Old-Fashioned Cherry Delight Recipe

Old-fashioned Amish Cherry Delight is a classic dessert that features a graham cracker crust, a cream cheese filling, and a topping of fresh or canned cherry pie filling.

This dessert is made in a 9x13-inch dish and is served chilled. The tangy flavor of the cherries and the sweet, creamy texture of the cream cheese filling balance each other out, making this dessert a crowd-pleaser.

Amish Cherry Delight is a simple and easy-to-make dessert that is perfect for family gatherings, potlucks, or other special events.

No-Bake Cherry Delight

Skip the oven and whip up this easy, old-fashioned Cherry Delight - no baking required! You'll only need simple ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, butter, cream cheese, sugar, whipped topping, and cherry pie filling.

The buttery graham cracker crust comes together by mixing crumbs with melted butter and a bit of sugar, then pressing it firmly into the bottom of a 9x13" dish. If you like a crispier crust, you can pop it into the oven for 10-15 minutes, then let it cool completely before adding the cream cheese layer.

Honestly, I usually skip the baking step because I don't feel like heating up the oven just for a few minutes. The no-bake version is just as delicious and so much faster! Simply chill your Cherry Delight in the fridge until you're ready to serve. It's the perfect make-ahead dessert.

How to Make Cherry Delight Recipe 9x13 Pan

This cherry delight with a graham cracker crust has three layers, but none of them take very long to make. So it's a simple dessert that will come together very quickly.

1. For the crust, you can either crush the graham crackers with a rolling pin in a ziplock bag or toss them into a food processor to make crumbs. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, then add the crumbs and sugar. Mix well and spread it into a 9x13" dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom to pack them together.
2. For the middle layer, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Then mix in the vanilla and powdered sugar. Add the heavy whipping cream and mix, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Then turn it to high speed and whip it until thick and creamy. (If you are using Cool Whip instead of whipping cream, you will only mix gently after adding it. Cool Whip will get runny if it's mixed too much.)
3. Drop the cream cheese mixture by large spoonfuls over the crust and carefully spread to cover.
4. Then simply open two cans of pie filling and spoon it over the top. Or you can make pie filling from scratch if desired.

Cool Whip or Whipping Cream?

I loved Cool Whip when I was a kid, and sometimes I sneaked spoonfuls and ate it like ice cream.

But somewhere along the line, I discovered that whipped cream tastes so much better than Cool Whip. It doesn't have the artificial flavor and high fructose corn syrup that's so bad for us. So I switched to whipped cream in almost all of my recipes.

However, whipped cream is not stabilized like Cool Whip. So if you make a dessert to take along to a hot summer barbecue picnic, it might be better to use Cool Whip since whipped cream can get runny when it gets too warm.

But I replace Cool Whip with whipped cream about 90% of the time because I think it tastes so much better.

❤️ Why Everyone Loves Old-Fashioned Cherry Delight

• No Baking Needed: It's quick, easy, and perfect for warm days when you don't want to turn on the oven.
• Creamy, Dreamy Layers: That fluffy cream cheese filling with real whipped cream (or Cool Whip) is rich but light-comforting without being heavy.
• Sweet Cherry Topping: The bright, fruity cherry pie filling adds just the right amount of tangy sweetness to balance the creamy middle.
• Graham Cracker Crust: Buttery and just a little bit crisp, it's the perfect base for every bite.
• Nostalgic & Crowd-Pleasing: It's the kind of dessert that shows up at family reunions, church potlucks, and holidays-and disappears fast because everyone remembers loving it.
• Make-Ahead Friendly: You can make it the day before, and it's even better after chilling for a few hoursWhy You'll Love This Old-Fashioned Cherry Delight

Blueberry Delight and Other Variations

Delights, such as blueberry delight, peach delight, and cherry delight, were served quite frequently at our Amish gatherings when I was growing up. This recipe makes enough to serve a group of people, it's easy to make, easy to transport, and overall a great dessert that everyone seems to enjoy.

• This recipe is called cherry delight because it's topped with cherries. But we also used the same base to make numerous other kinds of delights. Use the same crust and cream cheese filling recipe and top it with blueberry pie filling, peach pie filling, blackberry pie filling, raspberry pie filling, etc. And you can even top it with chocolate pie filling.
• If desired, you could also top this cherry delight with chocolate shavings.
• Feel free to use chocolate graham cracker crumbs or vanilla wafers for the crust instead of honey graham crackers. Or use my recipe for a pecan shortbread crust.
• If you'd like to serve cherry delight in a pie form instead of a 9x13" pan, check out my recipe for Easy Cherry Pie with a Graham Crust.

Have fun, get creative, and make a dessert that your family will love!

More Amish Dessert Recipes

• Peach Delight Recipe
• Lemon Lush Dessert
• Easy Caramel Dumplings
• Strawberry Tapioca Pudding
• Graham Cracker Pudding
• Pumpkin Torte
• Rhubarb Custard Dessert

This Old-Fashioned Cherry Delight is a delicious and refreshing treat that is perfect for hot summer days when you don't want to turn on the oven. But with its lovely red topping, it's also a delightful dessert for holiday gatherings, such as Valentine's Day or Christmas.

I hope you enjoy this Amish cherry delight as much as my family does. It's always a favorite dessert around here. If you try this recipe, I would love it if you left a star rating and comment below. Thank you!

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