Cake mix cookie bars are an easy 5-ingredient dessert recipe. They’re moist, chewy and loaded with gooey chocolate chips or change the add-ins for endless flavor combinations!

Cake mix cookie bars with golden edges and gooey chocolate chips on a white surface.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These cake mix cookie bars are the ultimate shortcut dessert, soft, chewy, and loaded with chocolate chips. Like my cake mix chocolate chip cookies, a boxed cake mix keeps the ingredients list short and the results consistently delicious.

Cake mix bars bake thin like a giant cookie, slice cleanly into bars, and like my cake mix cookies take well to any combo you can dream up, think M&M’s, peanut butter chips, red velvet, or brownies made from a cake mix.

5-Ingredient Cake Mix Bars

Cookie bars with cake mix is so easy using boxed yellow cake!

Yellow cake mix box with eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips for making cake mix cookie bars.

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

  • Yellow cake mix: You can use any brand of cake mix you prefer. Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines are my go to. Don’t use the ingredients on the box. Follow the recipe as I have it listed below.
  • Butter: This is the fat that adds moisture and richness to the batter. You can use vegetable oil instead.
  • Large eggs: This will bind the ingredients together.
  • Vanilla: A dash of vanilla will do.
  • Chocolate chips: I used semi-sweet, but you use whatever you prefer.

A note on cake mix box size: Cake mix boxes have shrunk over the years. Anything from 14.5 to 15.25 ounces works in this recipe. If your box is only 13.25 ounces, stir in 4 tablespoons of flour to make up the difference.

Four step collage showing how to make cake mix bars: mixing batter, adding chocolate chips, spreading in pan, and baked bars cut into squares.
  1. Combine. Mix together the cake mix, oil, eggs and vanilla just until combined.
  2. Add. Fold in chocolate chips. It will now resemble more of a cookie dough than a cake batter.
  3. Press. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined 9×13 baking dish. Keep in mind the dough will be thick and sticky, so use another piece of parchment paper or a rubber spatula, press down to flatten. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.
  4. Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

Variations

Swap the box of cake mix for a different flavor and use your favorite add-ins!

  • Red velvet and white chocolate chips. Similar to my red velvet cake mix cookies and perfect for Valentine’s Day!
  • Devil’s food cake. For chocolate cookie bars, double the chocolate with chocolate cake mix and chocolate chips!
  • M&Ms cookie bars. Use a yellow or vanilla cake mix and toss in some colorful M&M candies.
  • Peanut Butter: Add in a scoop of peanut butter into the batter. Then you can mix in peanut butter chips and peanuts to really amp of the peanut butter flavor. I still like to keep the chocolate chips in there too to balance it all out.
  • Other add-ins to try are crushed candy bars, nuts and butterscotch chips.
Close up of a chewy cake mix cookie bar with melted chocolate chips on a marble surface.

Recipe Tips

  • You can substitute canola oil for melted butter if preferred.
  • Bring your eggs to room temperature beforehand for even baking.
  • If you don’t have parchment paper on hand, be sure to use any nonstick cooking spray. When it comes time to slice the bars you don’t want them to stick!
  • Do not overmix the mixture. Gently fold in the chocolate chips then leave it alone. This way it won’t become too dense and overworked.
  • Adding a few extra chocolate chips on top before baking is nice for the presentation. No one would blame you if you just ate them instead ;)
  • No cake mix on hand? Try these congo bars or chocolate chip cookie bars instead!

How to Prevent Dry Cake Mix Bars

The biggest thing is not overbaking. These keep cooking after they leave the oven, so pull them when the edges are set but the center still looks slightly underdone. A toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs, not clean. Start checking at 15 minutes if you use a dark pan, since those run hotter.

Already a little dry from sitting in storage? Tuck a slice of bread in the container overnight and the bars soften back up by morning.

Stack of gooey cake mix cookie bars with melted chocolate chips on a white plate.

You’ll also love my funfetti cake mix cookies, pumpkin cookies with cake mix and snickerdoodle cake mix cookies.

More Dessert Bar Recipes

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Cake mix cookie bars with gooey chocolate chips cut into squares on a white surface

Cake Mix Cookie Bars

4.97 from 111 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 27 minutes
Servings: 24
Cake mix cookie bars are an easy dessert recipe with just 5 ingredients. The moist and chewy cake bars are loaded with gooey chocolate chips or change the add-ins for endless flavor combinations!
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Ingredients 

  • 15.25 ounce box yellow cake mix
  • ⅓ cup butter , melted (can sub for canola oil)
  • 2 large eggs , whisked
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup chocolate chips , more for top if desired

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13" pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Combine the cake mix, 1/3 cup melted butter, 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl. Stir together until combined. Add in 1 cup chocolate chips and mix just until combined.
  • Scoop the dough into the prepared baking dish. Press down evenly with a piece of parchment paper, or the palm of your hand. Top with additional chocolate chips if desired. Bake for 20 minutes. The edges should be set and the center should look slightly underdone, with a few moist crumbs on a toothpick. They'll finish setting as they cool, so don't wait for them to brown.
  • Allow to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then remove and slice into squares.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Variations: You can use pretty much any flavor of cake mix to make these cookie bar. Feel free to add in your favorite mix-ins.
  • Red velvet white chocolate chip: If you’re a fan of red velvet cake, you’re going to love this version! Use a red velvet cake mix and mix in 1 cup of white chocolate chips.
  • Devil’s food cake: If you’re a chocolate lover, use a chocolate cake mix.
  • M&M: You can use white or yellow cake mix for this variation. Mix in 1 cup M&M’s.
Storage: Store in a covered container for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 132kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 22mg, Sodium: 162mg, Potassium: 14mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 115IU, Vitamin C: 0.05mg, Calcium: 50mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.