The Easiest Peach Dump Cake Recipe Ever (SO good!)
Love easy cakes? This peach dump cake version is a summer dessert star!
Easy Peach Dump Cake
I recently polled several thousand followers over on Instagram to find out if ya’ll love cake mix recipes. While I typically enjoy making recipes from scratch, I’m all in favor of easy cake mix recipes that are quick to pull together and make a delicious dessert! The overwhelming majority of you agreed!
This easy cake mix recipe is the best peach dump cake I have ever eaten. I’ve tweaked and adjusted basic peach dump cakes and peach cobbler cakes (dump cakes are just more traditionally cake-like than a cobbler) to find the perfect mix of peaches and topping.
If you want to use FRESH peaches, I have details on that in the blog post (below)!
The buttery topping and sweet brown sugar with pecans is absolutely heavenly!
I even told my Mom that this peach dump cake is rivaling chocolate cake as my all-time favorite dessert! I mean it!
What is a Dump Cake?
While “dump cake” isn’t the prettiest of names, it is certainly indicative of just how simple this recipe is to make. You simply dump the ingredients right into the baking dish.
Supposedly dump cakes were invented around 1980 when first spotted in a Duncan Hines holiday baking brochure.
You won’t need a mixing bowl or mixer (no stirring), whisk, none of it! Simply a 9×13 baking dish, measuring cups and a few simple utensils.
You can also make this recipe in several smaller baking dishes or even ramekins if you wanted to make smaller portions.
Here are a few of my top baking tips for making the best peach dump cake!
Baking Tips for The Best Peach Dump Cake
- Drain two of your three cans of peaches, leaving the syrup from only one can. You don’t want a mushy or overly juicy peach dump cake!
- If you like more peaches, add a 3rd can of peaches (drained) or stop at 2. I LOVE peaches, so I always use 3 (15 oz) cans.
- Sprinkle on cinnamon and then yellow cake mix (straight from the box) onto the cinnamon-coated peaches. Use the back of a fork to gently press the cake mix into the peaches. Sprinkle on brown sugar.
Butter Tips for Peach Dump Cake
While some recipes use melted butter, I prefer thin slices. Thinly slice your butter and evenly place butter squares over dump cake. You want to slice the butter as thinly as possible so it can almost fully cover the entire dump cake. The thin slices melt to cover every inch of the dump cake.
You can also grate your butter (yes, grate the butter) to evenly distribute it as well, but I’ve found thinly slicing works just as well.
Pecan Dump Cake Topping
Top with chopped pecans. If the pecans begin to get too dark during the baking, just loosely cover your dump cake with aluminum foil and continue cooking. Mine are usually toasted just perfectly at the 1 hour mark.
Peach Dump Cake using Fresh Peaches
The easiest year-round method is to use canned peaches for this recipe, but if you’re in the peak of peach season, fresh peaches are a must!
- To use fresh peaches, simply peel slice ripe peaches (about 6-8) and top with 1/3 cup white sugar. Let sit for 30 minutes. This will make them juicy to recreate the syrup found in canned peaches. If you’ve found there still isn’t enough liquid, you can add 1/4-1/3 cup of water and stir well. Depending on how juicy your ripe peaches are, typically just the sugar alone will create that natural juice!
- Evenly dump them into your baking dish and pick up with the next step (recipe below).
Can I use other cake mix flavors in my dump cake?
Certainly! While my recipe uses a box of yellow cake mix, you can use white cake mix or even butter pecan cake mix! This will change the flavor slightly and my preferred cake mix for this recipe is yellow, but it’s always fun to experiment!
Topping Ideas for Peach Dump Cake
- Vanilla Ice Cream (vanilla bean is my favorite)
- Whipped Cream
- Garnish with a peach slice and sprig of mint for a pretty presentation!
Do you have to refrigerate Peach Dump Cake?
Yes, store it in the refrigerator, tightly covered for up to 5 days. To reheat, simply scoop and heat individual portions in the microwave or reheat the entire baking dish in a warm oven for about 20 minutes.
More of my Favorite Peach Recipes:
- Grilled Peach Panzanella Salad
- Boozy Peach Ice Cream
- Georgia Peach Cocktail
- Peach Mojito
- Peach & Raspberry Crisp Parfaits
Peach Dump Cake with Pecan Topping
Ingredients
- 3 cans peaches in heavy syrup - (15 oz)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter - very thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Drain 2 of the 3 cans of peaches (leaving just 1 can undrained). Empty peaches evenly into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Sprinkle peaches evenly with cinnamon.
- Cover the peaches with the dry cake mix and use the back of a fork to gently press the cake mix down evenly.
- Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over cake mix.
- Arrange the thinly sliced butter squares evenly over the dump cake.
- Sprinkle on chopped pecans.
- Bake at 375 degrees F. for one hour, until golden brown. If pecans begin to get too dark, loosely cover baking dish with aluminum foil and finish baking.
Notes
- You can substitute in white cake mix for the yellow, if preferred.
Nutrition
If you love dump cake recipes, don’t miss my apple dump cake!
If you love peaches and pecans, I hope you’ll give this easy peach dump cake recipe a try! It’s buttery, crispy, similar to a “peach cobbler dump cake” and full of peach flavor!
It’s an easy dessert recipe that’s always a crowd-pleaser! Enjoy!
How do I make extra liquid if I use fresh peaches?
Hi Darlene! Very ripe, fresh peaches will create their own natural juices when sprinkled with sugar and allowed to sit. You can also add some water. I gave additional details in the blog post above!
Thank you! I must have missed that on the blog yesterday. I cannot wait to try it!!!
Perfect treat on these warm summer evenings. Can’t wait to try it.
I loved the addition of the pecans! I’ve never had peach cobbler or dump cake with nuts, and now I can never go back. Such a yummy crunch that balances out the soft peaches perfectly!
We will be eating this all summer!! Dump cakes are my go-to, because they are easy & always a hit! Love the crunch!
Yummy! This is such a delicious and yummy dessert. So excited to make this again. I can’t wait to make this recipe again! One of our favorites!
Do you use canned peaches with syrup or natural juices?
Donna, either will work!
I want to use frozen peaches. Do I defrost and treat as fresh peaches as described in your blog?
Yes!
Hi. Can I use peach pie filling instead of canned or frozen
Hi. Can I use peach pie filling instead of canned or frozen
Peach Pie Filling is a different type of canned peach product, I wouldn’t recommend it for this recipe.
Love, love, love this recipe. So easy and quick for a nice dessert during the week. My family loved it and it was GONE in 2 days!!!
A good switch to this recipe is to use a butter pecan cake mix and delete the brown sugar. Smells divine.
Delicious