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How to Make Brownies out of Cake Mix

This is how to make brownies out of cake mix easily with just 2 ingredients and any flavor you like! Rich and chewy chocolate cake mix brownies or try strawberry for fun. A quick dessert your kids will love and cheap to make for a bunch of people

cake-mix-brownies

Knowing how to make brownies out of cake mix comes in handy. We’re suckers for something sweet after dinner. One of our favorite boxed cake mix recipes. (participates in the amazon program, affiliate links present, originally published 3/17)

Cake Mix Brownies

We’ve made peanut butter brownie in a mug, cake mix brownies, homemade brownies, and now these. If you’ve never made anything other than a cake right out of the box there is actually a lot you can do with cake mix.

  • You can use the peanut butter version above, or the strawberry one down below.

We’ve made donuts too which I will share below. There’s an easy way to make just a portion of the box so you don’t have to make all 24 cupcakes either.

peanut butter brownies

Strawberry Brownies

Varying the ingredients is the only difference between a sheet cake, a few cupcakes, donuts, or making these brownies with cake mix here. It’s texture really. You want brownies to be dense, chewy, and thicker than a cake.

  • We made strawberry brownies this time but it really works for any flavor cake mix you choose.

You only need 3 ingredients to transform any cake mix into brownies and I am sure you have them all at home. From there you can add things like nuts, frosting on the top when they’re cooled, or even chocolate chips if you want to load them up.

How do I turn cake mix into brownies

Instead of following the directions on the back of the box you just add oil and eggs. That will make the packaged mix more dense like you’d expect from this chocolatey dessert. The really fun thing about doing it this way is you can make it into all sorts of different flavors though.

  • A box won’t make a 9×12″ pan full like it will if you make a cake as directed.

Rather it will fill a square 8×8 pan or so and come out the thickness you see here. I would suggest non stick so they slide right out or could line with parchment paper, lift out and cut into pretty squares.

how to make cake mix brownies

Best Cake Mix Brownies Recipe

They are quite rich and sweet so half of one of these pieces is quite enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. It’s is an easy brownie recipe if you don’t have the time to make any from scratch or a box of ready made in your house.

  1. Cake mix
    1. we used strawberry but you can choose your flavor of choice
    2. chocolate cake mix is great too for devils food brownies
    3. yellow cake mix turns out more like blondies
    4. there is gluten free boxes of cake mix available too
  2. Oil
  3. Eggs
  4. Parchment paper – helpful to lift them out and cut them
  5. A square 8×8 baking dish
    1. non stick cooking spray is very helpful
  6. Large bowl

If you want to frost them like seen at the top I just use a tub of already made chocolate or other flavor.

How to Make Cake Mix Brownies

  • All you do is mix together your box of cake mix, eggs and oil well in a bowl until smooth. It will be thick, that is okay.
  • Spray your pan or line with parchment paper and add mix. Make sure it is smoothed out and the same thickness across your pan so they cook evenly. 
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 18-20 minutes or until edges are slightly brown and middle is no longer wet, do not overbake! 

DO not slice right away, it still needs more time to stiffen up. Put pan on a cooling rack until completely cool and then slice and serve. If you don’t it will be quite a bit wetter and more like a scoop rather than a nice square. lol. But if you cannot wait I get it. 😉

perfect brownies

3 Ingredient Cake Brownies

If you love chocolate brownies try this with devil’s food cake mix and add some finely chopped nuts if you like. They are quite good and definitely satisfy a sweets craving if you need something quick!

  • TIP to making really soft and chewy brownies = do NOT overbake them! Make sure you take them out when the outside rim is light brown and the center is not wet but looks underdone.
  • The same is true if you’re using our air fryer brownies method of cooking too.
  • Allow them to cool completely in the baking dish after that before slicing for perfection.

Cake Mix Recipe

We use this stuff for all sorts of other goodies too. Like I said, it is great for items well beyond just a fluffy sheet cake for sure. During the later months we even make cake mix gingerbread men which is really fun. You would never know that they weren’t from scratch. You can roll the dough out just the same and decorate with icing and goodies.

  1. 2 ingredient strawberry cake is seriously the best ever
  2. You can make chocolate chip cookies made with cake mix or pumpkin cookies with cake mix that are fast treats

We have a bunch of other great angel food cake mix recipes here to try as well.

angel food cake mix recipes

Brownies From Cake Mix

Of course oven temperatures vary slightly and altitude will change the cook time a bit.

Bake for about 20 minutes or so. Ovens do vary slightly and if you are at elevation like we have been it may take a minute or two beyond that. The key is to remove the pan once the edges and outside are of 1.5″ or so is somewhat stiff and the middle is not liquidy any longer. Then it will continue to solidify as it sits before slicing.

How do you store brownies for the next day?

Brownies can actually taste better the next day! Completely cool in the pan, do not cut them, cover the pan with foil, refrigerate.

If you want to freeze them wrap uncut brownie in 2 layers of foil, and 1 layer of plastic wrap. Freeze the batch for up to 4 months.

Can I leave my brownies out overnight?

Yep! You can definitely leave them out at room temperature, never put them in the fridge or they will dry out and not be nearly as moist. Store them in airtight bags or wrap tightly with plastic wrap or foil so air does not get in. They will stay nice and fresh for about 3-4 days on the countertop.

Want to see a few of my favorite things that I am totally obsessed with?? Take a peek and see how many you might already have…twinsies!

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Cake Mix Brownies

Cake mix brownies with just 2 ingredients and any flavor of cake mix you like! Rich and chewy strawberry brownies are our favorite but try lemon cake mix brownies too. A quick dessert your kids will love and cheap to make for a bunch of people.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword brownies, cake mix, easy, strawberry
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 268kcal
Author The Typical Mom

Ingredients

  • 1 box cake mix (any flavor)
  • 1/3 c oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 8×8 pan
  • non stick spray or parchment paper

Instructions

  • Mix together your box of cake mix, eggs and oil well. 
  • Spray your pan and add mix making sure it is smoothed out and the same thickness across your pan so they cook evenly. 
  • Bake at 350 degrees for about 18-22 minutes or until edges are slightly brown, beginning to stiffen and middle is not liquidy but do not overbake! 
  • Put on cooling rack until they are totally cooled before slicing.

Video

Nutrition Facts
Cake Mix Brownies
Amount Per Serving (3 oz)
Calories 268 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 32mg11%
Sodium 388mg17%
Potassium 36mg1%
Carbohydrates 42g14%
Sugar 22g24%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 45IU1%
Calcium 114mg11%
Iron 1.2mg7%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
cake mix brownies
how to make brownies out of cake mix
Recipe Rating




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Gina

Friday 6th of May 2022

Love this easy hack! Can't beat a fudgy brownie, especially one with just a handful of ingredients like this.

The Typical Mom

Saturday 7th of May 2022

Baking hack is right

Katherine

Friday 6th of May 2022

Okay, this is a serious game changer! Thanks so much for figuring out how to turn a box of cake mix into perfect brownies!

Lucy

Sunday 12th of April 2020

That has happened to me when I have cooked them too long. You need to ignore your instincts and take them out your brain is telling you they still need a few more minutes. Otherwise, just like you said: dense cake texture, not brownie texture.

epoch

Saturday 28th of December 2019

Do you mean use 2 eggs total or add 2 eggs to the eggs already called for in the recipe?

Pat

Monday 9th of November 2020

Only 2 eggs in total

Connie

Saturday 7th of December 2019

I r made these strawberry ones several times! Make a glaze to pour over top with powdered sugar and milk. I e added white chocolate chips. At Easter I did strawberry and also did with a lemon cake mix and an orange cake mix! Put the white chocolate chips in all of f them and the glaze . They were pretty and pastel for spring.

The Typical Mom

Sunday 8th of December 2019

Yay

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