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Need to whip up a dessert but don’t have a lot of time or energy on your hands? Turn to these 30 easy dessert recipes using cake mix! These recipes turn a boxed cake mix into something that tastes homemade. Your friends and family will never guess you started with a “shortcut” ingredient!
I love baking from scratch and do so all of the time. But there are times when I need to throw together a dessert quickly, and that’s when I love bringing out a box of cake mix.
My doctored cake mix recipe was the original recipe that made me realize how easy it was to take any flavor cake mix and turn it into something special with just a few simple ingredients.
Over the years I’ve made dozens of recipes using cake mix. Not just classic cakes and cupcakes, but cookies and bar desserts and coffee cakes and more.
Whether you’re just learning to bake and want an easy place to start or need an easy recipe to take to your next potluck, you’ve come to the right place.
Tips for making cake mixes taste homemade
There are a few different ways you can make a basic cake mix taste like you spent way more time and effort than you did:
- Add pudding mix: Just like when making chocolate chip pudding cookies, a box of instant pudding mix adds flavor and helps the cake stay moist.
- Incorporate fruit: Some of my favorite cake mix recipes use fresh, frozen, or canned fruit or pie filling. The fruit adds moisture, sweetness, and flavor for an extra-delicious dessert. Fresh citrus juice and zest can also boost the flavor of a mix with very little effort!
- Pair it with a homemade element: Even if you make a cake base with a mix, you can pair it with something homemade to dress it up. For example, fill lemon cakes or cupcakes with microwave lemon curd or decorate the top of any cake with my homemade buttercream frosting.
- Don’t over-bake: This is true for any recipe, but is especially important for recipes using cake mix. Watch your baking times and pull the cake or cupcakes from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the center has a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
My 30 favorite recipes using cake mix
I’ve pulled together some of my favorite cake mix recipes for every season of the year and every occasion. From poke cakes and dump cakes to bar desserts and cookies, there’s a little something for everyone here.
Cookie recipes
Ignoring the directions on the box will give you some of the easiest cookies ever. And trust me, they disappear in no time!
Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
If you love red velvet cake, use one of the mixes to throw together these crinkly cookies for Christmas or Valentine’s Day.
Gooey Butter Cookies
This cookie recipe uses yellow cake mix and cream cheese to make a cookie version of the famous St. Louis dessert.
St. Patrick’s Day Crinkle Cookies
A white cake mix paired with pistachio pudding mix will give you soft crinkle cookies that are perfect for St. Patrick’s Day, but they’re great at Christmas, too!
Funfetti Cookies
Who doesn’t love rainbow sprinkles? Before baking, roll the dough for these Funfetti cookies in rainbow nonpareils for a crunchy coating that makes them extra fun.
Easy Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Boost the citrus flavor of a lemon cake mix with fresh lemon juice and zest for these easy lemon crinkle cookies.
Dump cakes
Dump cakes get their name from the assembly method: just dump the ingredients in the pan and bake.
A couple of these recipes still require mixing a few ingredients together before adding them to the pan, but I promise that they’re still unbelievably easy.
Blueberry Dump Cake
Fresh blueberries and lemon cake mix make for a bright, summery dessert that’s super easy to throw together. Add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream when serving!
Easy Peach Cobbler
Chocolate Dump Cake
A box of devil’s food cake mix, chocolate pudding mix, and chocolate chips make for a rich, decadent, slightly fudgy chocolate dessert. Don’t skip the vanilla ice cream for serving!
Easy Cherry Cheesecake Cake
Use cherry pie filling, cream cheese, and vanilla cake mix to make this dump cake that will satisfy all of your cherry cheesecake cravings.
Pumpkin Crunch Cake
This pumpkin crunch cake is just like the one my Nana used to make. It’s got a pumpkin pie-like layer with a buttery, crunchy topping but is so simple to make. It’s a must during the holidays!
Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
This one brings together cherry pie filling, canned pineapple, coconut, and pecans for a summery dessert that’s easy to make any time of year.
Poke cakes
Bake a sheet cake, poke holes in it after it’s baked, and then add a syrup or pudding-like filling. The filling seeps into the cake to add flavor and keep it super moist.
Strawberry Poke Cake
This recipe starts with a box of white cake mix, then gets a strawberry jello mixture poured all over it after it has baked. I like to add sliced fresh strawberries to the top, too!
Coconut Poke Cake
A box of instant coconut cream pudding and toasted coconut turn a simple cake mix into a delicious coconut poke cake!
Oreo Poke Cake
For Oreo lovers, it doesn’t get much better than this recipe. I like using devil’s food cake mix (but regular chocolate cake mix will do). Add chocolate pudding and top it all off with a mixture of Cool Whip and crushed Oreos.
Lemon Poke Cake
Whip up a super quick homemade lemon curd (or use your favorite store brand) and add it to a lemon cake mix for a bright, delicious dessert.
Cupcakes
You only need a handful of ingredients to make the best cupcakes. These are always perfect for parties, especially birthdays!
S’mores Cupcakes
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
Coconut Cupcakes
These coconut cupcakes use french vanilla cake mix and instant coconut cream pudding and are topped with a coconut-lime frosting. They’re a tropical, flavorful, and (of course) easy to make.
Easy Strawberry Cupcakes
I add diced strawberries and strawberry Greek yogurt to a French vanilla cake mix and add strawberry frosting for these easy, fruity cupcakes.
Bar desserts
These bar recipes are great for taking to get-togethers because they travel well. No one will guess that they were easy cake mix recipes!
Easy Gooey Butter Cake
Gooey butter cake is a Midwestern staple and one that uses a boxed mix as the base. Dust the top with plenty of powdered sugar before serving!
Raspberry Bars
Yellow cake mix gives the crust for these jam bars a buttery flavor that can’t be beat. I love them with raspberry jam, but you can use your family’s favorite flavor!
Lemon Gooey Butter Cake
Plenty of lemon zest and juice adds a citrusy kick to the classic gooey butter cake. If you love lemon bars, you’ll love this recipe!
Strawberry Brownies
Did you know that you can turn a strawberry cake mix into bars with a dense, brownie-like texture? I add a lemony glaze for a tangy finish!
Sheet cakes, layer cakes, and bundt cakes
We can’t forget the classic cake recipes!
Sour Cream Coconut Cake
This decadent coconut cake recipe starts with a simple cake that’s covered in a sweet and tangy sour cream mixture. Let it rest in the fridge for 3 days for the most incredible cake.
Easy Peach Coffee Cake
Add canned peaches to a white cake mix and top the whole thing with a sweet streusel and icing for this easy coffee cake!
Easy Apple Bundt Cake
Easy Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
This easy pineapple upside-down cake couldn’t be simpler to make but is always a hit.
Pistachio Pudding Cake
Grab some pistachio pudding and chopped pistachios for this beautiful and delicious bundt cake!
Citrus Poppy Seed Cake
A mix of lemon, orange, and poppy seeds makes for an unexpected but delicious bundt cake that’s perfect any time of year.
2-Ingredient Pumpkin Bread
This pumpkin bread recipe may not fit into any of the above categories, but it’s too good to leave off this list! Seriously, just 2 ingredients for a simple and delicious quick bread. It’s one of my favorite cake mix hacks!
