With just 2 ingredients and about 5 minutes you can make a delicious and moist Pumpkin Gingerbread! That’s right — the BEST gingerbread cake starts with a cake mix, and it’s perfect for brunch or dessert!
One of the easiest and most-loved recipes on my blog is my 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins. I have friends and family who make those little gems ALL THE TIME and rave about them regularly. I have also been known to send batches of the muffins to school parties and I have watched them be devoured by preschoolers.
The Easiest Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake!
So, since I knew the 2-ingredient method was a winner, I decided to give it a try in the form of a gingerbread cake. I adore gingerbread, but I don’t always adore spending a lot of time in my kitchen to bake something from scratch. When I stirred this together on a recent Saturday morning and it turned out so well, I knew that I couldn’t keep it a secret!
Enjoy it for breakfast with some coffee during the week, grab a slice as a quick afternoon snack, or spoil dinner guests with a slice of gingerbread and ice cream for dessert. No matter when (or how) you enjoy it, I know that it will be a hit!
How To Make Easy Homemade Gingerbread Cake:
First, let’s start with the two simple ingredients: a box of Gingerbread cake mix + canned pumpkin puree.
Place the two ingredients in a large mixing bowl. That’s it! No eggs, no oil, no butter…nothing else!
Use an electric mixer to whip up a thick, fluffy batter. This can be done with a wooden spoon by hand, but I find that it’s much smoother and easier with the handheld mixer.
Spread the batter in a baking dish, pop it in the oven for about 25 minutes, and you’ve got a moist Gingerbread Cake to enjoy with your next cup of coffee!
COOK’S TIPS:
- Make sure that you use plain, unsweetened, canned pumpkin puree (NOT canned pumpkin pie filling).
- Do NOT use any of the additional ingredients called for on the box of cake mix. You only need the dry mix!
- Allow the cake to cool entirely before dusting with powdered sugar or topping with whipped cream or ice cream.
- This Pumpkin Gingerbread freezes well! Bake a pan, cool completely, and then wrap tightly and freeze. You can freeze individual slices, too! Then just reheat in the microwave or allow to thaw on the counter before serving.
Looking for even more easy gingerbread recipes? Try these favorites:
- Old-Fashioned Williamsburg Gingerbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Slow Cooker Oatmeal
- Quick and Easy Gingerbread Spiced Nuts
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
2 Ingredient Pumpkin Gingerbread
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5 ounce) box gingerbread mix (just the dry mix)* I used Pillsbury brand Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix
- 1 cup canned pumpkin not the sweetened pumpkin pie filling
- Optional: powdered sugar or whipped cream for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a large bowl, combine dry gingerbread mix and pumpkin with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, or until a thick, fluffy batter forms.
- Spread batter in a round cake pan or in an 8-inch square baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool cake on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Dust with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream, if desired, once completely cool.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in October, 2015. It was updated in October, 2018.
I haven’t tried this yet. However, I have used a similar approach substituting spice cake mix to make cookies.
In that recipe, I bake 18-20 minutes.
I saw in this recipe, you said to bake for 25 minutes. Would the time difference be because it’s a cake instead of cookies?
I’ve been wanting to try using gingerbread cake mix with canned pumpkin for a while.
Would you recommend staying at the 18-20 baking time or go the full 25 as in this recipe?
Hi Melody!
Cake and cookies do commonly have different baking times. Every oven bakes differently as well. We recommend beginning to check your dessert around the 18 minute mark and adjust the baking time as needed. Hope this helps!
Thank you, Blair, for such a simple, inexpensive recipe for the best gingerbread pumpkin cake ever! My family loves it & has requested it all seasons of the year and I am happy to do so. My family and myself are big cinnamon lovers so I did add extra cinnamon this 2nd time in making it but it was delicious without the extra.
Thank you so much for the lovely review, Janet! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe and appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
I was excited to try this recipe because I love gingerbread and pumpkin. I was also intrigued by only 2 ingredients and the ease of the recipe. Sadly, I was disappointed. The flavor was ok. It definitely had lots of gingerbread notes with overtones of pumpkin. What was a bit offputting was the texture. It was dense and almost spongy. My husband wasn’t a fan at all. He said I didn’t need to make this one again. I guess you can’t win them all.
I’m sorry that you didn’t care for it! Yes, when you omit the fat from a recipe and replace it with pumpkin or applesauce, for example, the texture will definitely change. Sorry it wasn’t for you!
I was looking to bake cookies using pumpkin and spice cake mix, however, all stores seem to be out of spice cake mix so close to the holidays, but I stumbled upon BC Gingerbread cake/cookie mix. I changed my plans and will attempt to use this mix with the pumpkin, toss in some choc chips, and bake some cookies. Any suggestions or tips?
Hi Patricia! Unfortunately, we don’t have any tips as we don’t have a recipe for gingerbread cake mix cookies. However, we do find that gingerbread mix tends to turn out fairly dense if not used for cake and aren’t sure how cookies would turn out. Sorry don’t have much advice here, but this recipe might help.
I normally do not leave reviews but this was a must! I was so impressed of how delicious this bread was on top of the simplicity!! I absolutely love pumpkin and it’s not only about the “pumpkin pie spices” that matter to me. The pumpkin matters just as much, if not more and this recipe gives me that wonderful pumpkin flavor and consistency!! Thank you! Who knew something so easy could pack a punch of flavor! So true with this recipe….less is definitely more! VERY DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Margee! We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe and really appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave such a lovely review!
Sounds delicious and easy! Can I double both ingredients and bake in a 9×13 pan?
For the best results, we recommend using two 8×8 pans but a 9×13 should also work!