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Pumpkin dump cake is the fall dessert I make when I need something for a potluck or a get-together and don’t have time to bake from scratch. It’s no-fail — just mix, dump, and bake! Canned pumpkin, a box of yellow cake mix, pecans, and butter turn into a spiced pumpkin layer with a buttery, crumbly cake topping.
If you love easy cake-mix desserts, my Blueberry Dump Cake and Pumpkin Cobbler are next on the list.
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Pin RecipeWhy You Will Love This Pumpkin Dump Cake
You all know I have a love for boxed cake mixes. The first time I stumbled on these cake-mix hacks I was skeptical — but I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to bake from scratch, so I crossed my fingers and gave it a go. You guys, it is a game-changer. This pumpkin version has been on our fall table ever since.
- Ten minutes of prep, then the oven does the work.
- Tastes like pumpkin pie without rolling a crust — creamy pumpkin layer, crumbly buttered cake topping, and toasted pecans in every bite.
- Feeds a crowd: one 9×13 pan makes 12 servings.
- Rated 4.5 stars by more than 130 readers.
“I made this cake for a dinner party and it received RAVE reviews. Absolutely delicious.” — reader comment
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes
See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and complete instructions.
- Canned pumpkin: use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, and the extra liquid keeps the cake from setting.
- Evaporated milk: one 12-ounce can. Some readers have swapped in whole milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half — keep the amount the same.
- Sugar: white granulated. A reader asked about brown sugar; I haven’t tested it in this recipe, so stick with white if you want my exact result.
- Pumpkin pie spice: store-bought, or make my homemade pumpkin pie spice from cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. A couple of readers like it spicier and bump it up.
- Eggs: four, at room temperature for easy mixing.
- Vanilla extract.
- Yellow cake mix: any brand of dry mix. Don’t prepare it — it goes on dry.
- Chopped pecans: walnuts work well, too.
- Butter: I always recommend unsalted butter for baking. Slice it into thin pats, or melt it and drizzle it over the top.
Variations
- Spice cake mix instead of yellow: the most popular reader swap. Three readers have made it this way, and one who tried both said “everyone loved the spice cake topping better.”
- Toffee or Heath bits on top: two readers sprinkled crushed Heath bar over the pecans and raved about it.
- Nut-free: leave the pecans off. One reader did nuts on one half only for a mixed crowd.
- Half batch: a reader halved everything and baked it in a smaller dish “beautifully.” I haven’t tested the timing for a half batch myself.
- Toppings: vanilla ice cream, homemade whipped cream, a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce, chocolate chips, or a dash of cinnamon.
For more cake-mix shortcuts, see my 10 tricks to make a box cake mix taste homemade and my guide to how to make a dump cake, which rounds up all of my dump cakes — including Apple Dump Cake, Peach Dump Cake, Cherry Dump Cake, Strawberry Dump Cake, and Chocolate Dump Cake.
How To Make Pumpkin Dump Cake
- Mix the pumpkin layer. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the mixture into the dish and spread it evenly.
- Add the cake mix and pecans. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture — don’t stir it in. Scatter the chopped pecans over the top.
- Add the butter. Cut the butter into thin slices and arrange them evenly over the top, covering as much of the dry cake mix as you can, or drizzle melted butter over the whole surface.
- Bake. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown, the edges are bubbling, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The center may still be slightly jiggly — it sets as it cools.
- Rest and serve. Let the cake rest for at least 30 minutes so the pumpkin layer sets, then scoop and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Kasey’s Tips
- Use pure pumpkin puree, not pie filling.
- One 12-ounce can of evaporated milk — no more. Extra liquid is the number-one reason a dump cake won’t set.
- Cover as much of the dry cake mix with butter as you can. Any mix the butter doesn’t reach stays powdery, so use melted butter if you want the most even topping.
- Take it out too soon and the filling will be runny. Bake the full hour, trust the toothpick rather than the clock, and if the topping browns before the center is set, tent loosely with foil and keep baking.
- Give it the rest. The pumpkin layer is custard-like and keeps setting for 30 minutes after it comes out of the oven — cut it hot and it falls apart on the plate.
Why Is My Pumpkin Dump Cake Still Liquid?
A few readers have written that their cake was still soft or wet in the middle after the full hour. It almost always comes down to one of these:
- Extra milk. Evaporated milk comes in 12-ounce cans, and the recipe uses exactly one. One reader topped it up to 16 ounces with regular milk and needed an extra 15 minutes in the oven.
- Pumpkin pie filling instead of puree. Pie filling adds liquid and sugar the recipe doesn’t account for.
- Cutting it too soon. The pumpkin layer keeps setting as it cools. Give it the full rest before you scoop.
- An oven running cool. If the top isn’t golden at 60 minutes, keep baking in 10-minute checks until a toothpick comes out clean.
The finished texture should be soft and a little gooey where the cake meets the pumpkin — that’s a dump cake — but never raw or runny.
How to Store, Freeze and Reheat
- Store leftover pumpkin dump cake in the refrigerator. The pumpkin layer is made with eggs and evaporated milk, so once it has cooled, cover the pan with foil or move slices to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. It can sit out while you serve it, but don’t leave it at room temperature for more than a couple of hours.
- Freeze the cooled dump cake for up to 3 months. Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil, and thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Reheat single servings in the microwave in 30-second intervals, or the whole pan in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes, until heated through. It’s good cold, too.
What to Serve With Pumpkin Dump Cake
Warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream. It’s one of my favorite easy Thanksgiving desserts that aren’t pie, and if you’d rather skip the oven entirely, my No Bake Pumpkin Pie is the other one I lean on.
FAQs
Because it’s as simple as dumping in the ingredients and baking!
A little, yes. The layer where the cake mix meets the pumpkin stays soft and gooey, but the center should never be raw or runny. Bake the full hour until a toothpick comes out clean, then let it rest so the pumpkin sets.
The top will be golden brown and bubbling at the edges, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. The middle may still be slightly jiggly; it firms up as the cake cools.
Yes! Be sure to measure out the same amount of fresh pumpkin as canned for this recipe.
No. Pie filling is already sweetened and spiced, and the extra liquid keeps the cake from setting. Use pure pumpkin puree.
Yes. The pumpkin layer is made with eggs and evaporated milk, so once the cake has cooled, cover it and refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. It’s fine on the counter while you serve it, but don’t leave it out for more than a couple of hours.
Reader Favorite Pumpkin Dessert Recipes
Breakfast
Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel
All Recipes
Pumpkin Caramel Poke Cake
Breakfast
Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Looking for more easy family favorites? Sign up for my free Top 10 Reader Favorites eBook and get recipes delivered to your inbox.
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Pumpkin Dump Cake
Equipment
- 1 9×13 inch baking dish
- 1 Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 (15 ounce) cans pure pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 4 eggs
- 12 oz evaporated milk one can
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 package yellow cake mix dry
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup butter unsalted, sliced into thin pats or melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, evaporated milk, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the greased pan and spread it evenly.2 (15 ounce) cans pure pumpkin puree, 12 oz evaporated milk, 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 cup sugar, 4 eggs, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. Do not stir.1 package yellow cake mix
- Top with the chopped pecans.1 cup chopped pecans
- Slice the butter into thin pats and arrange them evenly over the top, covering as much of the dry cake mix as you can (or drizzle melted butter over the whole surface).1 cup butter
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The center may still be slightly jiggly; it sets as it cools.
- Let the cake rest for at least 30 minutes so the pumpkin layer sets.
- Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Share With Us!
I hope you enjoy this delicious Pumpkin Dump Cake recipe! If you give it a try, please share your experience in the comments below. Don’t forget to tag me on social media @allthingsmamma and use the hashtag #allthingsmamma.
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Trying this recipe right now. I notice it calls for 1-12 oz evaporated milk, they typically come in 12 oz. so I’m adding 4oz whole milk.
Did anyone else do this or did everyone just use one 12 oz can of evaporated milk? Maybe that’s why some aren’t fully cooking all the way?
OMG,a total brain fart! For some reason I was thinking it called for 16 oz of milk, even though I wrote 12oz. My apologies!!! Good news is that it worked, I baked it for 15 min longer. I tried the chopped Heath bar candy on top with the pecans( from leftover Halloween candy!) Delicious!
Lesson: Don’t bake on 4 hrs of sleep 🙂
Is it pumpkin purée or pumpkin pie filling?
Canned pumpkin puree, not pie filling. Hope this helps!
Just made and the toothpick came out clean. The cake is must. Did not like and will let set over night and try tasting again tomorrow
Recipe does not state when to pour ingredients into the baking pan. Step 3 says to mix pumpkin, etc., in a bowl. Then the next step says to pour cake mix over pumpkin mixture. Would be very helpful and eliminate confusion by inserting “Pour pumpkin mixture into baking pan.” at the end of Step 3. Thank you.
Wondering if this recipe would be just as good with a Spice Cake instead of the Yellow Cake? Thanks! Planning on making this for a family get together this weekend!
I tried it with a spice cake on top and without. Everyone loved the spice cake topping better. I add more spice to the recipie as I also do my pumpkin pies. 3.5 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. Fall is all about the spice. Have also baked this with Duncan Hines Keto cake mix and sugar substitute in the pumpkin for a more health friendly recipie. Need to lower the heat and cook longer so as not to burn the top. THIS CAN BE FROZEN AND SHOULD BE REFRIGERATED. ANY TYPE OF CUSTARD FOODS WITH EGGS SHOULD BE REFRIGERATED.
Do you put cakes that you make in the fridge? They also have eggs. The eggs cook during baking.
If you dont have pumpkin puree can you substitute pumpkin pie filling??
We enjoyed this recipe. However ours never really got done. After 1 1/2 hours, finally pulled it lit let it set. Was still mushy in the middle but tasted great.
Glad you still enjoyed!!
-From the All Things Mamma Team
Yes the ingredients show sugar but you never put it in the directions so it would be good to add it to the directions Maybe?
I absolutely agree. I almost skipped the sugar because it is not mentioned in the recipe itself, only the List of ingredients. I definitely recommend an edit for this. Thank you! On a yummy note I can’t wait to take it out the oven and eat it 🙂
We are so sorry about this! We just edited the recipe to include when to add the sugar. You add it with the rest of the pumpkin mixture. Thanks!
-From the All Things Mamma Team
When do you add the sugar
We just edited the recipe to include this part – sorry that it had gotten left out! You add the sugar with the rest of the pumpkin mixture. Thanks!
-From the All Things Mamma Team
Making this got it all ready to put into the oven and realized you don’t have instructions when to add the sugar. The only way I knew was that was all that was left when I put things away was the sugar. We rechecked the recipe but it does not say when. Needless to say mine does not have the sugar in it. Hubby is on his way to the store to get duplicate ingredients in case we need to make another. You might want to edit your recipe to include the sugar.
When you add sugar?
You add the sugar with the pumpkin mixture.. It doesn’t say that in the recipe but it does say that in the information above the recipe.
Help me – I can’t stop eating this! So delicious! Since it is only myself and hubbie, I made a half batch and it worked beautifully. I had 6 oz. of coconut milk left over from a previous bake, so used that instead of the evaporated milk. Also had walnuts on hand vs. pecans, and tasted soooo yummy!
Ahhh yes you are so right, good catch! We just edited the recipe – you add the sugar with the rest of the pumpkin mixture.
-From the All Things Mamma Team
I made this cake for a dinner party and it received RAVE reviews.
Absolutely delicious.
I used heath candy chips sprinkled over the top and put nuts on one side only, because I have very strange friends who don’t like nuts.
Fabulous recipe and will make it again during the holidays.
AHHHH! GREAT ideas!! So happy it turned out so well for you!
Can you use brown sugar instead of regular sugar?