy Raspberry Bars
- Oreo Cheesecake Bars
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Cherry Delight
Ingredients
- 2 cups honey graham cracker crumbs (from about 12-13 graham crackers)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 Tablespoons salted butter (melted)
- 8 ounces full fat cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup sifted powdered sugar
- 8 ounces whipped topping (thawed)
- 1 ½ 21 oz cans cherry pie filling (*see note*)
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar on medium high speed until smooth. Stir in the cool whip, beating on low speed until well combined.
- Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the graham crackers. Top with one can of the pie filling, carefully spreading it over the dish. Add just the cherries with minimal syrup from 1/2 of a second can of filling. Refrigerate two hours or overnight, then serve.
Notes
- You will only use the cherries from 1/2 of the second can of pie filling. We find most canned pie filling is heavy on the “filling” and light on the cherries, so we use just the cherries from the second can.
- Cherry delight keeps very well in the fridge, covered with saran wrap, for 5-7 days.
- Feel free to substitute with other pie filling flavors if you prefer.
