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This easy Chocolate Pudding Cake recipe is made with only 4 ingredients. It bakes into the coziest, richest chocolate cake—no frosting needed. If you’re looking for an easy chocolate cake recipe that everyone will love, this one is it!
Easy, Delicious, and Perfect for Entertaining
I got this recipe at a women’s retreat many years ago and it has been a favorite ever since. This cake is a perfect dessert for entertaining because it is so easy to make, yet it tastes so good! You can put it in the oven right before dinner and it is ready right when you are ready to serve it for dessert.
In this recipe, I usually use a Devil’s Food Cake mix, but a German Chocolate mix or regular chocolate cake mix work just as well. If you like nuts on your cake, you can also sprinkle chopped pecans or walnuts on top with the chocolate chips. I like to serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
🩷 Echo
Rave Reviews from Readers Who Tried It
My grandmother used to make this cake for our Sunday family dinner nights. It was my absolute favorite and still is. My grandmother would never share the recipe. I have to say how happy I am to have it back in my dessert rotation. – Callen
This is a SUPER recipe! Easy smeasy. Oh so tasty and moist. Whoever thought this one up deserves an award. – Sandy
Came across your recipe looking for a chocolate birthday dessert for my wife that she would really enjoy. She is a chocolate lover and this was fantastic. Delicious cake that the whole family loved with or without ice cream. We especially enjoyed no frosting because we both enjoy the cake more anyway. Thank you! – Jeff
Table of Contents
Ingredients
This decadent chocolate cake comes together with just four ingredients! See recipe card below for amounts and instructions. Here’s all you need:
- Devil’s Food Cake Mix: You’re just going to use the dry mix. Don’t make the cake according to the box directions. Don’t have a cake mix handy? You can use 3 ⅓ cups of our homemade cake mix for this recipe with 9 tablespoons of cocoa powder.
- Chocolate Pudding (Cook & Serve): The good old fashioned pudding mix – the cook and serve, NOT instant.
- Milk: This makes the cake batter more creamy and rich. Use any kind of milk you have on hand.
- Chocolate Chips: I like semi-sweet chocolate chips but you can add any kind you like. One reader said they love to make this cake with peanut butter chips.
No Frosting Necessary
What I love most about this cake is that you don’t need to frost it. The amount of pudding used in the recipe makes the cake so rich, moist, and delicious, that you can eat it as is. You can also simply add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. During the holidays, I love to serve this cake with a scoop of peppermint ice cream or with a big mug of hot cocoa!
How to Make Chocolate Pudding Cake
- In a saucepan, whisk the dry pudding mix and milk together. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- Fold the cooked pudding mixture into the dry chocolate cake mix from the box in a large bowl.
- Pour the cake batter into a 9×13 baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.
- Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Tips and Variations
This chocolate pudding cake recipe is perfect just as it is, but you can also dress it up depending on when you’re planning to serve it.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Drizzle hot fudge sauce over the top.
- Dust lightly with some unsweetened cocoa powder for garnish.
- Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter for an extra rich flavor.
- For a thicker cake, bake in a square baking pan instead of a rectangle.
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to serve it warm with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. The warm, gooey texture is incredibly good. It can also be served cold, but you can warm the leftovers in the microwave if you prefer.
Yes—this recipe relies on stovetop-cooked pudding mixed into the batter. Cooking the pudding first ensures a moist, rich texture throughout.
Yes, this pudding cake can easily be made as a lemon pudding cake, a banana pudding cake, or a vanilla pudding cake. Simply swap out the chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding mix for the flavors you want to make.
For the topping use vanilla or white chocolate chips instead of chocolate chips. Another option is to bake the cake without melting flavored chips on top, and instead add fresh berries to the top after it’s cooked.
Yes. Store leftover pieces of cake in an airtight container in the fridge. It also keeps in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge for a day before serving.
Yes! All you need to do is use a gluten free cake mix instead of a regular cake mix.
More Chocolate Cake Recipes
📍I hope you love this easy Chocolate Pudding Cake as much as I do! It’s simple, rich, and always a hit. If you try it, leave a comment and let me know how it turned out. I’d love to hear what you think!
Chocolate Pudding Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box Devil’s Food cake mix dry
- 5 ounces chocolate pudding mix cook and serve, not instant
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gather your ingredients.
- Pour contents of cake mix box into a large bowl.
- Stir dry pudding mix and milk together in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Fold cooked pudding into the dry cake mix.
- Pour mixture into a 9×13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
- This cake is delicious served warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Video
Notes
- Keep leftovers covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- You can use any flavor of chips on top – dark or milk chocolate chips, vanilla chips, peanut butter chips, etc.
- Pecans or walnuts can be mixed in with the chocolate chips to garnish the top of the cake.
Nutrition Information
More Easy Desserts That Start With a Cake Mix
Using a cake mix for a dessert makes preparation quick and easy, but you don’t have to settle for a basic cake. There are so many fun and fancy desserts that start with a cake mix. These are some of our favorites.
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Nothing Bundt Cake – A rich, moist, and delicious chocolate cake that tastes just like the cake you can buy from the Nothing Bundt Cake store.
- Raspberry Lemon Cake – This cake is so cold and refreshing. The Jell-O gelatin in the cake makes it so moist and flavorful.
- Better Than You Know What Cake – Turn a basic chocolate cake mix into a decadent dessert. A chocolate cake filled with sweet, caramel filling and topped with toffee bars.
- Cake Mix Coffee Cake – If you like coffee cake, you are going to LOVE this Cake Mix Coffee Cake! I am a big fan of coffee cake and I am even a bigger fan of it when I can skip a couple steps to get it done quicker!
- Coca-Cola Cake – This Coca-Cola Cake is a moist, chocolatey dessert flavored with the popular, fizzy, soft drink. Topped with frosting and maraschino cherries.
When I was a kid there was a mix called Pie-O-My pudding cake. This is the closest I’ve found to that nostalgic cake and I really enjoyed it.
I am so glad this recipe brought back such great memories for you! I have never heard of Pie-Oh-My but it sounds like a fun mix!
When I made this before it was perfect. This time the pudding didn’t seem right as I was cooking it, and by mistake I’d used instant. Still, I forged ahead, so it’ll be interesting. In the oven now…I used M&M peanut butter candies on top rather than chocolate chips. Hopefully still edible, but maybe not. Next time I’ll pay attention, but meantime thank you for this wonderful dessert!
How did it turn out for you, Linda? Hopefully it was still good using instant pudding.
A bit messier with the instant pudding, but I’m making it again using the cooked pudding and in either case, it tastes superb! Planning to add some mini marshmallows to the batter and maybe some nuts…with Rocky Road ice cream to top it off!
My grandmother used to make this cake for our Sunday family dinner nights. I was my absolute favorite and still is. My grandmother would never share the recipe. I have to say how happy I am to have it back in my dessert rotation.
So glad you liked it! How funny she wouldn’t share the recipe, recipes are for sharing! Please share this recipe with anyone you would like 🙂
Best dessert I ever made!!!
Wow! So glad you liked this so much. It is a winner every time we make it too!
This is a SUPER recipe! Easy smeashy. Oh so tasty and moist.
Whoever thought this one up deserves an award.
Why can’t you use instant pudding for this recipe?
If you use instant it may not set up right. Hope this helps!
This is so good, have been making it for years, also. Along with the chocolate chips, we also add walnuts and coconut. When it comes out of the oven we drizzle it with a powdered sugar and milk glaze. Every time we make it someone always asks for the recipe.
Is the cake mix 18 oz or 15 oz box.
15 ounce!
I think the box sizes have shrunk to 13.25 ounces. My cake looks more like pudding than cake.
UGH, shrinkflation is a real thing! So frustrating!
I added 3 tablespoons of flour to the cake batter to make up for the missing 1.75oz
Sounds good and so easy!
Has anyone tried this with a gluten-free box chocolate cake mix?? I want to make this for my daughter’s birthday next week but I need it to be gluten-free so the whole family can enjoy.
I have and it turns out just as amazing! I have used two different brands, King Arthur and Krusteaz. You can’t tell it’s gluten free and my family that needs gluten free love it and everyone else too.