With only 3 ingredients, this Crockpot Pumpkin Dump Cake is your new favorite fall dessert! This recipe is beyond easy to make and captures those classic, nostalgic fall flavors that you know and love.
Whether you need a quick and easy treat for Friendsgiving or a delicious treat for after your next holiday feast, this effortless and stress-free cake will become a go-to recipe.
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💚 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Does holiday baking stress you out? Doesn't holiday baking sound a little intimidating?
Sometimes, you just need to make a super easy 3-ingredient dessert that the slow cooker can make for you. You have more important things that need your attention!
This super easy pumpkin dump cake with 3 ingredients is beyond simple to make in your crock pot, and yields a warm and comforting dessert that's perfect for fall and the holiday season!
Just like my White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake, this is a festive treat that the whole family will gobble right up!
🧂 Ingredients Needed
- spice cake mix - using store bought cake mix is the perfect way to quickly and easily put this dessert together.
- canned pumpkin puree - provides even more pumpkin flavor, as well as heartiness and a bit of nutrition.
- sweetened condensed milk - gives your dump cake a luscious texture and the perfect amount of sweetness.
🔪 Instructions
- Combine pumpkin and sweetened condensed milk in a mixing bowl.
- Mix until well combined.
- Pour spice cake mix into the crock pot.
- Add the pumpkin mixture WITHOUT STIRRING, then set the slow cooker to high and cook for an hour, then stir once, and give it another hour or two to bake.
❔ FAQs
Yes, this recipe is completely egg-free! Instead of eggs, I used evaporated milk which really makes this cake soft and moist. Also, the pure pumpkin I use in this recipe really helps fluff up the cake. This way, the cake is on the slightly healthier side.
Absolutely! Using the slow cooker is a great way to prepare a delicious pumpkin cake without having to take up oven space. Just be aware that this will result in a different finished product than the typical slice and serve cake--you'll be serving it more in scoops than anything!
💭 Expert Tips and Tricks
- Use the "keep warm" feature as you add your ingredients and also when your cake has finished to, well, keep it warm!
- For easier cleanup, use a crockpot liner. Just be careful while stirring your crockpot pumpkin dump cake.
- Resist the urge to stir your cake more than once. You only need to incorporate the ingredients, then let it all cook together.
- Use a good quality cake mix, as the spice cake is what provides most of the flavor.
📌 Gooey and warm, this pumpkin crock pot dump cake is a super easy recipe that's perfect to let cook while you work on Sunday dinner or your next holiday meal!
💡 Substitutions and Variations
- Serve crockpot pumpkin dump cake with vanilla ice cream, drizzle with caramel, top with chopped pecans or walnuts, or add chocolate chips.
- For some additional flavor, add a dash of pumpkin pie spice. You can even make your own!
🔊 What readers are saying...
"Wow! 3 ingredients and cooked in the crock pot. Awesome recipe! Thanks"
- Jerri
🥫 Storage and Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container on the countertop or in the fridge for several days. Pop them in the microwave before serving.
🍴 What To Serve With This Dish
For a super special dessert, pair your pumpkin crock pot dump cake with Cookies and Cream No Churn Ice Cream or lean into the fall and holiday flavors with this Cranberry Ice Cream! You could also drizzle it with some Homemade Chocolate Sauce and serve alongside a piping cup of Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate.
✔️ More Pumpkin Recipes You'll Love
- Pumpkin Brownies with Oreos - This rich and decadent dessert features fudgy brownies with classic sandwich cookies baked right in!
- Cheddar Pumpkin Grilled Cheese - Looking for a savory option? This grilled cheese includes pumpkin for a filling and unique take on the classic dish.
- Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Pancakes - Make these tasty autumnal pancakes for a special breakfast or brunch!
- Pumpkin Spice Popcorn - This recipe from Cocktails and Appetizers is perfect for a quick and easy snack with lots of fall flavor!
3 Ingredient Pumpkin Cake
Love this recipe? Awesome! Snap a photo and tag me on Instagram. You can find me at DizzyBusyandHungry or #dizzybusyandhungry!
⭐ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below! ⭐
📋 Recipe Card
3 Ingredient Crockpot Pumpkin Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 15 oz spice cake mix 1 package
- 15 oz pure pumpkin 1 can
- 12 oz sweetened condensed milk 1 can
Instructions
- Please see the first recipe note before you start so that you understand that this cake will not result in your typical slice and serve cake.
- In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin and evaporated milk.15 oz pure pumpkin, 12 oz sweetened condensed milk
- Add the spice cake mix to the crock pot.15 oz spice cake mix
- Pour the pumpkin mixture over the spice cake mix, but, do not combine.
- Set crock pot to high and cook for 1 hour.
- Switch crock pot setting to low and cook for 1 more hour.
- Mix everything thoroughly.
- Cook for an additional 1-2 hours on low, or until the cake has set. If it seems too gooey, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes at a time until set.
Notes
- Important: Just so you have the right expectation, please note that this cake is not your typical 'slice and serve' cake. You can see in the photos that it's very moist and especially the center tends to come apart, so I generally use a spoon to serve it! (My family loves this cake, but some readers have expressed that they are not fans of the texture, so I want to make sure to highlight it to avoid disappointment.)
- The spice cake mix provides most of the flavor, so for best results make sure you use a good quality cake mix.
- Sweetened condensed milk used to come in 14 ounce cans, but now it comes in 12 ounce cans. Both amounts work just fine - this is a very forgiving recipe!
- If this is too sweet for you, try using evaporated milk next time.
- Slow cookers can vary in their cooking temperature, so you may need to cook this longer if you cake has not set after the recommended cooking time.
- Best served warm. Garnish with caramel sauce, walnuts, chocolate chips, or vanilla ice cream if desired!
- Store leftovers on the counter in an airtight container. Warm in the microwave right before serving.
- Reader feedback is that using a slow cooker liner makes it difficult to stir the pumpkin mixture into the cake mix, so it might be best to skip the liner for this recipe.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December 2017, and was republished with tips, step by step photos, and a recipe change in ovember 2023.
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Happy cooking!
CJ deedrick
This was not good. Mushy, gooey, tasteless. Sorry but it was a waste of a cake mix, pumpkin and evaporated milk.
Kristin King
I'm so sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy this! I actually just made this last week so I can tell you confidently that my family loves it. It sounds like yours might have been undercooked, although it definitely does result in a very moist cake from all the pumpkin. I'm not sure why it would be tasteless, however, unless possibly your cake mix was of low quality, because the spice cake mix is really the element that adds most of the flavor to this recipe. As far as the texture, I am thinking that possibly I need to set the expectation in the recipe that this is more of a 'spoon' cake than the kind of cake you would slice and serve. I will add that into the recipe card just in case that is what happened here. I appreciate your feedback so I can make things better!
Erin
Wondering if the recipe was supposed to take evaporated milk or sweetened condensed milk? Evap milk only comes in 12 oz. cans, whereas sweetened condensed milk comes in 14 oz. cans. Thanks!
Kristin King
When I created this recipe, evaporated milk came in 14 ounce cans. You don't want to substitute sweetened condensed milk because your result will be way too sweet. It's a very forgiving recipe, so I would just use the 12 ounce can. However, I will work on tweaking and re-testing this recipe to accommodate the new can size. Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention!
Josline
Should I put paper towels over the crock pot when baking to trap moisture or not with this recipe? Super excited to try! Its in the crock pot now!!
Kristin
I did not use paper towels over the crock pot, so I think they are not needed. Hope it turned out for you! 🙂
Annesley
Hello, thanks for the pumpkin recipes, can I make the pumpkin dessert in electric cooker, in stead of slow cooker. Thanks Annesley
Kristin
Hi Annesley, I'm really not sure as I have not tried it in an electric cooker. I developed this recipe specifically for the slow cooker so I imagine some changes would need to be made, but I can't tell you exactly what changes would work best. Sorry about that! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Candyce Bright
This looks and sounds great. Can you make it faster in an instant pot? Or would it be made the same way and time?
Kristin
Hi Candyce, I have not tried this in an instant pot, so I am afraid I can't help you with that. I do have an instant pot, but I haven't used it enough yet to accumulate much expertise! 🙂
Savannah Gibson
It tasted ok but it was definitely not any sort of cake. Even spoon cake. It was more of a pudding. I think using the liner was a bad choice bc it made it super difficult to stir. I only stirred once but the cake mix part just was completely absorbed into the pumpkin mixture and it was basically like eating slightly less flavorful pumpkin pie with no crust.
Kristin King
Thanks for the tip about the liner. I don't usually use a liner so I didn't realize that. I will add that into the recipe card for other readers! I'm sorry yours turned out more like pudding, I'm really not sure what might have happened there. My result is definitely more like spoon cake than pudding. I would be curious as to the brand of your cake mix, because I'm scratching my head as to why this wasn't very flavorful for you. However I appreciate the feedback and especially the tip about the liner!
The Better Baker
Such an intriguing recipe! It looks fabulous...I love everything pumpkin and must try this one soon. Congrats on your feature at Weekend Potluck!
Jerri
Wow! 3 ingredients and cooked in the crock pot. Awesome recipe! Thanks for joining us for Friday Favorites. I'm featuring you this week.
Jann Olson
Ooey gooey goodness. YUM! Thanks for sharing the recipe with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Amy
Crock Pot and Pumpkin - this has got to be a winner. Thank you for sharing at Thrifty Thursday.
LINDA
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