This Strawberry Cheesecake Dump Cake reminds me of strawberries and cream. The whipped cream cheese mixture is super light and creamy. It melts together with the cake mix topping for a delicious cheesecake crisped topping that’s totally addictive.
Dump cake recipes are seriously one of the easiest cakes to assemble. As the name suggests, you simply “dump” each layer at a time in a cake pan. We do incorporate a little mixing into this version of dump cake with strawberries – to make the cheesecake filling mixture. Similar to our Lemon Cheesecake dump cake, some people slice chunks of straight cream cheese into their dump cake for a true “dump” technique, but adding egg and sugar to the cream cheese and beating it together makes for a much more delicious texture and flavor. Once you’ve “dumped in” all your ingredients, let the oven to do the rest of the work!
This strawberry dump cake recipe is the perfect dessert for home date night, potlucks, and backyard BBQs. Or, make it ahead of time and freeze it for whenever a craving calls for a creamy and fruity sweet treat! Simple ingredients and easy prep make this delicious dessert a go-to for almost any occasion.
If you have extra strawberries or just love strawberry desserts, be sure to try Deep Fried Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle, and Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies.
What Do You Need?
🍓 Ingredients
- 2 (15.75-ounce) cans of strawberry pie filling – if you prefer to use homemade strawberry pie filling, be sure you cook it down so it nice and thick.
- 8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 1 box of cake mix – white, yellow, vanilla, or even strawberry will work!
- ½ cup butter, cold – you can use either unsalted or salted
Optional Garnish
fresh strawberry slices, whipped cream, and/or vanilla ice cream are perfect for garnishing and serving the dump cake.
Substitutions/Variations
- For a different fruit dump cake, simply use another filling such as lemon curd, or a canned pie filling like raspberry, blackberry, or cherry!
- Everyone knows how well tart rhubarb and sweet strawberry flavors go together! Use strawberry rhubarb pie filling like we make in this strawberry rhubarb hand pies recipe instead of plain cans of strawberry pie, leaving the cake mix with cream cheese as is and suddenly you have a strawberry rhubarb dump cake!
- If you feel like adding another dimension to this new favorite dessert, consider a creamy whipped topping using strawberry yogurt, marshmallow creme, and strawberry jam. Spread it over your baked dump cake after it’s cooled for a bit and garnish with some freshly sliced strawberries.
- Use a box of yellow cake mix, white cake mix, or vanilla cake mix for this dessert. You could even use strawberry cake mix to really boost the strawberry theme.
- Make a chocolate strawberry dump cake by using chocolate cake mix.
📋 Instructions
Putting together this strawberry cream cheese dessert is a cinch. We’ll mix up the cheesecake “batter”, layer all of the ingredients in the baking dish, and then pop it in the oven. This dish takes about 1 hour from start to finish.
Before you get started, chill your butter! This will make it easier to slice thin (one of the last steps in this recipe).
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2: Add cream cheese, egg, and granulated sugar to a medium mixing bowl.
Step 3: Beat using a hand mixer (you can alternately use a standing mixer) until smooth and creamy.
Step 4: Spread both cans of strawberry pie filling across the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish.
Step 5: Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture over the strawberry filling.
Step 6: Sprinkle the full bag of cake mix over the top of the other filling ingredients. A nice even layer will make it easiest to top with butter in the next step.
Step 7: Slice extra THIN pats of butter and place them to cover as much of the cake mix layer as possible.
Step 8: Bake for 40 minutes or until the topping is browned and the strawberry filling is bubbling around the edges.
Step 9: Allow dump cake to rest for 15 minutes before scooping into it to serve.
- Make sure that your butter is cold so you can easily slice it and cover every inch of the cake with butter. This is key because the butter will not spread as it melts. Cake mix not covered by butter may come out of the oven still dry and powdery. If this occurs, it is totally fine and very common. You can also check on the dump cake towards the end of the bake time and if there are some dry patches, drizzle on a bit of extra melted butter.
- If it’s easier for you, consider melting your butter and then drizzle the melted butter over the top of the cake mix before baking.
- You can make a homemade pie filling instead of buying the canned variety. This is obviously an extra step unless you’ve made some in advance.
- Vanilla, white, or yellow cake mix are all good options for this dump cake. You could also use a gluten-free cake mix if you are catering to anyone who is gluten-free.
This strawberry cheesecake dump cake recipe is exactly what it sounds like! It’s essentially a no-fuss dessert where all of the ingredients get dumped (one by one) into the bottom of a casserole dish, providing scrumptious layers and making it extremely easy and quick to assemble and bake! Using cream cheese gives this dump cake a cheesecake texture and taste.
It’s true that a cobbler and a dump cake seem to be almost the same thing. However, there are differences between the two worth noting:
While a cobbler’s fruit filling base is traditionally topped with a crumbed biscuit topping, a dump cake makes use of cake mix placed on top of the pie filling or a middle layer such as a cream cheese mixture. It is really a much sweeter, crisp topping than that of a cobbler.
A classic cobbler will always have a fruit-based bottom layer while that’s not necessarily the case with dump cakes. There are many variations of dump cakes online including those that are more cookie and cake inspired, using a cookie base, cream cheese filling, and a whipped topping such as an oreo cookie dump cake.
Store this easy dump cake recipe in the fridge covered with a lid or plastic wrap, or in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You could also store your strawberry dump cake at room temperature for a couple of days. After that, you’ll need to store it in a cool and dry place.
Freeze this dump cake for up to 3 months, which is ideal if you want to make it ahead of time. When ready to enjoy, remove it from the freezer to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
You can serve dump cake cold or warm either on its own, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
MORE STRAWBERRY DESSERTS TO LOVE
Strawberry Cheesecake Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 2 – 15 ounce cans of strawberry pie filling
- 8 ounces of cream cheese softened
- 1 egg large
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 package of vanilla or white cake mix
- ½ cup salted butter cold
- Fresh strawberries whole or halved, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the strawberry filling from both cans in the bottom of a 9”x13” baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, egg, and granulated sugar until creamy and combined.
- Scoop dollops of the cream cheese mixture across the surface of the strawberry filling. Try to spread the cream cheese a little bit so that the surface of the dump cake is as even as possible.
- Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the strawberry and cream cheese layers.
- Slice very thin pats of butter and spread over the entire top of the dry cake mix. Cover as much of the cake mix as possible.
- Bake about 40-45 minutes until the topping is browned, even in the center, and the strawberry filling is bubbling up from the bottom.
- Serve warm or cooled.
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Notes
- Make sure that your butter is cold as this will make it much easier when it comes to slicing your butter thin.
- You could also store your strawberry dump cake at room temperature for a couple of days.
- Vanilla, white, or yellow cake mix are all good options for this dump cake.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Faye Lewis Martin says
heavenly
Keeley says
This was a HUGE HIT at a work potluck! Everyone is asking for more. I’m going to make it with cherries for the next potluck. Delicious and so easy to make.
Gary says
Wow, not a fan of dump cakes but after this recipe, I’ll be making it often. Simple ingredients! I melted the butter and mixed with cake mix to give a “crumple” texture. I’ll eat more for dinner!