The Easiest Vegan Pumpkin Cake, a Cake Mix Hack

Simplify dessert with our easy vegan pumpkin cake—a snack-size minimal-ingredient tasty treat made possible by a vegan cake mix hack for effortless baking. Enjoy a fuss-free treat with the warm, comforting flavors of pumpkin and spice, and everything nice – perfect for any occasion.

Short on time but not on festive fall spirit? Just remembered that brunch you were invited to…the one for which you promised to bring a dessert? Found out you college kid is coming home for a “surprise” visit but with the tidying and vacuuming the last thing you need to be doing is stressing over a warm and comforting “nothing says home like a snack cake” moment? Then this easy vegan pumpkin cake recipe is for you!

Making yummy treats for the family doesn't need to be a stressful chore! Just find simple recipes with few ingredients like easy cinnamon apple dumplings or air fried mini tacos and you'll be spending your time relaxing with your loved ones - not in the kitchen working. The easiest recipes are ones in which I use a combination of simple ingredients I have on hand like apples for air fryer apple slices  along with store bought items like canned crescent rolls to make easy roll up pumpkin spice crescent rolls that make the prep quick and easy! 

Made with a cake mix hack and a few other simple ingredients, you’ll have this quick and easy snack-sized vegan pumpkin cake ready to slide into the oven before the oven even finishes heating up! It’s just a matter of finding the right vegan cake and frosting mix and then you’ll be ready to go.

Ingredients needed to make a snack-sized easy vegan pumpkin cake

• You’ll first need to find a vegan spice cake mix – I use Duncan Hines spice cake mix. Duncan Hines is known to be “accidentally vegan” because it doesn’t include obvious animal products like eggs or dairy. Be aware though that if you are a sugar vegan, the sugar may not have been processed in the vegan way and then this recipe won’t be for you. There might be other similar spice cake mixes available – including organic mixes which should have vegan processed sugar. Just make sure to read the ingredients for the eggs and dairy. The Duncan Hines spice cake mix I use is 15.25 ounces.
• 1 can (15 ounces) of pumpkin puree – Make sure you use pure pumpkin puree and NOT canned pumpkin pie mix. If you are wanting to make your own pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkin then use a sugar pumpkin or baking pumpkin, not the one you used for carving a jack-o-lantern!
• chopped pecans – use another type of nut if you’d like. If you are serving this to others, be sensitive to those with tree-nut allergies. You can leave them out if you’d like – but do let them know about the other ingredients used for cross-contamination purposes.
• canned cream cheese frosting – Again, check the ingredients to make sure the product meets with your eating ethics. I used Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting. You are only going to use a little bit of the can, but it does save for a long while in the fridge. OR use it to frost walnut maple loaf bread or cranberry walnut bread. YUM!
• pumpkin pie spice – you can find this at the grocery store or you can easily make your own pumpkin pie spice!
• You’ll also need a small baking pan. A 9″x9″ baking pan (affiliate link) is the best size for this snack cake. An 8″x8″ pan works too, just be careful with the cooking time and make sure to check the middle of the cake for doneness. Everyone always asks me about the pans I use in my photos. I love this pretty blue baking dish I got on Amazon ). It says it’s 8×8 but really…it measures slightly bigger than that.

Directions to make a quick and easy vegan pumpkin cake using a cake mix hack

The exact ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card below along with more concise abbreviated instructions. Read on for more details, tips, and tricks so that you will feel confident making this recipe.

Step 1 – prepping and getting started

Start by preheating your oven to 350°F. You’ll want to get started preheating now because this cake mixes up so quickly that it will be in the pan and ready to go almost before your oven is fully heated (and do make sure your oven is fully heated).

Spritz your baking pan with cooking oil or coat with vegan butter. I find cooking spray so easy to use but it can surely be a mess! One trick I do is to put my pan in the sink and spray while it’s in there. This way I don’t get slick cooking spray on my floor for me to do the Scooby-Doo and fall on my rear (oops)!

Spritz the baking pan with cooking spray while it’s in the sink to avoid over spraying and making slippery floors.

If you didn’t buy your pecans already chopped (which I highly recommend), then chop them now. I like to use this handy chopper for quick and easy chopping. It easily fits in my cupboard and doesn’t required any electricity.

Step 2: Mixing the cake

This is really so ridiculously easy you won’t believe it! Mix together the spice cake mix and the pumpkin puree into a medium-sized bowl until they are well mixed and no dry cake mix is remaining. Make sure to scrape the bottom and incorporate any dry cake mix. Mix by hand – don’t use a mixer because you don’t want to over-mix and risk overdeveloping the gluten.

The texture of the mixed cake mix and pumpkin puree will be very thick – and that’s fine! But depending on the moisture content of the pumpkin puree, it might be too thick. If it is thick like play-dough (you can literally mold it) then that is TOO thick. Add one (possibly up to two) tablespoons of water. Just add a little bit at a time. This is NOT a thin batter like regular cake but much thicker!

Steps 3-4: Spread the mixture into the pan and add nuts

Spread the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Level it out with the back of a spoon. If you’ve mixed it correctly then this pumpkin cake mixture is thick and spreadable.

Sprinkle the chopped pecans evenly over the top of the cake.

Steps 5-6: The icing

This is another fun vegan baking hack! I use some of a can of prepared icing, heated and stirred with spices, then drizzled on top of the cake before baking. During the baking process the icing develops sugary crust and is perfect for topping a snack cake. You only use a small amount of icing too so you can feel good about serving a snack cake without too much added sugary sweet topping.

Open the can of cream cheese icing. Stir with a spoon to soften the icing. Measure out one-third cup. Stir together with the pumpkin pie spice. Melt in the microwave till runny (about 20 – 30 seconds).

Now use a spoon and drizzle the icing on top of the pecans. I like to drizzle in a pattern going diagonal one and then the other. You might think the icing will melt away while baking in the oven but you’ll be surprised by the crunchy texture and nicely spiced topping it provides when baked.

Final steps: Baking, cooling, and serving

Bake your vegan pumpkin snack cake uncovered for 40-50 minutes. At 40 minutes, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle. The toothpick should come out clean. This cake cooks in exactly 45 minutes in my oven but since ovens can cook differently, I strongly recommend first checking yours at 40 minutes.

Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting and serving. It will cut better after cooling some. Serve right away or cover and finish enjoying your vegan snack cake in the next couple of days. Enjoy with your favorite coffee with pumpkin spice coffee creamer, hot chocolate or homemade apple cider.

The printable recipe card