The Best Pumpkin Pie Cake (easy 4 ingredient recipe) (2024)

Why you’ll love this pumpkin pie cake

• It’s the perfect dessert for the holiday season.
• It tastes like a traditional pumpkin pie (without pie crust) but is much easier to make.
• All you need is one bowl and a spoon to mix it up.
• This recipe enlists help from the grocery store because we use a boxed cake mix and can of pumpkin pie filling.
• You make this recipe using melted butter so no waiting for the butter to soften.

Ingredients

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Ingredient Notes

Cake Mix– any brand will work, store brand too!

Canned Pumpkin Pie Filling– this is different from pumpkin puree because it has spices already added. If you want to use pumpkin puree then you will need to add pumpkin pie spice to give it the flavor of pumpkin pie. I have only seen the name brand at Walmart. Aldi has a store brand if you have a store in your area.

Eggs– I use large eggs. I believe any size will work.

Butter– we buyHiland unsalted butterthat is made with dairy sourced from local farmers.

How to make this delicious pumpkin cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a 9 X 13-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Mix the the eggs and pumpkin filling in a large bowl until combined.
4. Add the dry cake mix and melted butter to the pumpkin mixture and stir until mixed. The batter will be lumpy.
5. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until the center of the cake is no longer jiggly and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and begin to turn brown.

Tips

• I melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over low heat on the stove top. This can be done in the microwave.
• This cake batter can be mixed with anything; a whisk, rubber spatula, wooden spoon or tablespoon all work well.
• Cooling the cake on a wire rack will help it to cool faster.
• We let the cake cool about half an hour before we cut it.

Topping ideas for this easy cake recipe

• Ice cream – vanilla is classic but many flavors will top this cake perfectly.
• Cool Whip
• Reddi Wip
• Caramel Sauce– this 4 ingredient microwave version is perfect, store bought will work great too.
• Frosting – vanilla frosting, cream cheese frosting, or caramel frosting would be delicious. I have not frosted this cake with traditional frosting. It will work, I have just never done it.

What’s with the crack on the top of the cake in one of the pictures (but not the other)?

I updated this post with new photos in October 2023. I did leave a couple of the old photos because I wanted to show that doing the exact same thing can result in a different outcome.(The old photos are labeled as original photos.)

One of the new photos shows that there is a fairly large crack down the middle of the cake. I believe the cake baked just a tad too long and that caused it to crack.

Sometimes my timing isn’t perfect and I end up with a cracked top. And sometimes my timing is perfect and there is not a crack. Cake with and without the crack taste delicious!

If you are concerned because you might not end up with a “perfect cake” then one solution might be to top the cake with Streusel Topping before baking it.The other solution is to frost the cake.

King ArthurandBetty Crockerhave easy recipes for a streusel topping that are slightly different. Both have butter, flour and brown sugar,one has cinnamon and one has oats. Chopped pecans would be a nice addition to either one, about a cup would be perfect.

To make this Pumpkin Pie Cake with the optional streusel topping– after you pour the cake batter into the pan sprinkle it evenly with the topping then bake as directed.

Substitutions

White cake mix or spice cake mix can be used instead of yellow cake mix.

If you want to use pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin pie mix you could use a spice cake mix to give your dessert the warm spice flavor.

Storage

We store this cake at room temperature, in the pan we bake it in, covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap for 4-5 days. It can be refrigerated if you want to serve it cold.

More pumpkin recipes

• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
• Pumpkin Cookies with Marshmallow Glaze
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie
• Pumpkin Spice Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

The Best Pumpkin Pie Cake

Mindy Boyd

The Best Pumpkin Pie Cake (easy 4 ingredient recipe) – a simple Thanksgiving favorite that is so much easier than traditional pumpkin pie.

I earn a small commission from Instacart for qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 389kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 603mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 6430IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was with a comment below.

Tornado Cake

An easy 6 ingredient scratch made cake topped with a delicious coconut pecan topping.

Caramel Pecan Blondies

A delicious, easy to make blondie studded with caramel bits and chopped pecans.

Coffee Creme Brulee

Making creme brulee is easier than you think!

Butter Brickle Poke Cake

Boxed cake mix is taken to the next level by topping it with pudding, caramel sauce, toffee bits and whipped cream.