Published on
Review Recipe10 Minute Cherry Dump Cake

If you’ve got five minutes and a can opener, you’ve got time for this cherry dump cake. It’s the kind of easy dessert that always gets polished off—juicy cherry filling, a golden, buttery topping, and a texture that’s just right. The secret? A small tweak that fixes the one thing most dump cake recipes get wrong.

Cherry Dump Cake Ingredients

You Will Need
- 2 x 21 oz cans cherry pie filling
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 x 15.25 oz box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup whole milk
Ingredient Substitutions
CAKE MIX: Try to stick with a yellow or white cake mix rather than a chocolate cake mix for this recipe. Try our chocolate cherry dump cake recipe, if you’d like that flavor profile. Our cherry pineapple dump cake recipe is another great ingredient swap.
Full and complete recipe at the end of the post in the recipe card!
Get The Best Results
Most dump cakes don’t fail because of what’s in them—they fail because no one bothers to fix the obvious flaws. This version? It’s easy. AND it’s reliable. You get soft cherries, a golden buttery topping, and not a single dry bite of cake mix. It’s a one-dish wonder that actually delivers.
Here are the differences:
You whisk the melted butter with milk before pouring.
Most recipes call for drizzling butter over the dry cake mix. That never fully coats it. Some spots get soaked, others stay raw. Whisking with milk turns it into a pourable, even coating that actually reaches everything.
A splash of vanilla.
You won’t notice it until it’s missing—but once you taste that slight upgrade from canned cherry to “this kind of tastes like pie filling from scratch,” you’ll never skip it again.

Cooking Tips
❎ Don’t stir the layers. It’s a dump cake. Stirring will give you a gummy center instead of that layered scoop-and-serve effect.
✅ Watch the top: Dump cakes don’t bake like sheet cakes. If it looks golden and crisp and the edges are bubbling, it’s done—even if it hasn’t hit the 50-minute mark yet.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. You could also serve it with fresh whipped cream or Cool Whip if you would prefer.
Storage Instructions For Dump Cakes
Cover and store at room temp for up to two days, or refrigerate for up to five days. Reheat in the microwave, or in the oven if you want to bring back the crisp top.

More Dump Cake Recipes
- Lemon Dump Cake – Sweet, tangy lemon filling with a buttery cake topping.
- Peach Dump Cake – Juicy peaches baked under golden cake crust.
- Apple Dump Cake – Warm spiced apples with crisp cake mix topping
- Pecan Dump Cake – Rich, buttery cake with delicious pecan bottom.

Cherry Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 42 ounces cherry pie filling (two 21-ounce cans)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 15.25 ounces box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, mix both cans of cherry pie filling together with the vanilla and pour into the baking dish. Use a spatula to make sure the entire dish is covered in an even layer.
- Pour the dry yellow cake mix evenly over the top of the cherries.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter and milk.
- Slowly pour the butter and milk mixture over the top of the entire dry cake mix layer making sure there are no large pockets of dry cake mix showing. If there are, take a spoon and gently push the dry mix under the butter mixture. Do not stir the layers together.
- Spread the almonds over the top.
- Bake for 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
- Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.
Video
Notes
- To make in an 8×8 pan instead, simply halve the recipe!
- Sometimes a pit sneaks into your canned cherry filling. I suggest taking a quick glance when pouring your cherries out to be sure there isn’t a pit inside.
- Because dump cakes are so gooey and moist, it can be hard to determine if they’re done. It’s normal to see some wet spots and some spots that are more crisp and done. The fruit mixture should be bubbly around the edges of the pan when it’s finished baking.
Comments
Erin at Table for Seven says
I love how easy this is! Looks delicious..pinned!
Treena says
Extraordinary taste and so easy to make. I’m interested in trying with rhubarb and maybe blackberries as well!
Toni Ayne Thomason says
I absolutlely LOVE this cherry dump cake! So different and full of flavor. You do not want to miss out on this.
Jen says
Do you mix the cake mix or sprinkle on dry? I love anything cherry.
Thankyou
Layne Henderson says
You just sprinkle it on dry!
Danny says
I have done this dish it was so good I will have it it all the time when I have my friends over
Hope says
Have ya ever tried using almond extract instead of the vanilla? I use almond in my cherry desserts all the time, enhances the cherry flavor.
Luella says
Cherry pineapple dump cake is 1 of my favorites. Instead of using 2 cans of cherry pie filling use 1 & 1 can crushed pineapple with the juice. Just recently I tried apple dump cake made with homemade apple pie filling & it’s a hit in this house.
Carol says
I also make this with crushed pineapple and any flavor pie filling. We like apple and peach too!
Sheila says
My husband’s new favourite dessert. It’s delish! Thank you so much!
Diana Jones says
YUMMY
Ruth says
I love this cake…I could eat it every week. The almonds really add to the flavor.
D says
How about with chocolate cake mix?
Layne Kangas says
We actually have a chocolate cherry dump cake recipe you can find here: https://spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com/chocolate-cherry-dump-cake/ Enjoy!!
Ashley Taylor says
Can you make this ahead of time? Say 6 hours?
Layne Kangas says
Yes, enjoy!!
D Shook says
I had some pecan halves let over from Christmas cookie baking, I sprinkled a few of them instead of the almonds. The almonds worked really well
Betty Sutphen says
I for got the vanilla, how bad is that?
Layne Kangas says
It’s ok to skip it!
JC says
Hi…do you use salted or unsalted butter,
Layne Kangas says
I used unsalted. Enjoy 🙂
Beh Ho says
A hit with family and friends, especially the teenagers!
Sue says
Excellent dessert!
Mildred Stephens says
I will leave out the almonds because of allergies, but otherwise…delicious!
Deborah says
Truly delicious!!
I added a few ideas to change it up just a little.
Pineapple on bottom of starting all layers..
Next..cherry pie filling, mix in vanilla extract, spread on top of pineapple..Spread cake mix across cherry pie filling..
Heavy cream, drizzle over cake mix..melted butter drizzle over cake mix.. final touch, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon, spread over cake mix..
Gives a bit of crunch on the top.. Yummy!!
Trudy says
Served it to friends! Everyone had at least two helpings . I made 1/2 cherry, 1/2 blueberry!!So delicious and easy. My new
‘Go To’ dessert!
Susan Wiesman says
Turned out good 👍