This easy chocolate chip Bundt cake recipe starts with a boxed mix and comes together in just 10 minutes! Thanks to vanilla pudding, sour cream, and plenty of chocolate chips, it’s rich, moist, and irresistibly decadent.
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If you love easy cake mix recipes, don’t miss this pineapple upside down cake using cake mix, strawberry Bundt cake, apple bundt cake, Grandma’s old-fashioned whiskey cake recipe, Italian love cake, and 2-ingredient pumpkin muffins with cake mix, too!
This Easy Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake Recipe Starts with a Cake Mix
Every home cook needs a delicious go-to cake recipe — better yet if it’s quick and easy! When I recently baked my mom’s chocolate bundt cake recipe, I realized that a couple of tweaks could make a different — but equally delicious — dessert. The end result is a simple treat that tastes like the perfect cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a pound cake (but not as dense)!
The decadent cake is moist and rich (thanks to sour cream and pudding in the batter), tastes a lot like a yellow birthday cake, has a nice outer crust like a pound cake, and a light and tender crumb. It’s basically the best of both a chocolate chip cookie and a yellow cake, since the Bundt pan gives the exterior a nice crispy texture (like the edges of a cookie), while the inside of the cake stays moist, fluffy, and soft.
Since the vanilla cake is studded with chocolate chips, you also gets pockets of melty, gooey chocolate in every bite! What more could we possibly ask for?!
My 13 year old daughter made this. She used dark chocolate chips and added a vanilla glaze after the cake cooled. It was delicious and a great cake to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday. We will make it again.
– Holly
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- I like the super moist Duncan Hines yellow cake mix, but any similar variety (such as Betty Crocker or Pillsbury brands) will work. You can even substitute with a white cake mix.
- The sour cream is an important ingredient, thanks to its high fat content and its acidity. The sour cream adds moisture without thinning the batter, adds fat for creaminess, helps to control the browning, and activates the leavening agents. Use full-fat sour cream for the best flavor and texture.
- Let the sour cream and eggs come to room temperature. They will mix smoother into your cake batter.
- The gelatin component in the instant pudding mix makes the cake super moist. It’s the secret ingredient to make your cake more fluffy, too! When baking a cake in a Bundt pan, a very moist batter is necessary so that the cake doesn’t dry out. Don’t omit the pudding, which is a key ingredient.
- You only need the small 4-serving (3.4 ounce) box of dry instant vanilla pudding mix. Do not prepare the pudding according to package directions.
- I like miniature semi-sweet chocolate morsels because they’re less “chunky” in the batter, making the cake easier to cleanly slice. They also disperse more throughout the batter so that you have rich chocolate chips in every bite, and they don’t sink to the bottom of the cake. You can substitute with regular chocolate chips if you prefer.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
A moist, fluffy, sour cream chocolate chip Bundt cake is perfect for just about any occasion! Serve it for a birthday party, bring it to a potluck picnic, or share it with a friend in need. You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to combine the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, oil, and water in a large mixing bowl on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to a Bundt pan. Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a cooking spray that’s specifically made for baking. These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it’s done! Tap on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Bundt cakes require a longer baking time than most other cakes because Bundt cake batters are so dense and the pans are so large. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then turn it out onto a wire rack. Don’t leave the cake in the pan for too long, or condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust. Dust with powdered sugar, and then slice and serve!
Serving Suggestions
This rich cake really doesn’t need much in the way of decorations (yet another reason I love it so much)! A simple dusting of powdered sugar looks elegant and adds just the right finishing touch. If you prefer a sweeter, more decadent finish, try glazing the cake with a vanilla glaze or a chocolate ganache glaze.
Offer the cake on its own, or top each slice with freshly whipped cream, fresh berries, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A sprig of fresh mint would be a nice touch, too!
Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: The cake gets better as it sits, so this is a nice dessert option to prepare the day before you plan to serve it. Wait to dust with powdered sugar until right before serving.
- How to Store: Covered loosely, this cake will keep at room temperature for about 2-3 days. To extend the life of your cake, store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- How to Freeze: You can also freeze this cake! Allow it to cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, wrap again with aluminum foil, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I made this last night so that I could bring it to a work potluck today but my husband had other ideas. He devoured at least 1/4 of it while it was cooling! Considering he is not a dessert person, I’d say this recipe receives very high marks! It is absolutely delicious exactly as written. Will definitely make it again, and maybe it will even make it to the potluck next time!
– Ashley
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!
Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding mix (just the dry mix)
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups miniature chocolate chips (about one 10-ounce bag)
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan; set aside. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat together the cake mix, sour cream, dry pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs for about 2 minutes.
- Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan; tap on the counter once or twice to release air bubbles.
- Bake for 50 minutes – 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. My cake is always done in 55 minutes, but the total baking time will vary. Let the cake stand for 10 minutes. Invert on a cooling rack and remove the cake from the pan. Once the cake is completely cool, dust with powdered sugar.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Variations
- Any cake mix flavor will work in a Bundt pan. Don’t follow the directions on the package, though. Instead, follow this recipe formula (with the sour cream, pudding mix, eggs, oil, and water).
- If you don’t have a box of yellow cake mix, use white cake mix, or try a double chocolate chip cake by using chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding mix.
- If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can bake this cake in two loaf pans. The cooking time will be about the same or slightly shorter, typically 45-50 minutes in a 350°F oven.
- Use regular chocolate chips (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, semi-sweet, or white chocolate) in lieu of the mini chocolate chips.
- If you want to use regular icing for a Bundt cake, try piping it onto the top and sides of the cake with a piping bag.
More Easy Bundt Cake Recipes
Lemon Bundt Cake with Cake Mix
2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Rum Cake Recipe (with Cake Mix)
3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Maple Walnut Cake {with Cake Mix!}
3 hours hrs
Originally published in August, 2022, this post was updated in June, 2025.
My 13 year old daughter made this. She used dark chocolate chips and added a vanilla glaze after the cake cooled. It was delicious and a great cake to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday. We will make it again.
Sounds perfect, Holly. Thank you!
I’ve made this chocolate chip bundt cake several times now and my husband loves it. It’s easy to make and I agree with you that using mini chocolate chips are the best way to go.
We’re so happy to hear this, Debbi! Thank you for trying it out and taking the time to leave a review.
My Mother always made her chocolate chip Bundt cake and to insure the chips would not fall to the bottom (top) of the Bundt pan, she coated them with flour, then folded them into the cake batter?! This has always been my family’s favorite cake! I am going to try your recipe tomorrow!
Genius! We hope you enjoy it!
I have been making this cake for years found it in Mr. Food cook book many years ago. Same recipe minus water and LG. box of pudding. Love it
It’s one of our favorites as well! We’re so glad you enjoy it.
This looks yummy. I have a similar recipe but does not have sour cream as an ingredient. I think this will give it more moisture. Thanks for that. I have a question on the size of bundt pan. I have an original Bundt pan (from Minneapolis) I got from my grandmother that is a heavy aluminum and 10 inches across. Yours looks really big in the picture. What size Bundt pan do you recommend?
Hi Sarah,
Typically, we recommend a standard 10-12 cup capacity bundt pan, but any size should do. Just be sure to keep a close eye on it as it bakes!
Or, you could use two loaf pans instead.
I made this last night so that I could bring it to a work potluck today but my husband had other ideas. He devoured at least 1/4 of it while it was cooling! Considering he is not a dessert person, I’d say this recipe receives very high marks! It is absolutely delicious exactly as written. Will definitely make it again, and maybe it will even make it to the potluck next time!
Sorry you didn’t get to take it to the potluck, but we’re so glad it was a hit! Thank you for tyring it out and taking the time to leave a review, Ashley.
Great recipe! Very easy and deicious! I love all your bundt pan recipes!
Thank you very much, Mary!
I will try your chocolate chip cake first I make a lot of deserts normally
We hope you enjoy it!
Have you ever tried to use the cake recipe in mini bundt cake pans? if so, how much cooking time do you think it would need?
Hi Sherry! We haven’t tested this recipe in mini cake pans. We would just keep a close eye on the oven.
We’d love to know how it turns out!