Looking for a dessert that’s sweet, tropical, and incredibly easy to make? This Pineapple Dump Cake is the perfect recipe! With just a few simple ingredients and minimal prep time, you’ll have a delicious cake that tastes like a trip to the islands. Forget boxed mixes—this from-scratch version combines juicy pineapple into a moist cake. Give it a finishing touch with a quick sweet cream cheese frosting.
Easy Pineapple Dump Cake From Scratch
This delicious pineapple dump cake is easy to make, doesn’t use eggs or oil and only requires a few ingredients. Top the cake with the quick to make cream cheese frosting and you’ll have a dessert your family will love.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this cake:
Ingredients for cake:
Crushed Pineapple – you’ll need the whole can of crushed pineapple including the juice. Don’t drain it out!
All Purpose Flour – use your favorite brand.
Sugar – you can use granulated sugar, brown sugar, Splenda or your favorite type of sweetener. I’ve also made this with a combination of sweeteners (part granulated/part brown sugar) and it’s still come out great.
Baking Soda – you’ll need this to help the cake to rise.
Vanilla Extract – this will add extra flavor to the cake.
Cinnamon – don’t leave this out. The flavor mixes well with the pineapple and coconut.
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
Cream Cheese – use your favorite type and brand of cream cheese. You’ll want to have this at room temperature before making the frosting so it’s easier to whip.
Butter – go with butter to add delicious flavor to the frosting.
Confectioners Sugar – this is needed to add sweetness to the frosting. Use your favorite brand.
Vanilla Extract – adds flavor to the frosting
How to make this Pineapple Dump Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 X 13 pan or baking dish with non stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon.
Mix in the pineapple with the juice and the vanilla extract in the dry ingredients.
Pour the cake batter into a prepared 9 x 13 baking dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool and then frost with the cream cheese frosting.
How to make the cream cheese frosting:
In a medium sized bowl combined the softened cream cheese and the butter. Use a hand held mixer or a stand mixer to help make the frosting light and fluffy. Blend until the mixture is creamy.
Add in the vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
Add in the confectioner’s sugar 1 cup at a time slowly blending it in. Mix until all the sugar has been added in and is well combined.
Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled cake and serve.
How to store this cake
Store this cake in a covered container or place plastic wrap over the top of the baking pan. Store in the refrigerator as this is not made with a mix that contains any type of preservative to help extend the life of the cake.
Cake Variations:
You can use this as a base recipe and change this cake up a bit. Try some of these ideas:
- Sprinkle chopped pecans, walnuts or shredded coconut on top of the frosting.
- Mix 1 cup of chopped pecans, walnuts or shredded coconut directly into the cake mix before baking.
- Top the cake with whipped cream instead of the cream cheese frosting.
Meal Prep Tips:
You can turn this recipe into a meal prep item by creating mixes of the dry ingredients. By measuring out several batches of dry ingredients at one time you can save time in the future. Forget having to pull out every ingredient and all your measuring cups and spoons to create a cake. Instead you just take out the bag with the measured dry ingredients and mix in the crushed pineapple and vanilla extract.
Decide on how many bags you want to prep. I like to write the recipe info on the storage bag. It makes it easier to remember what’s in the bag and what I need to add to finish the recipe. On a quart sized plastic bag, using a Sharpie or other marker, write the following information:
Put the recipe name and the date on the bag. Include the following recipe info: “Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 20 oz crushed pineapple, mix, bake 350 for 30 min”.
In each storage bag add 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Remove the excess air from the bag and seal. I like to place all my mix bags into a storage container or into a larger gallon sized storage bag to keep them all together.
Once baked, serve the cake as it is or make the cream cheese frosting. It’s delicious either way.
You might also like some of these other easy to make recipes:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies
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Pineapple Dump Cake Recipe
This delicious pineapple dump cake is easy to make and only requires a few ingredients.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 20 ounce can crushed pineapple in juice
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 X 13 pan with non stick spray.
- In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon.
- Mix in the pineapple with the juice and the vanilla extract in the dry ingredients.
- Pour the mixture into a prepared pan and baking for 30 to 35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool and then frost with the cream cheese frosting.
For the frosting:
- In a medium bowl combine the softened cream cheese and butter until creamy.
- Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Then mix in the confectioner’s sugar. Mix until well combined.
Notes
Nutrition
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