What’s better than strawberries and cake? A 3-ingredient Strawberry Dump Cake that takes 5 minutes to pull together. A hassle-free, delicious anytime dessert.

If you’re looking for more easy dessert recipes, don’t miss more of our time-saving favorites using cake mix: Pumpkin Dump Cake, Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake, Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake, Easy Tres Leches Cake, and Banana Pudding Poke Cake.

strawberry dump cake in a stack of bowls next to a white baking dish

If it’s summer, there’s sure to be strawberries in our house, but my love of strawberries isn’t limited to three months out of twelve! When the craving hits, or I need an easy dessert recipe on the fly, our strawberry dump cake is spot-on!

Why We Love Making A Dump Cake Recipe

I love this easy strawberry dump cake, it’s a go-to recipe I will often make to serve company. It’s also a great cake to pack up and take to a BBQ or pot-luck. It’s versatile and delicious on its own, or top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to really jazz it up.

  • Made with a box cake mix and pie filling for convenience
  • Budget-friendly pantry staples
  • Only 3 ingredients needed
  • Just 5 minutes of prep time
  • Mix and bake in the same dish for easy clean-up
  • Perfect for an anytime dessert
ingredients for strawberry dump cake on a counter

Gather The Ingredients

A quick and easy strawberry dump cake is exactly that: quick and easy. With only three ingredients, I’ve got a tender yellow cake dessert with a buttery crusty top and gooey sweet strawberries.

For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

  • Unsalted Butter – slice chilled butter into ½ tbsp pats.
  • Strawberry Pie Filling
  • Boxed Yellow Cake Mix – will be used in dry form, not prepared.

How To Make An Easy Dump Cake

Using a boxed cake mix alone makes this strawberry dessert hassle-free for me. Everything gets layered (no mixing) into a greased 9×13” baking dish and baked. And that’s it!

When you are making this recipe, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

  1. Add pie filling to greased baking dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix over top (don’t mix) and top the whole thing with pats of butter.
  2. Then, into the oven it goes for 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden and brown.
  3. Serve strawberry dump cake warm or chilled.

Be prepared for the compliments, and you won’t have to tell it’s a simple three-ingredient dessert recipe if you don’t want to!

Chef Tip

It’s important to layer the ingredients for a dump cake! This way, you’ll get a buttery, crunchy top and a gooey, delicious center. Mixing just won’t give you that perfect texture!

bowl of dump cake with a scoop of ice cream

Dump Cake FAQs

Why is my dump cake powdery on top?

When the butter isn’t layered evenly all over the top of the dump cake, it can leave areas of the cake mix powder that didn’t get enough moisture to bake.

How do I avoid uncooked cake mix and get a buttery, crumbly crust over the whole dump cake?

You need to slice the 12 tbsp of butter into ½ tbsp pats; there’s no shortcut here. These need to be placed evenly over the top of the cake mix, with particular attention to the deeper “wells” that the butter can melt into, leaving other areas “dry.”

How do you serve strawberry dump cake?

With a fork or spoon! ? Top the cake with vanilla ice cream, store-bought whipped topping, or homemade whipped cream sprinkled with your favorite nuts or toasted coconut for texture. A fresh strawberry slice garnish is pretty and cheerful.

We (and I mean me!) love to warm my dump cake leftovers just enough to take the chill off and soften the ice cream. Tender, gooey cake, strawberries, and the cool, creamy texture are so yummy together!

strawberry dump cake on a spoon

Recipe Notes

  • Slice butter while it’s chilled and can be easily divided into equal pieces. Or freeze the butter for at least a half hour then grate the frozen butter for easy coverage. It’s important to have enough butter pats to cover the top of the dump cake.
  • Don’t Mix! It’s important to resist the urge to mix it. Huge no-no when it comes to a dump cake! 
  • If the cake mix layer looks too uneven or “lumpy,” I use the back of a large spoon or spatula to lightly even out the high spots so the butter doesn’t pool.

Fun Flavor Combos:

  • You don’t have to limit yourself to just a yellow boxed cake mix—flavor combos like strawberry lemonade (use a lemon cake mix) or chocolate-covered strawberry can be fun and tasty!
  • If I’m out of strawberry pie filling, I can throw in any flavor pie filling I’ve got, such as blueberry, cherry, or apple. We like tart and sweet strawberry rhubarb pie filling, too!
  • We don’t currently have little ones clamoring around the house, but a real treat for the kiddos is a fun PB&J flavor combo. Scatter some peanuts or several ½ teaspoons of peanut butter under the cake mix. (or both!)

No Refrigeration Required

This dessert recipe doesn’t contain dairy, but when I refrigerate leftover dump cake, it seems to stay fresh longer, and I prefer the texture if I reheat it. It’s no biggie to store a strawberry cake, tightly covered, at room temp for up to 3 days. Just keep an eye on the warmth and humidity in the kitchen.

This easy Strawberry Dump Cake Recipe is seriously simple and time-saving. It’s one of my favorite go-to dessert recipes for a last-minute treat, and people love it!

dump cake with strawberry pie filling in a white bowl
strawberry dump cake in a stack of bowls next to a white baking dish

Strawberry Dump Cake - 3 Ingredients

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Indulge in this easy 3-ingredient Strawberry Dump Cake! Made with strawberry pie filling, yellow cake mix, and topped with vanilla ice cream, it’s the perfect quick and delicious dessert for any occasion. Dump, bake, and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, sliced into 24 pats
  • 2 (21-ounce) cans strawberry pie filling
  • 15.25 ounce boxed yellow cake mix (or strawberry)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with baking spray or butter.
  2. Add both cans of strawberry pie filling to the baking dish. 
  3. Evenly sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pie  filling (do not mix))
  4. Cut butter into ½ tablespoon pats and place top of the cake mix. 
  5. Bake in preheated oven,  uncovered for 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden and brown.

Notes

It's important to layer the ingredients for a dump cake! This way, you'll get a buttery, crunchy top and a gooey, delicious center. Mixing just won't give you that perfect texture!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 175Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 290mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 2g

Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purposes only. Please note that nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin, and freshness of ingredients used and are just estimates. We encourage, especially if these numbers are important to you, to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram