Berry crisp dump cake is only 5 ingredients and one pan! Juicy mixed berries covered in an easy cake mix, oatmeal, walnuts, and melted butter mixture. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert.
DUMP CAKE RECIPE
I realize that calling this a ‘dump cake’ is not the most appealing name in the world. But, if you’re familiar with a traditional ‘dump cake’ it usually involves a cake mix (yay for easy, right?!) that gets sprinkled on top of something in a baking dish.
One of the things that I have never liked about dump cakes is that when you sprinkle the cake mix on top and then drizzle with melted butter, you end up with some dry pockets of cake mix.
I knew there had to be a better way. Which is why I experimented and ended up with this delicious version of the classic dump cake.
INGREDIENTS FOR A DUMP CAKE
- frozen mixed berries
- cake mix
- butter
- oats
- walnuts
It could not be easier! The walnuts add some much needed salt to the already sweet cake mix, and the oats add this amazing texture that pairs so nicely with the buttery cake mix.
I’m obsessed with all things crisps, cobblers, and crumbles so it was no wonder this was a hit.
I love using frozen berries because you don’t have to worry about spending a small fortune on fresh berries or trying to hurry up and use them before they go bad (which is always my problem).
HOW TO MAKE BERRY CRISP DUMP CAKE
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and dump the frozen berries (straight from the bag, DO NOT thaw) and spread them out into the pan.
- In a mixing bowl combine the cake mix, oats, walnuts, and melted butter. Stir that until it resembles a coarse crumb mixture. Sprinkle it evenly over the berries and bake!
- Promise me you’ll serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Words can’t describe the deliciousness 🙂
MY TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE
- Please be sure you are using SALTED BUTTER. You need that salt to balance out the sweetness from the cake mix.
- You can use pecans in place of the walnuts if that’s what you prefer.
- Use a yellow cake mix or a French vanilla cake mix. Both are really good in this recipe.
- Old-fashioned or quick oats will both work in this recipe. I prefer the old-fashioned because they are bigger and give more texture to the dish.
- Frozen mixed berries usually include blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries.
TRY THESE OTHER DUMP CAKE RECIPES
- 2 bags (12-15 oz each) frozen mixed berries
- 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow OR french vanilla cake mix
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
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Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
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Spread out frozen berries in the bottom of the dish. DO NOT thaw the berries beforehand.
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In a mixing bowl, combine yellow cake mix (DO NOT prepare), oats, walnuts, and melted butter. Stir together until thick crumbles form. Sprinkle evenly over the frozen berries.
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Cook for 50-55 minutes. Crisp topping will be a golden brown and the berries will be bubbling.
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Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
You can use old-fashioned oats OR quick oats in this recipe. Old-fashioned oats provide more texture because of their size, but either will work just fine.
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49 Comments
Megan @ MegUnprocessed
May 30, 2017 at 5:50 pm These look wonderful. Love those juicy berries.Together As Family
June 2, 2017 at 10:37 pm Yes. Those juicy berries are my favorite part!Jennifer Farley
May 31, 2017 at 7:58 am Beautifully done!Together As Family
June 2, 2017 at 10:36 pm Thanks so much Jennifer :)Aynsley
June 19, 2017 at 12:19 am Do I make the cake as directed on the box help pleaseTogether As Family
June 19, 2017 at 1:35 pm Nope. Just use the dry cake mix directly from the box. I'll double check the recipe and make sure I clarify that in the directions. Enjoy! :)Aynsley
June 19, 2017 at 12:19 am So do u make the cake as directed on the box or noTogether As Family
June 19, 2017 at 1:35 pm No, do not prepare the cake mix. Just use the cake mix powder directly from the box.Jessica
July 2, 2017 at 4:31 pm Can fresh berries be used?Together As Family
July 2, 2017 at 4:44 pm I am sure that would work just fine. When the frozen berries cook they release a bit of water, so you may need to combine the fresh berries in the bowl and cover with 1/4 cup sugar (more or less depending on sweetness of your berries) and let it sit for about 15 minutes. The sugar will release some of the berry juice so that way you have some liquid. I've never made it this way but I am guessing it would work just fine. You will probably need roughly 6 cups of berries for the 9x13 pan.JB
July 3, 2017 at 8:42 am Can I used canned cherries or blueberries as a substitute?Together As Family
July 3, 2017 at 7:09 pm Are you talking about the canned pie filling? If you are, then yes that would work just fine. You would need 2 cans for the recipe. Canned pie filling is sweeter than the frozen berries so the dish will be a bit sweeter than the recipe.Marilyn
July 29, 2017 at 9:52 am Do you have to use a cake mix? Can you use just flour?Together As Family
July 30, 2017 at 11:02 am I know there are recipes out there that use a homemade cake mix on top. Just using flour would not work. The reason for the cake mix in the recipe is for the "quick dessert" aspect of it. Frozen fruit + cake mix makes it a simple and easy dessert. Try this recipe if you want a homemade cake mix https://www.melskitchencafe.com/blueberry-dump-cake/ I hope that helps :)Debbie
November 12, 2017 at 7:38 am What would you do with leftovers? Will it last through several days or would it get too soggy. We are just two of us and we would not be able to eat it all on the first dayTogether As Family
November 13, 2017 at 12:03 pm I put the leftovers in the fridge and then warm them up when someone wants to eat it. If it's just the two of you, you could try halving the recipe, and just kind of guessing on the cake mix what half is. The leftovers I'm guessing will only be good for about two days before it starts getting too soft.Kristin
November 18, 2017 at 3:00 pm This recipe looks delicious, and I'm all about easy! In the case of a nut allergy can I just use 1 cup of oats vs. adding walnuts, or will that change the taste/texture?Together As Family
November 19, 2017 at 12:14 pm I would just leave out the walnuts. The dessert will be sweeter because you won't have that salty bite from the walnuts. But it will be yummy and serving it with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream will help balance it. I hope that helps. Enjoy!Andrea
November 20, 2017 at 12:40 pm Can I use instant oatmeal if I don't have regular oats?Together As Family
November 20, 2017 at 1:28 pm Yes, of course. That will be just fine :)Linda Wordinger
January 23, 2018 at 12:28 am FINALLY! someone who understands about Dump Cakes where the cake mix doesn't truly get mixed with butter and then you get a spoonful of dust. I've never been able to get a Dump Cake right. I think this recipe will make my next effort successful :)Together As Family
January 25, 2018 at 10:27 pm That's my favorite thing about this berry crisp dump cake, none of that powder cake mix on top. I hope you enjoy this!Linda Fletcher
July 28, 2018 at 8:21 pm Yes!! Have always had that problem with my cherry/pineapple dump cake. But decided to try this method and actually made this berry dump cake to take to a family reunion (I doubled the recipe)......it was the first desert to go! Thank you!! :-)Meredith
March 31, 2018 at 9:13 pm Made this today with some small deviations. It was great! My dad said it was in the top cobbler/crumble desserts he’s ever had! I used all dewberries with a lemon cake mix. I used 1/4 cup oatmeal and 1/4 cup Grapenuts Cereal. This gave the topping a tasty crunch. Thank you for sharing! This is a keeper!Together As Family
April 5, 2018 at 8:11 pm Yum, I love your changes! I agree, this is one of my favorite versions of a crisp! I love how this recipe can be mixed up with the different fruit and cake mix combos. Thanks for coming back to let me know :)Cheri Hins
January 27, 2019 at 7:44 am That does sound yummy. Thanks for sharingBrenda
April 26, 2018 at 10:53 am Any suggestions on freezing this to bake later? or would it be better to bake it and then just warm it later? I want to give to a friend who recently had a baby. Thanks!Together As Family
April 29, 2018 at 8:43 pm I have never froze this so I wouldn't even know what to tell you. I think it would be best to make it, bake it, and then let them warm it up or eat it at room temperature. This dump cake is good straight out of the oven, warmed up, or at room temperature so you really can't go wrong :)Stacey Silverberg
June 2, 2018 at 11:55 am Hello Jessica! Am looking forward to making this delicious sounding recipe. I have "brown sugar" oatmeal on hand and I'm not sure how that would taste vs the reg oatmeal. Sure it would be sweeter, but brown sugar? Help!Together As Family
June 3, 2018 at 6:37 pm Are you talking about the packets of oatmeal? You should be using the regular oats (that come in the canister NOT the packet). If you do use the packets of oatmeal then you will have to experiment because I have never used those. Let me know if you have any more questions. Enjoy!Dee
June 26, 2018 at 6:30 pm I am going to try this recipe of the berry dump cake. However, I LOVE YOUR WHITE PLATES WITH THE LITTLE LACEY RIM.... please let me know where u got them.Together As Family
June 30, 2018 at 7:09 pm Hi Dee :) I got the plates at Pier 1 Imports.22 Magnificent Mixed Berry Recipes: Sweet & Tart | Chief Health
August 7, 2018 at 9:32 pm […] From: TogetherAsFamily […]Elisabeth
August 8, 2018 at 11:37 am How many does this serve? It looks delish and I want to make it for a big family dinner night.Together As Family
August 13, 2018 at 2:29 pm It makes a 9x13 baking dish so I would say it would easily serve 8-10. Depending on the amount of people there and if this dessert is the only dessert or not, I would just make two pans (so 2 recipes).Melissa_in_NJ
August 19, 2018 at 11:29 am Made this over the weekend. It was PURE GENIUS. I served it room temp and it was still delicious. Everyone just raved. Thank you.Nora
August 20, 2018 at 10:09 am Is it necessary to use salted butter.?Together As Family
August 23, 2018 at 8:02 pm No, but it is a fairly sweet dessert thanks to the cake mix, so I love using the salted butter. You can use unsalted and I am sure it would be just fine.April
August 20, 2018 at 4:45 pm This was sooo good, and easy! I made this as a desert for Sunday dinner and I fell in love. Im not a huge berry eater , because of the seeds getting in my teeth so I made a small change. I only used one bag of berries in a slightly smaller pan and it was perfect. I really want to try this same recipe but with sweet potatoes instead of berries. Thanks!GracieP
October 12, 2018 at 1:19 pm Can I use the 'super moist' Betty crocker yellow cake mix or does it have to be normal yellow cake mix? Thx for the awesome recipe!Together As Family
October 13, 2018 at 12:39 pm I honestly don't know if it really makes a difference and I have not paid attention to it much in this recipe. I am sure it would work just fine and that's probably what I have ended up using before too. Enjoy!Kelly
October 23, 2018 at 8:14 pm I was out of walnuts so I substituted coconut 🥥 and it was very good!Elizabeth Shaw
February 5, 2019 at 11:49 pm You can use any type of cake mix that you wish to use! :-) I have also changed my rating because in the beginning I meant to give 3 stars and I guess I have a wide finger that went over into 4. I just wanted to make that clear for everybody. Dump cake so great fun to play with and I have come up with recipes that are out of this world one of them too rich to eat more than a couple of spoonfuls. All of them wonderful except for one failure that came out like a spice cake brick! LOL I love coconut! It could certainly be added in however most dump cakes containing fruit call for pecansSue
January 20, 2019 at 5:53 pm I made this using a SUGAR FREE cake mix for my diabetic family members. It was AMAZING!!!!!!Elizabeth Shaw
February 5, 2019 at 11:44 pm Since you obsess about these things, let me give you a bit of Education. I am from the rooftop of New England which would be Maine and was part of Massachusetts Bay Colony so the way we cook they cook and vice versa. This is not a crisp the topping on a crisp contains only flour sugar and butter. if oats are present in the topping that is a crumble even if there are 10 other ingredients it's a crumble intro British tradition. The nuts really don't change the name from a crisp but because they are sprinkled on top. I was also the first one to put out there that folks should melt their butter and add it to the cake mix making sure every granule is covered in butter and that makes a perfect dump cake.Nancy Paepke
March 19, 2019 at 2:28 pm I have made this for our small card group...it was a huge hit. I always have frozen berries on hand, so was easy to come up with a quick and delicious dessert to make. Thank you for this scrumptious recipe!Heather LEE
April 20, 2019 at 6:31 pm Made this with devil foods cake and just strawberries. Substituted delivered almonds instead of walnuts. Chocolate covered strawberries! Yummy!Alina
April 22, 2019 at 9:23 am This was absolutely delicious! I made this for Easter and it was such a hit! Don’t forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the warm cake - mouthwatering!Together As Family
April 22, 2019 at 3:19 pm Yes! The ice cream on top is the best part. So happy to hear it was a hit.