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Pumpkin Skillet Cake

October 16, 2015 by Lindsay 32 Comments

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No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it’s the perfect fall dessert recipe!

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it's the perfect fall dessert recipe!

Hi friends!

Get ready to have your mind blown. This dessert requires no mixing bowl.

You read that right. You can make this delightfully fluffy, pumpkin cake right in the same skillet you bake it in. This is a major bonus in my book because i HATE cleaning the bowl after baking.

So let’s talk about the recipe. It’s not all the time that my baking experiments turn out on the first try….but occasionally they do. I know this one was a winner because my non-dessert-loving hubby ate about half of it.

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it's the perfect fall dessert recipe!

A few years ago I posted these Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, which were the inspiration for this recipe. Then, as you may have noticed I’ve been loving one pot meals lately (did you see my One Pot Shrimp & Orzo?) so I started thinking about minimizing dishes while baking.

I figured if I just melted the butter right in the skillet, I could throw everything else in and then stick it in the oven. My only fear was that the chocolate chips would melt if the pan got too hot. The solution was to melt the butter over very low heat. Yes it took longer…but that was fine with me. Just pop the stick of butter in the pan, turn the heat on low and go do something else for 20 minutes!

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it's the perfect fall dessert recipe!

I debated whether to call this a cookie or a cake. Or a cookie cake. Cookie cake seemed best, but when i think of cookie cake I think of the store-bought kind that’s thick and chewy. This is light and fluffy and definitely more cake-like…so cake it was.

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it's the perfect fall dessert recipe!

Here’s the recipe:

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Pumpkin Skillet Cake

Pumpkin Skillet Cake 9
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5 from 1 review

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it’s the perfect fall dessert recipe!

  • Author: Lindsay L
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 8-10 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 Tbsp butter
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over very low heat.
  2. Add sugar, vanilla, pumpkin and egg and stir to combine.
  3. Add flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir until just mixed.
  4. Add chocolate chips. Stir to combine and spread evenly over bottom of skillet.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Notes

I originally made this with 8 Tbsp butter, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 1/4 cup flour. The second time I made it, I decreased the quantities to those listed in the recipe and it tasted exactly the same, leading me to believe the extra butter and flour are unnecessary. If you want a sweeter cake, use 3/4 cup sugar instead of 2/3 cup but keep in mind the chocolate chips add sweetness, as well as ice cream if you choose to top it with that!

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @theleangreenbean on Instagram

Like I said, super easy!

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it's the perfect fall dessert recipe!

This is pretty much a must-make dessert 🙂 Be sure to pin it for later when you have time to do some baking!

No mixing bowl required for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake! You can make the whole thing right in the skillet. Light, fluffy and easy to make, it's the perfect fall dessert recipe!

[Tweet “No mixing bowl needed for this Pumpkin Skillet Cake from @leangrnbeanblog!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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Filed Under: Dessert Tagged With: Brown Sugar, Butter, Chocolate Chips, Egg, Pumpkin, White Whole Wheat Flour

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says

    October 16, 2015 at 12:15 AM

    Mmm this looks yummy!

    Reply
  2. Debbie says

    October 16, 2015 at 12:26 AM

    Love that it has chocolate chips (seriously, I love anything with chocolate chips) and that you can mix and bake it all in one pan. Now I need to veganize it. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Angela @ happy fit mama says

    October 16, 2015 at 5:27 AM

    Yup. Mind blown. Boom!

    Reply
  4. Rosi says

    October 16, 2015 at 6:33 AM

    Wow…just wow!

    Reply
  5. Dietitian Jess says

    October 16, 2015 at 7:39 AM

    Love the progression photos- very cool! This will be a winner with my hubs too especially since he is usually on dish duty 😉

    Reply
  6. Ashley @ A Lady Goes West says

    October 16, 2015 at 8:35 AM

    Now this is my kind of easy recipe, Lindsay! Love it!! Thank you! 🙂 Have a lovely weekend, lady!

    Reply
  7. Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen says

    October 16, 2015 at 8:51 AM

    Oh my gosh Lindsay this looks like pure perfection! Love that it is literally ONE dish (pan). I’m beginning to learn that cast irons are the best!

    Reply
  8. Kelsey Garner says

    October 16, 2015 at 8:57 AM

    Wow! I love that this entire thing can be made in one skillet! I recently bought a cast iron skillet and I’m totally obsessed with it. I can’t wait to try out this recipe. I know my weekend guests are going to be in heaven! xoxo

    Reply
  9. Beverley @ sweaty&fit says

    October 16, 2015 at 9:02 AM

    You are genius!! I have never heard of such a thing before! My boyfriend and i made mug cakes the other weekend and loved it. maybe this will be our next step in the kitchen hehe

    Reply
  10. Christina says

    October 16, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    OKKK wow this looks awesome. I just finally got a cast iron and have been using it for dinner but now I have an excuse for dessert ;D yummy!

    Reply
  11. Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says

    October 16, 2015 at 10:17 AM

    I don’t HATE cleaning the bowl but I certainly don’t purposely dirty more than necessary which is why this is awesome!

    Reply
  12. Natalie @ A Fit Philosophy says

    October 16, 2015 at 10:23 AM

    The words pumpkin & cake go together like peanut butter and jelly in my opinion! This looks yummy 🙂

    Reply
  13. dixya | food, pleasure, and health says

    October 16, 2015 at 11:30 AM

    such a great idea!!! i hate washing dishes in general so this will be perfect.

    Reply
  14. GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says

    October 16, 2015 at 12:02 PM

    This looks amazing! Definitely need to try a dairy free version…as soon as I get a cast iron skillet lol

    Reply
  15. Courtney @ Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life says

    October 16, 2015 at 2:43 PM

    Fabulous!! Definitely need to make this 🙂 Fewer dishes = the better!

    Reply
  16. Lauren Harris-Pincus says

    October 16, 2015 at 5:30 PM

    Oh my goodness, this one’s a keeper for a serious pumpkin treat. Just pinned it!

    Reply
  17. Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious says

    October 16, 2015 at 10:03 PM

    I saw this on Instagram last night & forgot to swing by until tonight. I’ve not made a skillet dessert ever & this is one I will be trying!

    Reply
  18. Lim hc says

    October 17, 2015 at 4:12 AM

    Hi,thanks for the awesome recipe,if i would prefer to substitute butter with coconut oil,how much i should use ? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      October 18, 2015 at 8:43 PM

      I’m not sure. I don’t use coconut oil very often…but i’m sure if you googled you could find the substitution ratio!

      Reply
  19. Courtney Bentley says

    October 17, 2015 at 11:34 AM

    Yum will try this but instead of brown sugar I will use stevia as me and sugar are NOT friends 🙁 Looks so good though thank you for sharing xo C

    Reply
  20. Jess says

    October 18, 2015 at 9:17 PM

    This looks seriously amazing, a must pin! Have a great week 🙂 xo

    Reply
  21. brooke cox says

    November 22, 2015 at 9:13 AM

    After the line “here’s the recipe” I don’t see the ingredients/recipe listed just photos. Is it just my view? I can try to guess ingredients based on the photos but it would help to have the exact measurements!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      November 22, 2015 at 9:26 AM

      i think it’s just your view? it’s showing up fine on my computer and phone. Here are the ingredients

      6 Tbsp butter
      2/3 cup brown sugar
      1 tsp vanilla extract
      2/3 cup canned pumpkin
      1 egg
      1 tsp cinnamon
      1 cup white whole wheat flour
      1 tsp baking powder
      2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

      Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over very low heat.
      Add sugar, vanilla, pumpkin and egg and stir to combine.
      Add flour, baking powder and cinnamon and stir until just mixed.
      Add chocolate chips. Stir to combine and spread evenly over bottom of skillet.
      Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

      Reply
      • brooke cox says

        November 22, 2015 at 9:29 AM

        Thank you!!

        Reply
  22. Annette | Food Science Nerd says

    October 14, 2016 at 2:29 PM

    Oh my goodness, I’m in love!!! I’ll definitely be making this for Fall get-togethers this year.

    Reply
  23. Brynn at The Domestic Dietitian says

    October 18, 2016 at 6:18 PM

    This just blew my mind…no bowl and only one pan! This is right up my alley. Bonus that it looks amazing!

    Reply
  24. dixya @food, pleasure, and health says

    October 18, 2016 at 8:50 PM

    this is happening VERY SOON!

    Reply
  25. Kelly Jones says

    October 18, 2016 at 9:12 PM

    Will absolutely be making this soon!

    Reply
  26. Jen Brinda says

    October 28, 2016 at 8:59 PM

    How big is the cast iron skillet you used?

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      October 31, 2016 at 10:26 AM

      pretty big. 10-12 inches i’d say

      Reply
  27. Joel says

    October 28, 2016 at 10:52 PM

    My wife passed this one on to me because I am the “skillet baker.” (She is the “Spring-form baker.) In our kitchen, we have cast iron skillets ranging from 3″ to 10.” What size did you use for this recipe?

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      October 31, 2016 at 10:26 AM

      i would use the 10 inch.

      Reply

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Lindsay Livingston The Lean Green Bean Healthy Living Tips and Tricks

I'm a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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Questions? Comments? Email me: [email protected]

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