Pineapple Dump Cake
Pineapple Dump Cake is a quick and EASY dessert, made with simple ingredients like canned pineapple, gluten free yellow cake mix, brown sugar, and butter, ready in 45 minutes with only 5 ingredients!
Easy desserts are a staple in this house, which is why we love this classic dump cake! For more great ideas, check out these Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows, No Churn Chocolate Ice Cream, and No Bake Cheesecake!
This is one of the easiest dessert recipes you’ll make all year, made with almost no prep time and only 5 ingredients! You can make this quick dessert without the cherries and brown sugar, bringing it down to only 3 ingredients. It’s perfect for springtime, especially if you have pineapple lovers around!
Top this cake with more maraschino cherries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or more fresh fruit. The cherries make this feel like a pineapple upside down cake, while the brown sugar topping helps make the top of the cake sweet and crispy. It’s the perfect dessert for Easter or springtime in general, brunch or afternoon parties, and sure to be one of your new favorite recipes!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Canned Pineapple. You can use two 20oz cans of crushed pineapple, or one can of crushed pineapple and one can of rings. Don’t drain the liquid, it helps the cake come together! Two 20oz cans of pineapple chunks or two cans pineapple tidbits will also work.
I also recommend using canned pineapple in 100% juice, as the syrup can be overly sweet. The syrup will still work if that’s what you have.
Gluten Free Boxed Cake Mix. Use your favorite dry cake mix for this recipe. I use gluten free yellow cake, but this would also work with vanilla, chocolate, or white cake mix.
If you’re not gluten free, just use regular cake mix.
Butter. Regular unsalted butter adds fat to the cake and also hydrates the cake mix from the top down. The pats of butter also add a really nice buttery cake flavor.
Brown Sugar. A small amount of brown sugar adds moisture to the cake, and also helps add sweetness and makes a crispy sweet top to the cake. It will be similar to a crumble.
Maraschino Cherries. Make sure to use the cherries without stems. I use about half of a jar, then serve with the other half on the side for people to add as-needed.
How to Make Pineapple Dump Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the two cans of pineapple into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and use a rubber spatula to spread the pineapple out evenly. Place the cherries on top of the pineapple, leaving space between each one.
- Pour the dry cake mix on top of the pineapple, covering evenly. Don’t mix! Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the cake mix layer, spreading out as much as possible.
- Cut the butter into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the butter slices on top of the cake, leaving some space between each one, until all of the butter is used.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes in a preheated oven in the center rack, or until the cake is golden brown on top. Allow to cool before serving. Serve with more fresh pineapple, cherries, and a scoop of ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to use at least one can of crushed pineapple with the liquid, to make sure the cake mix has enough liquid in the recipe. You can use pineapple slices for the second can if you want it to look decorative. You can also add bigger pieces of pineapple to a food processor and pulse a few times to make crushed pineapple.
If your dump cake is still dry on top, it means the butter did not spread out enough and hydrate the cake mix. Try to spread the butter pieces out as evenly as possible when assembling the cake. The brown sugar also helps with this, adding some more moisture and helping the melted butter spread out while baking.
More Cake Recipes
- Strawberry Chocolate Cake
- Gluten Free Lemon Cake
- Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake
- Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Storage
Refrigerate leftover pineapple dump cake, wrapped tightly or stored in an airtight container, for 4-5 days. There is a lot of moisture in the fruit on the bottom of this cake, so I recommend storing this in the refrigerator.
Freeze this pineapple dessert for 2-3 months, wrapped tightly to prevent freezer burn. Place in the refrigerator the night before serving to defrost.
You can also freeze in individual portions, so you can pull out one or two pieces at a time instead of the entire cake.
Recipe Variations
- Make this pineapple dump cake recipe using any canned fruit or fruit filling! Try cherry pie filling for a cherry dump cake, apple pie filling, or canned peaches for peach dump cake!
- Try using pineapple filling instead of regular canned pineapple for a sweeter cake. This is good if you have a real sweet tooth.
- Mix one can of crushed pineapple with one can of cherry pie filling for a cherry pineapple dump cake!
- You can make this recipe with any boxed cake mix that you’d like. I use a gluten free vanilla cake mix. This would also work with a gluten free chocolate cake mix.
- Try making this with gluten free lemon cake mix, blueberry pie filling, and fresh blueberries with vanilla ice cream on top for a lemon blueberry dump cake!
- Try adding pecans or sliced almonds with the brown sugar for a crunch!
- Try adding cinnamon, nutmeg, apple pie spice, or pumpkin pie spice.
Cooking Tips
- Don’t mix anything together for this recipe! The whole point of this delicious dump cake is that you just dump the ingredients into the baking dish and cook. The butter will melt and hydrate the cake mix on top, and the pineapple will hydrate the cake mix from the bottom.
- Do not drain the pineapple cans. The pineapple juice is needed to add moisture and pineapple flavor to the cake mix.
- You can make this recipe using a cake pan, bundt pan, or just a regular casserole dish. The cooking time can change depending on which you use.
- Let the cake cool a bit before serving so the juice isn’t too hot. Serve the cake warm with cold vanilla ice cream.
- If you’re in a rush, melt the butter in the microwave and pour it over the cake evenly.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Pineapple Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 40 ounces crushed pineapple with juice, (2 – 20oz cans)
- 10 ounces maraschino cherries , drained, without stems
- 15 ounces gluten free vanilla cake mix, (1 – 15oz box of cake mix)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
Equipment
- 1 9×13-inch baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the two cans of pineapple into the bottom of the baking dish and spread the pineapple out evenly. Place the cherries on top of the pineapple, leaving space between each one.
- Pour the dry cake mix on top of the pineapple, covering evenly. Don’t mix! Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the cake mix layer, spreading out as much as possible.
- Cut the butter into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the butter slices on top of the cake, leaving some space between each one, until all of the butter is used.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top. Allow to cool before serving.
Notes
- Don’t mix anything together for this recipe! The whole point of this is that you just dump the ingredients into the baking dish and cook.
- Do not drain the pineapple cans. The pineapple juice is needed to add moisture to the cake mix.
- If you’re in a rush, melt the butter in the microwave and pour it over the cake evenly.
Nutrition
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