Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dump Cake

If you’re looking for a rich, gooey chocolate cake, loaded with sweet strawberry filling, this is the recipe for you! In this post I’m going to show you how to make a delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dump Cake! Best of all, it starts with a box of cake mix.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry. . .Cake?

Yes! And I stumbled upon it by accident.

I didn’t actually plan to make a chocolate covered strawberry dump cake, y’all. It happened kind of by mistake. Or, happenstance. 

I had a hankering’ for a lemon dump cake using the one and only can of berry pie filling I had in the house, strawberry. I mean, c’mon—lemon and strawberry go together. 

I proved this with my Easy Strawberry Lemonade Bars recipe and again with my Strawberry Lemonade cake (still a personal favorite). 

I always keep cake mixes in the house. I have a special pantry just for my supplies and there are always boxes and boxes of cake in just about every flavor. But this one time I had my heart set on lemon. . .there was no lemon. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. . .

This is Out of the Box Baking, after all. I could have converted one of the many, many white cake mixes into a lemon cake, easy breezy. I had lemons on hand. I even had a bottle of lemon juice. 

But when I saw a box of Devil’s food cake starting at me, I had the weirdest idea: Why not make a dump cake using chocolate cake mix? 

Honestly? I’ve never heard of a chocolate dump cake before. I’m sure I’m not the first person to dream this up. But as I started at the box of devil’s food mix and that can of strawberry filling, I was reminded of something that I love: chocolate covered strawberries. 

And that’s when the idea hit me. . .

Make the dump cake in a smaller pan (perfect, since I only had one can of pie filling) and use up all of that cake mix by placing half on bottom and half on top. 

And that’s exactly what I did! Of course, I didn’t make the cake according to the directions on the box. I used the same dump cake method I used in my Easy Banana Dump Cake and my Apple Snickerdoodle Dump Cake. Those recipes only call for one thing to be added: butter. 

I happened to have butter on hand, so I was off and running. 

And I’m here to tell you, this one is a winner (as in winner, winner chocolate-strawberry dinner)! This is truly the best strawberry dump cake recipe I’ve ever tried, and I’m not exaggerating!

I’ll share more of my thoughts on that later but let’s take a little peek at the ingredients first. 

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dump Cake Ingredients

You’ll find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but let’s take a quick peek at what you’ll need. There are only three ingredients necessary for this one, y’all! 

• One chocolate cake mix
• Two sticks butter, room temperature
• One can strawberry pie filling

That’s it: cake mix, pie filling, butter. Such simple ingredients. Talk about a breeze! 

Note: I only photographed one stick of butter because initially I thought that would be enough. I was wrong!

How to Make Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dump Cake

This is going to be one of the simplest desserts you’ve ever made, folks! Truly, an easy dump cake recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Grease an 8×8-inch baking dish and set aside. 

Place the dry cake mix in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.

Add two sticks, (one cup) butter, room temperature.

If you’re using the stand mixer, start on low speed with the whisk attachment and gradually increase to medium speed. The goal here is to bring your cake mix to a crumb consistency.

If you are using a pastry cutter in a regular mixing bowl, you can start with chilled butter. Just keep working it until you’ve got a decent sized crumb.

Place half of the chocolate cake mixture into the bottom of a greased 8 x 8 square baking dish. Lightly press down.

Place in preheated, 350° oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and place strawberry pie filling on top of chocolate crust. (Yum! Strawberry desserts are delicious!)

Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate cake mix on top of the strawberries.

Place back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool for at least 15-20 minutes. Scoop into a bowl and enjoy! 

For a delicious addition, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I didn’t have any on hand but I did have whipped cream. Yum! 

I added some chocolate syrup, berries, and a stick of Godiva chocolate, just to dress things up a bit!

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or tightly covered in plastic wrap. The dump cake can be rewarmed in the microwave or eaten cold. It’s your choice! 

It should stay good up to four days. I don’t recommend freezing this one. 

What to Expect from this Chocolate Strawberry Cake

Whelp, I called it chocolate covered strawberry for a reason, y’all. That chocolate cake is moist and soft and thanks to the moisture from the strawberry pie filling, has almost a lava-cake consistency. 

And the combination of that soft gooey cake with those warm berries? It’s sheer perfection. That luscious strawberry flavor comes peeking through all of that chocolate. I’m so, so glad I happened to be out of lemon cake mix. I’m sure that version would’ve been good too, but this was just unbelievably good.

This is what I call a no fuss dessert, one of the easiest dessert recipes I’ve made in a while. And how awesome, that this recipe came along just in time for Valentine’s Day!  

If I make this to take to a Valentines Day event I might add some chocolate covered strawberries on top. 

Nah, there’s enough of both of those already. All this one needs is a scoop of blue Bell Vanilla ice cream and it’s sheer perfection!  Talk about a delicious dessert!

Trust me when I say this is one of those dump cake recipes you’re going to use again and again!

Variations on this Recipe

I’m already thinking of ways to change this up next time. Here are some things I’m thinking of doing: 

Mini chocolate chips: I think I might add a cup of miniature chocolate chips to the cake batter. Then it really would be a lava cake! 

Hot Fudge. When I warmed this up on day two I decided to swirl some hot fudge on top over the whipped cream. I mean, if you’re going to go all in, why not? 

Cherry Pie Filling: I think this would be equally as delicious with cherry pie filling. Cherry Dump Cake sounds delicious!

Strawberry Cobbler: Why not use a strawberry cake mix and strawberry pie filling? Yum!

German Chocolate: Hear me out: Use a German chocolate cake mix and a can of coconut pecan frosting between the layers of cake crumb. It would probably end up tasting a little like my German Chocolate Pound Cake.

Really, the possibilities are endless, folks for this easy strawberry dump cake recipe. Just use your imagination and go for it! 

Questions People are Asking about this Easy Dessert Recipe

Can I use fresh strawberries?

Fresh fruit is always a good idea but I would only recommend this if you’re planning to cook the fresh berries down into a pie filling consistency, adding a bit of cornstarch and sugar as they simmer.

How do I make chocolate covered strawberries (to use on top)?

Easy! Melt down chocolate chips (about half a bag) with a tablespoon of neutral cooking oil (or coconut oil). Dip the berries one by one and place them on waxed paper to dry.

Can I use melted butter in the mix?

You can use melted butter in the dry cake mix if you like but will end up with a wetter consistency, not crumb-like. The cake will probably be a bit softer.

Aren’t most dump cakes made with thin slices of butter?

Yes, but in this one you’ll want to work the butter in to form a crumb (since you’re putting cake below and above the filling. If you try to add slices of butter on top of the dry chocolate cake mix (especially for that bottom layer) it might not break down evenly.

Can I use a gluten-free cake mix with this recipe?

Absolutely. Just follow the directions, same as usual.

Other Dump Cakes and Cobblers from Out of the Box Baking

Dump cakes are so much like traditional cobblers, albeit easier to whip up. And they’re definitely guaranteed to satisfy that sweet tooth! So, I’ve included both types of recipes here.

• Cherry Cream Cheese Cobbler
• Apple Pie Cobbler with Crescent Rolls
• Old-Fashioned Cobbler with Homemade Pie Crust
• Easy Peach Cobbler
• Sweet Potato Pie Dump Cake
• Pineapple Upside Down Dump Cake

That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious chocolate strawberry dump cake recipe.  I have a feeling it’s going to be one of those family favorites that shows up a lot!

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

See this recipe at

• Full Plate Thursday 
• Weekend Potluck
• The Lazy Gastronome
• Busy Monday 

About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.