How to make muffins from a cake mix

If you love the combination of cinnamon and brown sugar and you're in a hurry, these muffins will be perfect for you. They come together (start to finish) in under 20 minutes. And best of all, they start wiht a simple white cake mix.

Nutrition

190 Calories, 5g Total Fat, 1g Protein, 34g Total Carbohydrate, 26g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories190Calories from Fat50

Total Fat5g8%

Saturated Fat3 1/2g16%Trans Fat0g

Dietary Fiber0g0%Sugars26g

Vitamin A4%4%Vitamin C0%0%Calcium6%6%Iron2%2%

Exchanges:

Show less - See full nutrition facts +

It's pretty simple to make muffins using cake mix. They'll be denser and sweeter than regular muffins. The most common way to make them is to use applesauce as an easy alternative to oil and eggs.

Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. You can also use paper liners if you prefer.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add cake mix to a medium or large mixing bowl. Stir in applesauce and water and mix until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.

Fill each greased muffin cup about 2/3 full with the batter.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool the finished muffins for 5 minutes in the muffin tins.

Transfer muffins to a cooling rack and let them cool for 5 more minutes before serving.

Tip

Cake mix muffins don't need butter or margarine, but you can add it if desired. If you do, try brushing the tops of the muffins with melted butter—just enough to add a delicious buttery taste.

Try additions like cinnamon, chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, blueberries, apples, raisins or pineapple.

Swap the applesauce out for other ingredients. Plain yogurt works in any cake mix. Canned pumpkin or canned sweet potatoes work well with a chocolate, spice or carrot cake mix. Mashed banana is an excellent option in a yellow or chocolate cake mix. For a sweeter muffin, try blueberry or cherry pie filling in a white or chocolate cake mix, or use apple pie filling in a carrot or spice cake mix.

Breakfast is ready with a just a few ingredients. With fresh blueberries and a yellow cake mix, these turn out perfectly soft and delicious every. single. time.

If you want fresh blueberry muffins, but want a cheater way to do it, our Cake Mix Blueberry Muffins are the answer.

Using a simple yellow cake mix, you can make muffin batter in a matter of minutes with a lot less measuring.

This recipe makes soft, moist muffins every time. They are quick and easy to throw together, but taste like you spent all day baking.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR CAKE MIX MUFFINS:

These cake mix muffins are one of our greatest shortcut recipes we have. Here’s all you need to make them:

• 1 (15.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups fresh blueberries

HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS FROM A CAKE MIX:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix dry cake mix (DO NOT follow directions on the box, just use the powder mix), baking powder, flour, milk, oil, and eggs together thoroughly.

Fold in the *blueberries (reserving a few to sprinkle on top) very gently, only stirring a couple of times so that your batter doesn’t turn blue/purple.

*If you’re worried about sinking blueberries, be sure to check out our tip below!

Looking for more muffin recipes?! Try our Baked Apple Fritter Muffins!

HOW TO KEEP BLUEBERRIES FROM SINKING IN THE MUFFINS:

The solution to sinking fruit is to toss them in a tablespoon or two of flour from the recipe’s dry ingredients — just enough flour to give them a coating. Then, fold the flour-coated fruit into the batter as the very last step before baking.

The perfect excuse for eating chocolate for breakfast is with these delicious chocolate chunk muffins. Let me show you another one of my Cake Mix Hacks and how to turn a boring box of cake mix into something delicious!

Yes, you can have chocolate for breakfast and these Chocolate Chunk Muffins from a Cake Mix are the perfect recipe to enjoy! 

Make sure you check out my Cake Mix Baking Secrets and Printable for more great cake mix ideas.

Every once in awhile it's nice to make something sweet and delicious for breakfast for your family. Maybe you're hosting a brunch at your house or you're having overnight guests to your home at some point this summer.

• Cake Mix Muffins
• Helpful Kitchen Tools
• Main Ingredients Needed
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• TIPS FOR BAKING MUFFINS
• How to Freeze Muffins
• More Delicious Muffin Recipes
• 💬 Comments

Cake Mix Muffins

These cake mix muffins are the perfect treat to add to your breakfast menu because they don't require much work to bake them. You can even bake and freeze them to pull out of the freezer the night before and serve for a quick breakfast as you head out the door to school or work.

Making chocolate chunk muffins from a cake mix is easy and only requires a few extra ingredients. Adding the extra eggs and milk to the batter are what help change the cake mix consistency into a more muffin like texture.

The addition of baking powder makes sure the muffins have a little more "fluff" and are not as dense as a cupcake. And of course, adding the chocolate chunks

Looking for more delicious cake mix recipes? Try my my Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars or my Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookies....yummy!

Helpful Kitchen Tools

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Main Ingredients Needed

Exact measurements are listed below in the recipe card. Make sure you scroll down to print and save the recipe for later!

Baking Tip: For this recipe, I used a cake mix that is 15.25 ounces. This is the current size of a boxed cake mix when this recipe was updated in 2021. 

• 1 box chocolate cake mix - 15.25 ounce.
• Additional flour - about one to two tablespoons to toss the chocolate chunks in before adding to the batter to help them not sink to the bottom of the mix when baking. You don't want a lot of excess flour being added to the batter, so start with one tablespoon to lightly coat the chocolate chunks. If you need more, add another teaspoon or two.
• Eggs
• Milk
• Vegetable oil
• One teaspoon baking powder - Adding the teaspoon of baking powder to the mix helps boost the freshness of the cake mix. Because, let's be honest, sometimes we have cake mixes sitting in our pantry for a long time. Or maybe it's just in my house? 
• Chocolate Chunks or Chocolate Chips - either works fine! 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Do not prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box. Follow these directions listed below.

Step 1: Combine the Cake Mix

• Combine the chocolate chunks or chocolate chips with the 1 tablespoon of flour. Set aside while you prepare the batter.
• Combine the cake mix, eggs, milk, vegetable oil and baking powder together in a bowl.
• After the batter has been combined, then stir in the chocolate chunks.

Step 2: Add Batter to Muffin Pan

• Spoon into prepared muffin pan.
• Here are some of my favorite muffin/cupcake liners to use.
• I love using a cookie scoop. It makes it so much easier than using a spoon.

Baking Tip: Always spray the muffin/cupcake paper liners with non-stick baking spray. This will help the muffins not to stick to the paper after they've baked.

Step 3: Baking Instructions

• Bake in a 375°F degree preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
• Now, don't these Chocolate Chunk Muffins look like something you'd love for breakfast?

TIPS FOR BAKING MUFFINS

• Spray the cupcake liners with non-stick cooking spray to make sure the muffin doesn’t stick. I started doing this years ago when the paper liners were sticking to whatever I was baking. 
• You can also use a Silicon Muffin Tray and you won't need paper baking cups.
• I always bake muffins or cupcakes on the center rack in my oven. 
• If for some reason, the muffin pan is not completely filled with muffin batter, fill the empty cups in the pan with water. 
• Always follow baking time directions, but you’ll know when the muffins are done when you insert a toothpick into the center of the muffin and it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs sticking to it. If you have batter sticking to the toothpick, you need to bake them for a few extra minutes. 

How to Freeze Muffins

Sometimes you have leftovers. Additionally, there are times you need to bake ahead for a special weekend where you're expecting company. Here's a few simple tips on how you can freeze the muffins to enjoy at a later time: 

• Bake the muffins according to the directions and allow them to cool completely. 
• Place the muffins on a baking tray that's been lined with parchment paper. 
• Then place the baking tray in the freezer to flash freeze the muffins for about 30 to 60 minutes. Make sure the muffins are frozen and not still soft otherwise they will stick together when you freeze them. 
• Place the frozen muffins in a freezer safe container or plastic bag. 
• Muffins frozen like this should last at least two months. 

Tried any of my recipes? Let me know in the comments!

More Delicious Muffin Recipes

• Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Muffins - these are my favorite! 
• Homemade Blueberry Muffins - easy basic muffin recipe
• Bakery Style Blueberry Streussel Muffins

Continue to Content

Yield: 12 to 16 muffins

Chocolate Chunk Muffins from a Cake Mix

Print

The perfect excuse for eating chocolate for breakfast is with these delicious chocolate chunk muffins from a cake mix.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate cake mix; 15.25 ounce size
• 1 - 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs
• ⅔ cup milk
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ cups chocolate chunks or chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Combine the chocolate chunks or chocolate chips with the 2 tablespoon of flour. Set aside.
2. Combine the cake mix, eggs, milk, vegetable oil and baking powder together in a bowl.
3. After the batter has been combined, then stir in the chocolate chunks.
4. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake in a 375 degree preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Notes

1. Do not prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the back of the box. Follow the directions listed above.
2. Depending on the size of your muffin pan, this recipe should make 12 to 16 muffins.
3. You don't want a lot of excess flour being added to the batter, so start with one tablespoon to lightly coat the chocolate chunks. If you need more, add another teaspoon or two. The additional flour will help the chocolate chunks not sink to the bottom of the muffins while baking.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 221Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 101mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 4g

The nutrition information is calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you, please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator.

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© Lois

Cuisine: American / Category: Breakfast

This recipe has been updated since it first appeared on my site in 2016 with new photos and a new printable recipe card.

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