My lemon dump cake with 3 ingredients recipe is easy and delicious! With lemon pie filling, cake mix, and butter, you can make an amazing cobbler that’s sure to please lemon lovers. Although the base recipe is fantastic, going beyond 3 ingredients by adding lemon juice and zest really puts this dessert over the top and makes it unforgettable. If you love lemon but want to go beyond bars and meringue pie, this recipe is for you.

What Is a Dump Cake?

As explained in my pumpkin dump cake article and similar recipes on my site, a dump cake is a simple cobbler made by “dumping” ingredients into a 9×13 dish. Although some recipes call for fresh or frozen fruit, most use cans of storebought pie filling.

All you have to do is layer in fruit filling, a cake layer, and then butter on top, home cooks can quickly and easily make a cobbler. And since most dump cake recipes use 9×13 pans, these cobblers are perfect for feeding large crowds.

I absolutely love desserts with fruit, as well as lemon. I tried and liked strawberry and blueberry cake mix cobblers, so I wanted to see how a lemon version would turn out–I’m really glad I decided to give this a try because it turned out even better than I had anticipated.

Are Lemon Dump Cake and Lemon Bars the Same Thing?

No, they’re not. Although they’re both rectangular lemon-flavored desserts, the flavor and texture are very different.

As seen in Sally’s Baking Addiction lemon bar recipe, this treat has a shortbread crust, lemon curd filling, and then a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top. However, a lemon dump cake inverts the two main layers by putting the lemon pie filling on the bottom and a cake layer on top.

In my opinion, the texture of the crust is similar in the two desserts, but lemon dump cake’s topping is a bit more like a crumble. Although both have a lot of lemon flavor, I think dump cake has a bit less sour, which is perfect for people who like lemon but don’t like sour things.

In short, if you like lemon bars, I think you’ll like lemon dump cake.

Ingredients

Like I said, this lemon dump cake recipe is super easy because it only has 3 main ingredients:

Lemon Pie Filling – Two 22 oz cans of pie filling.

Cake Mix – I used lemon cake mix since it just made sense.

Butter – 2 sticks of unsalted butter. It sounds like a lot–and it is–but you’ll need it.

However, if you want to take this cobbler to the next level, I recommend adding:

Lemon Juice – 2 Tablespoons. Freshly squeezed, of course.

Lemon Zest – 2 teaspoons. If you don’t have zest, use 1 teaspoon of extract instead.

But even with just 3 ingredients, this dessert is fantastic.

Can You Make Lemon Dump Cake with White or Yellow Cake Mix?

Yes! Although I do think that using lemon dump cake makes sense in this recipe, you can definitely use white or yellow cake mix. If you want to mimic lemon cake mix, I would mix in 1-2 teaspoons of lemon zest into the white or yellow cake mix.

Can You Use Lemon Curd Instead of Pie Filling?

Yes–but it will be different. Lemon curd is a bit richer than lemon pie filling, but it’s similar, so I think you could use it. However, lemon curd is a bit runnier, so the finished cobbler might not hold its shape as well when cut and served.

Also, like I said, lemon curd is very rich–possibly too rich. When combined with the already sweet cake mix, some people might find the dump cake to be too sweet. I haven’t tried this recipe with lemon curd, but if you do, please let me know what you think.

Easy Lemon Dump Cake Recipe — This easy lemon dump cake recipe is great because it has plenty of lemon flavor but with less of the sour taste.

How to Make Lemon Dump Cake with 3 Ingredients

Learning how to make my lemon dump cake with 3 ingredients is easy! You just have to follow a few, simple steps:

Dump in Pie Filling

After buttering the 9×13 baking dish, the first step in making lemon dump cake is pouring in the pie filling. This step is simple: just open 2 cans of pie filling and “dump” them into the baking dish. Then, take a spatula or large spoon to spread out the filling evenly.

Lemon Juice and Lemon Zest?

As stated above, your dump cake will be delicious with just 3 ingredients. However, if you want to take it to the next level, I recommend adding some lemon juice and zest. Simple sprinkle the juice and zest over the pie filling, then mix them in gently.

Like I said, this is optional, but I highly recommend it. I tried the pie filling straight out of the can, and then with some fresh lemon mixed in, and there was definitely a difference: a little bit of the real thing goes a long way.

And BTW, when it comes to lemon juice, please use freshly squeezed–the bottled stuff is OK in an emergency, but it just isn’t the same.

Lemon Zest and Juice Tips

Buy firm lemons – Old, soft lemons are very hard to zest, so make sure to buy firmer lemons.

Zest before cutting to juice – Zesting a cut lemon is very difficult–I know from experience.

Roll before slicing to juice – Rolling the lemons on the counter for a few seconds makes them easier to juice.

Dump In Cake Mix

Once you’re done with the filling layer, it’s time to add the cake mix. Simply open the cake mix and sprinkle it on top of the pie filling, trying to sprinkle it on as evenly as possible.

Smooth Out the Cake Mix

After sprinkling on the raw cake mix, use a large spoon, spatula, or fork to smooth it out. Even though it might seem natural, resist the urge to pack the cake mix down or mix it in with the pie filling: simply drag the utensil across the top of the cobbler to level it out.

While you’re level out the top, break up any large clumps of cake mix. Don’t worry about being perfect–this is an easy, forgivable recipe, so just do the best you can.

Add Butter

The last step in making my lemon dump cake with 3 ingredients recipe is adding the butter. This is the most time-consuming and tedious step, but taking a bit of time to do it right will ensure that your dessert turns out perfectly. To do this:

Use Cold Butter – It’s much easier to slice cold butter than soft butter, so keep your butter in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Slice It Thinly – Cutting the butter thinly will give you more pads, making it easier to distribute the butter evenly. In each Tablespoon of butter, aim for 4 to 6 pads of butter.

Lay the Pads Close to Each Other – Place the pads of butter as evenly as possible across the top and relatively close to each other; at most, 1/4 inch apart.

It’s important to spread out the slices of butter evenly and to place them close to each other. As the dump cake cobbler bakes in the oven, the butter will melt down and out, turning the raw cake mix into a delicious crumble.

However, if butter doesn’t soak into some of the cake mix, those areas will turn out dry, powdery, and unappetizing. Like I said, cutting the butter and putting it on top of the dump cake is time-consuming, but it’s worth the time and effort.

Can You Pour On Melted Butter?

Although I’ve seen dump cake recipes on YouTube in which people melt the butter in the microwave and then pour it in top, I personally wouldn’t recommend that. I think it would be hard to pour the butter evenly across the top, so you’d be almost guaranteed to have some dry spots.

Is There An Easier Way to Add The Butter?

Even though I’ve never tried it, a subscriber on YouTube suggested freezer the butter, grating it on a cheese grater, and then sprinkling the grated butter on top of the dump cake. In theory, I think this would work great. If you give this a try, let me know how it turns out!

Bake in the Oven

When the butter is laid across the top, it’s time to put the dump cake in the oven. Mine took 1 hour at 350F, but be sure to keep an eye on it since ovens very.

Serve

I let the dump cake cool for about an hour before serving. Even though I think you could serve your dump cake immediately, I recommend letting it cool for at least 30 minutes. Not only do you not want to burn yourself–LOL–but the portions will also hold their shape better once mostly cool.

What to Serve with Lemon Dump Cake

Although this lemon dump cake was absolutely fantastic on its own, it’s also good with:

Whipped Cream – A bit of whipped cream helps to cut through the sweetness and tartness. Use my hand blender whipped cream recipe if you just want a little bit for 1 or 2 portions.

Cool Whip – If you don’t care for whipped cream, whipped topping is an option, too.

Ice Cream – Vanilla ice cream would be good on this, too, I think.

How to Store Lemon Dump Cake

After the dump cake cools down completely, store–uncovered–in the refrigerator. Personally, I recommend not covering fruit pies and cobblers because covering them will trap in the moisture, potentially making the crust soggy (or at least not as crispy / crunch).

Can I Make Lemon Dump Cake The Night Before?

Yes! I think that the dump cake would be perfectly fine if you made it the night before and kept it in the refrigerator after it cooled down.

How Long Does Lemon Dump Cake Keep?

2-3 days. I kept mine in the refrigerator, and I ate a little bit every day. I felt that it was still fine on the 3rd day, but by the 4th day, the crust wasn’t as crunchy and the filling had started to loose some flavor.

Can You Freeze Dump Cake?

Yes! Simply cut the cobbler into individual portions, place them on paper plates, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze. The frozen dump cake should maintain its quality for 2-3 months.

To defrost, unwrap and place in the refrigerator for a few hours. As recommended by a SoutherLiving.com article when thawing cake slices, make sure your slice of dump cake is unwrapped: if it thaws while wrapped in plastic, the plastic will trap in the moisture and make the cake crumble topping soggy.

A Chef’s Review

My lemon dump cake with 3 ingredients recipe was a big success. I was actually surprised by how much I liked it: it had plenty of lemon flavor but with less acidity. Even though there was a touch of an artificial taste, that’s to be expected when using storebought ingredients.

With the combination of taste, texture, and ease, this dessert was a win. If you like lemon desserts like lemon bars or lemon meringue pie but you don’t like the sourness, and especially if you want something an easy cobble recipe you can make for a crowd, this is for you.

Possible Changes to the Recipe

Although I thought that it turned out great, I’m curious how making a few tweaks would change the recipe:

White or Yellow Cake Mix – I think it might cut down on the lemon flavor a bit, but then the focus would be on the lemon pie filling.

Spice Cake Mix – I think that citrus and spices go together well. Honestly, I think the spices might overpower the lemon a bit, but I’m still curious how this would turn out.

Lemon Curd – Using this instead of lemon pie filling would be interesting.

Lemon Dump Cake Recipe Variations

Possible variations to the recipe include:

Blueberries – I think that adding fresh blueberries, or perhaps some blueberry pie filling would be good.

Strawberries – Just like blueberries, I think strawberries and lemon go together very well.

Cream Cheese – I think the tanginess of cream cheese and the sourness of lemon would go together well.

More 3-Ingredient Dump Cake Recipes

If you liked this 3-ingredient lemon dump cake recipe, check out my other easy dump cake cobblers:

Pumpkin Dump Cake (3 Ingredients) – Spice cake mix is the perfect combination to the pie filling.

Strawberry Dump Cake (3 Ingredients) – For spring and early-summer flavor, this is one of the best.

Blueberry Dump Cake (3 Ingredients) – A bit of lemon juice brings out the berry flavor in this recipe.

Cherry Dump Cake (3 Ingredients) – The bright-red filling of this cobbler is really eye-catching.

3-Ingredient Key Lime Dump Cake – If you like lemon flavor but not all the acidity, this is for you.

More Lemon Recipes

If you’re a lemon-lover like I am, be sure to give these other recipes a try:

Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake with 3 Ingredients – Lemon and blueberry go together well in this dessert.

Lemon Custard Pie – Based on egg custard pie, this dessert has lots of lemon flavor without the sourness.

Argentinian Lemon Mustard Chicken – This recipe uses lemon, mustard, and spices in an incredible way.