The Seasoned Mom

Quick & Easy Family-Friendly Recipes

Shortcut Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Lasted edited . Originally published by Blair

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This easy, warmly spiced Pumpkin Coffee Cake starts with a cake mix for a shortcut breakfast, brunch, or snack treat!

Total Time: 40 minutes
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This easy, warmly spiced Pumpkin Coffee Cake starts with a cake mix for a shortcut breakfast, brunch, or snack treat! No one can resist the thick layer of brown sugar, cinnamon and pecan streusel on top!

Slice of easy pumpkin coffee cake with cake mix on a plate

I brought this coffee cake to my friend Kristin after she had her third baby a few years ago…because what new mom doesn’t LOVE a tasty breakfast that’s ready and waiting after a night spent nursing?!

Kristin sent me a text message the next day that said, “BTW, that was the best coffee cake I have ever had. Really, EVER.”  So you don’t have to take my word for it. She agrees!

Best of all, the cake is made with just TWO INGREDIENTS — and the crumb topping comes together in minutes. It’s really the easiest (and most delicious) pumpkin coffee cake recipe that you will ever taste!

Fork in a slice of spiced pumpkin coffee cake on a plate

How to Make Pumpkin Coffee Cake:

Remember my Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins? Well those delicious little goodies continue to be very popular around here. So popular, in fact, that I wasn’t sure I could improve on such a simple, tasty recipe. But you know what? I think I’ve done it. A thick layer of my favorite crumbly, buttery, pecan streusel? A stroke of genius!

That’s right: this coffee cake only requires two ingredients: a spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin!

Cake mix and pumpkin for coffee cake recipe

Just combine the dry cake mix with the pumpkin puree. Do NOT add any other ingredients called for on the box!

Pumpkin and cake mix in glass mixing bowl

I like to use an electric mixer to make sure that it’s fluffy and completely combined. You can do this all by hand — it just takes a bit longer.

Electric mixer combining pumpkin coffee cake batter

Spread the pumpkin coffee cake batter into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (or in two separate round cake pans). Then it’s time for the pecan streusel topping!

Again, this is super easy: just use a fork to combine white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, flour, pecans, and melted butter until a crumbly mixture forms.

Pecan streusel topping for pumpkin coffee cake

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake batter…

Sprinkling pecan streusel over pumpkin coffee cake batter

and your pumpkin coffee cake is ready for the oven!

Easy pumpkin coffee cake in glass baking dish before oven

The coffee cake bakes for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Slice of pumpkin coffee cake with pecan streusel on blue and white plate

COOK’S TIPS AND RECIPE VARIATIONS — PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE:

  • This recipe yields one large 9 x 13 coffee cake or you can divide the ingredients between two smaller round cake pans. Keep one for yourself and share the other with a friend (or freeze it for later)!
  • The coffee cake is freezer-friendly, so wrap any extra cake tightly with plastic wrap and foil and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • This pumpkin coffee cake with cake mix originally calls for a spice cake mix. If you can’t find a spice cake mix at your grocery store, you can substitute with any other flavor cake mix that sounds good. Try a yellow cake mix, a butter pecan cake mix, or even a chocolate cake mix! If you’re using something other than spice cake mix, I suggest adding a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to the batter.
  • I make my easy pumpkin coffee cake with pecan streusel, but you can substitute chopped walnuts or chopped almonds for the pecans, if desired.

Pumpkin coffee cake with a fork and bite taken out

Looking for even more easy pumpkin recipes to share with friends and family this season? Try these:

Did you try this recipe? Don’t forget to rate it and leave me a comment below! You can follow me on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest, and on Twitter!
5 from 2 votes
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Shortcut Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This easy, warmly spiced Pumpkin Coffee Cake starts with a cake mix for a shortcut breakfast, brunch, or snack treat!

Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword easy pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin coffee cake with cake mix
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12 people
Calories 318 kcal
Author Blair

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE:

  • 1 (15.25 ounce) box spice cake mix
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling

FOR THE PECAN STREUSEL:

  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Spray a 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray (or 2 round 8-inch cake pans) and set aside.

  3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine dry cake mix and pumpkin (no other ingredients!). Batter will be relatively thick, which is fine.

  4. Spread the batter into the prepared baking pan(s) and spread evenly with a spatula. Set aside.

  5. For streusel, use a fork or your fingers to combine white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, flour, and pecans. Add melted butter and combine until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

  6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

This recipe yields one large 9 x 13 coffee cake or you can divide the ingredients between two smaller round cake pans. Keep one for yourself and share the other with a friend (or freeze it for later)!

The coffee cake is freezer-friendly, so wrap any extra cake tightly with plastic wrap and foil and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

This pumpkin coffee cake with cake mix originally calls for a spice cake mix. If you can't find a spice cake mix at your grocery store, you can substitute with any other flavor cake mix that sounds good. Try a yellow cake mix, a butter pecan cake mix, or even a chocolate cake mix! If you're using something other than spice cake mix, I suggest adding a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to the batter.

I make my easy pumpkin coffee cake with pecan streusel, but you can substitute chopped walnuts or chopped almonds for the pecans, if desired.

Nutrition Facts
Shortcut Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 318 Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 20mg7%
Sodium 430mg19%
Potassium 122mg3%
Carbohydrates 53g18%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 26g29%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 5750IU115%
Vitamin C 1.5mg2%
Calcium 98mg10%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe was originally posted in October, 2014. It was updated in October, 2018.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Nici says

    Oh my goodness! Does that coffee cake ever look amazing! Love the addition of the streusel! I’d be thrilled if you shared this at my Creative Ways Link Party that goes live on Wednesdays at 8pm central. Hope to see you and this delicious cake there!
    Blessings,
    Nici

    Reply

  11. Heather says

    Yum! I love coffee cake with a streusel top! You get a little bit of texture with the delicious moistness of the cake! This recipe looks fabulous. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  12. Ida says

    Delicious simple recipe? You are definitely speaking my language. Pinned so I can try it out soon!
    Thanks for linking up at Merry Mondays!

    Reply

  17. Elizabeth says

    How large should the can of pumpkin be? I am baking it now, used the smaller size can but it seemed lacking. Hope it turns out ok.

    Also, do you think a cream cheese icing could also work as a topping instead of streusel?

    Reply

  18. Jeanette says

    I picked two of the easy cakes (top 2 posted) to make this weekend for the Canadian Thanksgiving. Not a baker so this is right down my alley. Thank you for the recipes.

    Reply

  20. Holly says

    Hi Blair. Question – is the recipe accurate that you need 1 and 1/3 cups of flour for the streusel? That seems like a lot of flour compared to the sugars. I would have thought there would be more sugar than flour. Please confirm as I”m getting ready to make this coffee cake for Thanksgiving breakfast. Thank you.

    Reply

  22. Mark H Nicholas says

    Holy cow! This recipe is awesome. I am eating my second piece of the morning. Easy to make, allows for substitutions, and the flavor is outstanding. I used a yellow cake mix, 1 Tbs King Arthur gingerbread spice, and 20 ounces of squash puree. I baked it for 40 minutes and it was toothpick clean and moist as could be. The squash puree works the same as a pumpkin. The recipe is a 15 minute Pierre Franey recipe that is amazing. Combined with this recipe, it is the bomb. Can’t wait to try it with a spice cake mix. Now I need to look at other recipes on this site. Nice job Blair.

    Reply

    • Blair says

      That’s wonderful, Mark! Thanks for taking the time to come back here and let me know. I’m glad that you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂

      Reply

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