My fruit cocktail dump cake recipe with cake mix is easy and delicious! Made with a base of 3 ingredients—canned fruit cocktail, white cake mix, and butter—this old-fashioned mixed fruit cobbler is a simple way to turn an everyday pantry staple into something special. Unlike other southern-style dump cakes that use just one type of fruit, this canned fruit cobbler combines peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes, and maraschino cherries, creating a flavorful fruit medley with a sweet-tart taste. Brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and a little lemon juice add depth to the filling, working with the tart canning juice to balance the sweetness of the cake mix and the richness of the butter. Above the juicy fruit is a buttery, golden-brown crumble topping that’s crispy around the edges, giving this 9×13 dump cake a fantastic combination of flavors and textures. Easy to assemble and perfect for feeding a crowd, this Southern-style dessert would be great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Sunday dinner—or any day! If you want to learn how to make fruit cocktail dump cake, follow my step-by-step directions and watch the video below!
Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 15 oz cans fruit cocktail in juice (1 drained, 2 with juice)
- **If using fruit cocktail in heavy syrup, omit the extra 1/4 cup of white sugar; if using mixed fruit in light syrup, reduce extra white sugar to 2 Tablespoons
- 1 15.25 oz box white cake mix
- 2 sticks butter, unsalted (226g)
- *Optional (but HIGHLY recommended):
- 1/4 cup white sugar (55g)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar (50g)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt *(if using unsalted butter)
- 1.5 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter.
- Add three 15-ounce cans of fruit cocktail to the prepared baking dish, draining one can and leaving the other two undrained. Spread the fruit into an even layer, then check for and remove any peach pit fragments or pear stems.
- Sprinkle the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt over the fruit. Add the almond extract and lemon juice, then stir everything together gently until the sugar and seasonings are evenly distributed.
- Add the dry white cake mix, shaking it evenly over the fruit cocktail mixture.
- Use a fork to gently level the cake mix into an even layer, breaking up any large lumps without stirring it into the fruit.
- Slice the cold butter into small, thin pats and arrange them evenly across the entire surface of the cake mix, leaving just a little space between the pieces. Fill in any large gaps with smaller pieces of butter to ensure even coverage.
- Bake uncovered at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour (60 minutes), or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Let the fruit cocktail dump cake cool for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy warm on its own or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe Review
My fruit cocktail dump cake recipe with cake mix was a huge success. This old-fashioned cobbler has a really nice balance of sweetness and tartness, with the peaches and pears providing most of the flavor while the pineapple, grapes, and maraschino cherries add some interesting background notes. I especially liked how the tart fruit cocktail juice and lemon juice balanced the sweetness of the cake mix and brown sugar, keeping the filling from tasting overly sweet. While you can definitely make this dump cake with 3 ingredients, extras like the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and almond extract added warmth and depth without overpowering the fruit.
I really liked the texture as well. The mixed fruit cooked down beautifully in the oven, creating a juicy filling that was soft and tender without being too watery. Some of the fruit held its shape, while the softer pieces blended together into a consistency that’s almost like a traditional cobbler filling. Above that was a buttery, golden-brown crumble topping with crispy edges and a slightly softer, cake-like texture underneath. I thought the contrast between the juicy fruit and the crunchy, buttery topping was fantastic.
One thing I was particularly happy with was how well the topping turned out. I was a little concerned that using three cans of fruit cocktail might introduce too much liquid and make the cake mix soggy, but draining one can while leaving the other two undrained provided just the right amount of moisture. The butter also helped create an evenly browned topping, especially when sliced into thin pats and distributed across the entire surface. Letting the dump cake cool for about 30 minutes afterward gave the juices time to thicken, making it easier to serve. While this mixed fruit cobbler is definitely good enough to serve on its own, it has just the right amount of sweetness to be served with ice cream, whipped cream, or Cool Whip without becoming overly sweet.
Honestly, there isn’t much I’d change about this recipe. I like using fruit cocktail canned in juice because it gives me more control over the sweetness, and the combination of white and brown sugar works really well with the fruit and spices. If you prefer a slightly richer flavor, yellow cake mix would also be a good option, and I think shredded coconut or chopped pecans could make interesting additions. You could even experiment with spice cake mix, although I haven’t tried that variation myself.
This fruit cocktail dump cake would be perfect for a beginner cook who wants to make an easy, old-fashioned dessert without peeling, chopping, or prepping fresh fruit. Since it uses canned fruit cocktail and boxed cake mix, it’s also a convenient pantry dessert that you can put together any time of the year. And because it makes a full 9×13-inch baking dish, it’s great for feeding a crowd at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Sunday dinner, or just about any family gathering. If you enjoy Southern-style cobblers and buttery dump cakes, I think you’ll really like this recipe!
Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake Recipe FAQs
Yes! Canned fruit cocktail works wonderfully in dump cakes because it contains a mixture of peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes, and maraschino cherries. Instead of using just one type of fruit, you get a flavorful medley with a sweet-tart taste.
Fruit cocktail dump cake has a mix of fruit that’s dominated by peaches and pears with pineapple, grapes, and cherries in the background, giving it a distinct sweet and tart flavor. Brown sugar, spices like cinnamon and ginger, and almond extract add warmth and depth and the crumble topping is sweet and buttery, so it’s definitely an old-fashioned, southern dessert.
Although both recipes use canned fruit cocktail, this dump cake is very different. Dolly Parton’s fruit cocktail cake bakes up soft and moist, but this dump cake is juicy on the bottom and crispy on the top, giving it a completely different texture.
Yes! While you only need a base of 3 ingredients for this fruit cocktail recipe—fruit cocktail cans, cake mix, and butter—I recommend adding optional ingredients like light brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, and almond extract to improve the flavor. If using fruit cocktail canned in juice instead of light or heavy syrup, I recommend adding a small amount (1/4 cup) of white sugar as well.
I used fruit cocktail canned in juice so I could control the level of sweetness, but you can adjust the amount of white sugar depending on the type of canning liquid. If using fruit cocktail in juice, use 1/4 cup; for light syrup, use 2 Tablespoons; for mixed fruit in heavy syrup, leave out the white sugar and just add light brown sugar.
Yes—drain one of the 15 ounce cans, but not the other 2. This will give the dump cake enough moisture to keep the filling juicy without making the top overly soggy, ensuring you get a nice, crispy, crunchy crumble on top.
I recommend using white cake mix because its mild flavor allows the peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes, and cherries to shine. However, yellow cake mix would also work well, adding a slightly richer, buttery flavor.
Yes! Shredded coconut and chopped pecans would be great old-fashioned, southern-style additions to this canned fruit cocktail dump cake. I also think using spice cake mix might be good as well, so if you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
Bake fruit cocktail dump cake uncovered at 350°F (175°C) for about 1 hour (60 minutes), or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbling around the edges. I recommend waiting about 30 minutes to serve it so that the slices hold their shape better and the juices have time to thicken.
Allow the dump cake to cool completely, then refrigerate the leftovers for up to 3–4 days. If you want to freeze the dump cake, put individual portions into containers and then put them in the freezer—they will keep well for up to 3 months.
Other Dump Cake Cobbler Recipes
If you like dump cakes made with fruit, be sure to take a look at:
Peach Dump Cake with Canned Peaches and Cake Mix – Spiced with cinnamon and cloves, it has plenty of old-school, southern-style flavor.
Pineapple Dump Cake with 3 Ingredients – A bit of lemon juice makes the canned crushed pineapple exceptionally flavorful.
Blackberry Dump Cake with Frozen Blackberries – There’s no need to thaw the frozen berries before using them in this dump cake cobbler, so the recipe is super quick and easy.
2 Comments