Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake — My Easiest 3-Ingredient Summer Dessert
If You’ve Got Five Minutes, You’ve Got Dessert
If you’ve got five minutes, you can get this lemon blueberry dump cake in the oven — and then the oven does all the work. It’s just three ingredients: two cans of blueberry pie filling, one box of lemon cake mix, and a stick of butter cut into little pats. I’ve made this before as a cherry dump cake, but I wanted a fun summer variation, and this one turned out to be the easiest Sunday dessert I’ve made all season. Layer the blueberries, spread the cake mix on top, dot it all over with butter, and bake until it’s golden and bubbly. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and you’re done.
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Watch me make this lemon blueberry dump cake from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
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Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake
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Ingredients
- 2 cans (21 oz) blueberry pie filling
- 1 box (15.25 oz) lemon cake mix I use lemon supreme
- 1 stick salted butter ½ cup butter, cut into about 24 pats
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Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread both cans of blueberry pie filling evenly across the bottom of a 9×13 pan.
- Sprinkle the dry lemon cake mix evenly over the blueberries, spreading it into a smooth, even layer. Don’t stir — you want to keep the two layers separate.
- Slice the stick of butter into about 24 thin pats and place them evenly across the top, covering as much of the cake mix as you can. Add a few extra pats to any dry-looking corners.
- Bake at 350°F for 50–60 minutes, until the top is golden and the blueberry filling is bubbling around the edges.
- Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
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Tap the stars above to rate it! This helps other families find it.Why This Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake Works
A lemon blueberry dump cake works because it does the one thing a busy Sunday needs a dessert to do: it gets out of your way. There’s no batter to mix, no mixer to drag out, no creaming butter and sugar. You just layer the blueberry pie filling in the bottom of the pan, spread the dry lemon cake mix over the top, and cover it all with pats of butter. As it bakes, the butter melts down through the cake mix and meets the bubbling blueberries underneath, and what you pull out of the oven is part cobbler, part cake — golden and crackly on top, jammy and warm underneath.
If you’ve never made one, a dump cake is exactly what it sounds like — you dump the layers into a pan and bake, no technique required. The lemon and blueberry combination is what makes this one feel like summer to me. I just made cherry cheesecake bars not long ago, and I love cherry — it’s one of my favorite flavors — but I wanted to try something a little brighter and different, and the tart lemon against the sweet blueberry hit exactly right.
The other reason I keep this lemon blueberry dump cake in my back pocket is that it feeds my whole crowd from one 9×13 pan. With seven people in this house, a dessert that comes together in five minutes and serves everyone with room to spare is worth its weight in gold — especially when it tastes like I fussed over it and I absolutely did not.
A Few Things That Make Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake Even Easier
- Cover the whole top with butter — every last corner. Those pats of butter are what turn the dry cake mix into a golden, crackly topping, so lay them out like little cobblestones and try to cover as much of the surface as you can. If I see a dry-looking corner, I just cut a few extra pats of salted butter and tuck them in. I’d rather have it a touch more buttery than a touch less.
- Don’t stir the layers. It’s tempting to give it a mix, but resist. Keeping the blueberry filling on the bottom and the cake mix on top is what gives you that cobbler-meets-cake texture. They’ll marry together in the oven all on their own.
- Use a disposable pan if you’re taking it somewhere. I bake this in a disposable 9x13 when I’m bringing it to a friend or a potluck — no dish to wash, and nobody has to remember to send my pan home. (Full transparency: my dishwasher is broken right now, so disposable pans are my whole personality lately.)
- Any lemon cake mix works. I use a lemon supreme cake mix , but whatever lemon mix your store carries will be delicious. This is a forgiving recipe — it’s hard to mess up.
- Serve it warm, with ice cream. This is best straight from the oven while the blueberries are still bubbling, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the top. That warm-and-cold, sweet-and-tart bite is the whole point.
Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature and how long do I bake lemon blueberry dump cake?
Bake it at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes — mine is usually golden and bubbly right around the 55-minute mark. You’ll know it’s done when the top is golden brown and you can see the blueberry filling bubbling up around the edges. If the center still looks pale and powdery, give it a few more minutes; the butter needs time to work all the way through the cake mix.
Can I use fresh blueberries instead of pie filling?
You can, but it changes the recipe a little. The pie filling brings its own sugar and thickener, which is what makes this so easy. If you want to use fresh blueberries, toss about 4 to 5 cups with a half cup of sugar and a couple tablespoons of cornstarch first so you get that same jammy, saucy layer underneath. Honestly, for a five-minute dessert, I reach for the canned filling every time.
Can I make this dump cake ahead of time?
Dump cake is really at its best warm and fresh from the oven, so if you can, bake it the day you plan to serve it — it only takes five minutes to throw together. That said, leftovers keep beautifully. Store them covered in the fridge for up to 4 days and warm gently before serving. You can also assemble the layers a few hours ahead and hold the pan in the fridge, then add the butter and bake when you’re ready.
Can I freeze lemon blueberry dump cake?
Yes. Let it cool completely, then freeze individual portions in freezer-safe containers or bags for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature and warm it in the oven or microwave before serving. The texture is best fresh, but a frozen scoop reheated with a little ice cream on top is still a very good dessert.
Why is my cake mix still dry and powdery on top?
Nearly every time, it’s a butter problem — either there wasn’t quite enough, or the pats weren’t spread out to cover the whole surface. The butter is what moistens the cake mix as it melts, so any spot the butter doesn’t reach stays powdery. Next time, add a few extra pats and make sure they cover every corner. If you catch it partway through baking, you can dot a little more butter over the dry spots and keep going.
Can I use a different cake mix or pie filling?
Absolutely — that’s the beauty of a dump cake. This is my summer twist on my 3 Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake, and you can mix and match to your heart’s content. Swap the blueberry for cherry, apple, or peach pie filling, and try white, yellow, or spice cake mix in place of the lemon. It’s hard to go wrong.
How do I make this for a bigger crowd?
One 9×13 pan makes about 12 servings, which covers most gatherings. If you’re feeding a really big group, just make two pans — because there’s no mixing, doubling this is truly as easy as buying twice the ingredients and lining up two pans side by side. It’s the kind of dessert I can multiply without breaking a sweat.
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Ingredients
Equipment
More Easy Desserts You’ll Love
- 3 Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake — the one that started it all, and the recipe I riffed on for this blueberry version.
- Grandma Memaw’s Lemon Bars — if you love that bright lemon flavor, these are the family recipe I kept quiet about for 33 years.
- White Texas Sheet Cake — a soft, buttery sheet cake with the dreamiest almond frosting that feeds a whole crowd.
- Box Brownie Sundae — one little trick that takes a boxed brownie mix completely over the top.
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad — the salty-sweet, layered potluck “salad” my grandma always brought to the table.
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Lemon Blueberry Dump Cake — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.
Wow! Wow!! This is one of our family FAVES!! We just made it for our daughter’s 30th bday (per her request)! I love how Stephanie shows multiple ways to learn her recipes. She gives visually appealing videos, printed versions AND includes the answers to all the Q&As I have…like, can I use a white cake mix? Can I use frozen/fresh berries? This sweet lady has inspired me to cook more than I have! TY & enjoy y’all!!!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m glad your family enjoyed it!
We loved this recipe! My husband is a big fruit dessert person and loved the combination!
Thanks so much for the review! My husband loves fruit desserts, too!