This classic cherry delight recipe is simple to prepare, easy to transport, and can be made ahead of time. The bright red cherries make it a pretty, no-bake holiday dessert, especially for Christmas or Valentine's Day. It starts with a simple graham cracker crust, then it's topped with a cream cheese and cool whip cheesecake layer, and covered with cherry pie filling. It does not require an oven or stovetop - just a mixing bowl and 9x13 pan, and refrigerator. Another delicious icebox dessert to try is this no-bake orange mousse pie!
This recipe will keep for several days, although it doesn't last long around here! It is an excellent dessert to make ahead for a branding, cattle processing, or to take to the field if you're farming. You can make it in individual containers for a party or lunches.
Quick Look at the recipe
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 30 minutes
- ⏲️ Chill Time: 1 hour
- ⌛ Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 15
- 🔥 Calories: 351 kcal
- 🎄 Perfect for holiday dessert: Christmas, Valentines Day, Fourth of July.
- ✅ Difficulty: Easy
- 🍳 Serving Suggestions: Serve with holiday dinners or beside grilled venison tenderloins, savory elk sandwiches, or tender bison cheesesteaks.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
Cream Cheese: Any brand works, I use the generic for economy.
Butter: I use salted butter because I like the slightly salty-sweet combination. Unsalted works, too.
Graham crackers: Use cinnamon crackers for a different twist, or crushed pretzels work, too. This is a great place to use up burnt cookies! Just crush and use in place of grahams. Here's a burnt cookie dessert recipe I made.
Cool Whip: You can make your own with whipping cream and sugar, but I usually opt for store-bought for convenience.
Cherry Pie Filling: I often use just one can of fruit, because I like less fruit and more cheesecake filling, haha! But you can use whatever size cans you like, or any flavor! Sky's the limit! Blueberry, peach, apple, you name it.
How to prepare cherry delight dessert
- Step 1: Crush 2 sleeves of graham crackers -- I like to put them in my food processor, but you can also put them in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin or meat tenderizer to crush them.
- Step 2: Add 3/4 cup of softened butter to the cracker crumbs. Mix with a fork, or use your fingers.
- Step 3: When the butter is mixed in, press the crumbs into a 9x13 pan. Set in the fridge to chill.
- Step 4: While the crust is chilling, put two 8 oz packages of cream cheese into a bowl and soften in the microwave for a little bit. (or just set them on the counter ahead of time to soften - this will take about an hour.) Once the cream cheese is soft, beat it with electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat again. Add cool whip one cupful at a time, mixing well ofter each cupful.
- Step 5: Spread the cheesecake filling carefully over the graham cracker crust.
- Step 6: Then pour two cans of cherry pie filling over the top. Chill completely.
More dessert recipes to try:
If you tried this Cherry Delight recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Pull up a chair and tell me how it turned out!
Cherry Delight Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pkgs graham crackers crushed, about 18 whole crackers
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 2 8-oz pkg cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 8 oz cool whip
- 2 15-oz cans cherry pie filling
Instructions
- Finely crush graham crackers. Mix with softened butter. Press in 9x13 pan and chill while making the filling.
- Place softened cream cheese in mixing bowl, beat till smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat again. Add Cool Whip, one cupful at a time. Mix well.
- Carefully spread cheesecake filling over the graham crust. Pour two cans of cherry pie filling over top. Chill 1 hour for a firm crust, or serve immmediatey.
My husband & son in law loved this dessert!! It did not last very long !
It is delicious, great summer dessert , ( really any time )
Turned out great. Ended up only using 1 22oz can of pie cherries which is plenty for me since the store didn't carry 15oz cans.
I'm glad! I actually like it with only one can of cherries!
I made this but the ratio of crust versus filling was fine, but I doubled the amounts for the crust to even it out a bit more as I like more crust. it was wonderful
me and my family really enjoyed this recipe. I’ve made it before but a different recipe but this one was different from my last one I used. It was very delicious.!