My sweet, easy-to-make Pineapple Dump Cake is the rich, buttery, and quick dessert you need to make much more often! Full of delightful tropical pineapple flavor – this cake is just as delicious as it is easy!
Fruity, caramelized, and buttery – my pineapple dump cake is sure to be a new favorite!
If you’re anything like me, you love pineapple and pineapple desserts! Who doesn’t love that sweet, tropical flavor? It pairs so well here with the buttery cake. It gets topped with a sprinkling of brown sugar that turns into a slightly crunchy, caramelized crust on the top of the cake that’s simply divine!
Dump cakes are probably the easiest way to make a dessert – and this one is no exception! It takes just 5 minutes to throw this cake together. When it comes out of the oven, your family or guests will think you’ve spent hours creating it. They won’t know it’s from a box and you don’t have to tell them either – it can be our secret!
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe!
So Easy! My pineapple dump cake uses 4 ingredients and takes 5 minutes to bake – dessert has never been easier!
Full of Tropical Flavor! The sweet, tangy, floral pineapple is the star of the show here! That delicious flavor permeates through the entire cake and pairs wonderfully with the butter and brown sugar.
It’s a Family Favorite! Kids and adults will both adore my pineapple dump cake! It’s so delicious, it’s definitely going to become a new favorite!
🥘 Ingredients
My easy-to-make, delightful pineapple dump cake is so simple! It has just 4 easy ingredients – some of which you might already have!
- Pineapple Tidbits – For this recipe you want either 1 large 40-ounce can of pineapple or 2 20-ounce cans. You can also use a combination of pineapple tidbits and crushed pineapple.
- Boxed Cake Mix – The secret ingredient of this recipe is boxed cake mix! It makes this cake so easy. You can use either yellow or white cake mix – but I recommend against any other flavor.
- Butter – You want to melt the butter for this recipe! I like to use a European style butter for the most delicious flavor.
- Light Brown Sugar – The brown sugar is sprinkled over the top and creates a caramelized, slightly crunchy topping that’s just so good!
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
Dessert has never been easier than with my sweet, buttery pineapple dump cake! Make sure the butter is melted for the best results!
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- Prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously butter or spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Layer the pineapple. In the bottom of your prepared, well-greased pan, add 40 ounces (1 40-ounce can or 2 20-ounce cans) of drained pineapple tidbits ((photo 1) or a combination of 1 can of pineapple tidbits and 1 can of crushed pineapple). Spread the pineapple out evenly out in the pan. Be sure to reserve the juice from one of the cans to add to the topping!
- Layer the cake mix. Add 1 15.25-ounce box of cake mix by sprinkling it evenly over the top of the pineapple (photo 2). Drizzle the reserved pineapple juice over the top of the cake mix layer (photo 3), then add ½ cup of melted butter (photo 4). Try to moisten as much of the surface of the cake mix as possible.
- Layer the brown sugar. Crumble ⅓ cup of light brown sugar over the top of the cake mix (photo 5), then cover the baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Bake. Bake in the middle of the center rack of your oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes, then remove the aluminum foil and finish baking the pineapple dump cake for an additional 15 minutes. The top of your cake should be golden brown and slightly crunchy when done.
- Cool and serve.Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool slightly ((photo 6) about 10 minutes) before serving warm.
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My incredible, buttery pineapple dump cake is best served for dessert with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream! You can also serve with some sweetened whip cream if you prefer! This cake is going to be such a crowd-pleaser! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
Be sure to reserve the juice from the canned pineapple for this recipe!
- You’ll be drizzling the juice over-top to help moisten and flavor the dry cake mix, so don’t toss it!
- If you have access to ripe, fresh pineapple and want to use it for this recipe, buy a can of pineapple juice so you can still drizzle some juice over the top. Fresh, chopped pineapple is wonderful, but it likely won’t have the same amount of juices released as canned does.
Don’t stir the ingredients together before baking!
- The beauty of this dump cake is that the butter and pineapple juice moisten the cake mix just enough, while also mixing with the brown sugar to create a sweet, crunchy topping. If it gets stirred or mixed you won’t get that lovely topping!
Be sure to generously butter or spray your baking dish for easier serving and clean-up!
- The fruit, butter, and sugar can easily stick to the baking dish, so make sure you grease well to prevent it!
The aluminum foil is important in this recipe to prevent burning!
- Because there’s a sugar and butter on top of this cake, and because it’s cooked for a longer amount of time, it’s necessary to use the foil so that the cake doesn’t scorch before it’s fully cooked on the inside!
🥡 Storing & Reheating
If you happen to have extra of this delicious dump cake, you can simply cover the cooled cake tightly with plastic cling film or aluminum foil and refrigerate for up to 5 days!
This wonderful cake can also be pre-baked and frozen in advance! Once the cake is cooled, simply either wrap tightly with plastic cling film and aluminum foil, or if you can, gently transfer the contents to an airtight container. When ready to eat, defrost in your fridge overnight.
Reheating
If you’re reheating leftovers, you can either bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until heated through again (about 15-20 minutes) or reheat servings in the microwave at 30-second intervals until heated all the way through.
If reheating a frozen dump cake, it’s best to use the oven! Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 15-20 mins until warmed all the way through.
❓ FAQ
Dump cake gets its name because the ingredients are literally all ‘dumped’ into a pan! This is what makes it super easy! Because of this, the dump cake is kind of like a cross between a cake and a cobbler, but it’s as delicious as the two combined!
Sure! If you need this easy dessert to be gluten-free, just use a gluten-free boxed cake mix instead of a regular cake mix. Follow the rest of the instructions as normal and it’ll turn out lovely!
I would say any fruit might go well in a dump cake! Canned peaches or canned pie fillings are the most commonly used fruit for dump cakes.
Pineapple Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 40 ounces pineapple tidbits (2 20-ounce cans or use a combo tidbits and crushed pineapple - reserve the juice from one can to use on the topping)
- 15.25 oz cake mix (white or yellow cake mix)
- ½ cup butter (1 stick or 8 tablespoons - melted)
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar (packed)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and generously butter or spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In the bottom of your prepared pan, add the 2 cans of drained pineapple tidbits (or a combination of 1 can of pineapple tidbits and 1 can of crushed pineapple). Spread the pineapple out evenly in the pan. *Be sure to reserve the juice from one of the cans to add to the topping!40 ounces pineapple tidbits
- Add the cake mix by sprinkling it evenly over the top of the pineapple. Drizzle the reserved pineapple juice over the top of the cake mix layer, then add the melted butter. Try to moisten as much of the surface of the cake mix as possible.15.25 oz cake mix, ½ cup butter
- Crumble the light brown sugar over the top of the cake mix then cover the baking dish with a sheet of aluminum foil.⅓ cup light brown sugar
- Bake in the middle of the center rack of your oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45 minutes, then remove the aluminum foil and finish baking the pineapple dump cake for an additional 15 minutes. The top of your cake should be golden browned and slightly crunchy when done.
- Remove from the oven when done and allow to cool slightly (about 10 minutes) before serving warm.
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!
Sandra M. Classey says
I’m sure it’s going to taste good but the bake time for me is way off .. I baked covered for 45 min and uncovered for another 35+ to make it look like yours nice and brown
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I know that everyone's oven can be a bit off in either direction, sorry to hear that it took extra time to really brown up! Hope that you've enjoyed it now that it's cooled!
Spencer says
My mom used to make a version of this. However, she sliced the butter into cubes and layered them evenly across the top. A bit messy, and painstaking but perfect every time.
I might try adding the brown sugar to it with my moms butter technique and see how it goes.
Oh and she used crushed pineapple as well.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That is how I started making this recipe, once upon a time. 🙂 Opting for melted butter usually gives better coverage to the cake mix and will result in fewer dry spots. And I will gladly used crushed pineapple in this as well, it's just a matter of what I have on hand on any given day when the whim hits me! I hope you enjoy the cake!
Lorri says
how much brown sugar did you use? I will be making this in 2 weeks for sure.
Beverly says
Delicious! Should leftovers be stored in the refrigerator? Thank you!
shirley says
CAN YOU MAKE THIS WITH CAN PEACHES>
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
See the related recipe here that works best with peaches https://bakeitwithlove.com/peach-dump-cake/
Thanks for asking and enjoy the cake!
Valerie Holstein says
I made this cake tonight using a pineapple cake mix that I had on hand. It worked wonderfully well. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
Anonymous says
Awesome Recipe it was delicious.