You will never find a Berry Cobbler easier than this one! It only takes 5 minutes to put together. Use frozen mixed berries for the filling, and a cake mix and butter are all you need for the topping! It’s a great last-minute dessert that you can keep the ingredients on hand for all the time! Don’t skip serving this with vanilla ice cream. It’s not optional! Originally posted on June 29, 2012.
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Eric woke me up early on Saturday morning to tell me that our upright freezer in the garage had been left ajar, there was water pouring out of it, and it was beeping loudly.
Nothing like a thawed out freezer to start your weekend off with a bang, right?? Gah!
It really wasn’t that bad though. We are lucky and have 2 other smaller freezers, and were able to transfer almost everything over with some careful maneuvering. Good thing Eric used to play Tetris all the time as a kid. I swear that’s why he’s so good at fitting stuff into tight spaces.
The reason there was water pouring out of the freezer was because we had bought a big bag of ice at the store in anticipation of making some homemade ice cream for Father’s day. When the door was left open, all the ice melted and Niagara Falls came pouring out the front.
Then I forgot to buy more ice, but still really wanted homemade ice cream. So on Father’s Day I made the ice cream using all the ice from our ice maker, which wasn’t nearly enough. I threw in all the Otter Pops we had, and then got desperate and threw in a bag of frozen peas too. (We don’t shop on Sundays so I was trying to be creative. Also, I don’t call myself a charlatan for nothing.) It worked! Kinda. I mean so what if we had to ladle our ice cream instead of scoop it? Don’t get picky on me, melty ice cream is still delicious.
But back to the freezer rearrangements. The only thing we couldn’t manage to fit back in the freezer on Saturday was a few of those huge Costco size bags of mixed berries. They were mostly thawed out and needed to be used, so I decided berry cobbler was on the menu! It’s the perfect thing to make when your freezer breaks and you have a ton of berries to use up! This happens to you all the time, right??
Easy Berry Cobbler
I have to say this is the best “cheater” cobbler recipe I’ve ever tried. Eric and I stayed at a bed and breakfast a while back and they served this in the morning. I’d never heard of cobbler for breakfast but I was definitely not complaining. After I went back for thirds I finally decided to track down the cook, and she spouted the recipe off the top of her head.
Why is it called cobbler?
Cobbler is a dessert with fruit in a dish, where the top crust is “cobbled” or dropped coarsely in big chunks over the top, then baked. For this recipe, our cobbled topping is just a cake mix and butter. Super easy, super delicious.
This is a great last minute recipe because you can easily keep all these ingredients on hand. That way you don’t have to run to the store when you want to make it. Because I’m all about planning ahead for my unplanned dessert cravings. Here’s everything you need:
Mixed Berry Cobbler Ingredients
Quantities given in the recipe! Scroll all the way down to that recipe card, this is just to glance at when you’re making your shopping list.
For the berry filling
- Mixed berries, fresh or frozen is fine!
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice, fresh is best!
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
For the topping
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- Butter
Can you bake with frozen berries?
Yes totally! No need to thaw them first, just dump them in straight from the bag. Fresh berries will work too!
How to make Berry Cobbler
This berry cobbler recipe is embarrassingly easy and SO delicious. You can skip right to the recipe or check out these tips and process photos:
- Dump a bunch of berries in a cake pan. You don’t even need a separate bowl, I love it. You can use frozen berries, fresh berries, whatever you have. Mine were thawed obviously, but you can add them in completely frozen if you like. I happened to have about a 1/2 cup of frozen cranberries from the freezer fiasco that I threw into my cobbler. Really any mix of berries is going to work!
2. Add in a little bit of lemon zest and juice. This is optional but I really like the zing it adds to the final cobbler.
3. Add in some sugar, flour, and cornstarch to thicken it up. Mix it all together right there in the pan.
4. Combine some melted butter with a dry yellow cake mix and spoon it over the top! You can also just dump the completely dry cake mix on top of the berries, and top with the melted butter. (You can also cut cold butter and sprinkle on top). Any way you do it will work great! This is why sometimes people call this a mixed berry “dump cake.” Literally all you have to do is dump in the ingredients and you’re done.
Can you make cobbler ahead of time?
You can assemble the berry filling in the pan ahead of time and refrigerate until you need to bake. Don’t add the topping until right before baking, otherwise it will get soggy, no thank you.
Tips for making Berry Cobbler with Cake Mix
How do you thicken fruit for cobbler?
This recipe calls for both flour and cornstarch. You don’t have to heat the berry, flour, and cornstarch mix before baking. The oven takes care of it all!
Can this same recipe be used to make cobbler with other fruits?
Absolutely! Any kind of berry will work, peaches would be great, or any stone fruit. I would not recommend cherries, since they do not release a lot of juice. But for berries and stone fruit, all you need to do is add a little sugar, and some flour and/or cornstarch to thicken it. Then top with your cake mix and butter, and you’re done! Try the peach filling from my Peach Cobbler, that would be so good.
Serving this Mixed Berry Cobbler Recipe
With vanilla ice cream, that’s how. I’m telling you, it’s not optional!
We took this cobbler over to our neighbor’s pool party later in the afternoon after we got our freezer put back together, but didn’t have any ice cream. (I hadn’t made it yet!) Eric didn’t eat any cobbler because he said it just wasn’t worth it without the ice cream. What a snob right?
Should I share my homemade vanilla ice cream recipe next? It’s the best part about summer! Just make sure you have real ice and don’t use frozen peas. It really doesn’t work great. Ha!
So there you have it! This is not a fancy recipe by any means, and if you are having the Queen of England over for dinner maybe pick a from-scratch cobbler, like this killer Homemade Peach Cobbler. But since I don’t think the Queen is coming by my house anytime soon, I will take a cake mix berry cobbler for dessert any day!! It’s so good!
How to store Mixed Berry Cobbler
This berry cobbler can be stored on the counter for 2 days. After that you should put it in the fridge so that it will stay fresh. After 5 days or so it’s probably time to call the neighbors over to eat the last serving, warmed up, with vanilla ice cream on top.
More summer dessert recipes you are going to love!
- Homemade Peach Cobbler << if you want homemade cobbler, this is the one!
- Easy Homemade Apple Cobbler << saying a tearful goodbye to peach season? Dry your eyes, it’s apple season, and we’re cobbling it up again.
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie >> it doesn’t get any better than strawberry and rhubarb, I’m telling you
- Easy Blackberry Cobbler Recipe with Oat Topping << Lots of nuts and oats! So good.
- Fresh Blackberry Glace Pie << just like the strawberry version you’re used to! It’s so good!
- Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars << these are so pretty and a perfect way to use up fresh berries!
- My Mom’s Blackberry Pie << I grew up eating this for every occasion. We had blackberry bushes in the backyard.
- Easy Homemade Cherry Pie Bars << cherry pie filling ftw!
- Apple Crisp, With a Ridiculous Amount of Streusel << I love this recipe so much!
- Peach Apricot Slab Pie << nothing says summertime like a slab pie!
- Layered Pudding Dessert with Golden Oreos << I’m newly obsessed with this pudding dessert!
- Peach Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting << This recipe uses a cake mix too! It’s so easy and delicious.
- The Best Blueberry Cobbler from The Country Cook
- Lazy Raspberry Cobbler from Wyse Guide
- Mixed Berry Oat Bars from Ali’s Apron
I posted this recipe the first time way back in 2012 and have the horrible picture to prove it. I didn’t forget the ice cream even back then:
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Easy Mixed Berry Cobbler
Ingredients
For the berry filling
- 2 pounds mixed berries, fresh or frozen
- zest from 1 lemon, optional
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, optional
For the topping
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a 9×13 inch pan, add the frozen or fresh berries. If they are frozen there is no need to thaw. Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
- Add 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, and 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch. (You can skip the cornstarch if you like a really juicy cobbler). Stir the dry ingredients into the berries.*
- In a separate bowl, melt the butter. Add the dry cake mix and chop lightly with a fork; it’s okay if there are some dry spots. Don't over mix. You want it to be crumbly, not smooth. Spoon the mixture over the top of the berries.
- Bake the cobbler at 350 degrees F for about 40-50 minutes, until the top starts to turn golden and the berries are bubbly.
- Let cool for a few minutes, then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
- Store leftovers covered on the counter for 2 days. After that store in the fridge.
This was absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it. So easy to make!
So glad it was a hit April! It’s so easy right?? Thanks so much for leaving a comment and review, I so appreciate it!
What kind and size food processor do you use? This recipe looks awesome. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
Hi Karen! You don’t need a food processor for this recipe? Maybe you’re thinking of a different one? The food processor that I’ve had for years is a Cuisinart with 7 cup capacity. Hope this helps!
This was sooooooooo easy to make and soooooooo good. I couldn’t believe just how easy it was. The only problem I had was cook time. I had to add an additional 10 minutes to get it golden brown and bubbly. Other than that. I would extremely recommend this to make
i do the same but use canned fruit cocktail undrained
Can you use a white cake instead of a yellow one
Absolutely Mary! great question. Enjoy!
We had a similar freezer incident last year and did the same thing with our massive bags of frozen/thawed fruit. I added some walnuts and ground flax to the cake mix. So good!
walnuts and flax! Great idea Deb! Glad you were able to save the frozen fruit!!
This recipe looked great and I couldn’t wait to try it but I must’ve done something terribly wrong! I opted for sprinkling the cake mix over frozen fruit and then adding melted butter. I thought I got pretty good coverage with the butter but the final product had areas that were still just dry cake mix. Any suggestions for the next one I make? (I refuse to give up!)
Hi Linda! If you don’t like the little bits of topping that are dry (some people are into that) then just mix the melted butter and cake mix together before you add it on top! I like your never give up never surrender attitude! ;)
This happened to me too, so I added thin slices of butter on top of the dry spots and baked it until entire top was golden! Turned out great!!
Wow….This is an unbeatable and looks sooo yummy & more delicious….i can’t wait to try it….Thanks for sharing……!
The cobbler is delicious! It was easy to put together. Loved it. Thank you for posting so many good recipes.
I’m so happy to hear the cobbler was a success Judy! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment with a review!
I can’t wait to try that cobbler desert. Going to the store to get what I need. Thanks 🤗
I hope you enjoy making it Ann!! Happy 4th of July!
Made this tonight for the first time! It was super easy to make, and my fiance said it’s his new favorite dessert! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like you have a blissful marriage ahead of you Marissa, if your fiance loves a dessert that’s this easy to put together! ;) so glad you both enjoyed it, thanks for commenting!
I can’t wait to try this! It would be easy to make gluten free too!
Oh great idea Vanessa! Yeah if you can find a gluten free cake mix that would be perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
This looks so good! I love that the topping is so easy! That part usually psyches me out of making it!
You always make me laugh out loud. You, and Karen from 2012. She’s really funny too, but her pictures are definitely not as good as 2020 Karen.
Thanks for the reminder about this dessert. I would go make some right now, but I know how much sugar and butter is coming my way in the next week so I’m going to hold off stuffing my face until then.
Yes her pictures are definitely not as good, haha!! Thanks Kris!
hahaha! funny little tricks our minds play… this cobbler looks great. having just come from bear country, with it’s $65 a gallon huckleberries, i’m appreciating the more mundane berries that grow in my own back yard even more, and will give this a try!