I’m going to need you to trust me on this one. This strawberry dump cake is made with just 3 ingredients — fresh strawberries, a box of vanilla cake mix, and cold butter — and it is one of the most delicious, impressive, shockingly EASY desserts you’ll ever make! My husband tried it and declared it the best dessert I’ve ever made. And I make A LOT of desserts. So that’s really saying something.
The beauty of a dump cake is right there in the name – you literally dump the ingredients into a baking dish, one on top of the other, and let the oven do all the work!. The strawberries get jammy and bubbling, the cake mix bakes into a golden, slightly crispy, buttery crust on top, and the whole thing comes out looking and smelling like something that required serious skill. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you have an absolutely perfect summer dessert. Easily made gluten-free, endlessly customizable with any fruit you love, and on the table in under 45 minutes. If you love easy summer desserts, this one belongs right alongside my 4-Ingredient Peach Cobbler and Easy Baked Peaches in your warm-weather rotation!
Why You’ll Love This 3-Ingredient Strawberry Dump Cake
- Just 3 ingredients you probably already have at home! Fresh strawberries, a box of vanilla cake mix, and butter. That’s the entire recipe. No mixing bowls, no electric mixer, no measuring anything beyond the strawberries. This is as easy as dessert gets!
- Completely customizable. Use whatever fruit you have on hand, swap the cake mix flavor, make it gluten-free – this recipe is endlessly adaptable and turns out beautifully every single time. See the variations section below for all the ways to make it your own!
- So delicious nobody will believe how easy it was. The golden, buttery cake crust on top, the warm bubbling strawberries underneath, a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on top – this dessert is a total showstopper that tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen. You didn’t. Nobody needs to know.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced – Fresh, ripe, in-season strawberries make this cake absolutely incredible. The juicier and sweeter your berries, the better the final result. You don’t need to add any sugar or cornstarch – the strawberries will release their own juices as they bake, creating the most beautiful bubbling strawberry filling.
- 1 box vanilla cake mix – The dry cake mix goes on straight from the box – do not follow the box directions, don’t add eggs or oil or water. Just sprinkle the dry powder directly over the strawberries! I used the Miss Jones gluten-free vanilla cake mix and it was absolutely perfect.
- 12 tablespoons butter, cold and sliced into pieces – Cold butter is key here! As it bakes, it melts slowly and evenly into the dry cake mix, creating that gorgeous golden, buttery, slightly crunchy crust on top. Use a good quality butter – you’ll taste it in every bite.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place the hulled and sliced strawberries in a 9×13-inch baking dish in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly on top of the strawberries, spreading it out into a flat, even layer that covers the berries completely. Do not stir!
- Evenly place the sliced butter pieces across the top of the cake mix, covering as much surface area as possible so the crust bakes evenly.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the strawberry filling is visibly bubbling around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and enjoy!
Recipe Variations & Substitutions
Make it gluten-free: Simply swap the standard vanilla cake mix for a gluten-free vanilla cake mix, I love Miss Jones Gluten-Free Classic Yellow Cake Mix, which is what I used in this recipe. Everything else stays exactly the same. The result is just as golden, buttery, and delicious as the original!
Make it dairy-free: Replace the butter with a vegan butter alternative like Miyoko’s or Earth Balance, sliced cold and placed on top just as directed. Use dairy-free vanilla ice cream for serving. The rest of the recipe is already dairy-free!
Make it with other fruit: This is where the dump cake truly shines – it works with virtually any fruit you love or have on hand! Try it with:
- 🍑 Fresh or frozen peaches – classic and incredible
- 🫐 Blueberries – beautiful and jammy
- 🍒 Cherries – rich and deeply flavorful
- 🍓 Mixed berries – strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries together is stunning
- 🍍 Pineapple – for a tropical twist with a yellow cake mix
Swap the cake mix flavor: Yellow cake mix, white cake mix, lemon cake mix, or even chocolate cake mix all work beautifully depending on which fruit you’re using. Lemon cake mix with blueberries is especially incredible!
Sam’s Recipe Tips
- Serve it slightly warm for the best experience. Dump cake is at its absolute best served warm, straight from the oven (or reheated!) with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream melting on top. The contrast of the warm, bubbling strawberry filling, the golden cake crust, and the cold ice cream is genuinely unbeatable. Avoid serving it cold straight from the fridge, instead heat it in a 350° Fahrenheit oven for a few minutes before serving.
- For a softer cake layer, cover with foil for the last 10 minutes. If you prefer a softer, more cake-like topping rather than a crispy crust, loosely tent the baking dish with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. This traps steam and keeps the top from getting too crispy while still allowing it to cook through.
- Don’t skip covering the berries completely with cake mix. Any gaps in the cake mix layer will result in dry pockets of uncooked cake mix powder rather than a cohesive crust. Take an extra moment to spread the cake mix evenly all the way to the edges of the pan before adding the butter.
- Use cold butter – not melted. I know it might seem like melted butter would be easier, but cold butter sliced into pieces is the secret to that golden, even, cobbler-like crust. It melts slowly and distributes evenly as it bakes, giving you a much more beautiful, consistent result.
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3-Ingredient Strawberry Dump Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×13-inch baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 pounds strawberries hulled and sliced
- 1 box vanilla cake mix I used Miss Jones gluten-free cake mix
- 12 tablespoons butter cold and sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place strawberries and 2 tablespoons of the cake mix in a 9×13-inch baking dish, then stir to coat the strawberries in the cake mix.
- Sprinkle the remaining dry cake mix evenly over the strawberries. Do not stir!
- Place sliced butter pieces evenly across the top of the cake mix.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown on top and the filling is bubbling.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Do not follow the cake mix box directions — use the dry powder straight from the box.
- Use cold butter, not melted, for the best golden, even crust.
- Spread the cake mix completely to the edges so there are no dry pockets of powder.
- For a softer cake layer, tent loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking.
- Easily made gluten-free with a GF cake mix (I love Miss Jones!).
- Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 30–60 seconds before serving.
