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Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

With just 5 ingredients, this super easy cherry pineapple dump cake recipe is sure to become your go-to dessert for cookouts, potlucks, and every other occasion… Just dump, spread, sprinkle, dot, and bake!

easy cherry pineapple dump cake made with just 5 ingredients

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pillsbury™. The opinions and text are all mine.

Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

Right now you might be wondering, “What is a dump cake”? Well, hold on to your butts (as my 10-year-old would say), because I’m about to rock your world with what is genuinely one of the simplest desserts on the planet.

Okay, so I’ll admit dump cake is not the most appetizing name, and it’s true (most) dumps cakes are probably not going to win any awards for beauty.

But what they’re lacking in name and appearance, they totally make up for in ease of preparation and FLAVOR! How easy? Let’s just say I’ve been making this cherry pineapple dump cake since I was about ten years old…

cherry pineapple dump cake ingredients

Best Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake Ingredients

At their most basic, dump cakes are nothing more than a box of cake mix with some fruit filling. In fact, this particular cherry pineapple dump cake recipe only calls for 5 ingredients: boxed yellow cake mix, a can of cherry pie filling, a can of crushed pineapple, butter, and chopped pecans. In fact, you may even have all of these ingredients in your pantry right now!

Really, the most thought you’ll have to put into this recipe is in choosing which cake mix to use. My recommendation? Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme Yellow Premium Cake Mix — you can find it easily in the baking aisle of just about every grocery store (picked mine up at Kroger!), and I know I can count on it for consistent results in all of my dump cake recipes.

Beyond that, you just dump the ingredients into a pan, spread, and bake. Can it get any easier than that?! I mean, the oven does all of the work for you. Still don’t believe me? Just watch the cherry pineapple dump cake video and prepare to be amazed…

cherry dump cake step by step

How Do You Make A Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake?

This pineapple dump cake with cherries just might be the very first cake I ever made on my own. My grandma brought the recipe home from her “club” and walked me through it once. From then on, I made it pretty much weekly when we stayed at her house on Friday nights. And don’t ask me what her club was all about, because I have absolutely no idea what they did there, LOL. Played cards maybe?

Anyhow, because it’s SO simple, this dump cake with cherry pie filling and pineapple is perfect for making with your kids…

Start by buttering your cake pan or baking dish. Then dump the crushed pineapple in and spread. Next dump the cherry pie filling in and spread. Finally, dump the boxed cake mix over the top and spread. Are you sensing a theme here? DUMP cake!

Dot slices of butter all over the top, sprinkle on the chopped pecans, and bake, bake baby. Expect your house to smell AMAZING and that, one by one (if they didn’t help), your kids will come out of hibernation in their rooms to ask what you’re making. At least that’s what went down here yesterday!

cherry dump cake perfect potluck or cookout dessert idea

Cherry And Pineapple Dump Cake For The Win!

So what do you think? TOTAL crowd pleaser — am I right?! This pineapple cherry dump cake has everything going for it: it’s easy-peasy, delicious, and it travels well, which makes it ideal for summer cookouts and potlucks. Serve it hot, warm, cold, or with a scoop of ice cream even.

The one constant? The dish will most definitely be scraped clean… So don’t plan on leftovers!

cherry dump cake recipe in a white bowl with a black and white towel

Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 53 minutes
Total Time: 58 minutes

With just 5 ingredients, this super easy cherry pineapple dump cake recipe is sure to become your go-to dessert for cookouts, potlucks, and every other occasion... Just dump, spread, sprinkle, dot, and bake!

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9-inch cake pan or baking dish with butter.
  2. Dump the undrained crushed pineapple into the pan, and spread evenly across the bottom. Dump in the cherry pie filling and spread evenly over the pineapple. Dump the dry cake mix on top of the pineapple and cherry layers, and spread evenly.
  3. Dot the squares of butter all over the cake mix layer. Then sprinkle with chopped pecans.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 48-53 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown around the edges. Serve hot, warm, or cold, with or without a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 servings Serving Size: 3/4 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 292Total Fat: 18.5gSaturated Fat: 7.9gCholesterol: 31.0mgSodium: 114.8mgCarbohydrates: 31.6gFiber: 2.1gSugar: 14.1gProtein: 2.1g

Have you tried this recipe?

Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag it @unsophisticook and hashtag it #unsophisticook!

pumpkin dump cake topped with whipped cream and pumpkin spice

Want a dump cake recipe that’s a little more fitting for fall? Look no further than this pumpkin dump cake recipe. With its layers of pumpkin pie filling, tender vanilla middle, and crunchy buttery pecan topping, it’s sure to become a family favorite fall dessert!

pineapple cherry dump cake made with just 5 ingredients


More Recipes Made With Boxed Cake Mixes

If you like this cherry pineapple dump cake, you might also enjoy these other EASY boxed cake mix recipes:

Find more inspiration for “out-of-the-box” ways to use Pillsbury cake mixes on Myxxrecipes.com!

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @unsophisticook on Instagram and hashtag it #unsophisticook.

Kim

Monday 15th of May 2023

Can I substitute chopped pretzels for the pecans? We have a nut allergy.

Tara Kuczykowski

Tuesday 16th of May 2023

Hi Kim - haven't tried this, but it sounds like it would be a tasty substitute!

Karen Moss

Saturday 31st of December 2022

My cake stayed gooey even after cooking it 15 more minutes. It tasted like dough. What went wrong ?

Tara Kuczykowski

Wednesday 4th of January 2023

Hmm, I've never had that happen... What kind of cake mix did you use? Also, just to verify -- you didn't mix everything together, right? The cake mix just gets sprinkled over the cherry and pineapple layer, then topped with the slices of butter.

Wendy Morowitz

Wednesday 23rd of November 2022

I needed to make this sugar free. I didn’t have any pineapple, so I used two cans of cherry pie filling and sugar-free cake mix. I can’t wait to get eat this for Thanksgiving looks yummy. I added a little extra butter.

Mary Laird

Saturday 7th of August 2021

The butter recipe cake mix is also better.

Mary Laird

Saturday 7th of August 2021

Spoon the pie filling over the pineapples and spoon 2 sticks of melted butter over the pecans and dry cake mix. Makes the dump cake perfect.

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