The incredibly tasty Apple Dump Cake is a super easy dessert, despite the not-so-great name! Apple pie filling, cake mix, and butter are layered in a 9 x 13 pan and baked until golden. This is a perfect dessert for last minute entertaining!
If you love everything apple, try my fabulous Apple Cider Pancakes ( complete with cinnamon fried apples and caramel apple cider syrup )!
This 3 ingredient apple dump cake, or apple cobbler dump cake, is an incredibly tasty dessert that you can have ready to serve in no time at all!
Apple Dump Cake Recipe
Talk about an easy dessert to put together on short notice! That's the wonderful thing about any dump cake, and this apple version turns out beautifully! My apple pie dump cake is a very popular family dessert, no matter the time of year!
Tender sliced apples are topped with a boxed yellow cake mix and melted butter, then baked until golden. Serve it up nice and hot, or allow your dump cake to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.
The alternates for soda cake mix cobbler, additional stir-ins, and recommended cake mix flavors are included in the 'how to' section below.
What is an Apple Dump Cake?
Any 'dump cake' is a cake that is made using ingredients that are literally dumped in a baking dish ( or crock pot, or instant pot ) together. There is no mixing required, and no extra dishes or mixing bowls used.
Typically, fruit or canned fruit is used as the base of the cobbler type dish. The base is topped with a boxed cake mix and a wet ingredient like melted butter or lemon lime soda.
So my apple dump cake is an apple pie filling and cake mix dump cake. The flavor and textures are surprisingly good, and your friends won't guess that it's a cake mix recipe!
Can I Use Fresh Apples Instead of Canned Apples?
Yes! You certainly can. The baking time is long enough that even a semi-firm apple variety would work quite well. I would suggest peeling your apples before using, and you would need to add some sugar and spices.
Use a ½ cup of sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and a ¼ teaspoon allspice with your peeled, cored, and sliced fresh apples. You will need roughly 6 cups of cut apples, or enough to cover the bottom layer of a 9 x 13 baking pan.
Combine these ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl and substitute them in the directions for the canned apple pie filling.
How To Make An Apple Dump Cake
Start with preheating your oven to 350ºF ( 175ºC ) and coating a 9 x 13 baking pan or 3 quart casserole dish with butter, or a non-stick cooking spray. Distribute the canned apple pie filling over the bottom your baking dish.
If desired, additional spices and/or a teaspoon of vanilla extract can be added to the apple pie filling layer. A dusting of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg or allspice, are all wonderful spices to stir in quickly. *I love nutmeg, and highly suggest a nice bit of freshly grated nutmeg to this delicious apple dump cake!
Next, pour the boxed yellow cake mix over the bottom layer of apple pie filling. Gently shake the pan, or tamp it down on the counter to evenly distribute the cake mix.
Yellow cake mix is my preferred combination in this recipe, however, white cake mix and spice cake mix are also great flavor options!
Distribute the melted butter evenly over the top of the boxed cake mix, use a spoon if needed, or drizzle the melted butter into the pan.
A 20 ounce bottle of lemon lime soda, such as 7 Up, Sprite, or Sierra Mist, is also a popular switch for the butter. My family likes this version as well, but prefers the buttery taste over the soda cake mix cobbler.
Bake in your preheated oven at 350ºF ( 175ºC ) for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden brown on the top and bubbling around the edges of the baking dish or pan. It is up to you whether you enjoy this dessert straight out of the oven, or after allowing it to cool for about 15 minutes.
I opt to eat it while it's nice and hot, and serve my apple dump cake with either whipped cream or some vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
More 9 x 13 Pan Desserts
- Pineapple Bars
- Old Fashioned Irish Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Pecan Frosting
- Super Moist Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Apple Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 40 oz apple pie filling (2 20 to 21 oz cans)
- 1 box yellow cake mix (white cake mix or spice cake mix also work)
- ¾ cup butter (melted - or use 18 oz Sprite/7 Up/Sierra Mist lemon lime soda)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and grease your 9 x 13 baking pan with butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the apple pie filling, distributing as an even bottom layer.
- Pour the boxed yellow cake mix over the apple pie filling. Gently shake or tamp the pan on the counter to spread the cake mix evenly.
- Next, add the melted butter. Pour the butter over as much of the cake mix surface as possible.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45-50 minutes or until golden browned on the top and bubbling around the sides of the pan. Allow the apple dump cake to cool slightly before serving, if desired, for about 15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
Michele says
Can this recipe be made gluten/dairy free? I was thinking the gluten free cake mix with the soda and the apples.
Yes! Definitely! I was just adding notes into a new recipe I'm posting today to include the swap for gluten-free cake mix. Follow all of the instructions as written here, just change the cake mix type. *I've noticed that when using gluten-free cake mix, it works best to increase my liquids. Use 1 cup melted butter or a 21-ounce soda for best results.
Thanks for asking!
Joyce loop says
Could you use other types of pie filling instead of the apple?
Of course! It's a wonderful recipe to use various fruits as well as other cake mix flavors. There are a lot of combinations that would be wonderful 🙂
Joyce McKinney says
Thank you! I actually made this yesterday using a French Vanilla cake mix and 7-Up because that's what I had on hand. I can't believe it was so easy!! And yummy?? Indeed!! I think this will be my dessert contribution for pot luck dinners in the future! Thank you!