Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake
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This fruit cocktail cake is a classic dump cake that is so easy to make and gives you melt-in-your mouth flavors whether served warmed or at room temperature.
This recipe comes from Keri over at Shaken Together! Her fruit cocktail cake is such an easy dessert recipe and tastes amazing. You will definitely want to add this easy fruit cake to your list of canned fruit cocktail recipes after you try it once.

Dump Cake Frequently Asked Questions
What is a dump cake? A dump cake is a simple dessert that involves combining all of the ingredient into a baking pan and baking. Texture wise it is similar to a cobbler but with a cake topping. Dump cake is typically a traditional cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple. This fruit cocktail cake replaces the usual pie filling with canned fruit cocktail for a serious flavor bump! The mix of peaches, pears, pineapple, grapes and cherries in a lightly sweet syrup is the perfect compliment to the golden buttery crust! It is an awesome way to feed a crowd and super easy cake recipe because the steps are so simple.Â
Can you make the cake the night before? Yes, you can bake this fruit cocktail cake the night before and then store it in the refrigerator. I actually prefer a dump cake the next day because it gives the flavors more time to meld together.
Can I cook a dump cake in the slow cooker? Yes! The preparation is the same and then cook the cake for about 2 hours.
How do you know when dump cake is done? There are no raw ingredients in this fruit cocktail cake recipe to cook but you’ll want to watch for the cake batter portion to set and turn golden brown.

Tropical Dump Cake Ingredients
- Yellow Cake Mix: You could also use white or coconut cake mix.
- Canned Fruit Cocktail: I like the extra cherry version.
- Butter: I usually use salted butter here but unsalted works equally as well.
- Pecans: You can use chopped walnuts or almonds here or omit the nuts entirely.
How to Make Fruit Cocktail Cake
For this fruit cocktail cake recipe, you add the canned fruit to a baking dish, cover it with cake mix and melted butter before baking in the oven. I also top with chopped pecans before baking but you can use almonds or omit the nuts entirely. It is a foolproof fruit cocktail cake with cake mix for sure!Â

That bubbly fruit filling is SO good – see how it snuck out around the edges of the pan? YUM! With cool weather, fall parties and get togethers right around the corner, you can add this easy fruit cocktail cake to your potluck recipe list!

More Recipes for Dump Cake
- Chocolate Pumpkin Dump Cake
- Crockpot Apple Cake
- Cherry Dump Cake
- Triple Berry Dump Cake
More Canned Fruit Cocktail Recipes
- Ambrosia Salad
- Texas Tornado Cake
- Fruit Salad Cheesecake
- Mixed Fruit Cobbler
- Better than Sex Fruit Salad
Great Recipes from Shaken Together:
- Harvest Spice Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
- Raspberry Poke Cake
- Grandma’s Apple Cake
- 3 Ingredient Banana Nut Muffin Cake

Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 3 15 ounce cans very cherry fruit cocktail
- 1 16.5 ounce box of yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 3/4 cup pecan pieces chopped
Video
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- Drain two cans of the fruit cocktail. In a bowl, mix together the two cans of drained fruit cocktail and the third can (fruit + light syrup). Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer.3 15 ounce cans very cherry fruit cocktail
- Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the fruit and spread into an even layer.1 16.5 ounce box of yellow cake mix
- Drizzle the top of the cake mix with the melted butter, trying to cover as much of the top of the cake mix as possible. Sprinkle with nuts.1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup pecan pieces
- Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and the filling is gently bubbling around the edges. (Test with a toothpick to make sure there is no liquid cake batter.)
Notes
- You can mix the fruit directly in the baking dish if you don’t want to use a bowl. Using a bowl helps prevent mixing in the nonstick cooking spray but isn’t required.
- This cake can be baked the day before and refrigerated until ready to eat.
Nutrition




Look forward to many more of your wonderful receipes …thank uou !!!
Thank you very much!
Awesome! Can not wait to try this.
Dump cakes are the best! So fun and easy. I can’t wait to try this one!
I need all the quick and easy recipes I can get right now and this dessert totally fits the bill! It looks FANTASTIC an I can’t wait to faceplant into a slice!
The recipe says 1/1 cup of melted butter. Does this mean 1 cup???
My apologies. It should be 1/2 cup of butter. I have updated the recipe card.
Going to try this right now. Thank you.
Great! They are very tasty and easy to prepare. Added it to my menu. Thanks for your great sharing, it’s really meaningful to me
I made a cake following your instruction and it tasted good. Your instruction is so easy to understand.
Thanks!
I’m glad to become a new member of your delicious, yummy and easy recipes!!
I’m looking for a recipe for Non Dairy (Parve) Noodle Kugel. Seeing that I have cans of Fruit Cocktail, noodles, non dairy margarine and eggs (and of course sugar, vanilla extract), I was wondering if you could help me find a delish recipe for the classic Jewish side dish, KUGEL!
With Much Gratitude,
Judi
I love to cook! I’m always looking for new recipes for my menu, which makes me always love and enjoy my work. Today’s my lucky day, Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake recipe is great, just follow the instructions and everything is easy, I like that. Thanks for your sharing
Look yummy! One of my favorite Fruit Cocktail Dump Cake, nice to see your guide, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend.Thanks you!
Me and my kids loves cake too much. Learned anothr excellent recipes, Thanks Shannah
I would like to make this in a 8×8 pan as shown in one of your pictures. Can you print a smaller recipe.
Thank you,
Debbi Segebart
Hi – I will have to do some testing to get the amount of baking time correct. For the photos, I did split the recipe into two pans but forgot to make note of how long the square pan took to bake.
If you sprinkle light brown sugar over the top before baking it gives it a nice crunch.
Can I use a strawberry cake mix n not the yellow cake mix
Yes, you can substitute an equal sized box of strawberry cake mix for the yellow cake mix. It will change the flavor though and I am sure how it will taste as I have never tried it.
I have a coconut cake mix I will try and I think it might be really good with the fruit cocktail. Also will add some sweetened coconut as will with the pecans. 😋
This sounds delicious. Please let me know how it turns out.
I made this with sugar free cake mix and sugar free fruit cocktail. It’s so delicious
So glad you liked it! This sugar free option sounds wonderful.