Your Boxed Cake Mix Might Have Changed—Here’s What It Means For Your Baking

Even some of the best home bakers love boxed cake mixes. They are quick to put together and, with a couple of upgrades, can taste like they are homemade. Plus, boxed cake mix does a lot more than just bake cakes. It is a great starting point for other treats, as well.

But recently, there have been significant changes to your go-to brand’s cake mixes. With the holidays approaching fast, we can’t risk any desserts turning out differently than expected. With that in mind, here is all you need to know about what these changes mean for the boxes in your pantry.

Several Popular Brands Have Reduced the Size of Their Boxed Cake Mix

It appears as though shrinkflation is coming for boxed cake mixes. You may have seen the change in size for yourself or noticed the packages feel a little lighter when you take them off the shelf. Regardless, you aren’t wrong: your boxes of cake mix are getting smaller.

Some manufacturers—including Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, and Betty Crocker—have reduced the amount of cake mix per box by a couple of ounces to account for an increase in the price of ingredients.

So, what does this mean for your baking? Well, the change is only by a couple of ounces, so there is no cause for alarm…Yet. Most standard cake boxes used to be around 18 ounces, and now, they range anywhere from 13 to 16 ounces. To put this into perspective, three ounces of cake mix is around six tablespoons of cake mix.

This means your cake mix might make a slightly smaller cake or one or two fewer cupcakes. This might sound inconsequential, but many cake mix fans have noticed the change. While no one is excited about less cake, other home chefs are even more concerned about what this means for recipes that depend on an entire 18-ounce box of cake mix. We asked our Test Kitchen team of experts to find out.

How To Adjust Cake Mix Recipes for Smaller Boxes

According to the Allrecipes Test Kitchen, the change in cake box mix size should not be big enough of a difference to affect most recipes. That’s a relief! Feel free to proceed with your dump cakes, cookies, and fruit bars like you normally would. There is no need to try and recalculate your grandma’s favorite recipe. Boxes of cake mixes have been made in various sizes over the last decade, so you shouldn’t notice anything different the next time you make a beloved recipe. 

However, if you are still worried about this change, you have some other options. Some users on Reddit have noticed that other brands, such as Aldi, still sell fuller boxes of cake mix. Additionally, you could buy your cake mix in bulk and measure out the ounces yourself. This might be a little bit more tedious, but it is the precise way to go.

Finally, you can always bake your cake homemade. Making your recipe from scratch might take a little bit of extra time, but it could be fun to switch it up. And it could even taste a little bit better.

While we can’t promise the packages won’t keep getting smaller, we should be all set to proceed with all things box-mixed-based this holiday season. After all, the smaller boxed cake mix sizes could just be an excuse to increase the amount of frosting you use. No one can complain about a smaller cake if it is under a mountain of icing!