Cherry Dump Cake Recipe (4 Ingredients)

This cherry dump cake recipe is the easiest dessert you’ll make all year: dump cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple into a pan, sprinkle a box of yellow cake mix over the top, cover it with butter, and bake. In under an hour you get a bubbling, sweet-tart cherry layer under a golden, buttery, cobbler-like crust. It takes 4 ingredients and about 10 minutes of work, and it’s perfect warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Below you’ll find the ingredients, the right pan and butter method for no dry spots, step-by-step instructions, tips, variations (including a 3-ingredient cherry-only version), storage and FAQs. The printable recipe card is at the bottom.

Why You’ll Love This Cherry Dump Cake

• 4 pantry ingredients. No eggs, no mixer, no measuring flour.
• 10 minutes of work. The oven does the rest.
• Feeds a crowd. A 9×13 pan serves 12, so it’s ideal for potlucks, holidays and cookouts.
• Cherry pineapple flavor. The pineapple and its juice add brightness and moisten the cake mix from below, so the topping bakes up tender, not powdery.

Ingredients for Cherry Dump Cake

• Cherry pie filling, 2 cans (21 oz / 595 g each).
• Crushed pineapple in juice, 1 can (20 oz / 567 g), undrained.
• Yellow cake mix, 1 box (13.25 to 15.25 oz). Use just the dry mix; don’t add the eggs, oil or water from the box directions. White or butter-golden cake mix also works.
• Unsalted or salted butter, ¾ cup (1½ sticks / 170 g), cold and thinly sliced, or melted.
• Optional: ½ cup chopped pecans or sliced almonds, and vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to serve.

Cake mix boxes got smaller in recent years. Both the 13.25 oz and 15.25 oz sizes work here; the smaller box gives a slightly thinner topping.

Equipment You Need

• A 9×13-inch baking dish (glass, ceramic or metal).
• A spatula or spoon for spreading the fruit.
• A sharp knife for slicing the butter thin.
• A baking sheet to put under the dish and catch any drips.

How to Make Cherry Dump Cake (Step by Step)

1. Heat the oven

Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Lightly grease the baking dish.

2. Add the fruit

Spoon the crushed pineapple and its juice into the dish and spread it out. Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly on top. Don’t stir them together; the layers bake more evenly this way.

3. Add the cake mix

Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the fruit, breaking up any lumps with your fingers. Gently level it with the back of a spoon, but don’t press it down or mix it into the fruit.

4. Add the butter

Cover the cake mix with thin slices of cold butter in a tight single layer, reaching all the way to the edges and corners, so very little dry mix shows. Or drizzle melted butter slowly and evenly over the whole surface. Sprinkle on the nuts, if using.

5. Bake

Set the dish on a baking sheet and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. If you see dry powdery patches after 30 minutes, dab them with a little extra melted butter.

6. Cool and serve

Let it cool for at least 15 minutes so the filling thickens a little (it’s very hot). Scoop it into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Tips for the Best Cherry Dump Cake

• Cover every bit of cake mix with butter. Dry spots are the most common problem. Thin pats of cold butter, overlapping slightly, give the most even crust.
• Don’t stir. Mixing the cake mix into the fruit makes a gummy, dense layer instead of a crisp top.
• Use the juice from the pineapple. It’s part of the liquid that cooks the cake mix from below.
• Bake until bubbling at the edges. If the fruit isn’t bubbling, the bottom of the topping may still be raw.
• Don’t taste the raw cake mix. Dry cake mix contains raw flour, which isn’t safe to eat until it’s baked. See the FDA’s advice on handling flour safely.

Easy Variations and Substitutions

• Cherry only (3 ingredients): skip the pineapple and use 2 cans cherry pie filling, the cake mix and the butter. The topping will be a bit crisper and drier, so use melted butter and cover it well.
• Chocolate cherry: use a chocolate or devil’s food cake mix for a Black Forest-style dessert. Our chocolate dump cake takes that idea further.
• Almond cherry: stir ½ teaspoon almond extract into the cherry filling and top with sliced almonds.
• Fresh or frozen cherries: use 5 to 6 cups pitted cherries tossed with ⅔ cup sugar and 3 tablespoons cornstarch instead of pie filling, and bake 5 to 10 minutes longer.
• Other fruit: try blueberry or apple pie filling. See our apple dump cake and pumpkin dump cake for fall.
• Smaller batch: halve everything and bake in an 8×8-inch dish for 35 to 45 minutes.

Dump Cake vs Cobbler vs Crisp: What’s the Difference?

All three are baked fruit desserts with a topping, but the topping is different:

• Dump cake: dry boxed cake mix sprinkled over fruit and covered with butter. The butter and fruit juices turn the mix into a crisp, cake-like crust. No mixing at all.
• Cobbler: a biscuit dough or thick batter dropped over the fruit in spoonfuls, so it bakes into soft, “cobbled” mounds.
• Crisp or crumble: a crumbly mix of flour, sugar, butter and often oats rubbed together by hand and scattered on top.

This cherry dump cake recipe gives you a result close to a cherry cobbler, with a fraction of the work.

Making It Ahead and for a Crowd

• Bake it the same day. Dump cake is at its best within a few hours of baking, while the topping is still crisp. Bake it up to 4 hours ahead and leave it at room temperature, loosely covered, then rewarm it for 10 minutes in a 325°F oven before serving.
• Assemble just before baking. If the cake mix sits on wet fruit for too long before going in the oven, it turns pasty.
• For a big crowd, make two 9×13 pans and bake them on the same rack if they fit, or on two racks, swapping them halfway; add 5 to 10 minutes.
• To take it to a potluck, bake it in a disposable foil pan set on a baking sheet, and bring a container of whipped cream or a carton of ice cream in a cooler.

What to Serve With Cherry Dump Cake

• Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
• Whipped cream or a drizzle of cold heavy cream
• Coffee or a glass of cold milk
• After a cookout dinner, like our grilled picanha steak

Want something for one? Try our 90-second chocolate mug cake, or browse all our cake recipes.

How to Store, Freeze and Reheat

• Room temperature: cover and keep for up to 1 day.
• Refrigerate: cover and keep for up to 4 days. The topping softens in the fridge.
• Freeze: cool completely, wrap well, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
• Reheat: warm individual servings in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, or the whole dish, covered with foil, in a 325°F (165°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover for the last 5 minutes to re-crisp the top.

Cherry Dump Cake FAQs

Do you mix a dump cake?

No. You layer the fruit, dry cake mix and butter and bake it without stirring. That’s what gives it a crisp, cobbler-like top over a juicy fruit layer.

Should I use melted or sliced butter?

Both work. Thin slices of cold butter give an even, crispy top with fewer dry spots; melted butter is faster but can run into puddles. Whichever you use, cover the whole surface.

Why does my dump cake have dry spots?

Some cake mix wasn’t covered by butter or reached by fruit juice. Spread the butter all the way to the corners, and dab any dry patches with melted butter partway through baking.

Do I add eggs to the cake mix?

No. Use only the dry mix straight from the box, with nothing added.

Can I make cherry dump cake in a slow cooker?

Yes. Layer it the same way in a greased 6-quart slow cooker and cook on high for 2 to 2½ hours, until the topping is set. It won’t brown, so it’s softer and more cake-like.

Can I use a different cake mix?

Yes. White, butter golden, vanilla, chocolate and spice cake mixes all work. Lemon cake mix with cherry filling is bright and tangy.

Can I make it without pineapple?

Yes. Use 2 cans cherry pie filling, the cake mix and melted butter, and cover the cake mix well; without the pineapple juice it can bake up drier.

Cherry Dump Cake Recipe Card

Calories are an estimate per serving (1/12 of the pan, without nuts or toppings) based on USDA FoodData Central values for canned cherry pie filling, crushed pineapple in juice, yellow cake mix (15.25 oz box) and butter.

Chef Emma

Cherry Dump Cake

Cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple layered under dry yellow cake mix and butter, baked at 350°F until golden and bubbling. Four ingredients, no mixing.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Servings: 12 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 380

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 cans cherry pie filling 21 oz / 595 g each
• 1 can crushed pineapple in juice 20 oz / 567 g, undrained
• 1 box yellow cake mix 13.25 to 15.25 oz, dry mix only
• 3/4 cup butter 170 g, cold and thinly sliced, or melted
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or sliced almonds optional

Equipment

• 9×13-inch baking dish
• Baking sheet

Method

 

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. Spread the crushed pineapple with its juice in the dish, then spoon the cherry pie filling evenly on top. Do not stir.
3. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the fruit, breaking up lumps, and level it gently without pressing or mixing.
4. Cover the cake mix completely with thin slices of cold butter, or drizzle evenly with melted butter, reaching the edges and corners. Add nuts if using.
5. Set the dish on a baking sheet and bake 45 to 55 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges. Dab any dry spots with melted butter after 30 minutes.
6. Cool at least 15 minutes and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Notes

Use only the dry cake mix; don’t add eggs, oil or water. For a cherry-only version, skip the pineapple and use melted butter. Refrigerate leftovers up to 4 days. Don’t taste the raw cake mix. Calories are an estimate per serving from USDA FoodData Central values, without nuts or toppings.