Rhubarb Dump Cake

Rhubarb Dump Cake only requires 6 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep time. Made with a yellow cake mix and strawberry Jello for a delicious spring dessert. 

One last rhubarb post for the year for you! I needed to feed a church group and was running out of time.

So I made this easy rhubarb dump cake with a box of yellow cake mix, some rhubarb, and a handful of other ingredients.

I keep a couple boxes of cake mix on hand for dump cakes like this one and also for the Easy Black Forest Cake. They’re both made with simple pantry ingredients and a minimum of fuss.

My friends loved it and there wasn’t a single serving left over. It was such a hit, I decided this recipe needed a permanent home on the blog with all the other rhubarb recipes.

There are many variations of rhubarb dump cake on the internet, some use strawberry jello and some don’t.

Much like my grandmother’s Rhubarb Sauce, I personally love the strawberry flavor with the tart rhubarb.

Rhubarb Dump Cake

For those of you who’ve never made a dump cake, the basic concept is that you’ll dump all the ingredients into a greased pan and bake. No mixing bowl needed.

For this strawberry rhubarb dump cake you’ll need the following ingredients:

• 4 cups of diced rhubarb
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 (3 oz) box of strawberry Jello
• yellow cake mix
• ½ cup butter
• ¾ cup water

How To Make A Rhubarb Dump Cake

Start by preheating your oven and greasing a 9 x 13 inch pan. Then spread the diced rhubarb on the bottom of the pan, sprinkle with the sugar and dry strawberry Jello.

Next sprinkle on the dry cake mix. Then melt the butter and stir in the warm water and pour over the top of the dry cake mix.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes. It’s best served warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Tips for Perfect Dump Cakes

Using the method of dumping everything into the pan will probably result in a few pockets of dry cake mix. My pumpkin dump cake recipe illustrates this method.

If you don’t care for the occasional bit of dry cake mix (some people do and some don’t). My advice is to grab a mixing bowl and stir together the cake mix, melted butter, and water together before spreading over the rhubarb in the pan.

This will yield a more uniform textured cake. Is it still “technically” a dump cake? Who knows, but it sure is delicious.

Can you use frozen rhubarb?

Yes, rhubarb freezes great, so when it’s in season, grab a couple of extra bunches and dice them up and freeze them to use in the winter when you’re craving a springy rhubarb dessert.

If you choose to use frozen rhubarb, thaw the rhubarb first and let any excess liquid drain off. Don’t squeeze any liquid out, just drain what naturally thaws out of the rhubarb. Then use as you would fresh rhubarb in the recipe.

Rhubarb Dessert Recipes

Here are some of my other favorite rhubarb dessert recipes:

• Rhubarb Bars
• Rhubarb Coffee Cake
• Rhubarb Crunch
• Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
• Rhubarb Sauce
• Old Fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie
• Rhubarb Cake with Butter Sauce
• Easy Rhubarb Crisp

And a few more rhubarb recipes I would love to try:

Rhubarb Freezer Jam from Hoosier Homemade.

Raspberry Rhubarb Crisp from Pumpkin N Spice

Triple Berry Rhubarb Pancake Sauce from Pressure Cooking Today

{originally published 6/12/19 – recipe notes and photos updated 6/8/21}