Apple Pie Dump Cake Recipe (Apple Dump Cake)

Apple Pie Dump Cake is made with apple pie filling, spice cake mix and a stick of butter. This easy recipe is the perfect dessert for fall. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, and your entire family will thank you!

So what’s a dump cake? A dump cake uses canned fruit for the filling and cake mix for the topping. Sounds odd, but this combination works!

Apple pie filling dump cake is delicious fall dessert that’s basically a mix of baked cinnamon apples under a crumb topping.

This easy apple dessert is a cross between an apple crisp and apple cobbler and much easier to make than homemade apple pie.

My family loves my homemade apple crisp and baked chocolate caramel apples. Homemade desserts are best, but this easy recipe is perfect when you have the urge to bake but don’t have fresh apples or the time to make a completely homemade dessert. We all have days like that!

Apple Pie Filling Dump Cake Ingredients

You only need 3 simple ingredients to make this easy apple dump cake recipe. You can find them in your local grocery stores or online if you don’t already have these pantry staples at home.

• Apple pie filling — you’ll need 2 cans
• Spice cake mix — Use yellow cake mix if you can’t find spice cake, plus apple pie spice for added flavor
• Butter — unsalted butter or salted butter cut into thin slices

It’s totally optional, but I usually throw in some ground cinnamon for extra flavor. I add cinnamon to all my apple desserts because I just love the stuff!

If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, leave it out. It really depends upon the can of apple pie filling you have and how much spice it has.

How to Make Apple Dump Cake with Pie Filling

The first step is to preheat the oven and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. You can use butter or non-stick cooking spray here.

Next, spoon the cans of apple pie filling into the baking dish. Spread the apples out so that they cover the bottom of the casserole dish.

If you’re adding cinnamon, sprinkle some over the canned apple pie filling.

Then, sprinkle the dry cake mix on top of the pie filling. Use a knife or spoon to spread the cake mix evenly over the pie filling.

You want the cake mix to be as even as possible. I usually press the cake mix down lightly into the filling.

This helps to ensure you don’t have clumps of cake mix after baking.

Finally, place the pats of butter in rows on top of the cake mix. As the butter melts, it turns the dry cake mix into a crispy crust. You can use melted butter if you prefer — I think it’s easier to slice the butter up.

I used 1 1/2 sticks of butter for this apple dump cake. You can use 2 sticks if you feel you need more butter to cover the top.

It’s perfectly fine if your pats of butter aren’t exactly even. Mine usually aren’t perfect!

Cooking Time

This delicious dessert takes 45 to 50 minutes to bake. It’s done when the apple filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

If you’re using spice cake mix, the topping will be darker than if you’re using yellow or white cake mix.

The exact baking time depends on your oven. When, the apple cake is ready, remove it from the oven, and allow it to cool down a little before serving.

Variations

There are so many ways to change up this delicious apple dump cake recipe. Use butter pecan cake mix and chopped pecans instead of spiced cake.

Make it a caramel apple dump cake recipe by adding caramel bits or drizzling caramel syrup over the apples before you add the cake mix. You can also spoon some brown sugar over the apples if you don’t have caramel syrup.

Dump cake recipes are very versatile! Vary the fruit filling and cake mix flavors to make pumpkin dump cake, cherry dump cake, peach dump cake, strawberry dump cake, lemon dump cake or blueberry dump cake.

How to Store a Dump Cake

Store leftover apple dump cake in an airtight container.

Does apple dump cake need to be refrigerated? You can leave it on your counter at room temperature if you plan on finishing it within a day or 2.

At my house, this delicious dessert is gone in a day! For longer storage, keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Eat it cold or reheat in a warm oven to keep the topping crisp.

Helpful Tips

Use 2 cans of pie filling for a 9×13 baking dish. 1 can isn’t enough. If you only have 1 can, use half of the dry cake mix and bake in a smaller dish.

If you are using yellow cake mix, you may want to add cinnamon and apple pie spice to the filling for extra flavor.

Do not mix the ingredients together. Keep the layers separate.

Use enough butter to cover the cake mix layer. This is about a stick and a half of butter for a large baking dish and 1 stick for a smaller dish.

More Apple Desserts

If you love apple dessert recipes, try my crescent roll apple dumplings, apple crisp, caramel apple nachos, slow cooker apple cobbler, skillet apple pie and check out even amore easy dessert recipes.

I hope you enjoy this delicious apple dessert as much as we do! It’s a great recipe to serve with any family meal or bring to a potluck! Just don’t forget the scoop of ice cream on top!

You can find more cake mix recipes by browsing the recipes on the blog.

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Recipe first published in 2021 and updated in 2023.