Easy Apple Cobbler with cake mix and fresh apples is an easy, delicious dessert with warm apple pie-spiced apples, plump cranberries, and a soft yellow cake mix cobbler topping. Perfect dessert for fall.
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When fall baking season hits, it's time to make allllll the delicious apple dessert recipes like Apple Pie Coffee Cake, Cinnamon Baked Apples, Gooey Apple Pie, Easy Apple Crisp, Homemade Apple Pie Filling ...
And this delicious apple cobbler from cake mix and fresh apples.
The tender apples and juicy cranberries are lightly sweetened with brown sugar and spiced with apple pie seasonings, and the buttery cobbler topping is soft on the inside and slightly crispy on the outside.
Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce, it's one of the best desserts to ever come from a box cake mix.
It's incredibly delicious, full of fall flavors, and an easy dessert recipe to enjoy after your trip to the apple orchard or any time of year.
Why You're Going to Love This Recipe
Easy apple dessert with tender apple filling and soft cobbler topping
Easy apple cobbler recipe with simple ingredients
Perfect fall dessert to make after apple picking
Ingredients
Fresh apples. For the most dynamic flavor and texture, use a combination of sweet and tart apples cut into ¼" to ½" slices and chunks. I use Gala, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith apples.
Dried cranberries. Tart cranberries pair well with sweet apples and add pretty color. They're totally optional.
Cornstarch. A little bit of cornstarch slightly thickens the apple filling.
Brown sugar. Brown sugar adds rich molasses flavor. You can also use white sugar.
Spices. The combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice gives the dessert warm apple pie flavor. You can also use apple pie spice.
Yellow cake mix. Yellow cake mix has a subtle vanilla flavor and makes a delicious cobbler topping. You can swap out with another cake mix flavor like white cake mix or spice cake mix.
Walnuts. Chopped walnuts add nutty flavor and crunch to this cake mix cobbler. You can also use another kind of nut or leave them out.
Sugar. A sprinkle of turbinado sugar, or raw sugar, adds a crunchy topping. You can also use granulated sugar or skip it altogether.
How to Make Apple Cobbler with Cake Mix
1. Peel, core, and chop the apples.
This is the only time-consuming part of the recipe. Cut the apples into ¼ to ½" slices and chunks for a variety of textures.
2. Make the apple filling.
Toss the apples, dried cranberries, cornstarch, brown sugar, spices, and salt in a large bowl until the apples are completely coated.
Pour the apples into a greased baking dish.
3. Make the cake mix cobbler topping.
In the same bowl, stir the dry cake mix and melted butter until it comes together into a buttery crumbly mixture.
Add the milk and stir until the mixture becomes thick and pasty. There will be lumps and that's okay.
4. Assemble the apple cobbler.
Use two spoons to dollop the cake batter on top of the apples. Slightly flatten out the batter to cover the apples as much as possible. It's okay if it's not completely covered. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts over the cake batter.
5. Bake.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Remove the foil and sprinkle the top of the cobbler with sugar, optional.
Bake for 30-45 more minutes or until the cobbler topping is golden brown and baked through and the apples are tender.
6. Serve and enjoy!
Serve cake mix apple cobbler warm with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of cinnamon whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Storage, Freezing & Reheating Instructions
Store leftover cobbler in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freeze baked apple cobbler in a freezer-safe container covered with a double layer of plastic wrap. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Reheat apple cobbler in a 350-degree oven until warmed through, about 20 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave in 30-second increments, however, the cobbler topping will be softer.
Homemade Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Try your yellow cake mix apple cobbler with a dollop of silky smooth brown sugar cinnamon whipped cream.
Easy Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
No one will argue if you offer a drizzle of homemade brown sugar caramel sauce over their serving of cobbler. This fast and easy recipe for homemade caramel sauce comes together quickly and you probably already have everything you need to make it.
Success Tips
Cut the apples into thin slices, about ¼" thick, and small chunks, no more than "½ inch thick, for a variety of textures in the filling.
Dried cranberries are optional, but they plump up during baking and provide a tart pop of flavor.
Raw turbinado sugar or granulated sugar gives the cobbler topping a satisfying crunch.
FAQs
Apple crisp and apple cobbler are very similar in that they are both baked apple desserts with a topping. The difference lies in the topping. Apple crisp has a streusel topping that is made with flour, sugar, butter, and sometimes oats. Apple cobbler has a softer biscuit-like topping.
One medium apple yields ¾ to one cup of chopped apple. For 10 cups, plan on buying 12-13 apples to be on the safe side.
For best results, choose a variety of sweet and tart apples with a firm, crisp texture. Gala, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith apples all work well.
Stuff I Use
Big crystals of Sugar In The Raw add a crunchy topping to baked goods like cookies, muffins, cobblers, and scones.
I peeled 13 apples by hand in about 10 minutes with this Kitchen Aid y-peeler. It's durable, has an ergonomic handle, and is easier to use than those old-school ones. I don't have an apple peeler/corer yet, but if I did, I would look closely at a Kitchen Aid spiralizer attachment or this Johnny Apple Peeler with over 14k 4.5-star reviews. Let me know if you have either of these and how it works!
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Cake Mix Apple Cobbler
Ingredients
- 10 cups chopped apples 10-13 apples, such as Gala, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady
- ½ cup dried cranberries, optional
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 box yellow cake mix, 15.25 oz.
- ½ cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
- 1 tablespoon turbinado or granulated sugar, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Peel, core, and chop the apples into ¼ - ½" slices and chunks to give the filling variety of textures.
- Place the apples, dried cranberries, cornstarch, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt into a large bowl. Toss until the apples are completely coated. Pour the apples into the prepared baking dish.
- In the same bowl, stir the cake mix and butter until it comes together into a buttery crumble. Add the milk and stir until the mixture becomes thick and pasty. It's okay if there are lumps in it.
- Use two spoons to dollop the cake batter over the apples. Slightly flatten the batter to cover the apples as much as possible. It's okay if they're not completely covered. Sprinkle the walnuts over the cake batter.
- Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and, if desired, sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 30-45 more minutes or until the topping is baked through and the apples are tender. It should reach an internal temperature of 200 degrees.
- Place on a wire baking rack to cool for 30 minutes. Serve warm.
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