Are you like me and have a pile of rhubarb in the freezer from when you harvested it last fall? Some years after already baking in the summer I still have 25 cups or so that get stowed away in the freezer. I wanted something easy to make so with some research I made this super simple Rhubarb Dump Cake.
Our rhubarb patch does very well and we have numerous stalks each year with a wonderful deep ruby-red color. This makes for such wonderful desserts. I have made a cake similar to this called a Blueberry Breakfast Cake where you dump the fruit into a 9×13 inch baking dish and put a batter on top.
For the blueberry cake, you actually make up a batter and pour it over. This Rhubarb Dump Cake recipe is even easier than that where you add the fruit, sugar, dry cake mix, water, and melted butter. Try our Strawberry Dump Cake too.
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3 Rhubarb Plants – Crimson Red
The end result is something like a crisp or cobbler. Very cool! I saw many recipes that asked for jello but I thought no way, that is going to be too sweet on top of the other ingredients. I didn’t need color either for my rhubarb so I omitted that.
So I decided to go without the jello for my recipe and I am so glad I did. Not too crazy sweet as the tart rhubarb balances it very nicely. This is such an easy and delicious recipe. You have nothing to loose.
What Desserts Can You Make With Rhubarb?
We have loads of desserts using rhubarb on our site, plus some with a strawberry rhubarb combination. I love that strawberry flavor with rhubarb too. It is such an easy ingredient to work with!
Once you start to grow a plant or two you have a nice harvest every year and they take very little care. Maybe just the occasional water, they really just grow like a weed on their own.
Here are all of our wonderful rhubarb dessert recipes and one cocktail recipe too!
No Churn Rhubarb Ice Cream Recipe
How Do You Make a Rhubarb Dump Cake?
We are talking as simple as it gets in making the rhubarb dump cake. To make a rhubarb dump cake all I did was spray a 9×13″ pan with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
I then added in the frozen fruit, in this case, rhubarb. I sprinkled the sugar over the rhubarb and then followed that with the dry cake mix. You then sprinkle the cake mix, pour the water and then melted butter. Trying to evenly disperse all the ingredients.
What? No mixing, yup that is correct. DO NOT MIX but put it directly into a preheated oven.
You can add fresh fruit also to make this, it doesn’t have to be frozen. Serve this dessert warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
Rhubarb Dump Cake with Yellow Cake Mix
I love how the fruit bubbles up through the crust. This is so yummy you won’t believe it. I liked the yellow cake mix for this recipe as opposed to a white cake mix to give it the warm contrast in colors.
Grab some of your frozen rhubarb and bring summer to life again in this easy dessert!!
Rhubarb Dump Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb chopped
- 1 scant cup white sugar
- 1 package yellow cake mix
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
- Add the rhubarb and spread out evenly on the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle over the sugar followed by the cake mix.
- Pour over the water and melted butter evenly. DO NOT MIX!
- Bake for 45 min. until bubbling and the rhubarb is tender and the top is slightly browned.
Comments & Reviews
Dee Auer says
I’ll be glad to so very yummy. Favorite this time of year. A no.1 for sure
Jan says
Has anyone tried glutten free cake mix?
Tara Noland says
I haven’t but maybe search that and see what adjusts to make.
Jan says
It worked! I used the Pillsbury GF yellow cake mix. Everyone gave it a thumbs up. I will add more rhubarb next time just cuz I’m a big fan of rhubarb and it’s in season.
Tara Noland says
So glad you tried it and you came back to share! Thanks!!
Janine Mosher says
I haven’t tasted it yet but it cooked good and looks very delish!
Tara Noland says
Enjoy!!
Rhonda says
This just didn’t turn out well at all. I don’t like to give negative reviews, but no one really cared for this desert.
LJ says
Love this recipe. I had to use Strawberry cake mix because that’s all I had on hand. It was wonderful. My family loves it. I also added a little more butter and 3/4 water.
Tara Noland says
I can see the strawberry cake mix working great!! Thanks for sharing!!
Marlene says
I love this recipe. I used frozen rhubarb cooked with marshmallows for thickener. I have also added a cup of oatmeal and coconut to the cake mix. Thanks for sharing it.
Tara Noland says
I love how you made the recipe your own, it sounds amazing!!
Debby Neseth says
I made this with spice cake mix and oh my it was good. Reminded me of a cake my mom used to make years ago. Great recipe.
Tara Noland says
So glad you loved it, will have to try it with a spice cake mix too.
Peggy Jane says
This cake was pretty much disgusting. Much too sweet but I don’t think eliminating the sugar would help. The cake mix did not mix with the liquid. Needs much more liquid . I will never make this cake again.
Tara Noland says
I am sorry you didn’t have success with the recipe. You do need to add the liquid evenly, there still maybe some slightly dry patches but that is the way it is.
Nancy Steffin says
I love rhubarb! I’ve wanted to try making various recipes but hesitate because I don’t know how many stalks (approximately) would equal one cup. It’s kind of expensive, so I don’t want to waste it if I buy too much. (When I was a child I’d eat raw rhubarb dipped in sugar, but I wouldn’t do that with leftovers at my age now!) Anyway, can you give us a ballpark number of stalks we need to equal one cup? Thanks.
Tara Noland says
I used to be in the rhubarb patch with a small bowl of sugar too as a child!! I would say on average one large stalk would yield a cup or 2 smaller ones. It is hard to say as rhubarb does differ a lot in size. If you do have any leftovers just boil them down to make a compote, it is lovely with yogurt and a little granola in a recipe like this one. https://noshingwiththenolands.com/rhubarb-yogurt-ginger-granola-parfait/
Charlotte says
This cake was so easy and so delicious.
Veitch Lynda says
Blah,! Did not like it, not one bit!
Tara Noland says
I am sorry you didn’t like it.
Liz says
Can I add strawberry slices to the rhubarb in this recipe as well?
Tara Noland says
Yes, you sure can!
Renee says
Do you mix the water and melted butter together or pour over separately?
Tara Noland says
I pour them over separately. Enjoy!!
Shelly says
Could you add frozen strawberries with the rhubarb?
Tara Noland says
Yes, that would be very good!!
Lillie M. Rouse says
Do you store leftovers on counter in the fridge?
Tara Noland says
I almost always keep desserts that I make like this in the refrigerator, they stay fresher longer but you can keep this one on the counter top if you like.
Joan says
What about using a spice cake mix instead of a yellow cake. Think that would taste ok?
Tara Noland says
Sure you could give that a try, cinnamon etc. works well with fruit. Never had it with rhubarb though.
Elaine says
Rhubarb leaves are poison so do not try using them for anything!
Tara Noland says
Very true, I don’t even bring them into the house.
Karen Bower says
I sprinkled cinnamon red hots candy over my mix…Adds more flavor and color. Mmmmm….good❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️
Tara Noland says
Wow, that is a cool twist!!
Ann says
I like the tartness of the rhubarb, so I don’t add sugar, the cake mix is enough sweetness for me. And I don’t use water, just a stick of melted butter over the top.
Tara Noland says
I am so glad you are making it your own, enjoy!!
Betty says
I too do not use water but do add cinnamon in the sugar.
Betty says
Also use 1 & 1/2 sticks of butter cut into Pattie’s instead of melted butter to pit on top of cake mix.
Harriet says
We tried this and it was delicious—thank you for this recipe! We had 4 cups of Rhubarb but had some strawberries so added those too. Came out fine! I had another dump cake recipe that called for heavy cream, which I did not have. Don’t think it could be better than this one!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Harriet for coming over and telling us. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!!